Slow & Sustainable

It's about a month until the last frost and we are officially in earth month!
I started my second round of seedlings with little to no help from the cats...

Last month on with I picked up all the big stuff I could see along my commute home, now let's talk about the small stuff...
Bri with shared some interesting information with the team back in October specifically about micro plastics

"As litter degrades, chemicals and micro-particles are released. These chemicals aren’t natural to the environment and can, therefore, cause a number of problems. For example, cigarette butts can contain chemicals such as arsenic and formaldehyde. These poisons can make their way into the soil and freshwater sources, impacting both humans and animals. In fact, 60% of water pollution is attributed to litter.

This is just one of many reasons why removing litter when we see it is so important and what you're doing matters!"

These ci******es are part of 5 pounds worth of "tiny trash" I've picked up over the course of this month... unfortunately this tiny trash was just a huge pile on the side of a pathway along the in the

Wishing we were back to fall in the garden vs it being covered in snow...

New adventure!
I am officially a with
And today is !

Stay tuned for a reel later today to follow along with a clean up along my commute home....

We are back to tree planting season! 🌳

Planting trees is one of the best ways to mitigate climate change! I have talked about this before, but if you see a new tree outside of your house look for three things:
1. A Gator bag - this is a bag around the tree that slowly releases water to the tree over a ten hour period...this should be filled once a week!
2. Mulch around the base - not only does mulch help with watering but it can also save a lot of young trees from their number 1 killer....weed whackers! Don't see mulch? Look for the white barriers on the trunk to save the tree
3. The lack of a tag - all trees get tagged so people know what they are planting, oftentimes these tags get left on a branch, which can lead to damage and strangling the branch as the tree grows. See a tag? Take it off and throw it out!

3 years of gardening lettuce...

I have learned oh so many things, and our garden has made a big upgrade this year!

Looking forward to more harvests 🥬🥒🌽🍠🥕🍅🫑🥔🍓

Happy
Honestly today I was very nervous about wearing this shirt to work (that my wonderful mother made me) and so far today I have got moans, "oh brother", and someone told me my shirt offended him..and it's only noon...
Today I am working on in a male lead industry. As a woman working in HR in a manufacturing facility I hope that as I continue in this field I can help pave the way for a more inclusive, equal, non bias environment, free from gender bias' .
I know it will be working but I have some amazing women in my circle who I know are doing fantastic things in their space.

Tag your favourite below!!! ⬇️⬇️

📚 Book Review 📚
A big part of some active changes I have been making in my life (and the reason for this accounts name change) has been my desperate need to slow down
The book carried forward so many valid points on how laziness is a construct made by a society that gains from your productivity.
This book talks about your digital presence, not valuing your worth on your achievements, and exhausting relationships. It even discusses dealing with things like eco anxiety and information overload.
A huge bonus of this book is that it is probably the first book of this kind that I have read with such diverse opinions and experiences. Author and doctor Devon Price interviews people of different experiences, race, sexual orientation and they ensure that everyone has something they relate to within the chapters.
10/10 would recommend

Every once and a while I get this crazy craving for pancakes...
This morning, while working from home, I treated my dad and myself to some breakfast and honestly just sighed and laughed to myself.
This order came in a paper bag (great I can recycle it but need to make sure I take the four stickers and receipt off of it) inside was another bag (ok have to compost this because there is grease on it) inside of that bag there were two more bags (one I can compost and one for the trash) I got two straws for the one drink, three pack of butter, a bunch of non useable napkins as they were covered in grease, a non-recyclable coffee cup, a plastic pack of syrup, and my pancakes in a #5 plastic container (which is black and can cause issues in sorting as it is the same colour as the conveyor and may not be picked up by the scanner)
BUT!!!!!!
Wooden cutlery....

This is the bare minimum. Sure you could tell me to stop buying takeout, but the one time every few weeks that I treat my dad and I is NOT enough of an impact to stop this issue. Big box companies like NEEDS to do better than this. THIS is a JOKE towards trying to make legitimate changes to save our dying planet.

What are your thoughts?

Happy one day closer to spring time!

