Earth day is coming up this week and it seems that more people than ever are getting invested in the state of our world and what they can do to help. Thank goodness for everyone out there who cares! 

This year, the environment is on more and more people's minds. From Greta Thurnberg to new climate plans, our planet's BIG problems come up more often than ever. Actual solutions can be kind of vague- pictures of plants or watering cans, mentions of Leonardo DiCaprio, etc. The environment is this place out somewhere- an iceberg we have never seen or a rainforest we have never experienced. That abstract thinking certainly has it's place, but it isn't all that specific, and I find specific goals make a lot more traction than abstractions.

It can be hard to start, because resources are scattered and if you aren't going absolutely "zero-waste" you can get stuck in the cycle of "not doing enough." You have to not let these setbacks keep you from doing something.

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

I think we can do better, and my challenge to you is that you DO SOMETHING for Earth Day. Something concrete. Something you can keep up with. Turn this big abstract sense of nature being important in trouble into real commitment and change in your own life.

I am a climate optimist. I believe extreme waste and climate change are problems we creates, so we can solve them.

Here are 40 places to start, and ideas for small changes you can make to dramatically change the world one small step at a time.  Pick one. Feeling ambitions? Pick two. Take on choices you can sustain, share your changes with friends, and let it grow!

This blog does use affiliate links for Etsy and Amazon. That said, don't shop at Amazon when you can help it- shop local! If you are shopping on Amazon, opt out of 2 day shipping when you can, it's less efficient and comes at a higher environmental cost. 

Ok, let's do this.

1. Cut One Piece of Plastic Out of your Life

Ask for no plastic straw. Skip the plastic bag at the store, and just carry your stuff. Don't use produce bags. There are so many ways to cut plastic out of your life. Just pick one, and start working on it. 

Want to do more? The city of Seattle is outlawing plastic straws. Why couldn't your community do it too? And ask your favorite restaurants to change their take out containers or use of plastic straws.

I hate cleaning. I am not a naturally neat person. But trying to live a more Earth-conscious lifestyle has made me appreciate our choices about how we clean. I mean, I still hate to clean, but now I get to feel a little better about doing it.

When you are ready to live a more eco-friendly life, it can be so hard to know where to start. Since it is all about choices, start with the choices you make every day- what you eat, how you get from place to place, what you wear, how you keep your home.

It's tempting to start with big ticket items because capitalism has conditioned us to think the more you spend, the more impact it has. For most of us, that isn't true. In fact, it's all of our little decisions, and the waste that make and carbon they cost, that have significant impact. Not only on the world, but on our own perspective and lives.

This is especially true for the things we put in, on, and near our bodies. Switching out the chemicals in your house can actually extend your life significantly. Cutting out the clutter makes your home happier and less anxiety-inducing (not to mention makes less cleaning). Washing your clothes in cold water will make them last way longer (therefore saving you money). These things all do help the Earth, but they also make your life better, safer, and happier. And you matter, so the mere positive effect green choices have on your life still matters. If it's better for the Earth, it's better for you too.

Changing our cleaning habits may not single-handedly change the world, but it has certainly changed our lives for the better. Here are ten ways that our clean house is improving life:

10. We Cut Off the Chemicals

This seems so obvious, but if we don't recognize what is on the bottle, we probably aren't going to buy it. This is just as true for our outside spaces as well- weed killers like Round Up have been proven to cause cancer and to damage children's brain development (now let's all take a moment to reflect on the stores in our lives that still sell that stuff... why?). When you realize just how harmful chemicals can be, you want more natural options in your own space. I mean, who thinks a clean bathroom floor is worth getting cancer?

Giving up on high chemical cleaners is also good for the planet, because that means less chemicals are being washed down the drain after we are done cleaning. It just benefits everyone.

So how do we do it? It's a combination of buying cleaner products and making our own. Certain brands may seem more trustworthy, but be sure to check the bottle. There is a lot of greenwashing out there and some of the more recognizable clean brands are actually owned by a pretty huge (and maybe a bit sketchy) larger company. For example, Seventh Generation is now owned by Unilever. If you are buying something bottled (we still do for carpet cleaner, for example), bulk is better. The smaller the bottle, the more waste it makes.

