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I've been a grinch about holidays in general and Valentine's Day in particular.  I signed the first of my divorce papers on Valentine's Day.  Remembering that cold, winter morning still gives my heart a crack but  lately I've been thinking about heart opening exercises beyond yoga poses.  Traveling and walking the beach has given me lots of time to think.  I remember a small town in Oklahoma that had the coolest building- all deserted except for a pizza joint.  It was sad.  One way to be sure this doesn't happen is to shop small and local.  To vote with your dollars.  I decided to go on a shopping spree for a few Valentine/Galentine/Palentine gifts in downtown Apalachicola, Florida.

I've been on a solo travel, escape the snow road trip.  My temporary home is an Airstream trailer- an Air B n B in a local's backyard.   It's a teeny trailer community where I feel  completely safe.   Populated by women and dogs.  The owner and her big dog Zeek as well as two fellow travelers and their not so big dog, Apunne.  I decided a few small treats from downtown Apalachicola would be a sweet treat.  I also had the goal of shopping as plastic free as possible. 

I set a budget for myself, which was between $20 and $30, which is an important holiday consideration.  Its counter productive to work on opening your heart without paying attention to your budget.  It's not going to feel good if you over spend.  My list was a small treat for each women, a treat for 3 dogs, some cards to mail and a good cup of coffee.   I went with cash because small businesses love cash and it also helps me keep to my budget.  Spending twenty or thirty dollars in a downtown isn't going to keep any business in afloat but ten people spending that amount will.  Where you spend your money matters.  It's a simple way to spread some love.

I started with a cup of coffee- so YUM!  One thing I've been missing is my morning coffee routine and my delicious cuppa.  I'm not a fan of coffee machine coffee or store brand beans.  I had my reusable cup, the service was great and I ended up treating myself to a sandwich. 

I wandered into quite a few different stores with an open mind.  I knew there was a dog shop which made biscuits so that was my first stop.  Oysterbones is part of the Dixie Theatre Company as its one way the theatre raises money.  Talk about keeping it in the community and how your dollars go to support a town- this is about as real as it gets.  I bought 3 biscuits packed in a paper bag.  

I decided chocolates were the best gift for the three gals since I really now very little about them.  Just that they are nice and love dogs.  The coffee store is also a chocolate shop.  I went for dark chocolate with tupelo honey, a speciality honey in the area.  I asked for a little packaging as possible but also each chocolate was for a separate person.  the chocolate maker packed each one in a small cardboard box.  Not zero waste but plastic free.

Cards were the hardest thing to buy plastic free.  I went into quite a few stores, many with lovely selections of card pre packaged in plastic.  I get why this happens, part of the appeal of plastic is how it keeps items "clean and fresh" before purchase.  I still love to buy and mail cards.  It's a treat to get something besides junk mail and I wanted to send some love to special pals.  I finally found not local cards but a company that package plastic free and they were very reasonably priced.  I would have preferred to purchase local cards from area artists but the cards from Positively Green were cute, plastic free and reasonably priced- all factors important to consider. 

Voting with your money sends a message about the world and economies you want.  You still have to make decisions to fit your values, budget and beliefs but it's such an important step in supporting small, local and sustainable businesses that supoort communities and our environment.

When I find myself in times of trouble and general anxiety I turn to yoga.   Last winter, was a rough one.  Ice instead of snow, a couple of falls that make me scared to walk outside and cranky.  To help power through I added some extra yoga classes.  Yoga outside my comfort zone.  The teacher, the studio and all the young (and fit) participants intimidated me.  My first thought was "I'm sooo old" followed by "and fat!" 

It was a great class- restorative yoga with some sharing and guided meditation.  The first, lying in the dark winter night we were guided on a trip up and down a mountain, into a garden and across the way was your future self, sitting on a bench.

"What message does your future self have for you"

Well, my future self was a little old lady and she was a bit grumpy.  "Why are you here?" she asked.

That's when I started thinking and planning a solo trip to some place warm.  My gut had been telling me for awhile that the long northern winters were taking a toll on my spirit and energy.  But I was afraid to make a change.  My future self gave me the courage to make a plan.  

Today while it is snow and icy rain in Maine I walked the beach barefoot with my dog.  I have goals and plans for filling my days plus time to read and rest.  It's helping me feel more positive and energized about life.  It's making me proud.

I did some research about simple steps to help us trust our instincts.  It's hard to trust our gut because it's so intangible.  Really difficult for people who like to have control and be in charge.  I can think back to times when I didn't trust my gut- my divorce for one.  Looking back, I realize my gut was trying to help me, to save me or at least give me more options but I refused to listen.  I could not give up control.  In the end, I believe this made my journey to recovery so much harder and painful. 

