Hello Warriors of the World! Many of you have asked me frequently over the last few years, "What are some ways you stay green and help the Earth?" Well today I wanted to take a few moments to go over some of the ways that my significant other and I stay green and help save our planet! 

   For starters, we all know that driving a car is incredibly terrible and has a huge impact on our air quality. Now, with COVID this has become a bit easier, however we don't drive everywhere! What I mean is, we carpool, we stay home and don't go anywhere at least two days per week, we get curbside and delivery for groceries and packages. When I lived where there was a train or metro system, I would travel this way instead of driving. While Austin has it's own Metro-rail.... it's nothing compared to San Francisco or New York. 

  Another great action we take is in our grocery shopping, and I'm not talking about reusable bags. I am talking about how often we go! We both eat a very plant-based diet and that means we keep LOTS of FRESH fruits and veggies around! I hear all too often, "Oh mine always go bad! How do you keep them fresh so long?" The answer is we DONT! We eat it in time! However.... 
    1. Buying organic makes a difference. The taste and how long it will last. 
    2. Are you storing them properly? You can check here! 
    3. How much are you getting and for what time frame of use? 
   4. If you don't use it, you lose it! This applies to more than just learning a new language warriors! This most definitely applies to our foods! 
When we shop, we shop once per week-ish, my significant other does curbside once a week and I hit up Whole Foods and Sprouts in a days run, we buy enough to last us up to 2.5 weeks before we completely run out. We have tested this before. So whatever your excuse, it's really that you just don't want to eat it. Stop buying it and creating more waste. If anything, compost it! 


    Shower, self care, and beauty products..... ladies... I love you, why do you use SO many things to shower with? I see so many choices of body wash, shampoos, conditioners, etc in peoples bathrooms when I cleaned houses for a side hustle. I am astounded you feel you need so many, and so many that are full of chemicals! We use bar soaps that support local businesses in Texas. Organic hair care and facial care. I have shampoo and conditioner, one each. One scent. One brand. Two bottles.... Not five. I have three items for my face because I personally only need three. A cleanser, moisturizer and toner. Outside of this I have two bottles of facial peels that I use once per week and I have had them for nearly 8 months now. Three products for my hair and no brush. Yeah, I let it be natural. What I use merely controls the frizz and allows my waves and curls to hold all day, however I don't use it every day either. I use it only on my off days when I know my hair isn't going up all day for demonstrations. This brings me to one of my favorite ways to be green. 

   Mindfulness. Ahhh yes, I said it! Mindfulness. My partner had asked me one day if I could change one thing what would it be? I quickly answered with mindfulness. Being mindful can open up many doorways to being green. When we are mindful we start to think outside the box, we start to think/wonder/see how our actions begin to affect and shape the environment around us. 


      Reduce, REUSE, recycle. I know we have all heard this before. Reuse, we reuse a lot of things! Bags for storage and jars are the favorite for us. There are many things you can do with them. We reuse parchment paper if nothing juicy, sticky or slimy was baked on/in it. Instead of buying tonnes of bottles of water, we use reusable bottles. There are many things to reuse! 

     During the day time, we reduce our carbon footprint by keeping lights off and blinds open to allow sunlight in. We also have a lot of plants around our home that require light, this helps to remind us to keep the lights off. In the evening we use low-lit colored lights of red or green. We have them in several rooms of the house and they are turned on toward the evening time to help us wind down. 

   So there are many ways that we can be more green, even if you're not out volunteering to clean up the beaches or streets in your area. There are many things we can do at home. 

   Do you love to buy salsas, Culina yogurt, and other products in a jar? What are you doing with your jars when you're finished with the product inside? Do you simply throw them in the trash can? Wash them out first? Recycle them? How about upcycle  them? 

   More recently my significant other and I have started to bring in more "green" elements and ways to sustain ourselves into our lifestyle. We discovered one day that we buy a lot of products that come in a glass jar often. So to remedy the fact that we were wasting glass all the time, and let's face it recycling in the country.... is not recycling, we decided to get creative with them. 

CULINA POTS & JARS
   Culina is a fairly new company that produces coconut based yogurt. Originally they came in an adorable little flower/planter pot. Recently the company has switched to a small glass jar with a twistable lid. These jars are AMAZING for: 
1.storing sauces 
2.small items like gummy candies
3.seeds & nuts 
4.animal fats/grease 
5.activated chia seeds  
6.take smaller snacks on the go 
So don't throw them out! Upcycle them! You can even decorate them as they come bare without a label glued to the whole jar. 

PASTA SAUCE JARS
   Okay, we all remember the GIGANTIC Prego jars... well they haven't gone away. We find these jar sizes now come in the salsa that we love to get from Whole Foods. We also love to have a Mango Gummy Bear now and then, since they come in the bulk section and they come a pound at a time we use this jar to store our gummies. This keeps our gummies nice and fresh. We also use the jars to store:
7.broth for ramen
8.food leftovers
9.asparagus in water
10.citrus peels for making into plant food
Don't toss these jars either! Upcycle them! Decorate them and make them yours, fit them to the theme of your kitchen or house. 

TOPOCICO & WATER BOTTLES
    We love to have a Topo a few nights a week, however that is a lot of glass to be "recycled", what do you do? Get yourself a glass cutter and (11) enjoy some new glasses to drink from! And that (12)bottle cap can be turned into some bottle cap art! Any kind of glass bottle can be cut and turned into a drinking glass, who knows you could have a new side hustle! You may even try turning them into a vase for a plant or a fish( make sure that fish has room to grow!)

   Whatever you may be drinking or eating from, don't just toss it in the trash can, UPCYCLE IT! Help reduce your footprint and find a good use for that jar or bottle.