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Simple and sustainable holidays: Four ideas for a meaningful season
Every year my hope is that the Christmas season brings chances to celebrate and create wonderful memories with loved ones. However, it’s also a time when we tend to spend a lot of time and resources gathering the things we think we need for a meaningful time of celebration. Last year I left preparations a bit late and ended up feeling quite anxious about the whole thing! As a result, this year I’m trying to slow down, appreciate the small and quiet moments of the season, and generally pack less onto the shopping list and calendar. However, there are still gifts to be bought, celebrations to plan and events to…
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How to Create a Gratitude Jar with Sustainable Materials
At the beginning of this year, I decided to try an experiment with writing down one thing I was grateful for each day. I’m not much for new year’s resolutions, but I was curious to see how this practice would impact my year. Admittedly, I had planned to write this blog post in January, but this season of my life needs a dose of optimism and gratitude, so I thought it would be a great thing to reflect on and share about right now. Why a Gratitude Jar? If you were watching Oprah in the ’90s and 2000s, you likely heard her talking about creating a gratitude journal. That’s the…
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7 Ways to be an Eco-Friendly Pet Owner
This year my family and I adopted a new pet family member, picture below! We love the fun, entertainment, and companionship of having a pet, but having a pet also comes with an environmental footprint. We lost our last cat in 2019 and starting the journey with our new pet has had me thinking about ways to incorporate sustainable practices into our decisions. From pet food production to waste management, our furry (or not furry!) friends’ habits can impact the planet. However, with conscious choices, we can create more sustainable lifestyles for us and our pets! Here are some practical eco-friendly tips for pet owners looking to reduce their carbon…
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How Turning Down your Household’s Heat Helps the Environment
As days get colder, the natural reaction will be to turn up the heat to get warm. We often hear advice to keep the heat low and to layer on sweaters and blankets instead. The main reasoning tends to be that this can save a bit of money, but it is also tied to helping the environment. I live in a rental where my heat and hot water are included in the rent, so I don’t benefit financially from less heat. This made me wonder what other benefits there are and how turning down my heat can help the environment. This post is a part of our Climate Change Collective conversations. Molly…
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Solar panel update & 6 things you might not know about solar panels
In 2019 my family took the plunge and installed solar panels. Over the years I’ve shared about our experience of getting started with solar panels as well as updates on our solar power generation. To read through past posts, check out this link here! Today I thought I’d share an update on our power generation this year, as well as the totals related to our output over the years. The application related to running our system and tracking output creates some useful graphics to monitor performance – which I love! Our generation by month for 2024 is shown “Monthly Energy in Current Year” table below, and it’s been a reasonably…
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Turn Dreaming into Practical Steps: 3 Financial Necessities to Change your Life
Changing our lives, whether it be a career change or a change of location, can be daunting. Every change comes with a financial cost to it and that can be a hindrance to us following through on our dreams. I’ve been dreaming with a friend lately about some big life changes, so I wanted to share how some essential financial habits can help make those dreams a reality. My Journey to Making Life Changes I’m going to preface this entire post with the fact that I’m not an accountant, nor a financial advisor, nor anyone qualified/educated to give financial advice. Financial decisions are very personal and should be talked through…
