Earth Day 2010Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. If you’d like to join the millions of people around the world who are observing this day, following are five simple ways to get in on the action in your own neighborhood:

1. Plant something wonderful. This could be a tree, a vegetable garden, or some window sill pots of rosemary, sage, and thyme. Whatever spices up your life. The best part of planting something amazing is that it applies to homeowners and urban apartment dwellers alike.

2. Institute a “going green” lifestyle in your household. There’s no time like Earth Day to consider making some “green” changes. These ten tips will get you started, and you’re encouraged to share your other favorite “going green” ideas with us. Your wisdom could appear in a future blog post.

3. Spruce up your home with eco-friendly toxin-free cleansers. This applies to spring cleaning, and your year-round cleaning and chore adventures.

4. Use Earth Day as an impetus to encourage more recycling in your neighborhood (read: for a friendly competition). If you’re friends with at least one neighbor, ask if they’ll join your household in a week-long competition to determine which household recycles the most items. Your recyclables weigh-in will be on your city/town’s Recycling Day and whoever loses hosts a pizza party for everyone involved in this friendly competition.

5. Plan an Earth Day service activity that beautifies your neighborhood or a local park or nature preserve. This could involve corralling any number of people including a significant other, all the kids you know, their friends, and the kids’ parents, and doing a neighborhood-wide trash clean-up. Or this activity could involve partnering with a local conservancy group to plant trees and pick-up trash in a city park or nature preserve. Afterward, serve  “Dirt and Worms” at your house in clean miniature clay planters. (You may know this dessert as chocolate pudding mixed with Oreo crumbles and whipped cream — topped with gummy worms, more Oreo crumbles, and a sprig of mint).

Doing something creative for Earth Day? Share it with us and it could appear in a future blog post.

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