It can actually be easier to just make it yourself. This one is such a no-brainer it gets its own spot in a bit. For example, diluted vinegar with some orange peels in the bottle makes a perfectly excellent all purpose cleaner. It's actually mind-boggling when you think about how much money people have made replacing a product you can basically find for free in your own kitchen. Check out this post on the easiest cleaners to make yourself.

9. We Compost (and Weirdly Love it)

Did you know a banana will decompose in a few weeks? Do you know that in a plastic garbage bag, and surrounded by plastic garbage, it may never decompose?

By simple splitting our food and yard waste from our plastic waste, we can dramatically decrease the volume of garbage in landfills. A few lucky American cities already offer some sort of green waste/composting for its residents. If you don't live in one of those places, there are also tons of choices for composting yourself. We have a simple compost turner like this one. We fill it up in the fall, and in the spring when it is time to plant, we have some healthy soil to add to the mix.

It's not much work at all, and it feels good that we create very little actual garbage a week.

8. We Save Trees and Only Use Recycled Paper

This one is SO SIMPLE to do. We don't use a ton of paper towels or napkins (more on this later), but the ones we do buy are all of recycled paper. To fight climate crisis and have clean air, we desperately need every tree to stay standing, so it's pretty devastating when you consider hundreds of thousands of trees come down every year so people can clean their spills and wipe their butts. Is it worth it?

So we get everything recycled and unbleached. Our kids saw white paper towels in a family member's home and thought it was so weird. We buy all of these things in bulk and we SAVE money. Like, a lot of money.

This is another one of those things you can feel really good about without spending much money or effort at all. Check out this post for 5 of the simplest basics to switch to greener products.

7. We Don't Move our Piles, We Give Things Away

For most of my life, my cleaning was more like moving things around than actually eliminating clutter. I honestly don't remember doing much of that at all, and I was particularly infamous for not throwing anything away . Now, as a parent, I can see that I was absolutely insane.

Every time you clean up, every object you "put away" is a commitment to keep putting it away. Over and over again. If there are more objects than places, that means it's time to give things away. If you spend more time putting things away than actually using them, it means there is too much. Handing objects off is cathartic, because it means that I do not have to clean up that object ever again. Every year, we try to give away about 2,000 objects. It always feels good to say goodbye, like a weight has been lifted.

This simple shift in perspective about cleaning costs us nothing, but it keeps us SANE. And that really, really matters. The other nice thing is that we give things away when they are still plenty useful, so we are helping others and keeping objects out of landfills.

6. We Embraced the Refill

One of our local grocery stores has bulk dish soap, dishwasher detergent, and laundry detergent. We take our empty containers and refill them, rather than buying a new container filled with soap. This has been a perfect compromise too, because we haven't had to shift to all powders and hard soaps, which are outside of my partner's comfort zone.

If you don't have any resources like that where you are, this is still an option for you! The Refill Revolution is an extremely cool online space where you can have pouches of cleaning supply refills sent to you, and then you just send the pouch back.

Refilling instead of rebuying will keep hundred of plastic bottles out of landfills in a lifetime. So simple, and if it became the norm, we could really change the world! Ask your local grocery store why they don't do this yet- as we fight for a new normal in our stores, we really change the world.

5. We Switch Out our Cleaning Tools (As the Old Ones Really Bite the Dust)

I did a ton of research on which cleaning supplies from sponges to vaccuum cleaners were the best for the environment (you can read all of my research here). As our first round of stuff has run out, we have been replacing with things on this list. We use Marley's Monsters unsponges, reusable pads for our swiffer, and have committed to a HUGE supply of bulk recycled garbage bags.

That said, we still have some plastic items we use to clean, from dish brushes to our basket for cleaning supplies. Why? Because they still work! I love the look and functionality of those Redecker dish brushes, but I will not switch until we have ABSOLUTELY used our current brush up.

I know it is tempting to switch everything over immediately, but the best thing for the environment is almost always to not buy anything at all. It can be so tempting to switch over to all the beautiful zero-waste stuff immediately, but that is just another consumer impulse you have to shake off.

