Showering the Bride-to-Be, the WasteFreeSD Way!

Erika-teamToday’s blog comes from ILACSD Education Manager, Erika! With more than half of the ILACSD team either getting married or involved in a wedding this summer, it was a no-brainer to put together some eco-friendly party planning tips! Read on to learn more about how you can plan a zero waste bridal shower for the blushing bride in your life! 

Wedding season is quickly approaching. As people gear up for cocktails and bouquets, remember to ditch the disposables and choose eco-friendly alternatives. Here’s how I planned a zero waste bridal shower:

Last month, I threw my sister a bridal shower. We both live sustainably, so we tried to create a party which reflected our lifestyles. We focused on 4 aspects that most showers and for that matter, parties in general, include: invitations, decorations, food and favors.

Invitations: We decided on using evites rather than hard copies. There are many other similar online invitation options, including another staff favorite, Paperless Post. Included were green tips:

bride to be evite

evite - bridal shower
Sending evites is great for the environment and it’s also a huge time-saver!

 

Other green options: Online invites aren’t your style? No problem! Try recycled content or seeded paper cards.

eco friendly invitation alternatives
If your heart is set on sending out hard copy invitations, check out some of these eco-friendly alternatives!

 

Decorations: We focused on decorating with items we already had, and only buying things that we would use again. We mainly used flowers and succulents in vases that we already had. For more cohesion, we bought burlap, cut them into strips to use as bows and accents. We also decorated with tons of framed pictures. With some of the pictures, I included text showing some of the grooms favorite things about the bride-to-be.

table setting - bridal shower
Use items you already have to reduce waste and save on expenses!

Food: We fixed a vegetarian brunch, which included, homemade granola, fruit from the local farmers market, and substituting mushrooms for chicken in an Asian fusion salad. Platters, plates, utensils, and napkins were all reusable.

erika - veggie brunch
Animal products account for California’s largest water use. Try some vegetarian recipes to help conserve water!

Eco tip: Animal products account for California’s largest water use. Try using meat as a side or going without!

Gifts: Guests went all out with reusable gift ideas! One gift was wrapped in a handmade blanket, one was in a basket, and others were wrapped in dish towels!

ditch the wrapping paper
No gift wrap = less waste and less cleanup!

Favors: We elected for making our own trail mix. Trail mix was bought in bulk using reusable jars and bulk bags. The mix was distributed into mason jars amounting to zero waste!

zero waste favors
There are tons of zero waste favor ideas! Find more on our Pinterest here!

Do you have other eco-friendly party planning tips? Share them in the comments below or on our social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! 

Be on the look out this June for our blog about eco-friendly wedding tips brought to you by our brides-to-be Natalie, Sarah and Emily!

 

Cupid’s Cleanup and other Green Valentine’s Day ideas!

SONY DSCHave you found it increasingly difficult to be creative each Valentine’s Day? Well, you’re in luck! Today’s blog comes from our Marketing Coordinator, Sarah, who has put together some great eco-friendly, Valentine’s Day-themed ideas! Read on to learn how to celebrate with the environment in mind!

Celebrate your love for the environment at Cupid’s Cleanup!

Switch up your dinner and a movie routine! We want you to join us on Sunday, February 15th for a street-sweep cleanup and Valentine’s Day-themed mixer hosted by AleSmith Brewing Company! Complimentary beer tasters will be on-hand for adult volunteers as a “thank you” for your hard work and to celebrate our love for a cleaner community. This is also a great way to connect with like-minded singles, couples or even new friends. Take Ken and Julie for example!

In 2007, Ken and Julie met for the first time at Cupid’s Cleanup…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1WQcKG-g-M]

Fast forward to 2015, they are happily married with two children, ages 2 and 4 years old! They have since moved to Oregon, and continue to protect our environment by instilling environmental values in their children who, by the way, already enjoy putting trash in its place!

Although they won’t be joining us at this year’s event, Julie shared these kind words with us…

“We have not forgotten about you (ILACSD) or where we met.”

Cupids Cleanup - Ken & Julie

For more information about how to get involved with Cupid’s Cleanup please click here or email Lexi at lambrogi@cleansd.org!

If you cannot join us for Cupid’s cleanup, here are some other festive Valentine’s Day-themed eco-tips!

Candy

Let loose, get your valentine some sweets! Instead of the cliché heart-shaped box of candies, head over to the bulk section and fill up reusable glass jars with more variety and less waste!

