a mason jar life in a cookie cutter house
It's that time of year again, when we realize we may have overdone it and are faced with holiday debt and even more stuff. Decluttering becomes a main topic of conversation in January for a reason - it is now part of the buying cycle. Instead, let's shut off the consumerism tap and be mindful [...]
The holiday season presents a challenge when shifting to a low waste lifestyle with kids. Older children in particular have developed expectations about receiving gifts and are around peers with different experiences. Now is a good time to model giving presents with intention and showing that the meaning of gifts can (and should) go beyond [...]
When I first started planning for school lunches, the challenge was how to go nut-free for the safety of other kids. My brain got stuck on peanut butter and I wasn't sure what I could send our picky vegetarian kids that they would actually eat. Eventually I figured out 2-3 main items that would be acceptable [...]
A common refrain is that a low waste lifestyle with kids is too hard, but says who? It doesn't have to be that way! Remember that you set the expectations for your child(ren), no matter where you start this journey. The role of every parent is to raise their children to be aware of their actions [...]
There is a push and pull relationship between zero waste and minimalism - for me anyway. I started this post back in January, when everyone was watching Tidying Up and I was feeling the itch to tackle the stuff that is everywhere...again. I struggle with competing feelings of wanting to let go of items I [...]
Thrift shopping is something I have been doing since high school when grunge was in and old cords and grandpa cardigans were The Look. I carried this habit through university and the (sometimes very) lean years between then and now to save money. These days, I still look for secondhand first for so many other [...]
Kids birthday parties are fraught for me at the best of times (so much noise!) but even more so after we actively started reducing our waste. As with many things, we have come to realize over the last few years that we can only control our waste output and quietly lead by example with our [...]