4. Making our Own All Purpose Cleaner

Diluted vinegar with some orange peels in the bottle makes a perfectly excellent all purpose cleaner. It's actually mind-boggling when you think about how much money people have made replacing a product you can basically find for free in your own kitchen. Check out this post which has a good ratio to use. She uses essential oils as well, but it's really up to you.

 When your current bottle runs out, you can use this recipe for the basic recipe, and throw in some citrus or oils or Dr. Bronner soap for a better smell. Even if it only saves you a bit of money a year, it will add up over time. And less plastic waste!

3. Overhauling our Laundry Routine

One of the most dramatic ways we have changed (that you wouldn't even notice at first) is how we do our laundry. You can take a lot of steps to eliminate energy and plastic waste in how you do your laundry. Here are a few we do-

- wash on cold. Better for our clothes, saves us money on our energy bill.
- use a dryer ball. Can be used thousands of times instead of once like a dryer sheet. Everyone can do this and save money.
- use a cora ball. You can use a Cora Ball or My Guppy Friend in your washing machine to slow the flow of plastic microfibers into our water sources.

There are so many options (you can read more here), but laundry switches can be low impact on your life and maybe even make life better. Every time you hang dry instead of using the dryer, you save money. Every time you wash on cold, you save money! We love all of these little changes, which doesn't slow down our endless flow of laundry, but makes our impact more positive.

2. We Joined Buy Nothing (and Saved our Mental Health)

I love the Buy Nothing Project. Have I mentioned that? About a billion times? Well, here is why.

Buy Nothing makes minimizing a treat. It's much easier to say good bye to things when I know I am helping someone else. It was paradigm shifting, because I stopped thinking that the best place for my stuff was absolutely with me. And as stuff goes out of our house, the clutter and chaos goes down too. We know that clutter in our space adds to stress and unhappiness, so just by cleaning out our spaces, we can make our life happier.

I am not saying our house is a minimalist dream (definitely not), but it feels like we are taking care of our mental health and the planet when we hand out things we are just done with to our neighbors. We have gifted at least 3,000 things since we joined, so it has definitely been effective in our decluttering.  We also went from totally anonymous to seeing people we know all over the place because we have met so many people through this project.

But you know my favorite part? Every day I get on Facebook, and instead of just seeing doom and gloom stories or political nastiness, I see kindness every day. Someone asks for help and gets it nearly immediately every day. People share what they have every day. I get to feel a little bit better about the state of the universe while simultaneously reducing clutter. Buy Nothing is the best.

Not in a Buy Nothing group yet? Check out the website here and look for the group near you!

1. Thinking Reusable, Not Disposable

We love disposable tools for cleaning, because let's face it, cleaning is gross. Once you have seen what that paper towel has been through, it is hard to not want to part ways forever. All disposable things seem essentially easier- saving time and making domestic work easier. Because of this, cleaning can be one of the most waste-producing activities of our daily life.

So one of the best and easiest switches we have made is to use reusable cleaning supplies instead. Those cleaning wipes we totally loved at the beginning of living together are just terrible for the environment, but they also have tons of unknown chemicals in them, and they aren't actually that effective. We have swapped out most disposable options with reusable ones (mostly bought as stocking stuffers) so we spend very little money on cleaning supplies.

There are tons of options out there, and you have to find what works for you, but this is what has worked for us:

We use reusable sponges (our favorites are in this post)
Reusable paper towels (instead of wipes)
Cloth napkins (you can read about our favorites here)
Bowl covers instead of plastic wrap (we love these from Marley's Monsters)
Reusable sandwich bags (like these from Full Circle)
Reusable Cleaning Gloves
Wool Dryer Balls
Reusable Swiffer Wipes

Instead of buying cleaning rags, we mostly reuse old clothes from tshirts to underwear to socks to do our dusting and cleaning up. It's not super dignified, but not much of cleaning is. You can also cut up old towels and such, but even our ten year old towels are mostly holding up pretty well.

This is such a positive step, saves money in the end, and it cuts way down on the waste we make. Three or four years in, we don't miss the "normal" stuff at all. What green changes have you made in your cleaning? What works best for you?

