We frequently hear about saving Mother Earth and doing what is right to have a clean and green environment. I can attest to this because I had. My earliest recollection was in high school. It was more on learning to know the right answers so you would be able to answer the test questions properly. It was nothing because I wanted to be a green living advocate.
Not until 2009 that I was introduced to Earth Hour. I learned that turning the lights off for about an hour can make a difference. So, we did our family’s first Earth Hour. At dinner, I explained it to my kids (there were two of them that time) the significance of turning it off.
Since then, we participated every year. Earth Hour has become a family tradition that we do every year. From this event, our family has become more conscious about saving electricity and conserving water. This is always when I started bringing my trash. I don’t throw candy wrappers or plastics just anywhere. I wait until I get to see a trash bin or until I get home where I can properly dispose of it.
Earth Hour 2017
In 2011, I have become more mature (I think. Hahaha…). I started to recognize the effects of plastic bags on the environment. Thanks to SM Supermarket introduction to Green Bags, I started reusable bags whenever I go to the supermarket. But it didn’t last long, I always forget bringing my reusable bags. If I remember then good, if not, then there’s next time. There was no conscious effort or whatsoever.
Then just last year, 2017, I started to realize that we have a lot of wastes coming from single-use plastics. This includes plastic bags, plastic cups, plastic utensils, and straws. This is where I felt really bad. We like eating at fast food restaurants because it is cheap, but most of the time, they use a lot of single-use plastics.
But it wasn’t early this year that we started to say no to straws. We can’t get rid of the entire single-use plastic usages, but we can always say no to straws. So my children and I started drinking directly from the glasses. At first my youngest had great difficulty but lately, she has already adjusted.
My green living journey was not automatic. I didn’t become a green living advocate overnight. It was a slow process of realizing what is right and wrong. Until now, we are still in the process. There are a lot of things we do or we buy that I considered not green at all, but slowly but surely, the important thing is, we are getting there. Our ultimate goal is to make reducing, recycling, and reusing a way of life. And if you haven’t switched to green living yet, you can do, too! It doesn’t need to be overnight. It only takes a conscious effort to make a difference every day. We can start small.
By the way, today is Earth Day. I went out happily wearing my homemade and upcycled bag that I bought from Saku CDO and my t-shirt advocating solar power in Mindanao.
P.S. I have a GREEN LIVING BLOG. It’s not updated though. It’s been a while since I have the inspiration to blog about anything. Good thing I am starting to blog again.