The Chopra Center has five tips for learning to trust your gut-  

1. Welcome your intuition
2. Cultivate intuition with silence 
3. Record your intuition
4. Share your intuition
5. Take action based on your intuition

How do you celebrate sustainability with kids?  When my daughter was little holidays tended to be a bit trashy.  Candy and cards for sure.  Little plastic gewgaws.  Things that held a brief interest but quickly became trash. 

The past few years I've been a bit anti-holiday.  I'm beginning to realize one can try for balance.  Holidays break life up, provide an excuse for a treat or indulgence, allow us to spend time with family or friends.  If you want to celebrate any holiday more sustainably you need to give yourself plenty of time, firm boundaries and a dose of forgiveness if things don't go your way.   If you've been doing elaborate Valentine celebrations, start by scaling back not going cold turkey.       

If I had little ones now I would invest in quality holiday recipes, decorations and books as well as a storage box.  A week or two before any holiday pulling out the box would be exciting and create the best memories.  It's the love you feel for your Christmas stocking.  The box which doesn't have to be big can hold books, decorations, special items related to the holiday. which you can enjoy and savor once a year.  For me, this is a way to build traditions, memories and an easy way to zero waste any holiday.

Food and holidays go together.  Focusing on treats is an easy way to cut down on waste.  Stay out of the seasonal aisle in the grocery store.  A lot of food packaging for the holidays can be avoided.  One of my favorite sites for Valentine food inspiration is Forkly.  All the recipes sound delicious, healthy and not too difficult.  Start the morning off with pancakes, you have a choice of chocolate paleo, banana oatmeal or red beet pancakes.  Snack on some Clementines dipped in dark chocolate and end the day with a heart shaped pizza.  

The idea I loved the most was turning oranges into conversation hearts.  Write a cute "love ya" message or just draw a smiley face.  On Pinterest I saw the same idea but on bananas.  Any fruit that you peel works.  This is a fun, very low waste family activity.  It's a great, edible, healthy, low waste Valentine for classmates. 

Many holiday decorations are trashy and not made to last beyond the holiday.  That's one reason I love buntings and banners.  They are cheerful, festive, you can hang them anywhere and easy to store.

You can buy bunting from a maker and that's a great way to spread the love and vote with your money.  Or you can DIY your bunting.  If you sew bunting is a easy project.  Go ahead and be flexible and creative with your material.  Felt, burlap, old clothes, scraps......  With young kids paper is the best choice.  Old art can be repurposed into bunting.  Pages from magazines, papers from schools and old torn book.  Reuse paper before you recycle.  Here a two websites to get your creative juices flowing- Yes We Made This has 10 Creative DIY Paper Garland Ideas and and Picklebum has a post on Kid Made Bunting which is super easy. 

Favorite books also make every holiday special.  Older kids enjoy the occasional reread of their favorite story from years past.  Books make great gifts, books last longer than chocolate or candy and used books keep the love going . If you're lucky enough to have a book store in your town, they are sure to have some recommendations and great picks.  The Today Show  has a list of  recently published books that cover  the many aspects of love.  

Time can be the hardest thing to manage.  Start small.  This year decide on one sustainable change.  No trashy foods.  Set aside some time to prepare and cook.  DIY some decorations on a cold, winter day when everyone has cabin fever.  Go book shopping as a family and pick out the one great book to celebrate the day.  Don't expect perfection and love the progress you made.

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2020 will be my fifth year of being on my zero waste journey.  Although "journey" is the word most often used to describe consciously and actively working to reduce your waste I often think of going zero waste as a dance.  It's two steps forward, one step back, spinning around for awhile and then moving forward again.  Small steps work best and so does forgiveness, you're guaranteed to mess up and feel frustrated but with time, focus and attention you'll be pleasantly surprised how far you've come in a year of consciously using less.

Plastic free is all about limiting your use of plastic to essentials and eliminating single use plastic.  Single use plastic is plastic that is used once and then discarded- straws, coffee cups, drink lids, water bottles, grocery bags……….  Zero waste is a philosophy that focuses on rethinking how we live in order to produce as little waste as possible.

It also helps to set a big goal for yourself- one that is broader and more global than simply switching to reusable bags.  In 2019, my goal was to value items more.  One real problem is "things"- just about anything from clothing to electronics doesn't have a true value.  If we value our food- we'll waste less.  If we think about our purchases- we'll buy better.  In 2018 my broad goal was to speak out and I was honored to give talks around the state about my own personal zero waste journey, hopefully inspiring others to begin or to be strengthen in their zero waste journey.