A lot of people don't shift to do greener things- avoiding plastic packaging, shopping local, growing more of your own food, and more- because it just seems hard. Life is hard enough! The truth is that there are lots of things in a green lifestyle that do take more effort than just doing it the mainstream way. That isn't to say it isn't worth it, but we can each only fight so many battles at a time.

I often think of my favorite Wall-E, he is single-handedly trying to put the world back together, and he works. A lot. Alone. So much working all of the time.

The truth is that no one can do everything to help the environment- no one is saving this planet on their own. And no one solution will fit for everyone too- reusable stuff makes sense in my life because we have in home laundry, but that solution may not be workable if that isn't your situation. The idea is that we all give what we can and do what we can. We start with the stuff we are most likely to sustain. That means the easy stuff, so there is no shame in a little eco-laziness.

So I use eco-laziness with total love- this stuff still matters and it is pretty dang easy. Sometimes doing less is actually the best thing you can do.

So here are my best ideas for things you can do even when life is full, and you know you can't do much. The idea here isn't to be perfect, it's just to keep making progress. Let's do this!

1. Stop Weeding

First of all, if you are still killing weeds with Round Up, you have to stop (tell your friends- this is a big deal). I honest to goodness don't even think it matters if you care about the environment; do it for your own life and health. Round Up has been proven to cause cancer and to hurt kids' brain development. Round Up is poison to us.

But that doesn't mean you have to get down on the ground and weed every little thing either! A perfectly manicured yard is actually WORSE for the environment, and one of the best things we can do for pollinators like bees is to keep our weeds (which are often native plants) growing. Bees are in desperate need of our help; their population continues to decline, and if they go extinct, so does our food supply.

So take it easy on the weeding and say absolutely no to Round Up (scream it from the rooftops).

2. Buy your Basics in Bulk

Buying in bulk can minimize packaging waste and makes more ethical brands competitive with what you buy in stores. It also means you can buy this stuff once a year, have it delivered to your house, and not think about it again for months and months.

My favorite for this is Who Gives a Crap toilet paper. You can buy a huge box of it, and not think about it again. Most anything in bulk will use less packaging than things in smaller portions. You don't necessarily need to become a costco member, but maybe make friends with one. We buy our salt and pepper in bulk, hand soap in bulk, paper goods, and cleaning supplies. If you don't have a ton of space, just pick the things you use most (or split with friends- bulk sharing should be a real thing).

If you want more ideas of things to buy ethically, online, and in bulk, check out this blog about greening your basics.

3. Skip the Straw

It takes nearly no effort to say "No Straw Please!" and you get to feel that Earth-Saving glow all day long. It's the little victory that gets you started to a world of victories! They are not necessary for many of us, and it costs us nothing to just turn them down.

If you want more crazy easy ways to get plastic out of your life, check out this post.

4. Stop Shopping

We all shop a lot. We shop for holidays, as a pass time, as quality times with friends, it even gets called "self-care." We think of shopping as a quick and easy fix, something that saves us time, but it is actually a huge time suck in our lives! We waste so much time and energy shopping, thinking about what we will shop for, and working extra so that we can shop.

Take our wardrobes for example. We spend a lot of time and energy shopping for clothes, many of which we will only use a few times, sometimes keeping up with trends. But in the course of doing so, we buy into the myths of fast fashion, that clothes can change who we are or make us better.

We kind of know this is a lie. Have you ever bought a piece of clothing that boosted your confidence in a longterm way? Not just a quick high? Me either. So we keep shopping with the hope this dress will be the one. Instead, what we do is create an overwhelming amount of waste, textiles are the third largest source of waste in the world, and with plastics involved, things are getting really ugly. We create so much garbage, and we are putting a lot of effort into something that never really pays off like we hoped.

It's easier to just not shop. Start a list on your phone or fridge. When you feel the need to buy something, just write it there. Then only go shopping once a month or once a season. A little time can make something that felt like a need transform into something not so important. And all that effort can go into something creative, fulfilling, our social instead.

