1. Make a List and Check It Twice:

Before you get caught up in the holiday shopping tornado, plan your attack. Make a list of killer gifts that are not just thoughtful but also Eco-conscious. Have you ever gone food shopping without a list? You know you end up buying tons of stuff you don’t need, but if you keep to a list you’re going to save money and buy only what you use.

2. Support Local Hustles:

Forget the big-box madness. Hit up the local markets, craft fairs, and boutiques. Supporting local businesses helps your community, fellow local humans and shrinks your carbon footprint. Double win! If there’s nothing that interests you locally, check out sellers on Etsy or online small businesses – you still may be shipping items to you but at least you’re supporting small businesses and getting really unique gifts.

3. Choose Products That Are the Real MVPs:

Opt for gifts made from sustainable materials. Think organic, think reusable, think stuff that won’t end up haunting landfills for centuries. Your gifts should be as long-lasting as your Aunt Karen’s fruitcake (but way more desirable). This is where you may spend more money but it will save you money in the long run. Buy quality items that will last.

4. Get Crafty with DIY Magic:

Unleash your inner crafting wizard. DIY gifts are not just about saving cash; they’re about creating something unique and lowering the environmental impact. Plus, it’s a legit excuse to get glitter everywhere. This year I had leftover material from a project that I had no use for so I created throw pillows for my kids. They loved them, and since I’m not a pro and there were seams – my kids said the “imperfections made it more perfect”. My oldest daughter took a knitting class in college (I know, I know, it sounds like the new underwater basket-weaving but she loved it) and now made everyone’s scarves and hats for the holidays. Check out my red penis scarf – it’s my favorite gift!

5. Experiences Over Things:

Gift memories, not just things. Concert tickets, museums, spa days, or a virtual escape room – experiences beat material possessions any day of the week. My daughter cannot tell you what doll or game I bought her for the holidays 5 years ago, but she remembers the ice skating lessons we got for her. We even got the whole family involved that year when her grandma bought her a new pair of ice skates. We celebrated our other daughter’s birthday with a Broadway show and a day in NYC. Less stuff, more memories. It’s the way to go.

6. Wrap It Up, Green Style:

Ditch the boring wrapping paper and get imaginative. Use recycled paper, fabric scraps, or repurpose old newspapers or maps. And hey, reusable gift wraps like scarves or tote bags? Double the gift, zero the waste.

7. Eco-Friendly Holiday Cards:

Send e-cards or pick cards made from recycled materials. Or, how about going digital and sending a video message? Because why waste paper when you can be a video star? My favorite holidays gifts from my kids were when they wrote me letters – years later when I need a little pick-me-up I still read them.

Those are my Lucky 7 Eco-friendly suggestions. Stay tuned because I don’t live on Mars and know that you’re going to buy some stuff for the holidays so watch out for my holiday shopping guide coming to a computer screen near you. Together, we CAN celebrate the season without trashing the planet. Cheers to a dirty, clean holiday season! 🌍🎁 #DirtyCleanHolidays #SustainableCelebrations #LivingCleanAndDirty

The post Dirty Santa, Clean Earth: Navigating Eco-Friendly Holidays Like a Pro appeared first on Living Clean and Dirty.

Fast forward almost 3 decades later and all of my friends started having kids.  The next handful of years were a blur of gift cards and things bought off of registries, but I was still never able to top that original personalized gift. Sure I could do another photo album or a snow globe or something else that will just end up in a drawer but I needed a fresh idea.

Let me introduce you to my new go-to gift source. PlantPoweredWoodWorks. Specializing in personalized wooden signs, plaques, dog leash holders and so much more, I’ll never look elsewhere for a unique gift again. Now…full disclosure, “he” also happens to be my husband. He had always been a creative guy and works in a creative field, but during the pandemic he turned his hobby into a side hustle and the orders have been steadily coming in and so have the positive reviews.

His contact info is below, and if you mention that you heard about him from Living Clean and Dirty he’s offering 10% off. He’ll also add an additional discount if you refer someone to him and they make a purchase. Did I also mention that with every purchase of a personalized dog leash holder he’ll donate a portion of the cost to a local animal rescue (we’re rescue dog parents so that’s a no-brainer for us). And did I mention that you’d be supporting an Air Force veteran? Yup, that’s my fella.

He’s so creative and has a wonderful eye for details. I can honestly tell you, and would tell him, I’m his biggest fan but also an honest critic. If his creations looked like they were done by a drunk toddler then I would tell him to just keep the woodworking as a hobby, but honestly his work is amazing, judge for yourself.

Feel free to reach out to him (or even me) and get something special for someone special today.

The post The Gift of Wood…it’s not just for beavers appeared first on Living Clean and Dirty.

As I’m sure you can tell by now, I love to have a good laugh.  But I should preface that with the fact that the material needs to be funny.  Back in my single days a guy gave me this card on Valentine’s Day.  Now, granted I took some artistic liberties with the card itself because the original is still probably in police evidence “just in case”, but the sentiment is the same.  He wasn’t funny, he was super creepy and he always looked like he needed a shower (not in the Ethan Hawke hot way, but more like Howard Hughes at the end when he was pissing in jars).  He would have been better off if the card had said “Happy Valentine’s Day – Clearly you’re a low-shooter and I love that about you.”  Ugh! Gross!!  …OK, now back to our blog.

