Are you getting married? Lucky you! Have you considered ways to green your special day? Here are of my 6 favorite eco-friendly ways to say I do – read on to get started.
1. Make It Natural Choose a favorite spot in nature for your ceremony and reception. This way you can express your love of the outdoors and by having both the ceremony and reception at the same location, your guests will use fewer fossil fuels since they won’t have to travel to two locations.
2. Go Vintage Choose a beautiful vintage wedding gown, giving a timeless piece another chance to shine or choose an elegant dress that you can wear again and again.
3. Get Social Create a wedding website or blog to share all of the details of your upcoming special day. If you start this early enough, your guests can follow all of the updates that you can make, everything from what themes you are thinking of to what cake designs you like.
4. Linens and Things Rent all of your linens, silverware, and china, that way there will be nothing to throw away after your big day.
5. Flowers Check out your local farmers’ markets and eco-friendly garden stores for local flowers or plants for your wedding bouquets, boutonnieres, and centerpieces. Most wedding flowers that you see are imported and therefore have an extremely high carbon footprint – going local and organic can make a huge difference on your impact to the environment.
6. Favors Thank each of your guests by giving them a favor that gives back. Some of my favorite flavors include; seedlings, potted plants, and vintage books. At my wedding, I gave each guest a vintage book with a handmade label inside with our names and wedding date.
What other ways are you planning to green your wedding?
Looking for a great way to explain carbon footprints to your children? Eben and I have been really enjoying Zero Footprint Kids and he was surprised to see that there are areas that he needs to work on offsetting his own carbon footprint. We also learned that as a family, we need to do less laundry and turn our computers off when we aren’t using them. It also has a great section on school, he learned that he should talk to his school about recycling all of its paper in the classrooms.
The measurements are made in terms kids understand carbon, land, water, and trees. I encourage you to take the quiz with your child – we would love to hear how you did.
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What can you do together to lessen your family’s impact on our planet?
It’s certainly no surprise that a lot of people are becoming increasingly concerned about their homes on an environmental level. It’s impossible to deny that climate change is having a very real impact on the world and the vast majority of people, very understandably, want to try and do everything that they can in order to make their homes more sustainable. However, for a lot of people, they assume that doing so is going to be incredibly difficult or expensive. While it’s true that some methods of making your home greener are more expensive than others, there are enough methods that almost anyone can try at least some of them in order to lessen their environmental impact. With that in mind, here are a few ways that both you and your home can go green.
Go natural
One of the very best ways that you can reduce the environmental impact of your household is to try and go natural as much as possible. The most obvious way of doing this is to grow your own food. Even if you only have a small garden, you almost certainly have the space to grow some fruit and vegetables. Perhaps consider using some of the space that you currently use for your lawn to grow things that are actually useful. Not only will you save money but growing your own food makes a big difference to your overall carbon footprint since you’ll be buying far less from supermarkets. You should also look into reducing the amount of water that you waste by using a water filtration system to make things like rainwater safe for drinking. It might seem like all of this is a lot of effort, but it’s far less than you might expect and not only that, but you’ll find that the results often make it all worthwhile. There are few moments in life where you feel more proud than when you first bite into a piece of food that you grew from a single seed.
Install solar panels
While this might be one of the more expensive options available, it is also one of the very best. Solar panels are becoming increasingly popular on many houses because they not only benefit the planet, but they also benefit homeowners. Not only do solar panels allow you to use far less electricity than you otherwise would, some local governments actually pay you for producing energy. Essentially, if you have solar panels on your home, you may be able to sell the energy you produce which means that not only are you reducing your energy bills, you’re essentially converting them into profit. Even with the, admittedly steep initial cost of having them installed in the first place, it’s undeniable that solar panels can be a fantastic deal, both for you and for the earth. Of course, it’s important to think carefully about whether or not you’re going to get that much out of solar panels in the first place before having them installed. As with any serious alteration to your home, it pays to do as much research as possible.
Change the products you use
We all have to buy various products and it can be difficult because, to put it mildly, some brands really aren’t as interested in taking care of the environment or being eco friendly as many of us would like. As nice as it would be to make everything from scratch yourself, that’s really not a realistic change that most people can actually make. However, one thing that you can do is to make sure that you’re only buying products from brands that you can trust. There are plenty of ways you can find out that kind of information online with just a little bit of googling. Simple things like switching from traditional soaps and body wash to something like colloidal oatmeal can be a great start. What is colloidal oatmeal? Well, simply put, it’s a way that you can use regular oats to create a natural skincare routine. It’s also available in many products from companies who are dedicated to being more eco friendly. This is a small and simple change that you can make but it’s a great starting point for you to make some genuine changes to your shopping habits.
Make simple changes to your behaviour
The best thing that you can do if you want to live a more eco friendly life is just to make simple changes in your day-to-day behaviours. These kinds of things aren’t particularly life-changing on their own and they’re not all that glamorous. However, they are often the things that can end up making the biggest change on your environmental impact. Incredibly simple things like trying to save power by reducing the number of appliances that you have running at once or simply turning off lights when you leave the room can make a huge difference and really don’t take that much effort to do once you’re in the habit. The same goes for how much water you’re using or how often you have your heating and air conditioning on as the weather changes. Sure, you doing these things alone isn’t going to change the world, but if we all did our part with these small and simple changes then it could well have a pretty significant impact on the world around us. Plus, these kinds of things could end up saving you a fair amount of money too.
The reality is that making your home, and your life, more eco friendly can often be something of a challenge. It’s something that requires commitment and often requires you to make sacrifices. However, it’s so important that you remember the importance of making adjustments to our impact on the world around us. Sure, living in a more sustainable, environmentally friendly way isn’t always easy and can sometimes come with its fair share of short-term inconveniences, but the trade-off for that is being able to do your bit to help the world around you, not just for yourself but for future generations as well.
