Thank you to the Cook County Local Energy Project for organizing Saturday’s wonderful 2024 Cook County Earth Day Fair! Thanks also to everyone who participated – and especially those who stopped by the Care Partners booth to say “hello” and share some great sustainability wisdom! Here is what we heard from our earth-wise community!

I think the most important thing we can do for the health of our planet is…

  • Eat a plant-based diet and grow as much food as you can; shop at Farmer’s Markets.
  • Buy less, recycle more.
  • Conserve energy.
  • Remember that the planet itself is a living thing too. The planet earth is alive and they deserve our love!

My parents or grandparents taught me to use our resources wisely by…

  • Recycling & growing our own food.
  • Growing our own healthy food & making do with what we had! Gratitude!
  • Keeping a jar of bacon fat for other food.
  • Teaching me to mend & darn socks. I make most of my clothes these days, and I like to re-use fabric.
  • My parents used to buy oversized clothes so we could grow into them and also hand down to other siblings. After all the kids had outgrown them, we would donated them to the Salvation Army.
  • My great-grandmother’s “secret ingredient” for really tender molasses cookies was…chicken fat!

One of my family’s favorite frugal sayings was…

  • “Waste not, want not.”
  • “Do you think I work for the power company?! Turn off those lights!” (my dad)
  • “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!”

My favorite way to be “earth friendly” is…

  • Eating a 100% whole food, plant-based diet.
  • Plant plants.
  • Planting native flowers, shrubs, trees.
  • Being off the grid with solar & batteries!
  • To reuse things and not throw them away.

One way I try to “waste not, want” is…

  • Choose the “cute” thing for using disposable things less often – make it fun!
  • I never let my car idle when I have reached my destination!

I’ve learned that a great way to “reduce, reuse, or recycle” is…

  • Go to a thrift store.
  • Shop garage sales, thrift stores & estate sales. It’s fun & recycles!
  • Use cardboard toilet paper or paper towel tubes as collars to protect young plants from cutworms.
  • Stop buying beverages in plastic bottles.

General tips, tricks, and thoughts…

  • Older women from the Depression Era shared: “Use butter wrapper to grease pans!”
  • Outdoor lighting: use motion-activated lights only. Will save migrating birds, and will save you money!
  • Compost in the backyard…then add it to the garden!
  • In our family, they’re not “left-overs” – they’re “planned-overs.”
  • Live simply. Repurpose things.
  • Reuse different materials and making them into something else.