Since the holidays are coming up quickly, I thought I would put together some tips for sustainable gift giving! The Gift of Time or Experiences Does it feel stressful to find the “perfect gift” for someone? We often put so much pressure on ourselves for something that’s supposed to be fun and filled with love! Instead of buying yet another material item, why not spend some quality time with your loved one instead? Here are some nearly free ideas: Cook them a nice dinner Go skating on the Rideau Canal or Rink of Dreams  Volunteer somewhere together Help them with something you're good at or that would be useful to them - babysitting, pet walking, cleaning, painting, etc. For the past few years, I have had the rule that unless a person specifically requests a material item, I gift an experience. I love this approach because you can easily tailor the experience to any budgetary requirements. Also, the best part is that you get to spend quality time with your loved ones and make memori...

The holidays are right around the corner! Unfortunately, it has become a highly consumerist time of the year. Before you roll your eyes and contemplate closing this blog because you don’t want me to ruin your holiday spirit, hear me out. I think there’s a solid balance to strike between fun and festive, and opting for ways to reduce the negative environmental impacts. Here are some tips that I am working to incorporate into my holiday festivities. Gift Giving Sometimes it can feel stressful to find the perfect gift for someone. For the past few years, I have had the rule that unless a person specifically requests a material item, I gift an experience. I love this approach because you can easily tailor the experience to any budgetary requirements. Also, the best part is that you get to spend quality time with your loved ones and make memories. However, if you choose to go the material gift route, DIY gifts from recycled materials is a good alternative. There are so many amazing tu...

photo credit: http://www.temporausch.com/01/ Over the Christmas holidays, I spent a little over two weeks in England with my Grannie, the first time I had been without my family. This time around, I found myself experiencing a lot of her to day to day life and I was very impressed (and a little shocked) with all the things she did to cut down on waste. We often think of our grandparents generation as sustainability illiterate. Car-loving, climate skeptics who don’t know what recycling is, right?  I am pleased and a little alarmed to report that, rather, we should be taking our environmental tips from Grandma and Grandpa. One of my fondest memories of my Grandad is, on Christmas Day, waiting in anticipation, with a gift of mine at the ready, as Grandad painstakingly removed every piece of tape on his gift and carefully removed the paper, ready to use next Christmas. At the time, it was a strange and uncalled for delay to our Christmas proceedings, but now I can see what ...

Photo credit:  http://www.progadgetreview.com The Holiday season is around the corner, and some gifts are difficult to come by. Put aside the gift cards and boxes of chocolates. Apple has recently made apps “giftable” so that you may share the Angry Birds fun with your other iphone friends. For the environmentally conscious friend, why not the Carbon Footprint Calculator? It will help with some decisions and possibly motivate those friends to plant some trees as it calculates the number of these needed to offset their carbon footprint. Diamond Grading , an app for the occasional diamond buyer. After all, diamonds are a girl’s best friend! Others wish it could be summer year round so they may go for a sail on a December afternoon. Your budget may not let you buy him a house in the South, but the Waterski Duck should keep that friend busy on those cold days. Then for those who constantly get lost. In an effort to help them get around, the GPS coordinates may be a swee...