How big/small is our carbon footprint?

I grew up watching my dad's love for nature! It reflected in everything- the kind of vacations he took us on, weekends at the farmhouse and our beautiful garden at home. Occasionally he would even trim the overgrown leaves and water the plants himself. 

Watching him do so, deep down I wondered why did he take time out for such things! We had a gardener coming in for weekly maintenance and the watchman watering the plants every evening. 

I may have seemed to miss his point back then, but today it all makes sense. There is a distinct happiness that comes from being connected with nature. So while we enjoy all the goodness from mother nature, I feel like we owe her big time!!

As we celebrated World environment day recently, I wanted to do something more than just wishing everyone a "Happy environment day" on social media.

On that note - I'm sharing a few choices that I've personally made:) We all can do so much to reduce our carbon footprint by just making a few simple changes in our daily routine. 

1) E- magazine subscriptions: I got myself an online subscription to all the magazines I read. Because even though paper can be recycled it comes with a cost to the environment. Cutting down on unnecessary use of paper while their e-versions are available, so why not! 

 
2) Replacing the dryer sheets: I am(was) a big fan of dryer sheets for the way they made the clothes smell! Until I found out how many chemicals it came loaded with, not to forget the synthetic fragrances used. A little bit of research for an eco-friendly option led me to these dryer balls at target. Just toss them into the dryer and they last you up to a 1000 loads. Isn't that so much better than buying dryer sheets again and again? 

 
3) Carry your own bag for groceries: We all have heard how it takes years and years to dispose off one plastic bags. A trip to the grocery store and the amount of plastic bags that tagged along were seriously making me feel guilty and hence the switch. Not having all the unwanted plastic enter my home is a big relief. 

 
4) Practising the R's: Recycle, Reuse and Reduce are keys for a safer environment and Pinterest is flooded with suggestions. All I do is type those R's and take inspiration. A recent post I read on Pinterest was about using cotton cloths and going paperless in the kitchen. I haven't given it a shot yet but its totally on my list of " go green" 

 
5) Running the dishwasher: Thank God for the dishwasher because I hate doing dishes. So for all the energy and water consumption it demands, I make sure that its running only when fully loaded. 

 
6) Switching off the lights when not needed: This is something I've learnt while growing up and comes naturally so I don't have to try too hard. Another practice I'm getting into is unplugging the chargers from the wall while the electronics are not in use. Believe it or not, even a charger not in use but merely plugged in, consumes electricity. 

 
7) Kitchen garden: This is yet to be attained, but I've always dreamt of growing my own food. Fresher, healthier and definitely an eco friendly option. So whenever I do (hopefully soon!) you know its coming on the blog for sure;) 

 
8) Buying organic: Until I have my kitchen garden in place, I have settled for buying organic food. But here's the deal - I've learnt (again, thanks to Pinterest) that we don't have to buy everything organic and that certain stuff is better off bought conventional. Sharing the list here 

 
9) Use of hot water: Apparently hot water does immense damage to the skin so its been a great motivation to limit the use. I do the dishes using cold water and shower with lukewarm. So while my skin stays happier, lesser consumption of energy for hot water is an added bonus. 

 
10) Donate: This is perhaps the best way to contribute to the environment. By simply making sure to "donate" and not "trash" the stuff we no longer use we are making a huge deal of a difference.

Over the weekend we took D to central park. Don't we hope that generations to come have access to such parks with lush green trees!? 

If yes, then lets do our bit. Lets #gogreen