My Earth Day Promises to the Planet

I remember the first time I heard about Earth Day and how exciting it was. I learned about recycling, I learned about energy waste and I learned about pollution. I became very aware of what I was doing all the time, and how I could improve things. I was fourteen at the time, and I've done my best to keep up with these practices.

However, as years wore on, I picked up bad habits and laziness ensued. So, here I am making some new Earth Day Promises:

(1) I will continue recycling: we turn in our bottles for deposits, so that's an easy goal to continue. I re-use plastic bags, and I use cloth grocery bags. I re-use a lot of cardboard in art projects, and I pulp a lot of waste paper into new paper projects.
How can I improve: separate our trash further and utilize the recycling bins at the dump better.

(2) I will create a compost heap: we started gardening last year, and we're developing more garden beds this year. I'm going to create a compost heap to recycle materials from our home back into the environment.
How can I improve: we also have pigs and chickens. We can use their waste in the compost heap, and we can also feed them from the garden.

(3) I will continue to reduce our energy use: right now, if the electric item isn't being used, it isn't plugged in.
How can I improve: sometimes I forget, or I don't remind my family to utilize this tactic for energy conservation. I'll stay on top of this.

Even though our household already has some good habits in place, there is always room for improvement. Focusing on what we're doing and ways we can do things better creates a healthier environment for us and for the planet. These lessons occur regularly for our children, too, because they are young (in third and fourth grade) enough to begin developing and maintaining good Earth Day habits.