If you want to partake in the day of love then why not try some plastic free, single use, waste free ways to make it special for you, your loved one and the earth.
Some gifting ideas:
- A potted plant instead of cut flowers
- Fill a jar with candies and savouries bought loose at Food Lover’s Market
- I kept the plastic tray that was filled with chocolates from the Christmas advent calendar: make your own chocolate treats and pop in a jar or tin instead of buying overpriced chocolates.
- Buy your partner edible underwear (hehehe) ecobrick the packaging – condoms after use… need to be washed, dried and ecobricked just saying, no glove, no love then abstane.
- Skip the card and send an e-card
- Donate and adopt a polar bear at Polar Bears International – I support PBI because I am an avid Polar Bear lover but you could look into Children of the Dawn, Sea Turtle Conservation, Khensani’s Collection (any organisation you value)
This Valentine’s Day, if you’re in a relationship, have a first date or are single, I think it could be lekker to arrange a dinner at home for the two of you or gather some other single friends.
I would try to make it as zero waste as possible and try something new like preparing a meal from a different culture or country, or vegan if you are all meat eaters (vegan is a lekker challenge, no meat or bi products, no eggs, no milk, no honey, no cheese).
You could try your hand at something like making the meal together instead of bring and share or the onus being on one person to cater – make pasta from scratch and sauce from scratch, relax over wine or beverages of choice and enjoy the rewards of making something that slows one down from the rush of life and convenience.
Everyone can wear slippers and chilled clothes, cook together and pop on some Netflix after the meal to watch a movie, or an episode or two, of a lekker new series you may not normally get time for to watch.
- Buy as much package free – loose fruit and veg in a box or a fresh bag
- Fill your empty jars (or a ziplock if that’s what you have handy) with spices (Food Lover’s Market offers this)
- Choose products in glass and cans before plastic
- Cook from scratch (make your own veggie stock from stored, frozen veggies scraps and bone broth from stored, frozen bones), make your own tomato sauces instead of from cans, use herbs from your potted herbs instead of from the plastic containers, buy a lettuce you can regrow.
- Buy your loose coffee beans at Royal Roasters in Stoneridge and get some beautiful loose tea from The Tea Emporium / Tea Merchant and serve up lekker plastic free drinks after dinner.
- Instead of dessert – experiment with a platter of fruit, that you bought package free, and you and your guests can add the food scraps to the wormy farm, compost bin or tub to keep in the freezer, keep aside that which you could try regrow, freeze scraps for your next veg stock.
- Don’t forget to put out the cloth napkins instead of tissue serviettes, and use your cutlery and crockery instead of the paper plates – together the host and guests can work out who could stack the dishwasher or wash the dishes, as a team.
We are jetting off to Mauritius for MUCH needed RnR and family reconnecting time – Valentine’s Day and our Wedding Anniversary are getting thrown in there – away from technology, business stress and city life. A lot of bloggers have great zero waste travel tips and tricks. When we get back I’ll share how are travels fared.
Until next time…
waste less • refuse more
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