This is just as true for the holidays. You can spend HOURS looking for deals, the perfect gift, and still come up feeling like you didn't do enough. If you change your approach to gifting, thinking about what you can make or what experiences you can give, you can save a lot of time. Even if you spend a bunch of time making gifts, it will still probably come out about even.

5. Run It When It's Full

I feel like we are being irresponsible or not taking care of our responsibilities if don't "keep up" with the laundry and dishes. But if I run the dishwasher or laundry machine everyday, they often aren't exactly full. Using a dishwasher is actually more efficient than the sink if it is full, but only if. So don't do those dishes until you have a whole load. It's not being lazy, it's saving the Earth!

While you are at it, switch all your washing options to cold water. Super easy, and the vast majority of the power a washer uses is just for heating the water up.

6. Just Go Outside

When parenting is rough or therapy is expensive, save yourself the hassle and money, and just go outside. Time out in natural spaces is so good for us, that around the world doctors are prescribing it for depression and physical problems. Also, it costs us nothing. You can be in most outdoor spaces like parks for free.

Start planning more picnics and fewer dinners out. Or meet a friend at the park instead of at a cafe. Enjoy all the happy things that outdoor spaces do for your brain.

If I am having a completely terrible day parenting, I will either head out with my kids and play in the backyard or I will strap them into the stroller and go for a long walk. I don't know if either counts as good parenting, but it is just the break I need.

This is perfect eco-laziness. It costs you no money, and in most places, very little effort. But time outside tends to be low impact and low waste, and the more you love nature, the more likely you are to take care of it. So being outside (hopefully for at least an hour a day) can save your life and save the world at once.

7. Don't Use Produce Bags

Remembering shopping bags can be a challenge for some of us, and even if you accidentally end up with plastic grocery bags sometimes, you can still avoid a bunch of grocery plastic by refusing to use produce bags.

Just set your fruit and veggies loose in the cart- you are going to wash them either way! And no one has ever suffered from getting their apples on their oranges.

We definitely have gotten some weird looks, but other than for delicate herbs or powerful peppers, most everything can mix with no consequences. It's just so easy. And if the cashier looks annoyed, just tell yourself that you are practicing eco-laziness (and giving them job security).

Want more ideas to be green at the grocery store? Check out this post.

8. Don't Replace Things Unless They are Really, Really Done

One of the worst trends I see right now is people who want to go green, so they throw out all of their old plastic stuff and get the pretty wood and glass options instead. Don't do it! Let eco-laziness take over here, and use whatever you already have until it is absolutely done. The real "look" of eco-friendly living is stuff that is used within an inch of it's life. Worn down and then reused for something else.

The objects in our life have two lives- a use life (when they are in use) and a waste life (when they are out of use). Natural items (plants, animals, humans, air) etc are so spectacular because they don't have waste life. As soon as something dies or rots it enriches the soil and breaks down to become something else. But much of what we buy spends more time as trash than as a useful object. The longer you can stretch out that use, the better.

What you already have is the most eco-friendly choice, because you have already paid the environmental price for its shipping, manufacturing, and packaging. Also, if something still has life in it and you send it to the landfill, you are only adding to the extreme waste humans are making on this planet.

There are a few exceptions (namely plastic-based clothing and beauty products with little plastic microbeads), but in general, your best option is ALWAYS what you already have. You will have a beautiful wood dish brush soon enough, but get every bit of life out of the plastic one first.

9. Eat Less Meat

If you are a regular meat eater, one of the easiest ways to have a huge positive impact (and save money) is to cut a bunch of meat out. Now, if this isn't in your comfort zone, it can feel intimidating at first, but if you start with recipes you already know (spaghetti, tacos, chili etc) and replace the meat with more veggies. Still feels like too much? Start by giving up beef, which is the key offender in both waste and climate change. In a few years, you will be shocked that you ate this thing that was just so bad for the Earth, so take it easy on beef now.

If you want a resource for more vegetarian recipe for beginners, we have hundreds of recipes to look at. But really, you don't have to reinvent the wheel- just start making your pizzas into veggie pizzas and brush your shoulders off. A day with less meat is a day you are saving the world.