For 2020 my focus is on mending and the problems with fast and disposable fashion.  I've also find that the act of mending a sock, a patch on a pair of jeans a few quick stitches to brighten a sweater is very mending to my soul.

Here are 20 tips to help you on your plastic free journey.  Mix them up, start with one that is easy for you and save the harder ones for later.  I guarantee by this time next year, you will be proud of your new habits and view purchases entirely differently.

1.  Vote.  Yes 2020 is a big national election year but local elections matter.  It's at the local level plastic bag, plastic straw and balloon bans all start.  Local elections are how wetlands, dog parks and hiking trails all begin.  It starts local and moves outward.  So vote in every election and if you have a strong constitution run for office.  
2. Buy less-choose better.  Purchase items with less packaging.  Support businesses that are working on reducing waste.  Shop local, shop small.  Invest in quality that will last and stand the test of time rather than a trendy but cheap item.  Shop second hand and thrift stores.  Vote with your dollars for a better world.  
3. Pick up trash.  There's nothing like picking up a bit of trash to firm your resolve to be plastic free and to embrace the zero waste philosophy.  Picking up litter opens your eyes to not only how thoughtless folks are but also how crazy items are packaged.  
4. Educate yourself.  The more you know, the more motivated and committed you will be to keep your resolutions to be plastic free and zero waste.
5. Give up plastic grocery bags.  Bring your own and if you forget only buy enough to carry easily in your hand.  I find it helpful to keep a lightweight bag in my purse.
6. Reusable bags for ALL purchases.  Once you master reusable grocery bags make it a policy to not use any plastic bags for any purchase.  It's easy once you get started.
7. Switch to reusable coffee cups.  When my life is routine this is easy, when it gets chaotic it's quite a challenge.  One tip is to buy more than one reusable cup , that way if one is dirty or lost in the car you can still enjoy a coffee.
8. Stop buying plastic water bottles.  The first thing you have to do is buy a reusable water container and carry it where ever you go- including airports.
9. Straws suck.  500 million straws are used EVERYDAY in the USA- holy moly that is a lot of straws.  Many of these straws end up as trash and because of their bright colors get mistaken for food by critters on land and sea.  Say "NO" to straws or purchase and use a reusable straw.
10. Buy in bulk.  This is a critical step in moving towards zero waste.  Instead of buying 6 small yogurt containers for the week, buy one large.  Before you know it you'll be investigating local farms that sell yogurt in reusable jars.
11. Plastic Free Produce.  Produce does not need to be wrapped in plastic and often produce is over packaged.  I found I needed to support a few stores in order to buy all my produce plastic free and to invest and make some reusable produce/bulk bags.  My habits have changed- and yes it does take a bit longer to make a salad than simply opening a plastic package.
12. Replace paper napkins and towels with cloth.  Your one time purchase of napkins will last for years.  Using washable cloths for most clean up jobs and saving paper towels for big messes will help you cut down on waste.
13. Rethink soap, shampoos and other personal care items.  The personal care aisle in a grocery store is loaded with plastic packaging.  Instead of a plastic bottle of liquid soap switch to a bar.  Try a shampoo bar instead of a plastic bottle of shampoo and conditioner.
14. Zero in on Food Waste.  I've read that 40% of food produced never actually gets eaten and a lot of that food is in our fridges.  All the moldy leftovers and rotten produce adds up in our landfills.  Plus all the energy and packaging involved with foods.  Paying attention will save money and create less waste.   
15. Invest in reusable food containers.  Pack lunches, picnics and when ordering take away bring your own container.  Sure you might wait a few minutes but it's a great chance to catch up on your social media while you wait.
16. Switch to bamboo toothbrushes.  Remember plastic never biodegrades because it's not part of Mother Nature's food chain.
17. Give up disposable razors.  Invest in a razor that will last a life time.
18. Switch to glass or metal containers for food storage.  When your plastic food storage containers wear out switch to glass or metal.  But wait for them to wear out, it's wasteful to simply throw something away.  Use it up first and then take it to be recycled.
19. Replace plastic wrap and aluminum foil with beeswax or cloth.  I often wrap a tea towel around my serving bowl before putting in the fridge.  You could also invest in a few glass containers with lids.  Glass really helps keep track of your food 'cause you can see what you're saving. 
20. Compost.  Composting your food really helps cut down on unnecessary waste.

 Start where you are, be gentle and be OK with being imperfect.