Fish in the sea - pinterest

Flowers

Instead of buying flowers that are going to wilt and die within a week, choose a sustainable and earth-friendly drought tolerant plant! Here are a few of our favorites:

Recon Native Plants has a variety of affordable native plants!
Recon Native Plants has a variety of affordable native plants!

 

Succulent planter available on Etsy!
Succulent planter available on Etsy!

 

If you do decide to go with a dozen roses, remember they are compostable!

Skip the card – give with purpose

Although most cards are recyclable, why not give a gift with a purpose? If you have children, this link is especially good for low waste, kid-friendly Valentine’s Day gifts!

upcycled crayons valentines

These are just a few of our ideas – share your earth-friendly Valentine’s Day ideas in the comments below!

 

 

Make the Season Bright with These Eco Holiday Tips!

Today’s festive holiday guide comes from one of ILACSD’s Program Assistants, Emily! She has done a lot of research to bring you the best of eco-friendly holiday ideas, including everything from party planning to gift wrap! But first, let’s start off with a eco-inspired holiday poem! 

T’was three weeks before Christmas and all through the scene

People were wond’ring how to make Christmas green.

 

From Red Solo cups used up at a party

To the tin foil covering fudge for Uncle Marty,

 

Many holiday items end up in the trash,

Increasing the heap in our landfill stash.

 

The plastics! The glass! The tinsel! The paper!

Oh, the waste piles higher than a city skyscraper!

 

As they pondered wrapped gifts topped in bright, shiny bows,

They knew there must be a way to reduce how much is disposed.

 

When what to their wondering eyes did appear

But a helpful blog post written by eight tiny reindeer.

 

As you head out to shop, to craft and create,

Rejoice in the choices now there on your plate.

 

Keep the land clean from Del Mar to Borrego

Because no gift is greater than a clean San Diego!

Tips for an Eco-Friendly Holiday Season

  • Fast Facts
    • Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the average San Diegan throws away between 3 and 10 extra bags of trash.
    • Recycle these items: Aluminum pie tins, empty aerosol cans (like whipped cream), wine and cider bottles, cardboard boxes, and paper packaging can all be recycled. For any question on what can be placed in the blue curbside bin, click here.
  • Gift Wrapping
    • Recycle all non-metallic wrapping paper and any paper-based ribbon.
    • Go paperless! Wrap gifts in items like towels, t-shirts, or pillowcases.
    • Use your child’s grade school artwork to create unique wrapping paper.
    • Create gift tags from wrapping paper scraps or last year’s greeting cards.

    Eco Gift Wrap
    Check out these gifts wrapped in brown grocery bags, newsprint, and t-shirt scraps, with tags from cereal boxes! http://makezine.com/craft/upcycled_gift_wrapping/)
  • Eco-friendly Gifts
    • Give a succulent in a pot made from reused items, such as decorated yogurt cups.
    • Choose reusables! Encourage friends and families to ditch disposables and choose reusables such as shopping bags, straws, mugs – the ideas are limitless!
    • Buy nuts, berries, and chocolates in bulk and present them in reused glass jars. Arrange them in a basket, giving two gifts in one. Check out these examples on Pinterest for inspiration!
    • Non-material gifts are essentially free of packaging and create stronger memories than giving the latest gadget. Consider zoo memberships, hang gliding lessons, a painting class, or gift cards to local camp sites.
      • One of my favorite gifts I’ve received falls into this category. My friend jokingly lamented that he couldn’t buy me a beluga whale (my favorite animal), so he made a donation in my name to the National Wildlife Foundation toward the cause of the beluga whale. I was impressed with how thoughtful and creative he had been.
Pine Cone Centerpieces
By not adding paint or glitter, these pinecone centerpieces can be composted once the holiday season has passed. http://www.familyholiday.net
  • Decorations
    • Decorating with natural items, such as cranberry and popcorn strings, leaves you the option of composting them post-holidays. Be sure to check out our Pinterest for other decor ideas!
  • Party Planning
    • If you know ahead of time who’s coming, print out old photos of each guest and tape them to glasses as “identifiers.” This encourages people to use the same cup throughout the event, and it’s fun to play, “Guess Whose Bad School Portrait That Is.”

 

 

 

 

For more ideas, like and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

Other sources:

http://www.sandiego.gov/environmental-services/pdf/geninfo/news/091204HolidayTips.pdf

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/04/green-gift-guide_n_6261474.html

http://glassdharma.blogspot.com/2014/10/2014-holiday-gift-guide.html