How National Cleanup Day Can Be Every Day

You like to clean, right? Swell! Because September is Cleanup Month, including National Cleanup Day on the third Saturday in September, and World Cleanup Day on September 20th. And this can inspire us to spiff up the earth all year long. National Cleanup Day and World Cleanup Day are excellent community and global events to encourage active environmentalism.

Whether you want to join a cleanup crew or you have more of an introvert cleaning style, this post is to help you get started any day of the year.

National Cleanup Day is a great way to group-hug the planet, but also an impetus to producing and using less waste as a lifestyle.

The less we use, the less we have to clean up, right?

Unfortunately, too much trash ends up all over the place, whether it’s sourced from deliberate litterbugs or accidentally ends up in nature simply because we’re humans and we’re a hot mess!

How Did World Cleanup Day and National Cleanup Day Start?

Beginning in the small, but mighty country of Estonia, an awe-inspiring five-hour nationwide cleanup eventually expanded into World Cleanup Day with hundreds of countries participating all over the planet. Props to Estonia!

Later, hiking buddies Steve Jewett and Bill Willoughby started picking up trash like cigarette butts and gum wrappers while traversing through mountain paths and by the shoreline. This resulted in their nonprofit, Clean Trails, and, from there, National Cleanup Day was born.

.Since its start, National Cleanup Day in the U.S. has brought over two million people together, while World Cleanup Day has gathered a cool 114 million human helpers across the globe.

So, if you ever get discouraged and feel like you’re the only person in the world who cares about the world, remember those 114 million others. We got this!

This post is all about National Cleanup Day and how you can make this cleanup movement a part of your lifestyle.

National Cleanup Day is Also a Mindset

Grab a few cleanup supplies.

Since I don’t even like to touch my own trash, touching anonymous rubbish is the stuff of nightmares.

You’ll need a few supplies if you’re cleaning up the trash of the world:

• Gloves: Thick, washable work gloves might be a good choice here. You can also get biodegradable disposable gloves if you’ve found a major mess and never want to look at those gloves again! You can probably even wear both for minimal ickiness!
• Trash picker upper tool: For even less contact with someone else’s ratty waste, try a grabber gadget like this one that has a built-in magnet, too.
• Compostable trash bags: These BPI-certified, plant-based compostable trash bags are my go-to for my home and could be a lifesaver for the trash you pick up.
• Face mask: If your nose is sensitive or you just don’t want to breathe in noxious smells, grab one of your clean, cloth Covid masks or the medical grade version.
• Closed-toed shoes: I’d recommend work boots or old tennis shoes that you don’t mind getting some muck on!
• Old clothes: In other words, don’t wear your Sunday best! Something you’d paint in would be ideal.
• Hat: To keep your hair pulled back or just to block the sun from scorching your head, a baseball cap or sunhat will help!
• Sunglasses: Protect your eyes from the elements, for sure!
• Sunscreen, moisturizer with SPF, and/or UV protection clothing: Today’s not the day to feel the burn! I like this daily SPF moisturizer which is also cruelty-free.
• Loose long sleeves and pants if mosquitoes consider you a delicacy: This is one way to help block the skeeters! I don’t recommend leggings or anything too tight because mosquitoes will bite me right through my pants!
• Charged cell phone: If, for some reason, you get separated from the group, have phone numbers logged in your cell. If, for some reason, you lose your phone, have vital numbers logged in your brain!
• A trash buddy (not necessarily a trashie buddy, but you do you): Work in pairs, especially if you’re in remote areas or areas you’re not familiar with. The buddy system is never a bad idea!

Check the weather before cleaning up trash.

Friends, I don’t want to hear you were caught up in the woods during a tornado or standing near the shore while a storm was rolling in. Please be safe!

If the weather is looking unsettling, choose another day.

And don’t worry, because we’re practicing a cleanup mindset every day, right?

Clean up during the day.

Notice, it’s not called National Cleanup Witching Hour.

You can’t see much trash at night. Plus, it’s a little scary to be roaming around town in the dark, lugging a large sack of trash. (Even if that IS how you like to party!)

And I’m not sure who should be more scared: you or the one who runs into a shadowy figure clanking cans through an alley. (In this scenario, you’d be the shadowy figure!)

Try a cool morning or a crisp, autumn afternoon to tidy up the world.

Pick a location you’re familiar with.

