The holidays are all about celebrating acts of giving, making it the perfect opportunity to make your gift giving smarter this season. There are so many amazing businesses out there that give back when you purchase one of their products. These companies are tied to doing good somewhere in the world every time a purchase is made. Read on for my 4 favorite gifts that give back – and if you hurry you can still get these goodies by Christmas.
1. Warby Parker Glasses Eben and I both wear glasses and love the stylish, affordable frames from Warby Parker. For every pair of glasses that you buy, a pair is donated to a person in need. If you don’t wear glasses, that is alright – Warby Parker also offers fantastic sunglasses.
2. Feed Bags I have been familiar with FEED Bags for a very long time – I remember first seeing them in Whole Foods back when we lived in Georgia! FEED Bags come in a huge selection of styles and sizes and with each purchase a portion of the proceeds go towards feeding the children of the world.
3. TOMS Shoes Most likely you are already familiar with TOMS shoes – for every pair you purchase a pair is donated to a child in need. With a great selection of shoes for everyone on your list, TOMS is the perfect holiday gift!
I am having a lot of fun planning how the dinner table will look this Thanksgiving. Especially since it will be super small which means less pressure and more relaxing!Â
First on my list of things to do to prepare is to decide on place cards for our tiny family. I really love, love, love these pear place cards from Sunset. I think a beautiful, delicious organic pear with a lovely recycled name tag would be perfect. I am also considering giant pomegranates with recycled name tags attached. (You know how I feel about pomegranates!)
What type of place cards will you be using on Thanksgiving?
Ever walk into a house and wonder if anyone actually tried living in it first? Odd hallways, awkward kitchens, and bathtubs squeezed next to laundry closets were once normal. But after years of remote work, shifting family needs, and rising costs, those design choices donât hold up.
Today, homeowners want more than style. They want homes that adapt, support real-life routines, and stay useful through change. With multi-generational living on the rise and financial decisions becoming more complex, design now has to think long-term.
In this blog, we will share what it really means to design with longevity in mind and how to spot features that offer long-term value.
Rooms That Flex With You, Not Against You The living room that used to just house a couch and a TV now doubles as a conference zone. The guest room is suddenly an office, a classroom, and sometimes even a workout space. People learned quickly that a space without flexibility is just square footage you pay
for but canât use. And when every square foot matters, financially and functionally, you need layout decisions that evolve.
Think about how many homes were built with the idea of a “formal dining room” thatâs used three times a year. Meanwhile, there’s no place to take a work call that isnât next to a barking dog or a running dishwasher. Good design makes space work smarter. Pocket doors, soundproof nooks, multi-use zones, these things are no longer luxuries. Theyâre essentials. This shift also makes financial planning more layered. When people commit to large expenses, they want their homes to serve multiple purposes for years to come. Thatâs why conversations around home mortgage loans arenât just about what you can afford today, but what your home needs to support over time. A smart layout can reduce the need for future renovations, saving time, money, and disruption later.
Design That Thinks About Aging, Yes, Even Yours Nobody wants to think about getting older while house shopping. But designing for future comfort doesnât mean giving up style. It just means thinking ahead. Wide doorways, no-step entries, and first-floor bedrooms arenât just useful for accessibility. Theyâre useful when you sprain an ankle, have guests with mobility issues, or want to avoid the stairs with a newborn in one arm and groceries in the other.
Aging in place has become a top consideration for many homeowners, especially as housing costs rise and adult children return home. Planning for versatility now can prevent stressful adjustments later. Swapping traditional tubs for walk-in showers, adding lever-style door handles, and installing lighting with smart controls are all low-profile upgrades that offer big benefits in the long run.
These features also add value to your home, making it attractive to a broader pool of buyers should you choose to sell. A space that works across generations has more staying power than one designed for a narrow phase of life.
Outdoor Space That Works All Year Long Outdoor Space That Works All Year Long Gone are the days when the backyard was just for the grill and a few plastic chairs. Today, outdoor spaces are expected to be livable, durable, and ready for almost anything. From enclosed patios to edible gardens to tool sheds that double as quiet escape pods, the best yards do more than look green. They function.
Designing with the future in mind means creating outdoor zones that shift with the seasons and the needs of your household. Covered patios can serve as outdoor dining rooms in the spring and become a rainy-day play area for kids in the fall. Raised garden beds aren’t just trendy, they give you control over part of your food supply, which has become more relevant with every grocery price hike.
Expanding the usability of these areas often involves more than just physical structures. Many homeowners now look for ways to integrate technology that makes the yard as functional as the living room. Adding high-quality outdoor lighting and entertainment in Austin is a common way to make sure the space is usable after the sun goes down. These systems allow for music and movies to be part of the backyard experience without the need for extra equipment. When these elements are part of the initial design, they feel like a natural part of the home. This approach helps the property stay relevant as lifestyle needs change over the years.
