SCARY FACTS

• National Geographic spelled it out in alarming terms: The United States uses more than 36 billion disposable utensils a year. Laid end to end, they could wrap around the globe 139 times.
• Humans buy about 1,000,000 plastic bottles per minute in total. Only about 23% of plastic bottles are recycled within the U.S.
• Americans purchase about 50 billion water bottles per year, averaging about 13 bottles per month for every person in the U.S.! That means by using a reusable water bottle, you could save an average of 156 plastic bottles annually.
• It is estimated that 4 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide annually. Only 1% of plastic bags are returned for recycling. Americans throw away 100 billion plastic bags annually. That’s about 307 bags per person! 
• Half a million straws are used in the world every day. 
• 500 billion disposable cups are consumed every year. Americans alone throw away 25 billion styrofoam coffee cups annually. Styrofoam cannot be completely recycled. Most of the Styrofoam disposed of today will still be present in landfills 500 years from now. UGH.

It’s ok if it’s compostable right?

Unfortunately not : (

Last year, Boulder and Denver updated their guidelines such that even those certified compostable cups, utensils, plates and to-go containers CANNOT go in the compost anymore.

So, what CAN you do?

ACTION 1:

Create a ‘Go Bag’.

Mine consists of:

• Reusable silverware (My go to is this cool  silverware set consisting of knife, fork, spoon, straws, straw cleaner and even CHOPSTICKS!) 

• Collapsible food storage containers  

• Silicone reusable (watertight) bag for leftovers. I obviously love the Nude Foods ones.
• Metal water bottle – my kids love these!

Keep it in your purse, in your backpack, on your bike or in your car so that you always have something. I even carry spares to share with friends.

I use mine at:

• The Farmers’ Market
• Food Trucks
• Coffee shops
• For leftovers at restaurants
• For any takeout

Most food service providers are happy to fill your container as it saves them money on providing you with one : )

And you’ll get to feel oh-so-smug when you whip out your container to take those yummy leftovers in – BONUS!

Remember to post in the Facebook group today introducing yourself!

1. Post all sorts of random things like sinks, drains, kids toys/bowls/cloths, carpet remnants etc for free on Facebook groups, including Boulder Babies Free Swap and Buy Nothing Boulder or Buy Nothing Denver and Outgrown Denver Baby. You’ll be amazed at how quickly it all disappears and how much of it people want!  Top tip: Post measurements, a photo, your location and how you’ll pick the lucky recipient if you have multiple requests.
2. Post items on the Nextdoor website for your neighborhood. We ripped our old carpet out of the basement, I posted it and within the hour someone had picked it all up!
3. Sell pretty much anything on Boulder’s Virtual Yard Sale, Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
4. If you have any nice clothes and shoes you can consign them at Common Threads or Rags in Boulder or Denver. You can also post them for sale on Poshmark which is also a great place to find clothes you’ve loved and lost or ruined. I found a Target cardigan I bought 3 years ago and lost on there and replaced a pair of jeans like-for-like that I’d spilled oil on. We also host seasonal clothing swaps in partnership with Clothing Cycle Shop, so keep your eyes peeled for those!
5. Take unwanted creative materials to Art Parts, Boulder’s creative reuse center. Denver also has the Recreative! Check out the LONG list of what they accept HERE.
6. Donate any extra clothing (preferably men’s), shoes, toiletries or reading glasses to Feet Forward, a local homeless non-profit run by formerly homeless people.
7. Donate packaged, in date food to EFFA (Boulder) or Denver Community Fridges.
8. Take any sports equipment to consign at Play It Again Sports or Boulder Sports Recycler, and if you are in Denver Secondwind Sports or Sports Plus.
9. Take any furniture, kitchen cabinets, construction items or building materials to Resource (Boulder). This is also a great place to GET items you need!)
10. Take old pots of paint to HMMF (Hazardous Materials).

Challenge 2:

Take a photo of something you’re going to recycle / upcycle / give away or sell this week and let us know where you took / will take it / posted it.