This is another safety tip! If you’re zero percent familiar with the neighborhood, either bring people who know the area or just pick another area.

Also, it’s best to pick public places, with the exception of your own home.

Don’t show up at someone’s backyard junk heap, unless you want to deal with the cops or a perturbed homeowner. Or both!

Recycle what you can.

If you can sort the plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and glass, then that’s another way to save the environment.

Check with Terracyle to see if you can use their boxes or drop-off locations for other trash.

Avoid any suspicious waste.

Definitely do not touch needles, medical waste, human waste, unknown chemicals and substances, or anything that looks like a crime scene. And if it DOES look like a crime scene, this is where you most definitely call the cops.

Okay, now that National Cleanup Day has taken a sudden, dark turn, and I’ve sufficiently freaked you out, let’s get back on track…

Be careful not to disturb natural habitats.

If you’re on the beach, steer clear of protected sea turtle nests, dunes, and wildlife. It’s against the law to disturb sea turtle habitats, so just wave from a distance and keep grabbing that litter!

If you’re in a forest, probably don’t try to pet the coyotes or adopt a possum, no matter how cute they are.

If you do see an injured animal struggling, have the number of an animal rescue or rehabilitation center on-hand to get advice and/or assistance.

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Do what you can, knowing that you can pick up rogue trash that crosses your path anytime.

Do we clean our homes once a year? Ummmmm…maybe we shouldn’t answer that!

So, while we regularly declutter, straighten, smooth, dust, sanitize, wipe, and toss at our homes…we can pitch in for Mother Earth more than once a year.

And you don’t have to start on World Cleanup Day.

Ways to Practice National Cleanup Day Every Day:

• Pick up plastic or cans you find on the beach.
• Roll in that loose grocery cart. (Yeah, I know that wasn’t your fault either, but here we are!)
• Hang up clothing that has fallen on the floor in a store. (I worked retail in my younger years and was constantly cleaning up after shopping slobs!)
• Nag your boyfriend about his untoward habit of throwing his cigarette butt on the ground. Tsk, tsk, boyfriend!
• Find another public trash can if the one you’re heading to is overflowing onto the pavement.
• Carry bags to dispose of your doggie’s poop. (Leaving dog waste on the grass or sidewalk in a public place is one of my pet peeves, pun intended.)
• Don’t leave a literal sh*t show in a public restroom. These places are gross enough!
• Pick up after yourself at an event like a show or game.
• Try not to leave an absolute disaster at your table when leaving a restaurant.
• Skip the drink straw when you can.
• If you compost, bring the trash home (if you can) instead of just throwing in a public wastebasket. Same with recycling (even though recycling is far from perfect, ugh).
• Pick restaurants who use compostable or more eco-friendly to-go containers, plus eateries who compost their waste.

Use less resources in your daily life.

Less stuff means less trash!

This can also mean choosing product packaging that can be repurposed…or using items that are compostable.

Easy Eco Swaps:

• Disposable coffee cups or water bottles. SOLUTION: Bring your reusable travel mug to the coffee shop. Carry a stainless steel water bottle to work, school, or on trips.
• Plastic K-cups. SOLUTION: You can get compostable Keurig coffee cups (and many cities have compost services that make composting your scraps easy).
• Plastic straws. SOLUTION: These metal straws are really great. They come with a carrying case and cleaning brush. I love them!
• Paper lunch sacks. SOLUTION: Carry a reusable lunch bag. So many cute ones out there!
• Paperwork, receipts, and files. SOLUTION: Have digital versions when possible, get your receipts texted to your phone, and invest in extra hard drive storage like Dropbox.
• Paper catalogs. SOLUTION: I love catalogs, too, but if you can avoid at least most of the paper ones, you can do the rest of your browsing online.

Come camera ready! (Or at least not camera regrettable)

Most likely, someone in your group will be taking pics! That’s a good thing because posting on social media will help spread the word about National Cleanup Day and World Cleanup Day.

AND National Cleanup Lifestyle! Did I just coin that? Doubt it.

This is also a great time to make memories with new and old friends. Say cheese, y’all!

Conclusion

Hope you’ve learned a little more about National Cleanup Day and World Cleanup Day. And I don’t want you to stress if you can’t clean up on these days!

You can pitch in any day to clean up what the rascals have pitched out! Remember, it’s a lifestyle and a mindset to use less, waste less, and throw less out.

Thanks for reading. Love y’all!

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