My version of the perfect Mother’s Day doesn’t involve fancy dinners, chocolates or extravagant gifts. It’s sleeping late, not cooking a single meal (or doing the dishes), and celebrating the original mother, Mother Earth, by spending the day outside in the garden.

Misspelled cards and Picasso-esque drawings from my kids over the years will always have a special place in my heart, but as my girls are now in their teens (please pray for me, or at the very least send wine), the gift of spending time with them is just as precious. While not as Earthy-Crunchy as I am, at least not yet, my girls have definitely embraced some of my eco-friendly ways and joined me on my journey.

I’ve become a newly self-proclaimed minimalist, I have a new kitchen goal, and I’m no longer driving a hybrid. Is your interest piqued? Well, you’ll have to keep watching as I’ll get to those stories in future articles, but for now let me present my gift from one mom to another.

Let yourself be a bit selfish this Mother’s Day. We’ve earned it, ladies, and we keep earning it every day whether you’re changing diapers, need your own diaper changed, or you’re somewhere in between. I’ll admit there are some pretty terrific store-bought gifts out there, but if you’re a regular reader of mine then you shouldn’t be surprised that I’m giving you my TOP 10 FREE things you can do right now to save money and save Mama Earth.

1 – Next to my kitchen sink is a pitcher. Don’t go out and buy one. Trust me, you’ve got something right now that’s collecting dust and will work perfectly. A big glass, a vase, a water pitcher, a bowl your kids made you for a past Mother’s Day, or even that goldfish bowl you bought even though the poor guy only made it two days. Really anything that will hold water. Throughout the day there’s so much extra water I never use. The water my kids didn’t drink, water left in a measuring cup or pot, or even ice that fell on the floor. Instead of pouring it down the drain, I dump it in my pitcher and when it’s full I use it to water my plants. Save money on your water bill and don’t let perfectly good water go to waste.

2 – Become that weird person who demands everyone take their shoes off at the front door. I swear every time someone asked me to do it I’d roll my eyes (behind their back. I’m not that rude) while taking off my shoes. Yep, now you can roll your eyes at me. Not tracking dirt and debris into the house helps reduce indoor toxins and keeps your floors cleaner. Between my two kids, my two dogs and my hubby, there’s a lot of outdoors that ends up indoors. I used to go through vacuum bags like potato chips at a Grateful Dead concert, so this one’s a no-brainer. Less dirt, less vacuuming, less money spent. Win, win, win.

3 – Join me in My Year of Clear. Confused? That’s what I called it when I woke up and decided to keep only the things I love, use or are sentimental. Everything else goes. Not to the landfill of course. Don’t be ridiculous. All that stuff you’re saving “just in case?” Let me be your blunt friend. I know you have the best intentions, but you’re never going to use it. If you haven’t touched it in a year, you probably don’t need it. Sell it on eBay, Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and make a few bucks, or donate it to a local thrift store that supports a nonprofit. Your trash really can become someone else’s treasure, and you’ll have a little extra room to dance around your newly decluttered house.

4 – Did you know your clothes get just as clean using cold water? Yep. You’ll save money on your energy bill, your clothes will stay looking newer longer and you’ll help the planet. BAM. All in one. And if you want to take it one eco-step further, check out THIS ARTICLE and see how I ditched laundry detergent and now my clothes (and my washer and dryer) have never smelled better.

5 – This Mother’s Day I’ve set a huge personal goal for myself. Read one book a week. If you’re a reader like me, there’s no way I’m buying all those books to read once and then stick on a shelf like some strange literary trophy. My local library always has enough to keep me entertained, and they even print on the receipt how much money you’ve saved by borrowing instead of buying.

6 – “Turn the goddamn lights off!” Ahhhh…this brings me back. If I had a dollar for every time my dad yelled that at me, I could probably buy a small island. Like Staten Island. Turning off the lights inside the house is easy enough, but it seems like some of my neighbors grew up in a very different household because they leave their outside lights on all night. Now far be it from me to judge. If you’re one of them, I totally get it. (Nope…I’m silently judging you.) If you feel like you need to leave them on, at least invest in a timer. It’ll save energy and money. Unless, of course, you own the electric company. Then I guess carry on.