The Storage Problem No One Talks About You donât realize how little storage your house has until itâs too late. Seasonal gear, extra bedding, school supplies, emergency kits, where does it all go? Clutter isnât just a visual issue. It affects stress levels, daily routines, and how effectively you use your space.
Built-in storage can change everything. Under-stair drawers, attic platforms, wall-mounted shelving systems, and mudroom lockers keep chaos in check and increase resale value. Future-focused design means thinking beyond the closet count. It means building in function without sacrificing flow.
This also applies to the garage, which for many people, is a place to store everything except the car. Strategic design turns the garage into a workspace, a mini gym, or a prep zone for garden projects. It doesnât have to be a full conversion. It just needs to have a plan.
Technology That Serves, Not Complicates
Smart homes sound great until you need a password just to turn on the lights. Tech is only helpful when it fits into your routine. For instance, smart climate controls can keep your home at a comfortable temperature without constant adjustments. And, if a system suddenly fails, quick help during a heating and air conditioning emergency can prevent discomfort and stress. Thoughtful integration means choosing systems that support your lifestyle, not control it.
Security cameras, smart thermostats, leak detectors, and lighting automation all offer peace of mind. But they should be installed with flexibility and privacy in mind. Systems that update easily, work across devices, and don’t require weekly troubleshooting are the ones worth investing in.
Design That Buys You Time and Sanity At its core, designing with the future in mind is about reducing future stress. Youâre not just creating a home for now. Youâre creating a space thatâs ready for whatever your life decides to throw at you next.
That might mean building in an extra room before you need it. It might mean choosing materials that clean easily or last longer. It might mean placing the laundry room near the bedrooms instead of the garage. These arenât flashy upgrades, but they solve real-life problems.
The best part? Most future-ready design choices are invisible once installed. They donât announce themselves, but they save time, effort, and money year after year. And when youâre already juggling the demands of family, work, health, and finances, those wins count for a lot.
So before you start your next home project, ask yourself what your space might need not just next month, but next decade. Build for real life. Build for change. And above all, build something that still makes sense when life doesnât.
This time of year is all about gathering with loved ones and expressing gratitude. And in the U.S., gratitude is best expressed in the form of food. Thanksgiving is the embodiment of this tradition, and this time of year is full of more friends, family, and food than most people know what to do with.
Even the most well-intentioned holidays can lead to excess, and this excess likely goes against your sustainability goals. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal while keeping it green and eco-friendly. The following are some of the many ways to throw a sustainable Thanksgiving dinner.
Buy organic meat and produce. Whenever possible, purchase locally-grown organic produce for your delicious Thanksgiving dishes. As for the meat, grass-fed is generally best. This may be tough if you’re committed to turkey, but there are lots of sustainable meats to choose from. Beef from grass-fed cows has higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, as well as vitamins A and E. As for the turkey, opt for a free-range bird.
Use reusable plates and utensils. While paper plates and plastic utensils offer convenience, these items are a significant source of waste. Instead, serve food on reusable or ceramic plates. Whoever didn’t help with the cooking can clean them. Easy, right?
Decorate with natural materials. Store-bought Thanksgiving decorations tend to adorn the table for one day before landing in the garbage. This year, try decorating with natural materials instead. One of the best decorating tricks is to choose three colors for the event theme and then use them for all of the decor items. The oranges, browns, and greens found in nature are perfect for your entire Thanksgiving color scheme and centerpieces.
Cook outdoors. In a recent study, the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association found that 60% of grillers cook outside throughout the entire year. This can be a great way to cook more sustainability, as long as you stay away from gas-powered grills. Instead, try cooking over a fire or woodstove. Food tends to taste better when it was cooked outdoors, so your taste buds and the environment will win.
Compost any cooking scraps. The simple act of cooking is one of the most significant sources of Thanksgiving waste. When cooking a big meal, food scraps pile up. Instead of throwing them in the garbage, compost them instead. If you don’t already compost at home, contact your local compost companies about pickup and dropoff services.
Remember to say thanks. Gratitude does not produce any waste. Take the time this year to pull the focus off of material items and onto the act of giving thanks and cherishing the people you love.
“If distance or circumstances prevent you from spending Thanksgiving with some of the people you love, call, email, or write them a letter (on recycled paper) to tell them why they mean so much to you and how they make your world a better place,” Larry West writes in ThoughtCo.
By spreading the love to both your dear ones and the planet, you will have a wonderfully nourishing Thanksgiving Day.
Climate change isn’t just impacting polar bears and weather patterns. It’s creeping into therapists’ offices, restless nights, and an overwhelming sense of anxiety many people feel when looking towards the future. The link between climate patterns and mental health is undeniable and is exacerbated by excessive natural disasters and oppressive climate change news stories permeating the headlines.