10. Unpaper Towels, Cloth Napkins, and Unsponges

If you have laundry at home, it doesn't get much easier than switching out your paper basics for reusable cloth stuff. I run one load of our kitchen towels, napkins, and sponges a week, and we are back in business. Cloth Napkins are so easy that I don't really understand how paper napkins ever caught on! A few of each of these can replace hundreds of disposable ones, and so they will save you money in the end. This post has my favorite Etsy stores to buy these things from, and you can read more about kitchen towels from this post.

11. Use a Menstrual Cup

This is one purchase (a couple if you also want some reusable cloth pads or period underwear like Thinx), and you never have to run out for pads again. It is an absolute game changer; so easy, so much less waste, and you will wonder why you were messing with tampons and pads (and the HUGE amount of plastic waste that comes with them) for so long. Here's a whole post about how to change your approach to your period, if you have one.

Women who have switched swear by their menstrual cups. You can do it too.

12. Laundry Balls, Skip Dryer Sheets

This is another simple switch you basically buy once, and don't have to think about again for years. Throw them in the dryer, and they will do their thing. Even the most mainstream, non-Earthy person can embrace a dryer ball. You can read more simple laundry switches here.

13. Throw Garbage-Free Celebrations

Remember when we were kids and our parents got the plastic tableclothes and matching paper plates for our birthdays? They were so cute, but totally not necessary. And do you remember actually caring much about them? Now people are carrying that into their adult celebrations... but you can just stop!

Now, we can change our approach to celebrations, and just keep it simple. Just skip all of that and use your regular tableclothes and plates. You will spend less time doing dishes than you spent going to the store to buy that tablecloth. Skip party favors (instant garbage) and make your party no gifts. Focus on the parts of the party that are actually fun and memorable, and skip all the stuff that you buy at the store and throw away afterwards. Even better? Celebrate outside, and then you don't need much decorating at all. Keep it simple, be lazy, and just have fun!

Want more ideas for green parties? Check out this post for supplies and check for our party ideas- we have everything from backyard barbecues to wedding showers to graduation parties.

14. Shop Secondhand... Online

I'll be honest, this isn't always the easiest, but now with online spaces like Ebay and Thred Up, you can often find what you are looking for secondhand without too much time. It doesn't have the same fun as browsing through a thrift shop, but if you know exactly what you want, you can find it cheaper and in your pajamas. Even Amazon has secondhand and open box shopping options for much of what you are looking for, so stop buying new if you are buying online.

15. Join Buy Nothing or Freecycle

One of the mistakes we often make is to throw away stuff that could still be useful because we are done with it. Instead, consider joining your local Buy Nothing Group. You can post pictures of what you are getting rid of and one of your neighbors will come and get it. You can even set it on your porch and never have to talk to anyone if that is your deal. Not sure if you have a Buy Nothing group? Check this page to find yours.

16. Turn Off the Lights and Unplug What We Aren't Using

We all know this, but how many of us actually do it? If you are a creature of habit, start a new routine and you will be saving power in no time.

Ok, so what was the easiest switch you made in your journey to live a more environmentally-conscious life?




Want more ideas for living greener? I have nearly an endless supply! Check out the Green Home page for lots of lists and inspiration!

Easter is coming! This is my favorite holiday of the year, so I could not be more excited. I love the meaning of it, I love Spring, and I really love a good egg hunt.

Though I love the holiday itself, this is a season that breaks my heart a little more each year. It has become as commodified and commercialized as everything else, and I really hate it. I am a Christian, this is my most deeply felt and beloved holiday, and I really don't get how the resurrection of Jesus is supposed to help people sell Paw Patrol goods or a kiddie pool. But people buy it.

With a broader cultural lens, I can see that Easter's roots in pagan traditions of Spring beginning can open the door to more secular celebrations of rebirth and spring. Even if that is the tradition you are really connecting with, does it really justify a purchasing spree?

Has the Easter bunny just become another Santa Claus? Schlepping all the stuff your kids want? How is this poor rabbit supposed carry all this junk? All this stuff is making us miserable, steals our money and sanity (not to mention time), and it isn't even good for our kids. What are we doing?

