This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of This post was sponsored by the Carton Council. All opinions are my own. All opinions are 100% mine.

Part of why we’ve chosen to prioritize travel over other family fun is because we want our kids to experience this beautiful planet. We hope they’ll see inspiring new places, beautiful new faces and learn a bit more about why we care about our planet so much.

Recently, we started recycling day in our house. We pack up all of our recyclables and head to our county drop off location. Lately, we’ve been focusing on recycling our cartons. I’ll admit they usually end up in the trash can while I’m cooking a meal or grabbing an empty carton of milk from one of the kids. Now, my Littles are all about reminding me to recycle each and every one of them.

We have started talking about why it is important to recycle. They are always commenting when they see trash someone throws on the ground. They say that it is “not nice” and how it hurts the earth. I love the sweet innocence of how my kiddos want to take care of their planet. They’re all in.

Did you know cartons can be recycled into paper products we use every day and even into building materials? How cool is that? This week, we learned the rules of carton recycling. Check out this adorable video. My tiny recycling experts know the steps.

Here are the three easy steps to carton recycling:

1. Empty your carton (Pro tip: No need to rinse as long as you shake all those last drops of liquid or food out; this avoids having spoiled food or drink make a mess of your recycling at home or at the recycling facility)
2. Toss it in the recycling bin (Pro tips: don’t crush your cartons, keep the caps on, and push your straw back into those small milk or juice cartons)
3. Take it to the curb with all your other recyclables (or to your local drop off spot like we do)

It is so funny that taking our cartons out for recycling is such a blast for them. They love to help and they are so happy knowing that they can make a difference. Now, we go out and they ask “can this be recycled?” about everything we use. I try to remind myself that I am raising these sweet peas to be adults that care, adults that make change and adults that respect the resources we’ve been given. So, I stop and take a minute to talk about what can and cannot be recycled and how we’ll drop it off next week.

Take a few minutes this week and talk about recycling with your kiddos. They’ll love getting involved and you’ll love knowing you’re helping them grow up to protect our beautiful planet. You might even find a fun weekly activity you can do as a family!