Perhaps one of the more challenging components of climate change on mental health is its insidious impact. Some face trauma from natural disasters, floods, fires and hurricanes. Others bear a less acute but lingering concern about the world’s future in ten or twenty years. Both are completely normal reactions to an incredibly abnormal and scary situation.
How Much Is Too Much Information?
Climate change-related mental health concerns are driven by too much information. Social media posts about destruction, documentaries on melting ice caps, public service announcements about carbon footprints create a continued sense of unfavorable information. Yet the human condition wasn’t created to constantly digest information about happenings halfway across the world.
People feel as though climate change is too big of a problem. Even those who do their best to cut back on pollution still feel as though their efforts aren’t enough. The gap between good intentions and what’s needed to move the dial leaves many feeling helpless. Yet helplessness serves as a known precursor to anxiety and depression.
And here’s where it gets complicated: concern for the environment is a fantastic quality to possess; however, when people become so worried about the world around them that they cannot function it’s a problem. People avoid scheduling events for the future, feel guilty when enjoying life too much, or panic when considering procreating in an uncertain world.
Therapists in Denver who specialize in women’s anxiety and self-worth are particularly seeing how environmental concerns compound existing confidence issues. When women already struggle with self-doubt, adding climate guilt and helplessness can significantly impact their sense of personal agency and worth.
When Climate Change Impacts Something More Than Your Calendar
People most impacted by climate-related circumstances experience immediate challenges that impact their mental well-being, too. PTSD, anxiety, and depression are common where massive storms, flooding, fires occur – once the destruction is done. However, continued stress about clean up, insurance claims, and potential recurrence urges people’s mental health to continue to decline long after repairs are made.
This makes sense inside the disaster zones. However, people who are otherwise stabilized report rising levels of anxiety amidst hurricane season, wildfire season, unexpected rains, and excessive coverage about “normal” climate change beyond their control.
Heat waves, in particular, increase domestic violence, psychiatric emergency room visits and aggression. The higher the heat, the more aggressive people feel. Therefore, while discomfort is an unrealistic expectation in the name of climate change (since we shouldn’t be comfortable), it’s reflective of how our moods shift with temperature. And as temperatures continue to rise – in more ways than one – they affect everyone.
When Guilt Keeps People Stuck
Even guilt is a mental health issue surrounding climate change. Guilt that comes from driving to work, purchasing prepackaged food items or taking vacations boomerangs back to mental health concerns. Unfortunately, guilt perpetuates paralysis or perfectionism – but doesn’t support sustainable change.
But guilt doesn’t help anyone change for the better. Instead, it causes people to feel bad about feeling bad; try to do all that can be done for the environment; realize perfection isn’t possible; continue to feel bad for what’s been messed up. This cycle is compounded by social media where people compare their environmental failures compared to others’ environmental successes.
The world can support less consuming news consumption or constant comparison; however, it can’t quell realities out of people’s hands for giant negative news stories making people more stressed about life than general expectations would allow for.
Finding A Healthy Middle Ground Without Losing Sight
The goal is not to stop caring about climate concerns – this isn’t feasible or helpful – but rather to limit how much care can induce overwhelming anxiety that undermines mental health and world efforts.
Setting boundaries for consuming climate change-related information reduces how much negative health trends transform people’s minds about the situation. This isn’t to say to not pay attention; instead, limit when and how climate-related news is absorbed (and from what sources) so people don’t focus on it 24/7.
Taking action where possible – even minimal action – helps more than people realize. Studies show those who employ climate conscientious behavior have better mental health than those who only worry without acting upon that worry. The caveat? Only take suggestions that one can realistically accomplish so actions aren’t out of reach.
Community engagement provides caring relationships and environmental benefits. Making plans with others in need of sustainability efforts helps combat isolation that’s all too common among stressed persons with climate change concerns. Collective action provides subjugation against justified frictional thought patterns telling us it won’t make a difference.
Building Resilience For An Uncertain Future
Coping skills for climate anxiety work similarly to other anxieties. Working towards what can be controlled instead of global catastrophes empowers people who have felt hopeless due to such psychological waste.
Focusing on the household level or homegrown advocacy or charitable support helps realize big decisions don’t mean one needs to personally solve the matter themselves.
Furthermore, building present-minded awareness counters climate worries that derail people’s minds from ten years down the road into worst-case scenarios. While planning ahead is good for catastrophes that can be avoided (packing an emergency bag), spending time really worrying about what life will be like then creates distress without helping what’s going on today.
Professionals help those most impacted by how climate change concerns infiltrate daily life. Those with climate-change-based anxiety respond well to therapy approaches from other anxiety problems – with simultaneous benefits since they directly address what’s been creating anxiety responses since inception.
Climate change creates legitimate concern that deserves careful thought and implementation; however, allowing environmental fears to undermine psychological well-being doesn’t help anyone – or communities – or the world at large. Learning how to care while supporting one’s mental health fosters opportunities for long-term care.