The true history of Valentine’s Day can differ depending on who you ask.  While most historians agree that it’s actually St. Valentine that we celebrate on the 14^th of February, the details tend to be a little sketchy.  My favorite story is about an imprisoned Saint named Valentine who sent a love letter to the daughter of his jailer before his death and signed it “From Your Valentine”.  That’s right baby…caged heat.  While I’m sure Valentine’s Day in today’s prisons must be the butt of a lot of jokes, we have an imprisoned man condemned to death to thank for an abundance of greeting cards, chocolate, flowers and last minute shopping by forgetful husbands.

Now I’m sure that my husband’s version of the story would revolve around a celebration of the great St. Vagine, and we should spend the day on our knees pleasing it.  Knowing him, this would yield a lot of empty wine bottles and me asking on Facebook for a good chiropractor the next day.  Honestly we aren’t big gift givers in my house.  Holidays and anniversaries are great excuses to turn off the rest of the world and spend time with the ones we love.  Basically if we are wrapping up shit in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep it’s because the dog took a dump in the living room and we are trying to destroy the evidence.  But when we do need/want something we just get it and surprise the person even more because well…it’s a no-reason-Tuesday.  More than anything we love giving the gift of experience (in the case of my two kids) or the gift of health for my hubby and me. But, hubby is only human, and there are certain landmark holidays where he starts hinting around about what sort of gift I would like.

So with February 14^th fast approaching, here’s my Top 10 lists of eco-friendly Valentine’s Day gifts.  The first list is gifts for the ladies.  These can be from your fella or even better, a gift you get yourself on Black Saturday.  But don’t worry fellas; I made a top 10 gift list for you too.

VALENTINE’S DAY TOP 10 GIFTS FOR WOMEN

1) Massage: My hubby and I both get monthly massages. It’s a great way to turn off and de-stress since we both sit in chairs for a gazillion hours a day.  Your parenting skills could use the time for a quick recharge and your muscles will thank you.  Neither of us get the “Happy Ending” kind but I guess that could relax you too, this is a judgment free blog.

2) Guided Meditation Class: My hubby encourages me to go twice a month.  There’s a local place by me who donates part of the proceeds to a local animal shelter.  I usually fall asleep half way through (last time I was even sitting up) but it’s relaxing and I love the meditation practice.  It’s like sex, sure you can do it alone, but sometimes it’s nice to have someone there walking you through it.

3) Facials: I treat myself to a once a month facial (sigh, please don’t laugh).  Every time I say “facial” in my house my hubby laughs uncontrollably.  I just learned (after getting my first one) that it’s called a facial when a man treats your face like a sperm bank and he’s making a deposit.  I love getting a facial (the spa kind) because it’s awesome for my poor dehydrated skin and I can’t believe how good it feels.  Thankfully I never got the other facial because if a guy tried to leave his mess all over my face he’d end up with fewer balls than Lance Armstrong.

4) Buy One Organic Decadent Thing:  Hubby is going to laugh at this one and say something supportive like “Oh, if you wanted to treat yourself with organic corn you could have just asked”.  Well, in this case I was thinking on a grander scale.  This past year for the holidays I’ve been eyeing some VERY expensive Coyuchi organic towels.  Doesn’t sound so glamorous at first, but you won’t hear me complain when I wrap myself up in one of these after a nice hot bath.

5) Take a Class: Do this as a couple or do it alone.  Hell, when I was single and in my 20s I bought myself a gift every V-Day (still love these cool earrings I got one year, I know me so well) so I took a cooking class in Brooklyn and still use what I learned there every day.  And if cooking isn’t your thing, try another class, a few years back I took a knitting class and this year I’m learning to sew.

6) Send Flowers:  While certainly not original, sending flowers is the “black iron skillet” of the gift giving world.  It’s a simple phone call, nearly impossible to mess up and a timeless gift.  If this is your choice, be sure to take advantage of the “tulips” (two-lips) jokes and also try sending eco-friendly flowers (www.organicbouquet.com) or even a plant.

7) Write a Heart Felt Letter:  Back before texting, sexting, email and even AIM we used to write letters…you know, with a pen.  Skip the stupid card, because you probably waited too long anyway and now all that’s left are the crappy cards with sad puppies or Batman on them.  It’s WAY more touching if you just write how you feel and if you feel inclined you can draw a little picture too…you don’t even have to rhyme (but if you can, that’s nice)

8) Symbolically Find Your Valentine’s Animal Match and Donate:  You can go to: www.worldwildlife.org and pick what animal best describes your Valentine and symbolically adopt that animal.  We love that we’re giving to one of our favorite charities, my kids love doing it and probably most important…our dogs love it because they hate competition.

9) Think Vintage: Growing up we called jewelry and clothes like this “old” but now it’s “chic”.  It looks like there’s a huge resurgence of what I like to call “the classics”, you know…like granny panties.  Check out vintage stores, consignment shops or etsy for tons of repurposed items.  What someone else doesn’t use is your treasure.

10) Make a Mix Tape: OK, technically I was thinking of a Mix-Playlist, but there’s something about Bonnie Tyler, Simply Red and Berlin that just screams Sony Walkman to me.  Make her feel young again and make her a playlist on her I-Fillintheblank.  Pick some of her favorite music from when she was young and fresh filled with hope that she can listen to now while she’s cleaning up after your kids and doing your laundry and making your dinner…sorry, a little projecting there.  Be a mensch and play that playlist on your stereo, take her hand and ask her to dance.

If you continue to scroll down you will see the men’s list, hope this helps and have a great V-Day.

VALENTINE’S DAY TOP 10 GIFTS FOR MEN

1. Sex
2. Sex
3. Bake him cookies
4. Sex
5. Blowjob
6. Sex
7. Sex
8. Sex
9. Sex
10. Sex and then let him finish the cookies (may be substituted for Blowjob)

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