Stop! Those Aren’t Disposable!

I’m determined that our holiday celebrations won’t result in a bunch of leftover disposable giftwrap plates, cups, and cutlery. Sure, it’s more convenient to serve meals and beverages on paper plates, in plastic and Styrofoam cups, and with plastic utensils, but those are expensive (and we’re all about saving money this season) and they pile up in a gooey, wasteful mess. And when it comes right down to it, there’s nothing convenient about disposable paper giftwrap…

So, I’m going to be using some eco-friendlier options for our holiday festivities. I’ve got an attack plan that should make my non-disposable holiday simple and low-stress. Here’s what I’ve lined up:

• Really easy gift wrapping: I purchased some inexpensive holiday fabric at the season-end sales last year. With that fabric, I’ve sewn up some really simple cloth bags that we can use to wrap up all of our gifts. And they’re so easy to use. Simply slip the gift into the bag, tie it up with a reusable ribbon, and you’re done! This will save an enormous amount of time for me as I wrap up gifts for the kids and other family members (I often spend hours locked in my room taking care of this aspect of gift-giving, wrapping myself ragged!). The best part is, these gift bags can be reused from year to year to year, so I’ll save money on wrapping paper, ribbon, tape, and other gift wrap supplies.
• Dish washing schedule: I made sure to purchase enough dishwashing detergent, knowing that we’ll likely be serving more meals than normal. I’ve also devised a handy dish schedule, giving every individual in the household responsibility for a different meal throughout the holiday week so that one of us (namely me) isn’t stuck washing all of the dishes the entire time. This will alleviate the stress of using real glasses, plates, mugs, cutlery, and so on.
• Filtered tap water: Instead of buying bottled water (so expensive!), I’ve stocked up on filters for my pitcher filter (not the most green choice, but better than individual bottles) so that we have lots of clean water to drink. That will also cut down on the number of trips we have to make to the garage recycling bin with used bottles. To reduce drink waste even more, I’m encouraging everyone to keep track of their glasses and mugs so that they can be reused multiple times each day. Cup charms help with this a lot!

- Lucy

Really Savoring: Making the Most of Expensive Organic Chocolate Treats

“Don’t eat that so fast!” I caution. “These tiny nibbles of chocolate heaven cost me about $2 each!”

Given the cost, I’d better really taste them so as to not waste the experience. No rushing through this morsel!
I decided to splurge this holiday season and buy some Certified Organic, Fair Trade Certified chocolate treats for the family. I can’t afford to be buying organic or fair trade chocolate for all of our cocoa requirements at this point, but I figure now and then, for a treat, it’s a great way to be mindful of what goes into our treats and to honor the work being done by growers of cacao around the world.

Sadly, cacao, which is what cocoa and other chocolate products are made from, is a not-so-earth-friendly agricultural industry. To get the most from the land, many growers, big and small, clear existing forests to make room for cacao plants. But then the exposure to sun and loss of water from lack of undergrowth stresses the plants, so the farmers are required to heap on chemicals for nutrients and pest control, and use up enormous quantities of water to keep the plants well hydrated. This combination of overuse of water and chemicals degrades local ecosystems and may make the growers unwell, too.

Organically-grown cacao, on the other hand, is cultivated within an existing forest canopy, so the diversity of the forest is not lost. This also helps to reduce water loss due to evaporation, maintains an ecosystem for local wildlife, reduces the need for fertilizers and pest control, and prevents soil loss due to erosion. It’s the way nature intended chocolate to be grown, and is healthier for farmers, too.

Of course, all of this requires more work and yields smaller crops, hence the heftier price tags on organic chocolate. But during this, the season of giving, I’m happy to make the investment. Just wish I could afford it all year round.

- Lucy

All I Want for Christmas is… a Kill A Watt

I’m getting very serious about saving energy at home, especially with the slowdown in our income due to the recession. Finances are tight, so we’re doing all that we can to really save money by cutting down on our energy consumption on a daily basis. We’ve always washed laundry in cold water and hung it to dry, we’ve got over 15 CFLs installed throughout the house (as well as a token LED), we turn down the heat during the day so that we’re not using heating energy unnecessarily, and we try to shut down all electronics at night when we’re done with them.

But one of the challenges is knowing which of our things adds the heaviest weight to our monthly energy bills. And so, I’m wishing this Christmas for a Kill A Watt power monitor. While this doesn’t monitor our heating energy, it will help a great deal in determining where we’re wasting the most electric energy and how we can maximize our energy-saving efforts to save the greatest amount of energy.

The Kill A Watt has recently launched a new version of their popular power monitor—the Kill A Watt Graphic Timer—and it’s definitely the one I want. It has several cool features that make it easier than ever to use:

• Attach the device to any appliance or electronic to get a read of the kilowatt-hour power usage on a large LCD display. It will continue to track energy consumption minute-by-minute so you can have an idea of how much energy the device uses as it turns on and off.
• Program quarter-hour ON/OFF sequences and customize programs by setting different times for each unique day, 7 days a week.
• With a backup battery, you can program the meter from your lazy girl chair, and it will maintain all measurements and programming gin the case of a power outage.
• With a surge protector, it will protect my devices from over charging, over and under voltage, and more.

It’s available now from stores like Think Geek for a mere $69.99, so now you know what I’d like this holiday season!

- Lucy

The Holiday Blues

I was walking with my boss this afternoon to grab an afternoon snack when he turned to me to and said, “I know this is the season and we’re supposed to be all happy, it’s Christmas time and you hear the music, but B, I’m fighting the sadness, I’m struggling.”

I write a lot about ‘happiness being a choice’ and I stand by that, but what he was telling me was different than keeping a positive attitude.

Winston Churchill called his feelings of overwhelming sadness the “Black Dog,” author J.K. Rowling turned depression into characters and called them “Dementors” in the Harry Potter series.

Truth be told I feel blue every holiday season too.

What is supposed to be a time of togetherness turns into one hassle after another. Negotiating time with the ex? Yeah, that’s not exactly pleasant. Spending half of the holiday with my kid? That’s a downer too.

Downer or not, what my boss said is what a lot of folks feel during the holiday season. And it’s easy enough to go down the list and tell you to spend time doing for others, not to have high expectations or over-indulge in drink or food. And then there’s the one about creating new traditions. I agree with all of these suggestions. But what I wonder is what works for you?

What do you struggle with during the holiday season? What do you do to get through?

- Aunt B

Open Letter to the Holiday Season

Dear Holiday Season,

Here we are again. You know how much I love the feel of your crisp air on my cheeks, the crunch of fallen leaves beneath my feet, and how you smell, cinnamon and nutmeg, rosemary and sage. I have to be honest with you though, even though what we have is temporary, for these few months we have together, you’re expectations are too high. I need to step back.

Now don’t get all upset, I’m not quitting us! I just know that when you’re here, I over-spend, over-eat and over-indulge. It’s too much for the little time we’re together. See, when we started this, the thought of you was nice, maybe we cooked a special dish, we took the time to make each other something. It’s different now. First it was just us, now it’s as if the whole economy of the free world is riding our back.

I can’t quit you. I like you, but I can’t put up with the expectations to buy-buy-buy and do-do-do and eat-eat-eat until I’m spent, pooped and stuffed. When this happens, there’s nothing enjoyable about us. And while I love you and all that you represent I can’t do this to myself anymore.

So Holidays, I’m taking it down a notch, dialing back the expectations. This season we’re not going all out, we’re just going to be.

- Aunt B