If you know me, you know I am not much into what I consider "Hallmark Holidays". Which is essentially the days in which companies want you to spend tons of money for no real reason...
But for some, it is an excuse to show their friends, families, and significant others that they love them, which I am never against!
Take a look at some of my favourite (and last minute) gifts and experiences to share with someone you love this February 14th 💚💚

What are you doing this Valentine's Day?

Your girl is rebranding!! 🌱🌱

I have been busy for as long as I can remember. In school I was part of multiple clubs and volunteer groups, college I was out with friends and spending lots of time in school, and as a career I've chosen a busy corporate job and keeping up with friends and volunteering afterward.
There is nothing this pandemic has taught me more than I crave the ability to slow down.
I think as a society we are expected to be busy, having to do lists, constantly being accomplishing and achieving something. But what I think is that more than anything we need to learn to slow down and reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the planet around us.
I still love the waste free life, I just found (like many way more popular creators) that this term is so limiting, when really this movement is about so much more than a plastic straw to save the turtles. 🐢
➡️➡️Swipe to learn a bit more about what this page will start to look at over time.
I really hope you stay and follow along on this journey with me to slow down and enjoy my time, each and every day.

Happy new year! I know we are two weeks in but I have really enjoyed the time around Christmas and the new year moving away from social media and just taking my days slow 😊

Anyways! I have really been enjoying making smoothies for work when I was driving in, and even now that I am working from home again! I typically buy yogurt in larger containers from Costco because overall it is less waste produced, but I am the only person who eats yogurt in my house so a quick food saving hack is to freeze your yogurt so it doesn't go bad!

My mom bought so granola bar pan (thingy) which will work well to pop out two bars or so and throw them in my blender!

It's okay to be imperfectly zero waste...in case you needed to hear that today.
And I know a lot of people say it but it truly is ok. We are two years into a pandemic, there is a lot going on in the world around us. It is ok to need a warm cup of coffee, despite forgetting your reusable mug..

Not my typical content but I think out of everything that we have learned through this pandemic, it is that is so so important!
I'm not a big "things" person (aside from books, peep my favourite bookstore .books ) so I am always looking for ways to support and businesses. One of the LITERALLY easiest businesses to support is local hair salons!
was fantastic today! Made me feel very safe with their COVID precautions and did a fantastic job! I feel so much lighter with 12 inches less of hair lol

So, if you are like me and don't always know what to support, think outside the box!

Welcome to my closet! 99% of my clothes are and I am sure I have already post a million reasons why I prefer to thrift my clothes, BUT the number 1 reason is simply saving money!
I needed some summer clothes for work as we start to shift from back into the office over the next few months...I stopped by and got some pants and shirts, plus a pair of flats for a total of $60! And more on the saving money side of things I found a pair of dress pants with the tags still on them! Retail $74 but I got them for $16!!

Reducing your waste is not just garbage and plastic, but on your clothes, accessories, and makeup!

Tell me about your greatest thrift find! 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

The region is collecting food donations in return for food for your plants! A great event being held by the !

I confirmed that although it is not made by compost collected at residents homes, this compost does use waste collected in the region!

Link in my bio for more information

Books and plants are two things that keep me living a LEGITIMATE minimalist lifestyle.
One thing I try my hardest to do is not throw out any books EVER. And when I have the choice (which is hard to do with thrift stores being closed) I try to get my books second hand.
There are a number of in Niagara, today I stopped by one in .of.grimsby while I was picking up something I purchased, and found a great book that is on my

Keep and eye out for these in your neighborhood!
For more information on visit their website littlefreelibrary.org

Happy Earth Month!

I'm pretty impressed by the amount of companies pushing earth month initiatives! Going to look into them and share them on my story!

What is one thing you are going to do to celebrate Earth Month?

Also who else is an impatient gardener like me? 🙈🤷🏻‍♀️ Feel like I am staring at my seedlings all day every day 😂

Earth hour tonight!
8:30 pm to 9:30pm!

Turn all the lights off and enjoy some time together as a family! Look at the stars, play a boardgame by candle light, chat about your week, or reflect on your families impact on the space around you and the planet!