This is especially tragic when you think about how much damage our current way of living is causing the Earth and our bodies. If you believe that God made these things, why would you want to pollute them with wasteful plastic junk? Even if you don't, it's a tough thing to be ok with. Our planet is drowning in plastic, and we are failing at being stewards of everything around us. We have bought into the sick capitalist lie that what we want is more important than anything else. If our kids want toys, we oblige them, who cares if the worker who made it was mistreated or the plastic it is packaged in destroys the environment.

So I have a bold proposition for you. Stop treating Easter as a shopping holiday.

It doesn't have to be austere or boring, but you can celebrate Easter without spending tons of money or giving a bunch of unnecessary gifts. Really. You can have the best celebration you have ever had without one cartoon character getting involved.

In other words, I am giving you a free pass to skip all this stuff. You aren't required to buy up the Easter aisle. Your kid does not need a stuffed bunny or Paw Patrol brand Easter eggs or any of that junk. That's not what they will remember anyway.

Be free! Save your money and do some things you actually enjoy instead.

 Here are some ideas of traditions to try if you aren't sure where to start.

Switch Up the Easter Basket

You don't have to do an Easter basket at all, but if you are into it (I know I am) it can still be simple and focused on the experience. The Easter Basket is now associated with all sorts of things- beach toys! Characters! 6 tons of candy! Keeping it simple can be really satisfying, save all sorts of time, and you will be surprised how psyched your kids still are.

If you want a bunch of ideas on ways to simplify your Easter baskets, check out this post. I have tons of them.

We fill our (thrifted) Easter baskets with a few things:

- Candy. We try to only buy things wrapped in foil, not plastic. Bulk sections in grocery stores can be particularly helpful in doing this.
- Fruit. A few mandarin oranges are perfect filler, and if you are feeling ambitious, you can decorate it.
- Seeds. Why not go plant some things!? Springy and fun. We will talk more about this later.
- Paper Grass. Skip the plastic. Shred some paper you already have! It's so easy! Fold paper (used construction or printer) like an accordion and snip.

It's up to you how much to involve your kids in the making of the baskets (it is fun to make the grass with them), but no matter what, you can do a basket hunt with them! You can do it with clues, like a treasure hunt. You can make little bunny prints for them to chase.

Dying Eggs

Dying eggs is a classic holiday tradition (though it may not appeal if you are a vegan family). Last year, we got the eggs from the chickens in my mom's backyard, so it couldn't have been more local. And those chickens could not be more free-range- they are the tyrant kings and queens of her house.

It doesn't take a lot to make this a fun activity- just some mugs and some eggs to color! When I was a kid, we did those box kits. Now, I can see that is a racket. Food coloring and white vinegar works exactly as well (and you can use white crayons to add designs if you want to get fancy).

Even better? Experiment with using natural food coloring from things like beets and blueberries. You can read all about how to do it on this blog from Country Living. It makes for a fun experiment, and you cut way down on waste. This is my goal for this year.

from A Little Pinch of Perfect

Get Creative

There are so many Raster crafts out there, and some of them use materials you certainly have at home. I especially love egg decorating crafts for kids who don't or can't eat eggs. Rather than buying a craft kit, you can use what you have at home.

My favorite are these salt dough ornaments from The Best Ideas for Kids; you can make the salt dough yourself, and everyone could decorate one each year to start a collection.

I am also obsessed with these doily eggs from A Little Pinch of Perfect. Don't these just look gorgeous? It's just markers and craft paper! And lots of us have random doilies sitting about (I know I have a handful, and I don't even know where they came from). If you want something simpler, these crayon and watercolor eggs from Rhythms of Play look like as easy collaboration if you have really little kids.

I also think these tin foil eggs from I Heart Crafty Things, because you may have some tin foil around already. They really look pretty cool!

Also, this is totally random, but these No Sew Sock Bunnies from Home and Gardening Ideas are the cutest thing I have ever seen. I am trying to guess how many more years we have to go before my kids can do this one!

Hunt for Eggs

Hunting for eggs is so much fun, and you can do twists on it for basically any age. I grew up hunting for empty plastic eggs full of candy, but last year my toddler just hunted for the actual eggs we had colored, and it was so sweet. You can color the eggs, hunt for them, and eat them, so there is nearly no waste involved.

