As you’ve probably seen on your social media pages and in your inbox, today is Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday reimagines a world built upon shared humanity and generosity.

If you are able to donate financially to your favorite causes today, that’s great! Non-profits and charities are critical to our society’s infrastructure and need all the support that they can get.

But if your budget is maxed out, there are still ways to make an impact in your community and to support the environment. Giving Tuesday has some great ideas here for other ways to help. And check out VTShare’s list of great local organizations serving our communities here in Lamoille County.

If you can’t do something today, make a commitment to do so in the coming weeks – we need a world built upon shared humanity and generosity every day, not just today.

One way we can acknowledge our shared humanity and express generosity toward our fellow creatures and the earth is by being mindful of some of our daily choices.

Sometimes it can feel like, as individuals, we can’t make much of a difference in the world, especially in the face of climate change, environmental disasters, and other systemic issues. After all, we’re all just “one person.” But everything we do – even the small things in our daily lives like carrying reusable water bottles and not regularly buying plastic water bottles, choosing which toilet paper to buy**, and diverting our food scraps from the landfill – does have an impact, especially when added up over time and when we take into consideration our influence on our friends and families.

Of course, nothing is 100% good, nothing is black and white, no one is perfect, and nothing needs to be 100% all the time.

But every small step takes us forward.

This Giving Tuesday, we encourage you to be mindful of the impact of your consumption choices and how you can give back to your community, the world, and future generations by shopping consciously, reducing, reusing, and – as a last resort – recycling. Click through for some ways to give back to the earth in your daily life.

Want to take it a step further to quantify your individual swaps while contributing to good causes every time you make the choice not to use a single-use item like a bag or water bottle? Check out what Fill it Forward is up to.

**Check out NRDC’s latest The Issue with Tissue scorecard to see how your toilet paper, paper towels and tissues measure up in terms of environmental impact. Got a failing grade? Try out one of their superstar brands. In addition to helping save virgin forests, when you buy paper products made from recycled paper, you’re also supporting the recycling industry.

Or cut out paper towels altogether by switching to reusable Swedish dishcloths made of cellulose – they’re more absorbent, washable in the washing machine or dishwasher, and will ultimately save you money.

~Neither websites nor products sold on them are in any way endorsed or supported by the LRSWMD and are provided for informational purposes only