Don’t lose faith. Whether you realize it or not, many of our efforts to protect our planet and its environment have been extremely successful. Many national waterways are cleaner, and newer automobiles contain energy-efficiency standards that weren’t there decades ago. Environmentally friendly upgrades have been incorporated into older homes, while newly constructed homes have been built with environmental responsibility in mind. The list goes on and on.

When it comes to protecting our planet, just a little goes a long way, especially when everyone does “just a little,” equating to a whole lot. Just imagine what would happen if we all went above and beyond to protect our planet and its environment. We could make significant changes in the long run, but for now, you can start right in your Arizona home.

Little changes you make in the Mesa community will have a ripple effect, possibly inspiring your neighbors and others to do their part to protect our planet and its environment as well.

Making a Change

This Earth Day, April 22, consider some of these easy ways to beautify, clean up, or make significant improvements within your local Mesa community.

1. Throw on some gardening gloves with thick grips, grab a biodegradable paper bag, walk around your neighborhood, and pick up little pieces of trash you might come across. It couldn’t be simpler than that, and you can get a little exercise out of it as a bonus!

2. Use environmentally friendly products when cleaning your Arizona bathroom, kitchen, living room, and other high-traffic areas of your Mesa home.

3. If you don’t already regularly recycle your used household items, Earth Day is a great time to start. Here’s how:

•  Use separate bins for paper, plastic, glass, and metal, and then drop the items off to be recycled. Local Mesa area drop-off recycling centers can be found here:

• Dobson Ranch Park, 2359 S. Dobson Road
• East Mesa Service Center, 6935 E. Decatur St.
• Juanita/Country Club – Park-and-Ride Lot, 1830 S. Country Club Drive

•  In a relatively new practice in terms of recycling, nationwide law enforcement and environmental protection agencies have encouraged the recycling of unwanted or expired prescription or over-the-counter medications. Doing so keeps the medications out of the nation’s waterways, prevents prescription drug abuse, keeps individuals from using expired or unsafe drugs, and protects the privacy of the individuals whose personal information may be found on the labels. Drug drop-off receptacles can be found in the lobbies of these Mesa police stations:

• Central Station, 120 N. Robson
• Red Mountain Station, 4333 E. University
• Superstition Station, 2430 S. Ellsworth
• Fiesta Station, 1010 W. Grove

4. Although Arizona has a smart system in place when it comes to water, it still faces its challenges. You can do your part to help, both for the state and the country. Two ways to conserve water, for example, are taking shorter showers and only running your dishwasher when it’s full.

5. Just for today, try driving less … and then see if you can continue to do so tomorrow and the day after and the day after that.

Environmentally Friendly Kitchen and Bath Design

The kitchen and bathroom are two places in the home where you can help protect our planet and its environment the most.

If you’re considering redesigning your bathroom or kitchen, or want to see how you can implement energy conservation practices into your existing design, contact us through our JK Cabinets website or by phone at 480-219-9580. We can help you incorporate smart energy saving features or provide you with additional ideas for conservation practices you can use in and around your Mesa area home.