Hippity Hoppity - 6 Changes for a Greener Easter

As a coach, one of the things that you learn is that the act of simply stating and committing to a change starts the ball rolling. While I know this, it never cease to amaze me when I watch this principle in action, as I did with myself earlier this week.

I was preparing for the arrival of the big bunny at our house and realized that even though I had not made a conscious effort to "green up" our Easter, I was making choices based on my commitment to living a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Here are 5 of the choices that you too can make to enjoy a greener Easter:

1. Recycle your Easter baskets from last year. With so many cute new styles coming out each year, I've always purchased a new basket for the kids. This year, I presented the idea of leaving out one of their old ones to be filled. I called it "recycling" and they happily went for it.
2. Skip the sparkly, plastic straw to line your basket. This year, I found colored wood shavings at Target. It's great! Not rough, brightly colored, and plenty flexible for stuffing a basket. If you're feeling super adventurous, Oriental Trading carries an edible Easter grass - no composting or recycling required!
3. Choose the simple, foil wrapped bunny. Sure, the boxed ones fill up the basket a bit better, but who needs all that extra plastic and cardboard?
4. Include an aluminum water bottle. Shortly after Easter, the weather really begins to heat up down here in North Carolina and the kids carry a water bottle everywhere. So, as part of their basket this year, they will each receive a safe, reuseable water bottle.
5. Make your own basket contents. If you're crafty (I will say that I am not, so I recommend this one untried.), the LollyChops blog has a great list of cute bunny crafts, from clothes to paperclips. Really cute ideas.
6. Keep and reuse your plastic eggs. Jelly beans taste the same no matter what the eggs look like on the outside. I've always done this, but with the clever new designs out there, it is tempting to pick up a new package for a dollar here or there. But, why add plastic to the world when I already have perfectly good eggs to use here?

Sometimes, just making a commitment to an idea, such as living a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle, really does get you to take action without you even realizing it! So, dive in and make the commitment this Easter and all year long.