Live Christmas trees are only more sustainable if they’re not disposed of in the landfill when you’re done with them each year. Let’s make a list of creative ways to “dispose” of your Christmas tree! Here are my favorite ideas.
Sustainable Living
What to do with gifts that don’t fit your body, lifestyle, or values
A gift is an outward display of love and affection. I firmly believe that you can receive the gift, feel the love, and make that heart connection, no matter what the physical gift is. I also firmly believe that you are not obligated to keep gifts that do not bring you joy or support the life you are trying to live. This does not make you ungrateful.
Reusable gift bag tutorial
A few years ago, I sewed a bunch of reusable cloth gift bags in cheerful Christmas patterns and they continue to bring me such joy! I love wrapping presents in these gorgeous bags. I love giving them to people (and am so honored when friends and family want […]
Hunting for the perfect Christmas tree
Did you know you can harvest a Christmas tree from the National Forest? You can! And in Michigan, the permit is only $5, making this a more affordable alternative to many traditional Christmas tree farms in addition to an amazing family adventure. This is one of my FAVORITE […]
The 80/20 Rule and Sustainability Lessons from COVID
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how sustainability does and does not go hand in hand with this global pandemic. On one hand, we’re all struggling with big and challenging things, like unemployment, safely shopping for groceries, and educating our children. On the other hand, I think it’s important […]
Got Hot Peppers? (Or medium or mild ones)
If you have extra hot, medium, or mild peppers hanging around your house, I highly recommend making your own shatta. If you don’t have peppers hanging around your house, I recommend you go find some from your local farmers market or roadside stand and make your own shatta. However you […]
Tomato Paste
This blog is part of a series about preserving food so you can eat local all year long. Here’s blog #3 on preserving tomatoes. Preserving tomatoes (and then eating them all winter long) is such a favorite activity for our whole family that I’m devoting several blogs to the […]
Freezing your own sweet corn
This blog is part of a series about preserving food so you can eat local all year long. I’ve collected them all into a free course that you can access here. The course includes lessons that explain the basic preservation methods of canning, freezing, and dehydrating, and specific examples of how […]
Grandma’s Tomato Sauce
This tomato sauce recipe comes from my mother-in-law. We use it as pizza sauce, pasta sauce, and the best damn tomato soup you’ll ever eat! This blog is part of a series about preserving food so you can eat local all year long. I’ve collected them all into a free course that you can access here.
Canned Tomatoes
Last year I turned about 30 pounds of fresh Roma tomatoes from my farmers market into 17 quarts of canned tomatoes for year round cooking. Tomatoes are such a favorite for me that I’m devoting several blogs to my best strategies to bottle this summer goodness […]