While this time of the year is the most wonderful – it is also the busiest. You may feel like there are so many things that you need to prepare and buy and deciding where to start can be overwhelming. Instead of getting things done ahead of time, many of us tell ourselves we will get everything done when the holidays get closer. Then, the next thing you know the holidays are upon us and we end of spending too much money, getting completely stressed out, and not making the best choices – not exactly the feelings that you want to experience. It happens to the best of us, right?To get your holiday shopping off on the right foot, I thought I would share my favorite budget and eco-friendly holiday shopping tips. These are all tips that I use every year to make sure that this time of the year is definitely the most wonderful without breaking the bank or losing my head!
1. Make a List – Check it Twice Every year, I create a simple holiday gift list in my iPhone. It includes the name of everyone on my holiday shopping list, gift ideas for each of them and my spending limit per person. Since my list is on my phone, I can consult and update it at anytime. Then, I mark off each person as I finish their holiday gift shopping. This has saved me a lot of time and money and I never have to ask myself – did a buy a gift for so and so? Or, how many gifts did I buy for Eben or the mister? I just check the list and I am done!
2. Start Early The earlier that you start your holiday shopping, the better. Just think, if you finish all of your holiday shopping early, you can spend the day after Thanksgiving at home, snuggled up with your family and a yummy warm beverage. I can’t think of anything more stress-free then having all of the holiday shopping done before December even arrives. It really frees up all of December to focus on making fun memories with my family. This is another place that #1 comes in, if you shop early picking up items when you find them on sale – you save a ton of money.
3. Shop Locally Instead of hitting the closest big box store this holiday season, consider supporting small, independently owned businesses. Many towns have a shopping area that is filled with adorable shops that focus on the work of local artisans and many have eco-friendly options. In my opinion, a handmade gift is the best gift! You could also give a gift from your local farm, such as; fresh vegetables, fruits or dairy items. Another option is to check out Etsy for fantastic handmade goods, you can click here to shop Etsy shops located in your local area.
4. It’s All About Quality Each year, I like to focus on purchasing the mister and Eben quality gifts that they will enjoy for years and years to come. I focus on items that I think they will really enjoy and steer clear of items that are disposable, or would only be enjoyed temporarily. My favorite items to purchase for them include; books, experiences (see below), heirloom quality items that they will keep forever and gifts that focus on their favorite hobbies.
5. Give the Gift of Experience I am a huge fan of giving the gift of experience, some that I have given in the past include annual passes to local nature and science museums, state parks, botanical gardens, art centers and even scuba lessons. I think gifts that allow the recipient to learn something new or go to place they have always wanted to see builds memories and brings much more happiness long-term than any material gift could ever could. Plus, it’s just another excuse to spend more quality time with my family – and that is the best gift of all.
What are your favorite holiday shopping tips? Please share them in the comments section – I would love to hear!Â
Summer is almost here which means BBQ’s, baby showers, and engagement parties are right around the corner. Since these events are often filled with flowers, decorations, catered food, and disposable cutlery and plates, their carbon footprint is often bigger than you’d expect. Don’t worry, there are tips you can take to make your summer party more eco-friendly. Read on for my five great tips for greening your summer parties.
#1. Serve Locally Grown Food Unless you know where the restaurant or grocery store catering your event sources its food, chances are it’s traveled a long distance to make it to your doorstep, using manpower, gasoline, and a lot of packaging. And while a catered meal is impressive and beautiful, most hosts find themselves throwing away 30-50% of the food after the party is over. These two factors amount to a lot of unnecessary waste. Instead of ordering an elaborate meal that won’t get eaten, why not shop for produce, cheese, and pastries at your local organic farmer’s market? For starters, you could grill seasonal veggies, make fruit-infused water with local citrus and cucumbers, or even pick up a few growlers of a local micro-brew. Some farms even sell locally raised meats! You’ll be supporting local farms and serving seasonal, organic food so it’s guaranteed to be a healthy, delicious spread.
#2. Go Compostable If you’ve ever hosted a party you know that the used plates, napkins, utensils, and platters from your event make trash day quite the spectacle. Instead of adding to the enormous amount of garbage already filling our landfills and oceans, spend an extra few bucks on compostables. Specialty stores, and an increasing number of mainstream supermarkets, carry everything from compostable cups and forks to straws. And you don’t necessarily have to compromise design; sites like SustyParty.com sell biodegradable party supplies that are fun and colorful. If you’re planning a big event, many eco-product sites offer discounts for bulk orders of compostable party supplies.
#3. Let Nature Do the Decorating Instead of hosting your party inside where you’ll need to decorate (and air condition your guests!), take it out back or to a local park and let nature’s beauty do the work! You’ll be saving money, trips to the store, and the waste created by cheap decorations that only offer a single use, and won’t be filling the house with cut flowers that will only last a week.
#4. Email Invitations Paper invitations and RSVP cards are becoming a thing of the past. With the speed and convenience of electronic invites, there’s no reason not to go green! Sites like Evite offer dozens of designs for all kinds of holidays and events, and personalizing is encouraged. Creating and emailing invitations or sending guests a message about updates takes mere minutes. Plus, your guest list and RSVP’s will all be in one handy place!
#5. Green the Gifts If the event you’re hosting is for you or you have a say in the gifts, offer guests the option to give money or gift certificates. Even items purchased from a registry can end up being duplicates, or the recipient may change her mind if the list was made before she had enough information. If the guest of honor is also eco-conscious, she may accept a hand-me-down like used baby clothes or a beloved heirloom, with as much excitement as a store-bought gift.
YOUR TURN: How do you minimize waste at your gatherings? Do you have tips we didn’t think of? Let us know—and get creative!
