Eco-Friendly & DIY Christmas Decor

Now these are super late!  But it's never too early to start thinking about holiday decorations.  (Or in my case, in advertising, we're already shooting Christmas trees and planning for the holidays in July!)  These are some of the decorations I made for Christmas 2010 when I hosted my family.  My decorations were focused on using natural materials, reusing materials, or using items that can be used year-round.

*  Spray painted branches and used them in an everyday green-tinted vase

*  green tablecloth that I use all year round

* green tinted coke bottles (already red and green!) with ribbon as candleholders

* home made swag made of spray painted branches

* pine cones collected on our dog walk and ribbons 

7 Steps to Moving Responsibly

Well, it looks like it's about that time for us to move again...in town that is...no major moves this time!

How many times has it been since I graduated college? Either way, we've got it down to a science now. Moving can be such a wasteful endeavor. So, how can we keep our move more earth friendly? Below are some of the things we're doing to keep things responsible:

1. Plan Ahead! It's a few weeks before we really have to be packed up, but we're already collecting boxes whenever we can. If you wait to the last minute, you end up having to scramble and buy boxes.

2. Check out craigslist for people getting rid of boxes from their move. (Note to self: post on craigslist about free boxes after our move!)

3. Ask stores for boxes that they normally crush. I've been hitting up the flower lady at the grocery store and a local bookstore for our boxes so far!

4. Get creative with your packing solutions: Use your suitcases, backpacks, and reusable grocery tote bags to transport stuff.

5. Recycle the cardboard boxes and paper packing supplies after the move!

6. Avoid styrofoam stuffing for fragile items. Save up packing supplies as you see them come in at work and home deliveries.

7. Use what you have to pack! Pack fragile items in tshirts and towels.

Any other tips would be appreciated! Feel free to pass them along!

Making Fresh Tracks with Responsible Living

So, now that I've taken a look at what I've already accomplished in living responsibly, I have a good idea of the things I want to work on moving forward.

1. Eating less packaged food. This also goes with our goal to eat healthier. The less packaged the food it, the more natural the food is.

2. Recycle more. Basically, we need to move out of our condo to a place where we can recycle.

3. Unplug our power cords more often. I know it's not realistic to do it every time, but if it's the majority, I'd be happy.

4. Eat out less often = less paper waste

5. Eat less non-free trade chocolate. Can I possible go all the way with this? I love chocolate so much...

6. Resist the urge to buy new. Have a sustainable perspective when I shop.

7. What resources do I have (money, food, time, care) that could benefit others?

Green Resolutions Met

It's that time of year where we start to think about resolutions for the new year - making fresh tracks if you will. Sometimes when we start thinking about looking forward, we forget to remember what we have done.

I've had a chance to think a lot recently about ways I can be more sustainable and responsible in my life, and as I explore this endeavor, I want to compile a list of what I'm already doing. Maybe some of these ideas can give you ideas.

1. Using a reusable water bottle for taking water to work each day. No disposable bottles for me!

2. Take my lunch to work regularly - less waste from fast food packaging.

3. Print household documents on the other side of paper.

4. Cut paper that's been printed on already on one side into quarters for notepad paper

5. Reuse tissue paper and decorative bags for wrapping gifts.

6. Leave curtains closed to block drafts in the winter time. Opening blinds when the sun is shining directly in for the light and the heat.

7. Cut up tshirts into rags, which we use to clean all sorts of surfaces.

8. Read books from the library! (keeps my house from cluttering up too!)

9. When I do buy books, buy them used

10. Use vinegar solutions to clean my windows and surfaces.

11. When I can, buy household items and clothes from the thrift store. (fulfills the thrill of the hunt too!)

12. We eat the venison from the many deer that the hubbs shoots each year. We hardly ever buy meat.

13. Combining trips with errands. Running errands annoys me, so when I can combine them it saves me time and gas.

14. I regularly wash our clothes in cold water; very rarely in warm water.

15. We don't use fabric softener, nor dryer sheets.

16. Of course, we use CFL's as much as possible

17. I've gotten in a good habit of using my reusable shopping bags (it took a while for me to remember them!)

18. As mentioned in an earlier post, I use grocery plastic bags that my parents have generously given me, for scooping up the poopies poop.

19. We reuse wine,whiskey, and coke bottles as taper candle holders.

20. All of my throw pillows have been recovered with old curtains, sweatshirts, or other extra fabrics.

Responsible Living Roadblocks Where You Live

If you've been following the craziness that is the Morris world in the last six months, you know that we have recently moved to Tennessee from Colorado. It has been an adjustment in a lot of ways, almost all good adjustments, but there are some challenges. Now, Colorado has a reputation for being fairly sustainable and earth friendly, and well, the "south" really in a lot of ways does not have that reputation. I've been pleasantly surprised at how responsible our immediate environment has been in Nashville, but there still are some roadblocks.

So far, I feel challenged to live sustainably where we live and I am torn between if it is something about living in this part of the country or the type of living situation we have now. Let me share my inner struggles...

I want to recycle, but our condo building does not have recycling, just garbage pick up. Blame Living Situation!
My solution: I have found more public recycling bins down the area that I "covertly" dump a bag here and there in or drive over to the recycling center to drop it off. One of our grocery stores has separate bins for plastic, aluminum, etc that I will use, but it is hard to remember to take this stuff over. I mentally have this on my list of things to research for the building, because I've heard other people voice this need for recycling pick up as well. It could be an easy solution...(i hope)

I want to recycle glass in my covert recycling efforts, but the local recycling pick up service won't accept glass. Blame the city!
My solution: avoid glass? collect glass up in my small home until I have a good enough amount to take to recycling center? I'm still working on a solution to this one that makes sense in our full life.

I cringe every time I throw paper out at work. Blame workplace environments!
I know that even in Colorado this was a problem, and it bothered me there too. A lot of small businesses just see recycling as another expense to add to their long list - or are too busy running their business to think about it. If there is non-confidential information on a sheet, I will take those papers home to use for basic printing needs at home. I also cut up the sheets into quarters and use as note-paper instead of sticky-notes.

I want to bike to work since I'm so close! Blame the south!
I tried this once so far and it worked ok, but if the day was any hotter I would have been too sweaty to feel good about being at work. Blame humidity! I guess this will be a winter pasttime now that I live in Tennessee.

Nashville seems really progressive and actually very similar in urban mentality as other places I've experienced, but it's interesting to see roadblocks to living sustainably that you never even thought about had you never lived there. Not that these roadblocks are excuses. There are roadblocks all over the world for living responsibly: no matter where you live.

I believe we are stewards of this earth and therefore should take care the resources we have been given. Plain and simple. I may not always succeed in this and often times, yes, I am wasteful. But, I refuse to be content in that. There is always something else I could do or not do to live more resonsibly.