Make Recycling a Trend in Your Home

If you have kids in the home, letting them know how important recycling can be is extremely important. Whether you already have a strict recycling routine in your home or you're looking to up the ante to teach kids how imperative recycling is - you can use some of these tips to make recycling fun and convenient in your home.

• Let your kids decorate recycling bins for your kitchen or patio so that they can easily separate glass, plastic, paper, and aluminum. For younger kids, it will help them learn to differentiate between the different materials and older kids will learn which materials are recyclable and which ones aren't. By buying large, colorful plastic bins and allowing kids to write with sharpie marker on them what each bin is for - they'll feel like they truly took a part in getting your family to do the right thing and recycle.

• Keep a chalkboard near the recycling bin or bins in your home so that kids can mark down when they tossed a recyclable item in. Whether it's a soda can or some old papers from school, they can keep a tally on what they contributed. At the end of the month, you can tally everything up and then challenge kids to get an even higher number next month. Siblings can also use their natural rivalry to their advantage while giving back to their environment.

• Each month, plan a Saturday, Sunday, or day off of school to complete a recycling based craft project with kids. Instead of going out and purchasing craft supplies - use what you already have in the home. Let kids get creative and use their imaginations to their advantage. Whether they want to make a collage out of old newspapers and magazines for their room, or they want to decorate an old coffee can to store their treasures in - you can show them how easily you can turn trash into treasure. As a bonus, you'll save money by utilizing everyday household items instead of running to the toy or craft store for an afternoon project idea.

• Aside from actually recycling in the home, kids should realize that what recycling truly boils down to is a cleaner, greener environment. If your kids have shown a great interest in recycling and you'd like to take it a step further, getting kids into gardening can make them even more environmentally conscious. By helping them plant and maintain their own herb garden in the yard, they can grow all natural ingredients for your next family dinner. They'll be able to take on some true responsibility and have a sense of pride and accomplishment when the herbs are ready to be added into your next meal. Having an herb garden is not just a great project for kids, but you'll save yourself money and trips to the grocery store in the future!

• Finally, encourage your kids to find out what more they can do to help in their community. Many schools have started recycling efforts, so having kids talk to their teachers about recycling can help them stay informed about what their school is doing to help. Some communities have "clean-up" projects that always require volunteers. By participating in something like this with your kids, it will be a great bonding experience for the two of you, while making your community a cleaner, greener place to live.

Giving your kids the right ideas when it comes to recycling will be something that will benefit them for years to come. By teaching them the importance of recycling at a young age and raising them with these same standards, they'll be more likely to pass on the same ideas to their children. The environment isn't going to fix itself, so making sure kids are aware of the world around them will help parents raise a generation that truly cares about making the world a greener place. With concerns always growing about pollution, global warming, and the ozone layer - it's never been more important to think about reducing, reusing, and recycling in the home. By showing kids that recycling can be fun - you'll be paving the way for a happier earth.