Easy, Fun Ways to Help the Planet, Your Neighborhood

Take a leisurely walk. Yes you have time, it fits in there where TV or Facebook is taking up time. Grab a grocery bag and head out. As you see trash, pick it up.

It’s amazing what happens when you make things fun. When you make things fun, they turn into neat, amazing, cool things to do. We are taught as little children that:


Then we are taught that:


Speak to any child: These equations make perfect sense to them. Then you ask what fun is. They will tell you that fun is running, playing, playing with _____. (There are a lot of ideas that kids can insert into this space, so I’ll let them or you, the reader, do that.)

Then they will tell you work is everything you don’t want to do, and everything that is just horrible. When you ask them to pin those things down, they start to talk about work and school and things that they don’t want to do.

Not only does this show us the disservice we are doing to our children in the realm of education, but it also shows us that children, like ourselves, do not want to do things that aren’t fun.

What’s the number 1 reason that people don’t recycle and people don’t do things to help the earth? It’s an inconvenience, it’s not part of the normal day, and it’s not FUN.

What if you made it fun? There are many ideas to make recycling fun. Take the recycling bin out of the recesses of the house where it has been ostracized – you know over there with the garbage cans. Then put a hoop over it. You can either make the hoop, get the kids to make the hoop, or get a real basketball hoop.

Then suddenly, recycling becomes a game. Especially if you write the family’s score on the fridge or the board above the hoop. It becomes fun, and family competition.

Also, go out and pick up trash with your family. Take a leisurely walk…Yes you have time, it fits in there where TV or Facebook is taking up your time. Then grab a grocery bag and head out. As you see trash, pick it up.  If you have little ones, see who can get the most trash. This not only cleans the world and our 'hoods up, but it also gets you out seeing your neighbors. Then to add the cherry on the top: You get family time. If you make this a normal thing, this could be family time where you hear about awesome things from your kids, your partner, or just a moment to walk in silence by yourself (depending on what your life is like).

For a third idea, why couldn't we go through the neighborhood on garbage day, and bring up people's newspapers and garbage cans? Go for a walk, bike ride, scooter ride, or just drive around the block...if you see empty trashcans or newspapers in the yards, just bring them up. Imagine what you would think if your newspaper was at your doorstep and your trash cans were brought up to you when you got home from work.

How neat...and we can all do this to help out our neighbors. If you have little ones, imagine the awesome things you're teaching them.

Helping the earth and our home is very easy, and it is so very easy to be fun.

Chad Herman - Motivatingforpositivechange.wordpress.com


RD February 08, 2013 at 03:24 AM
I think you have this backward. Kids are usually eager to recycle and participate in cleanups, it's their parents who aren't willing to inconvenience themselves.


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