7 – Did you know you can turn the heat off in your dishwasher? Many even have an air-dry option that lets your dishes dry naturally. I always run mine at night, so if they take a little longer to dry it doesn’t matter.

8 – I have a neighbor I absolutely adore, but he’s a neat freak. Every Saturday he unrolls his garden hose and washes his driveway. Especially in the spring. If he grabbed a broom instead, he’d finish faster, save money on his water bill and conserve the wet stuff. (Note to self: Send sidewalk chalk to his kids and tell them to draw Mom a Happy Mother’s Day message on the driveway.)

9 – Saving water is probably the easiest thing you can do right now to help both your wallet and the planet. Take a shower instead of a bath. Don’t leave the water running while brushing your teeth or washing dishes. And always try to shower with a buddy. (In my case, my hubby.) And remember…a Retriever can be Golden, a Willy Wonka ticket can be Golden, and Rose, Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia should always be Golden. But I’d recommend keeping the Golden out of your shower for two.

10 – If you’re not using rooms in your house, close the heating and cooling vents to help reduce your energy costs and improve efficiency.

So to all the mothers, grandmothers and hard-working ladies out there, enjoy your day. Do something nice for yourself and for the Earth. Check back often for more helpful ideas and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a thing.

That’s it for me today. I’m off to do some gardening and maybe, if my hubby plays his cards right, there’ll be a shower for two in his future.

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“Don’t be a Dick” – Ghandi
“Send Nudes, Not Hate” – Thomas Jefferson
“Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope” – Sun Tzu

And my favorite…
“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet” – Abe Lincoln

Recently I came across what seems like a real quote on the internet and I’m running with it.
“The ugliest thing I have ever seen, is a human being without compassion” – H. Milne

Henri Milne was a French Zoologist in the 1800s. He wrote papers for the French Academy of Sciences and in his career named 5 new species of lizards. If he did actually say this then I think he hit the nail on the head. If it was someone else who said it and you know who it was then let me know, otherwise the credit is going to Henri. #VIVALAHENRI

Translated into 2019-speak…without compassion, you’re fucked.

My family has a Thanksgiving tradition that has helped my girls grow to be compassionate young women. When they were very little, I talked about what compassion means, how to be compassionate and how to show compassion. Mind you this was sprinkled into their daily diet of Dora the Explorer, Handy Manny, chasing the dog around the house and pulling all the labels off of our canned food. So needless to say, I wasn’t really expecting a speech about morality and empathy to keep their attention. To be fair, even to an adult it’s a really tough concept to explain. So I switched gears and instead of talking about compassion, I decided to show them what compassion looks like in our daily lives.

My husband and I wanted to find specific things we could do together as a family that would be fun and engaging for our young children. If I’m being truly honest, when my kids were little if I could find an activity for the family that didn’t require us all leaving the house, that was a win in my book. So one chilly November many years ago we started to “adopt” a turkey for Thanksgiving. Living in a suburban area I obviously wasn’t going to find one and take one home, although there is something mesmerizing about a creature that looks like its scrotum is hanging off its face.

For many years now, we all gather around the computer and show a little compassion that any 19^th century Zoologist would be proud of.  We each pick our own turkey (right online) and someone else cares for our “new member of the family” who is enjoying their life on the farm and not on someone’s dinner table.

After lots of research, I found Farm Sanctuary which operates a 275 acre sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York and a 26 acre sanctuary in Los Angeles, California. They rescue, rehabilitate and provide care for hundreds of animals who were rescued from stockyards, factory farms and slaughterhouses. Each year, we go to their website and pick our turkey from the pictures and bios they provide. This year my daughter with a soft spot for “Frozen” is adopting Elsa and my musical daughter chose Hank Williams. My hubby wanted to adopt Pamela “The Lover” because he said she was the hot one. After I reminded him that jokes like that won’t be doing him any favors in the bedroom he reconsidered and agreed to adopt the whole flock.

Compassion isn’t always about writing a check or the subject of a silly meme…it’s a state of mind. Compassion is a verb. Kindness, caring and a willingness to help others should be something we all should be teaching and learning every day.

I’m going to leave you with 3 final quotes that I think sums it all up.

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama

“Compassion is the chief law of human existence.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“Living Clean and Dirty is my favorite website and newsletter.  You’d be an idiot not to subscribe” – Helen Keller

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