Be a Pre-cycler

Try to recycle all the product packaging that an item comes in, from the cardboard box to the plastic sleeve. Buy fewer, but better-quality, products to ensure you won’t end up with a makeup drawer filled with stuff that doesn't live up to its promises. And finally, check out companies like TerraCycle (terracycle.com) that offer recycling programs for things like mascara tubes and lotion bottles. I am very proud that on my business card, alongside my title of “Publisher,” it also says “Office Composter” because I set up a full-scale recycling and zero waste program. Visitors dig it!

Breathe Easier

Having plants around is great for where you live and where you work. Not only are they lovely to look at, they improve the air you breathe! The following air-purifying plants look great, produce oxygen, and can even absorb contaminants like formaldehyde and benzene (commonly off- gassed from furniture and mattresses). The best part? Nary an electrical cord, nor a battery in sight. Ahhhh.

    *Spider plant

    *Peace lily

    *Snake plant

    *Elephant ear

    *Weeping fig

    *Rubber plant

    *Bamboo palm

Celebrate Earth Day Every Day!

This is the day to acknowledge your connection to your home planet and all the nurturing nature, bounty, and beauty you receive from this big blue dot. April 22 is Earth Day, celebrated annually in over 184 countries to promote a healthy environment and peaceful planet. Earth Day highlights our connection with nature, bringing awareness that each one of us is responsible for the destruction or abundance of our natural world...the only one we have. Earth Day makes us realize that each of us has a voice and every one of our actions matters; collectively great things happen.

Celebrate Earth Day by joining an organized group and help clear beaches and parks of cans, paper, plastic, bottles, and trash. Go with your family and friends, or go out alone. Look around your neighborhood to see what needs to be done. Petition your local government for more trees, cleaner waterways, and an end to industrial pollution. Use earth-friendly chemicals. Recycle paper and cans, and compost green matter.

Log onto earthday.org or check your local press to find out what is happening in your area, how to organize your own event, or what commitment you could make in your own small way to help save our Earth...and then make every day Earth Day.

Be of Good cheer

Open the doors for everyone-young, old, everyone in between- simply because it is a very, very, very nice thing to do.

Roll Out the Welcome Wagon

Greet your new neighbors with a homemade housewarming gift. You’ll make a new connection and help them feel more at home. Good neighbors can last a lifetime and bring a real sense of community on a daily basis.

Extend an Invitation to Life’s Rich Banquet

If you see a uniformed soldier or veteran in a restaurant, arrange to pay for their meal. Anonymously is perfect unless you want to thank them personally and “enlist” a new friend into your life!

Support Farm-to-School Projects

By teaching kids exactly where their food comes from, they will grow up to make informed grocery choices and strengthen their local economies. Start a farm-to-school project in your school district; all the know how is at farmtoschool.org