Cloth Napkins Are Nicer Anyway

On average, an American uses around six napkins each day-2,200 a year! If every American

used even one less napkin per day, more than one billion pounds of napkins could be saved

from landfills each year. Using cloth napkins can be even better!

Don’t Be Judgemental; Be Kind Just because You Can

“Contagious Optimist” Colleen Georges taught me this: It’s easy to judge others for their actions

and take for granted those we love or meet in chance encounters. We sometimes get so caught

up in our busy-ness that we forget others are busy too, they have rough days just like us, and

they benefit from our kindness just as we do theirs. Go out of your way to smile at strangers,

say good morning, say thank you, give a compliment, and listen attentively to someone who

needs your ear. Do it because you can, because it feels great, because it makes someone else

feel good. Don’t worry about a subsequent thank you; let a thank you be a beautiful perk,

rather than an expectation.

Please, Mr.Postman

Look into a pen pal. Writing to someone in a foreign land-whether it be a soldier, a fellow

student, or a long-lost relative-can really help you gain perspective and will do the same for the

person you are writing to. Check out this website for more details on how to find a pen pal:

penpalworld.com. Letter writing is more meaningful than an email or text-this beautifully old-

fashioned tradition will bring lasting enjoyment to you and your pal.

Live Your Values

When we are on track, living close to the things we deem important-the things we value-we feel

happier. This isn’t flash happiness, it isn’t the kind that lasts for a few minutes when we get a

new toy, or enjoy a concert. This is the kind that lingers in the background of our lives. The kind

that even in moments of sadness or frustration, never completely disappears, because if we are

living a values based-life we are also living with meaning and purpose.

-Polly Campbell

Detox Your Diet

Buy grass-fed, hormone-free,organic, and free-range meat, dairy and eggs. Many grocery

stores now have organic sections with produce that doesn’t contain chemical fertilizers,

pesticides, or herbicides. These choices are better for you and the earth because no chemicals

go into the soil or water. These items cost a little more but for the sake of your health-and taste

buds!- it’s worth the price. Human-made pesticides and fertilizers require energy and resources

to be manufactured and distributed; they also pollute the air, soil, and water, and have been

shown to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) in many cases. Vegetables that are grown

organically require less fossil-fuel energy to be grown, pollute less, and are far less likely to

cause any health issues. Prevention Magazine (prevention.com) offers lots of good information

about food safety and what to avoid. Healthier is also happier!

Be Ripsniptious!

Author Art Plotnik helped revive this word in his book Better Than Great: A Plenitudinous

Compendium of Wallopingly Fresh Superlatives. Simply put, “ripsniptious” (rip-snip-shuss) can

be used to express something or someone that is wonderful and highly spirited. Today, you will

be ripsniptious and notice all of the other ripsniptious things around you. Let this be your word of

the day and let it embody you-and introduce others to ripsniptious of the word ripsniptious! It’s

fun to say, isn’t it? It’s even better to be it. It is also a wonderful compliment and I think you are

pretty darn ripsniptious for reading this book!

Planet-Positive and Paperless

Try paying bills online. By some estimates, if all households in the US paid their bills online and

received electronic statements instead of paper, we’d save 18.5 million trees every year, 2.3

billion tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and 1.7 billion pounds of solid waste

(50waystohelp.org)