May 2024 Tips

Reuse! Take your reusable bags to the grocery; purchase a reusable water bottle; print double-sided; turn the backs of printed paper into scrap paper for notes; switch from plastic cups to reusable mugs. Before you trash anything, ask yourself if it can be reused as is or repurposed for a new use.

Reduce! Buy in bulk to reduce packaging and emissions from shipping whether to you directly or to the store. Choose “paperless” for bills and newspapers and reduce the trees cut down. To reduce filling landfills, donate purchases that don’t fit instead of returning them because companies often send “returns” to landfills instead of restocking.  
 
Refuse! Resist the constant pounding of advertising that says buy more and more. Say no to a plastic straw when out to eat and no to a bag for a few items that you can carry easily. Reject products that include pesticides or are wrapped in plastic packaging. 
 
Repair! Learn and use the simple skill of mending. Consult YouTube or a local hardware store for possible fixes for non-working appliances or gadgets. Refinish or touch up wooden furniture; recover chair seats with new fabric; fight for “Right to Repair” laws for your state.
 
Restore! Look for damage—a stream filled with litter, a beach area polluted with plastic, loss of trees from tornado or fire. Recovering from a climate disaster is accelerated through reforestation. Organize for clean-up locally or contribute funds to reforestation efforts across the world.
 
Regenerate! On a personal level, compost your food and lawn scraps; participate in no mow May, which helps bees and other pollinators; consider turning growth back to nature by rewilding at least a portion of your property. On a larger scale, examine your agricultural practices for changes that will regenerate the fertility of the soil. 
 
Rethink! We used to think of the earth’s benefits as endless. Earth is telling us we need to think again. If we want our children and grands to live well, we need to support a more sustainable way of being now. Explore thrift stores before catalogs; purchase from companies that are environmentally conscious; buy from local farmers and merchants.
 
Review! Regularly or at least annually, step back and look critically at your “stuff.” Are you a victim of “creep”?  Have “wants” taken higher priority than “need”? Continue asking what else you might do to contribute to the health of Earth and give all a better future. Talk with family and friends about your insights.
 
Recommit! Keep learning, taking more steps, talking to others about your actions on behalf of creation justice. The comprehensive and complex impacts of environmental issues can lead to anxiety and despair. Our children need to know we are doing something. Join organizations that are working for legislation and other changes. Watch for and celebrate good news. Persist. 
 
Remember! Remember who you are and Whose you are: You are a beloved child of God. The very first commandment God gave humanity was to care for creation (Genesis 1–2). In your approach to all things created by God and by humans, remember you are a caretaker. Let that sacred charge be your guide.