Neighborhood egg hunts can be really fun too, depending on your child's feelings about crowds. They also tend to be over in about 4 minutes, so not great if you aren't timely. The eggs in these hunts are usually reused year after year.

Lastly, if you want to do a plastic egg hunt (maybe because you are vegan), you still shouldn't buy the eggs new. They have them at consignment stores sometimes, you can definitely ask your neighbors for them on Buy Nothing, or you can even borrow them from others. If you really need to buy some, get these plant-based eggs that can be reused and then composted.

Start Growing

Easter is a perfect time to appreciate things that grow! You can start some flowers or herbs in pots, or you can plant some flowers right into the ground (depending on the climate you are working with). I love planting with my kids. A few bucks in seeds can bring you joy (and food and pollinator support etc) for months. You could also ask around for starters from friends and neighbors in your Buy Nothing Group.

from Crafty Morning

Make Easter Treats

It doesn't matter what you make, but making treats for Easter can be a great tradition to spend time together. Your own family may already have food traditions for this holiday, share making them with your kiddos! And if not, set your own traditions!

My favorite are these rice krispy chicks from Crafty Morning, which are so cute and a little bit silly. I like her nests as well. Another simple option is to make Easter egg sugar cookies to decorate like these ones from Oh So Busy Mum.

I have also read a lot about doing Easter bread, and you could make your own loaves. I also had no idea, but Polish tradition has a lamb cake, where you make a cake shaped like a lamb (how sweet... and also weird?). There are so many choices out there, and I find if I turn music on and let them do the pouring and mixing, my kids are so happy with time baking together.

Go Fly a Kite

Such a spring activity, and so much fun! I am terrible at kites, and tend to get whacked in the face a lot, but I still have a great time. If you don't have a kite, maybe ask around to neighbors before buying one. Someone in your Buy Nothing group would probably be happy to lend you theirs for a day or two. J

Make a Bird Feeder

If you have older kids, making a bird feeder or bird house could be a fun way to welcome the spring (and the feathered friends that come with it). Simple cookie cutter ones are my favorite, but this post also has some really cool ideas if you want to try something more complicated!

Just Go Outside

Now that the air is getting warmer and there are so many things coming alive, an Easter Walk sounds like the perfect tradition. Just being outside can feel spiritual and reflective in the Spring, and that time together really counters the busy-ness that can take over our lives and holidays. Have a picnic. Do more egg hunts. Plant flowers. Play Hide and Seek.

It doesn't really matter what you do, just leave the stuff behind and spend some time together. Amazing things will happen.

Participate in Holy Week

Even if you are a light attender, this is a great week to plug back into your church. Often churches have fun events going on after church on Easter Sunday as well, so maybe plan your Easter dinner a little later.

Easter can be a perfect moment to refocus on your family's spiritual connections, and step away from our addiction to consumption. We blame all sorts of other things, but our constant purchases pull us further away from our stated values daily, without us even noticing. We mistreat the poor by ignoring the people who make our stuff in slave labor and sweatshops, we mistreat animals by continuing to buy meat and eggs farmed in horrific conditions, and we mistreat the Earth by flooding it with our pointless plastic garbage. We go directly against the Word of God by how we spend our money.

This is no example to set for our kids. But give yourself grace, that mainstream force is hard to push against, and all of these truths are so hard to face.

You can give your kids a gift by helping them break this cycle early, and to stop connecting celebrating and shopping.

If you want to celebrate Jesus this Easter, you can start by breaking up with this endless cycle of shopping and desire. Simplest way to do this? Just be with other Christians and don't buy anything. Use your church library to find cool Lent or Easter books (my favorite is the Jesus Storybook Bible). Do a cool craft like these resurrection gardens or cross paintings or palm leaf crosses, but do it together with your church!

We can't control how the capitalist machine commodifies religious holidays, but we can choose to not participate. If they don't make all that much money off of it, they will stop doing it.


Ok, that got a bit heavy at the end, but this is a holiday about joy! What are the traditions your family shares at this time of year?