Ways to Honor Earth Day at Home

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If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere where you can experience the outdoors without coming into too close of contact with anyone, celebrating Earth Day is as simple as hitting the trails or strolling along the beach near your home. But, if you’re like most humans right now, you’re pretty much stuck inside, which limits you a bit in what you’re able to do to honor the planet, though it’s not impossible. Here are a few ways to honor Earth Day at home this year.

How to celebrate Earth dat at home cover photo (person holding globe.)
Photo by Ben White

How to Celebrate Earth Day at Home

Earth Day may or may not be a big deal to you and/or your family, but since it’s the planet that we all call home, why not at the very least spend a few minutes doing something to learn about it or make it just a little bit better?

Plant Trees Without Leaving the House

Okay, so if you’ve read many of the other posts I’ve written about different ways to help the world, I always include Ecosia. That’s because it’s something that takes no money and very little time but has the potential to make a huge impact on the environment. The lovely people behind this search engine plant a tree somewhere in the world for every 45 searches that are performed through the site. They’ve already planted more than 90 million trees, and the counter rises every second.

Photo by Rob Mulally

You can use Ecosia.org or install the extension which makes searching a breeze. Even if you don’t do a ton of searches per day, there’s a little personal tree counter that will let you know as soon as you make it to 45 and so on, so you’ll be aware the second you’re responsible for each tree being planted somewhere on Earth. It’s one of the quickest and easiest ways to honor Earth Day at home. There’s also no reason not to continue using Ecosia as your search engine to keep making a positive impact on the world without even having to go outside.

Make the Switch to Organic and Recycled Materials

There are plenty of arguments for making the switch to organic materials. But for the sake of this article and Earth Day, we’ll stick with the fact that the textile industry is responsible for an extremely large part of the world’s carbon pollution. Cotton, though it may be natural, isn’t any better, as it requires an insane amount of pesticides to be used in its production. Organic cotton, however, is much better, as are linen, viscose (derived from bamboo,) and hemp. Aside from being better for the environment, these natural fabrics are also cooling and moisture-wicking, which makes them excellent for those who live in warmer areas.

It’s easy to discover what the things you’re looking to buy, like clothes or bedding, are made from. If you’re shopping online, you can always search specifically for natural fabrics. For instance, if you wanted to buy cooling viscose sheets, just search them out using exact keyphrases on whatever website you’re using.

Get a Plant, or Three

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez

Plants are great for purifying the air around them, not to mention livening up a room. Investing in a new plant or two is one of the best ways to honor Earth Day at home this year. You don’t need to head out to buy one nowadays, either since you can always order them straight to your door from Amazon. Yep, if you didn’t know, now you know. You can get anything from a small potted plant set to a Majesty Palm Tree shipped to your house – and, if you’ve got Prime, the shipping is free. And, since most of us are getting much less fresh air these days, filling your home with air-purifying houseplants isn’t a terrible idea.

Play Around With Science

Playing around with some Earth science experiments can be a fun way to mark the occasion. Depending on what you have access to, there are several things you can do. One such thing is the Glue-Stick Sunset, which requires a penlight or mini Maglite, a few clear sticks of glue designed for a hot-glue gun, clear tape, a polarizing filter, and white background. The experiment is designed to give you some hands-on insight as to why a sunset appears red against a blue sky. If you don’t have those materials, check out some of the other fun projects Exploratorium has to offer.

Build a DIY Bird Feeder

Photo by Krzysztof Niewolny

The seagulls and other birds that are used to tons of messy humans dropping crumbs all over the streets for them are missing their buffets. But you can help feed a few hungry bird-os by creating a feeder out of recycled household materials, like one of the many great ideas on this list by Homesthetics. Don’t worry about what to fill it with, either. You can get a five-pound bag of seed from Amazon for less than $10.

Reduce, Reuse, Reevaluate

Maybe you already recycle and are conscious of your waste habits. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still some ways to make small changes that can be helpful to the environment. One easy way to make that change is to try and use reusable grocery and kitchen storage, rather than plastic bags to transport food and store leftovers.

Upcycle

Repurposing old household items is one of the most fun ways to honor the Earth at home. Think about all of the stuff you have lying around and the different ways you can reinvent it for future use. Since Easter just ended, you may have a ton of those little plastic eggs sitting in a bag somewhere. Luckily, they can be turned into mini-snack carriers for lunches. There are a ton of things that you can use for your plants and bird feeders as well. The sky’s the limit when it comes to all of the cool ways to upcycle your belongings.

Browse the Internet to Plant Trees

With the free Tab for a Cause browser extension, you can plant trees just by opening new browser tabs! It’s super easy to use and works right alongside Google so you never even know it’s there. Check it out and start planting trees by browsing now!

More Ways to Honor the Earth at Home

Well, the truth is, the Earth is feeling more honored than it has in a long time this Earth Day, thanks to the historic drop in carbon emissions courtesy of COVID-19. Her inhabitants, on the other hand, are feeling a little blue. But that’s not the planet’s (or anyone’s) fault, so please don’t take your frustrations out on her or anyone (or thing) else. Looking for more ways to honor Earth Day from home? Check out this great list from EcoWatch.

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How to celebrate Earth Day at home, Mondays in PJs
Photo by Anca Gabriela Zosin

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Erika Sellmer is a digital content specialist with a passion for remote work and empathic design.