Today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and it’s a great day to reflect on ways we can be more environmentally-conscious.  Being conscious of my actions on the environment is a daily part of my life.   Ways that I maintain this consciousness on a regular basis include recycling and being a vegetarian.

I have been a vegetarian my entire life.  My diet and lifestyle began as a result of being from a vegetarian Indian family.  I’m glad I was raised that way as it seems much easier to just remain in the lifestyle rather than switching.  I chose to give my kids that gift by raising them vegetarian.

As a teenager, I researched vegetarianism and decided the lifestyle made sense to me at numerous levels, including environmental.  I was interviewed by the Vegetarian Times regarding my thoughts and beliefs.  I chose vegetarianism as my topic for Original Oratory in debate class competitions in high school.  I memorized the speech overnight and competed the next day with veterans.  I ended up being a quarter-finalist in the state of NC.  Judges told me that the speech opened their eyes and they would consider the diet.  I think the part of my speech that stood out the most for them was regarding the composition of hot dogs.

As an adult, I’m devoted to recycling.  My husband might call me somewhat of a hoarder at times because I don’t like to waste anything.  I was the first in my neighborhood to request an extra green bin from my town to hold my recycling and had my second regular black bin picked up (never need it).  In my family, we are trained to evaluate every piece of trash and determine if it goes into our recycling bin or regular trash bin.  This includes my preteen son.

I rarely use paper towels, preferring dish cloths for wiping up spills.  We regularly use cloth napkins at meals.  We use energy-efficient bulbs throughout the house along with any appliance purchases.  Left-over food is stored for future meals or given to our dogs.  Dogs can help a lot with recycling and preventing waste.  We make sure our dishwasher and washing machine is completely full before running it.  I remind my husband at least a few times a week to stop idling when I’m in the car with him.

We also compost.  We have a compost bin in our yard and are trying to perfect the art and science of composting.  Next to our trash and recycling containers in my kitchen pantry, we also have a compost container.  In there we put our vegetable scraps and anything else that can be composted, like dryer lint.  My husband and I debate somewhat the ingredients that will result in perfect compost.  It is a shared interest and goes perfectly with my gardening interest.  I like that not only am I not wasting and creating more junk for landfills, but helping my yard and garden out at the same time.

At my boutique, I offer environmentally-conscious fabric gift bags.  They are reusable, affordable, and save trees by replacing paper.

Fabric gift bags at Komal Style Boutique

What are ways that you honor the Earth in your life?