THANK YOU for participating and taking action toward bettering our planet 🌱❤️

I have had this travel mug since I was 16...my grandma got it for my birthday and it has been a favourite ever since, pairing perfectly with my love for coffee and photography.
Unfortunately, like most things it has broken (a small crack in the side and no longer retains heat) but I couldn't part with it 😉
SOOOO for Christmas I bought a replacement mug and started to use the old one for a plant pot that obviously needed a bigger pot! (I have never actually accomplished having any of my cactus actually grow)

What has been your favourite repurpose/reuse moment?

Does anyone else not classify a gift as completely done until it is wrapped??

Over the last couple of years I have tried to keep my gift wrapping as sustainable as possible. In a perfect world these would all be fabric wrapped and cute and festive, but financially and sustainably it doesn't make sense to go and buy that kind of stuff..

So normally our tree looks a lot like the third pic. A mismatch assortment of old reused paper (like the polkadot paper from my birthday last year) gift bags we have kept over time, and newspaper (using holiday ads to decorate of course!)

How do you keep your wrapping as sustainable as possible? Let me know 👇🏻👇🏻

I am normally one that uses what I have and not buy new...mostly because I am cheap but also because it is the best thing you could probably do for the environment.
But this product is probably THE BEST thing I have purchased lately...
I love buying toothpaste ZW but hated sticking my toothbrush in a jar 😂 it was messy and I tended to use more than needed and with certain toothpastes the consistency was weird so I saw this at and could not resist! No regrets on this purchase yet and it was only $11(ish) 🪥🪥

I love learning about low waste/low impact stores in all corners of the !
Today I visited .beach.market in and it was so cute! They just opened during these crazy COVID times and I can't wait to see how they grow going forward!

Tag your favourite Low Waste or Low Impact store below 👇🏻👇🏻 I can't wait to see some new places to visit!

I shared this on my page last year but there is so many ideas one person can accomplish!

How much of this list have you already done? Do you see any new ideas?

I was taught when I went to school for Journalism that "if it bleeds it leads" this is a huge indicator of how the media shares information and can be extremely overwhelming for people.
Eco anxiety can be hard to manage so I have tried to compile some ways to work through it
https://livinglowwaste.wordpress.com/2020/07/24/breathe/
Check it out and let me know how you cope with Evo Anxiety

RECOMMENDED VIDEO!


・・・
COVID-19 has created serious challenges for the zero waste movement. In my latest video, I break down some of the ways that you can still make a difference in these weird times. (Link in bio)
Reusable bags and coffee cups were (and in some places still are) banned from use, and disposable masks are creating a whole new waste stream we never had to deal with before. 🤦🏻‍♂️
However, a lot has changed since those initial movements, most notably that scientists from across the world agree that reusables DO NOT help spread the corona virus. We have also seen reusable masks become common place and are proven to be just as effective as disposable alternatives.
I talk about a bunch of other stuff in the video but there’s obviously a ton of other ways that you can reduce your waste during Plastic Free July. What have you found that’s worked/hasn’t?
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So what's the point?
I believe that become more sustainable in the will require a lot of work! But, I think it will overall create more jobs, grow our local community, and create a better environment for future and current generations.
Take a look at this link for this week's blog post about the big question of what's the point?

https://livinglowwaste.wordpress.com/2020/07/15/so-whats-the-point/

So, What’s the Point? I am going to be honest here, reducing your waste and impact on the environment can be hard. It takes time, patience, and a bit of thinking to be able to ensure you are choosing the right products,…

🤷 What small change can you make today?

✊ Youth everywhere are leading the charge on climate action!
❌ These grade 9 students from South Huron District High School in Exeter, ON are aiming to reduce single-use plastic usage in their community.

📸 They put their own twist on a photo made by Manuel Bergmann with a spin on a quote by Zero-Waste Chef Anne-Marie Bonneau.

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UN: World could hit 1.5-degree warming threshold by 2024 GENEVA - The world could see average global temperatures 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average for the first time in t...

This is what started it all for me.
Coffee was the first area I reduced my waste and it snowballed from there.

This I have decided to get back into writing so check out this little blurb about how I got started doing
https://livinglowwaste.wordpress.com/2020/06/11/example-post-3/