This holiday season, save money, decrease stress, and increase joy by choosing alternatives to the usual consumer trappings.
Christmas
Easy, Adaptable, Sweet & Sour Apple-Cranberry Chutney
Have apples a wee past their prime? Make this sweet and sour apple-cranberry chutney. Or swap out the apples for pears. Make it your own.
7 Low-Waste Gifts in Jars Your Recipients Will Love
Just about everything looks better in a jar, especially food. These gifts in jars look impressive but most require little hands-on work.
5 Ways to Wrap Holiday Gifts Without the Waste
Beautifully wrapped gifts need not produce a pile of waste. Choose fabric or recycled paper that you secure with homemade paper tape.
9 Simple Ways to Reduce Holiday Consumption
The holidays can present many challenges for anyone trying to cut their waste. From the parties, to the feasts to the gifts—and everyone’s expectations—you may feel like throwing your hands in the air and throwing in the (disposable) towel. These nine steps will help you reduce your consumption, retain your sanity and keep (mostly) everyone […]
Make Memories, Not Waste: 32+ Practical and Thoughtful Gifts
Gift-giving and low waste can happily co-exist. Studies show that experiences bring more happiness to people than stuff. Anticipating an experience—a trip, an upcoming concert, dinner with friends—makes us happy before the actual event. In other words, we benefit from the experience before we actually experience the experience. Afterward, we have fond memories. And even if […]
How to Scale Back During the Holidays
Some might say I go too far. When compared to the average consumer, I may seen downright nutty. But I believe that decades ago—before mass consumer culture kicked in—I would have seemed fairly normal. Well, let’s say normal as far as my consumption patterns go… As I have said many times, I’m not extreme, our […]
Gifts in Jars: Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
Click here to jump to the recipe If you’re like me—in panic mode/denial about the date—and need a quick, thoughtful Christmas gift, you can throw together this cookie-mix-in-a-jar present in a few minutes and maybe also spur a conversation with your recipient about zero-waste and plastic-free living. Think of it as a quiet, delicious way […]