The first Earth Day, in 1970, gave birth to an environmental movement. It brought the environment into the political conversation, and it worked! We have cleaner air, safer drinking water, and more environmental regulations. Unfortunately, today, Earth Day has become a traditional consumer holiday, with giveaways, Earth Day greeting cards (seriously. This exists), Earth Day sales, etc. In my inbox, there are sales advertising furniture, makeup, clothes, and food. To me, that is antithetical to the spirit of the day.

So here is how to really celebrate Earth Day (none of which require spending a dime):

1. Get Outside!

Celebrate the Earth, with the earth! Get outdoors and truly appreciate her. This year, Earth Day falls on a Sunday, the perfect day for a hike, a picnic, a stroll through your neighborhood! Do anything to revel in the earth’s natural beauty. Go somewhere new, go to an old favorite, just get out there and love on the earth. Breathe in the fresh air, lay in the grass, smell the flowers. And relax. Turn off. And just enjoy the earth.

2. Make an Earth Day Resolution

I’d really like this to become a thing. What if we all took this day to pick one or two things that we would try today, this week, this month, forever that could improve the earth. What if we decided that today would be a “No waste day, this week we would be a vegetarian, we planned to buy nothing unnecessary for a month, or we went plastic free this year? What kind of impact could we all make if we made resolutions instead of bought a discounted t-shirt? Challenge yourself just for today, or for the entire year. Go big or go small, just make a change. I am going to work on changing some of my recent eating habits to be more earth friendly. More on that perhaps, in another post, but I am putting it out there to hold myself accountable.

3. Learn Something

Things are worse, things are better. And sometimes, we can do something about the worse things. Take some time today to learn something about the Earth. This Vox article is a great place to start.

Want more? Check out our Pretty Long List of Things to Do On Earth Day, or Everyday for a lot of to dos, challenges and ideas.

It may not be the most celebrated holidays, but to me it is one of the most important. As you begin to think about your weekend plans, no matter what your to do list says, set aside some time to appreciate this earth, because, we’ve only got one, and it is truly a beautiful one.