HOW TO MAKE A VISION BOARD TO HELP YOU GO GREEN - PLUS ECOFRIENDLY TIPS!

Okay, now here is the surprise-- all vision boards are really green and eco-friendly because they are really recycling magazines One of the most eco-friendly ways to celebrate Earth Day with your family, office mates and school class is to create a Vision Board.

REMIX: RECYCLING MAGAZINES & OTHER PRINT MATERIALSr
Be assured by creating Vision Boards using images from old magazines and other printed material such as direct mail flyers, invitations, posters, wallpaper and even newspaper clippings, you ARE RECYCLING! There are several regional and national programs organized just to recycle magazines (more on those later, especially the ones from the MPA (Magazine Publishers Assn) and the City of New York.

SO TO START CREATING AN ECO-FRIENDLY VISION BOARD:
A) Gather old magazines, newspapers, printed materials including greeting cards, cartoons from newspapers, grocery circulars and catalogs in a large basket.

B) Be sure if you purchase any new background paper or materials that they are recycled too. Recycled posterboard is available but you may want to create your board using such eco-friendly materials as flax or organic cotton fabrics or even the back of old paintings or posters you already have on your wall--continuing the recycling circle.

C) Gather up found objects, paperclips, broken jewelry, ribbons from a birthday party or wedding shower, stamps and stickers from envelopes (you can re-attach with a glue stick later)

D) Be sure any paints or marker pens you use are also eco-friendly. In fact considering buying a whole pack of these and sharing them with your neighbors so that they can create an eco-friendly board too!
Or use natural materials. I've seen vision boards created with charcoal, with waters colored by natural herbs & flowers and almost water-painted onto the board.

Or even consider painting (with eco-friendly paints) a large bolder or old board you find near your garage

E) Consider making your own recycled hand-made paper from old paper --the back of old posters, the back of leftover wallpaper or even on the back of an old awning or window shade!

F) If you're framing your board, be sure to recycle an old frame that you have in your house or garage or to pick one up at a flea market or thrift store in your neighborhood.

Examples include:

I recycle everything I can.

I am recycling my kitchen scraps too now.

I turn off the water when I brush my teeth.

I have a filter for my tap water.

I am simplifying my life.

I buy only what I absolutely need to live.

I make my footsteps on earth as light as they can be.

I recycle for others when I see an opportunity.

I make sure what I buy is carbon-neutral.

Pictures for your eco-board.

One of the fun ways to get the right pictures for your eco board is to make a list of those pix you'd like to see on the board such as: a) a home garden you are planting b) a method of composting you are starting in your group/family c) Past pictures of your family in the outdoors -- climbing or hiking or enjoying the earth at places you've visited --yes, even if they are near and part of your home town area. They don't have to be at an exotic location

TRAVEL -- another option is to gather some travel brochures at your local travel agency or from the travel section of your newspaper or favorite website and put those on the board planning on where you'd like to visit that IS eco-friendly

G) Gather the raw materials together. Spread out an old blanket or tablecloth to cover the creation area (a table or an area of a floor or even do it outside on your patio).

H) Begin by making a list with your group of the Eco affirmations they would like to keep in the next year and for the rest of their lives!

For more information see my other blog at http://www.visionboard.info/ and click on eco-vision board! Thanks or email me at thevisionboard(at)aol.com

See more samples of eco-friendly vision boards and how to use vision boards for helath and wellness in THE VISION BOARD book by Joyce Schwarz www.ihaveavision.org