Make Every Day Earth Day at Your Southeast Virginia Home in 2013

Don't just celebrate Earth Day on April 22, make every day at home a little greener in southeast Virginia. This annual event helps people around the world recognize the value of Mother Earth and support efforts to restore our home planet. Making a difference doesn't have to come in great leaps, it can come in small, consistent steps. Look at some of the ways to improve our world in your own backyard.

• Eat locally. Grow a garden to enjoy homegrown food. Shop at your local farmers' market. Eat foods that are regionally in season. You'll save the excess fuel it takes to distribute foods from far away places, while discovering added health benefits.
• Rethink cleaning. Before bringing out the harsh polishes, detergents and sprays to clean your southeast Virginia home, consider alternatives. Environmentally-friendly options abound and can often be kinder on the wallet: vinegar and water to replace floor cleaner, soap nuts instead of laundry detergent and lemon, salt and hot water to wash pitchers and coffee pots. Who wants chemicals in their homes when they can have natural products that work just as well?
• Conserve. Earth Day is all about saving: time, trips and energy. Make each trip out of the house count; get all those errands done at once to save gas. Conserve energy by unplugging electronics when they're not in use. Limit time in the shower to conserve water.
• Reuse. Here in Hampton Roads, recycling is an option when we're done with many types of products. But reusing items can be helpful to the Earth and households alike. Use newspapers to make compost and wipe windows with, distribute read magazines to hospital waiting rooms, make pet food containers out of large paint buckets and the list continues. Get creative!

Let Earth Day make an impact all year long in your southeast Virginia home.