What day is today? An eco-friendly excuse.

When I got tasked with writing the Valentine’s Day blog post, all I could think about was this movie quote - “Valentine’s Day is a holiday created by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap.”

Now I am not that big of a skeptic, but I do think that Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that produces a lot of useless junk.  They make it, we buy it.  Sure it’s nice to feel loved, but do you really need a giant singing teddy bear? 

I’m not going to do my usual post about eco-friendly gifts and where to buy them.  Nope, not going to do it…why?  In my opinion, you can forgo the usual gifts (or the unusual eco-friendly gifts) without making your loved ones feel like you forgot about the day (If you really want ideas, check out our post from last year).

One of my favorite things to do with my husband is make dinner together (ok, so this usually consists of him making dinner while I watch, but that isn’t the point).  This is a gift in itself.  Not only are you making dinner, hopefully from locally grown ingredients, but you are spending time with the special person in your life.  Spending time together FREE and it can be an environmentally-friendly way to celebrate the day.   

Make something for your special someone.  Chances are, whatever you make won’t end up in the trash, but be treasured for years to come.  Speaking of making something, if you have kids in elementary school, you probably know how much paper is wasted on the little Valentine’s Day cards your kid has to give to each kid in the class.  Just like what happens with most cards, these end up in the trash shortly after getting them.

This might be difficult, but see if your kids will make their own cards out of supplies they already have instead of purchasing cards.  You can have a family craft day, and I guarantee their cards will stand out amongst the others. 

If you feel you absolutely must buy something, try a potted plant and an e-card, or a plantable card.  And here’s a tip: if you forget about the day altogether, just use the “I’m being eco-friendly” excuse.   You’re welcome.