This is the single biggest thing you can do to save the world (and maybe even yourself : )

“Many of us, myself included, engage in painless, performative environmentalism,” Manjoo writes. “We’ll give up plastic straws and tweet passionately that someone should do something about the Amazon, yet few of us make space in our worldview to acknowledge the carcass in the room: the irrefutable evidence that our addiction to meat is killing the planet right before our eyes. ” Manjoo explains that omnivores classify vegans as “preachy” only because their mere existence exposes the cognative dissonance people experience when continuing to support animal cruelty and enviornmental destruction by eating animal products.

Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times

According to a recent study published in The Lancet, one of the most prestigious and oldest peer-reviewed medical journals, eating a plant-based diet has up to 84% less impact than one that includes meat, fish, eggs and dairy.

The new study, led by Nicole Blackstone, assessed six categories of environmental impact:

1. Land use, 
2. Water depletion
3. Climate change
4. Respiratory inorganics
5. Marine water eutrophication
6. Freshwater eutrophication

Nearly all of the categories were affected up to 84 percent less by a plant-based diet when compared to one that included animal products.

Pretty compelling right?

If that’s not enough then do it for your HEALTH.

1. It’s been proven to reduce the risk of many types of cancer and heart disease
2. It lowers blood sugar levels and improves kidney functions
3. Makes you SO regular (super healthy poops!)
4. Reduces pain from arthritis
5. It’s rich in nutrients

From my own experience:

• I feel so energetic 
• I’m fitter, stronger and have more stamina than I’ve ever had (seriously, I run up mountains for fun!)

If going cold turkey (or should that be cold tofu? ; ) is too much of a jump for you, try these initial steps:

1. Order Nude Meals from Nude Foods which are made from scratch by the Nude Foods chef, are always plant-based and take about 5 minutes from jar to table.
   1. Chef’s Choice – something like a riotto / quinoa / buddha bowl with 2 sides
   2. Asian Fusion – curry or Asian-inspired dish with rice / quinoa / noodles and a yummy side
   3. Soup – hearty soup with gluten free bread and a delicious salad
2. Start with plant-based food replacements. Instead of sausages, buy vegan sausages, instead of cheese, buy vegan cheese (like our vegan herbed feta), instead of cow breast milk buy Oat milk, instead of butter buy margarine or vegan butter. This way you don’t have to change your whole mindset of what you’re eating immediately. My faves are:
   1. We love Meati– the vegan version of the classic can-you-hear-that-crunch crispy chicken cutlet.
   2. Oat milk – I love Oatis. It’s all organic and made locally here in Boulder.
   3. Vegan Butter – I’m obsessed with Earth Balance‘s AMAZING vegan butter. Yum. (Find it at Nude Foods Market without any of the packaging : )
3. Use flaxmeal instead of eggs (1 tablespoon of flaxmeal + 3 tablespoons of water = 1 egg in baking). I recommend going for plant-based recipes that already have this built-in as I’ve never tried simply doing a direct replacement
4. Let go of the belief that every meal needs a central ‘thing’ to make it a meal. This was hard (and still is) for me. What do I mean by this? Non-plant-based meals are led by the meat e.g. CHICKEN with mashed potatoes and peas, FISH and chips, STEAK, green beans and potatoes, cheese-based LASAGNE and salad. Instead think of a meal as a more equally balanced plate consisting of things you might traditionally think of as sides.
5. Here are a few of my fave meals and snacks for inspiration plus a WHOLE HEAP MORE HERE complete with links to buy.

Challenge 3:

Plan to eat all plant-based one day this week. Post in the Facebook group about what you’re planning to eat : )

Also let us know if you try any of these recipes and how they are! Bonus points for including a photo.

The amount of junk mail that comes through people’s doors is INSANE.

I once bought a riding helmet for my kid and I still get these darn horse brochures coming through my door every quarter without fail!

Here’s how you stop it, or at least slow the flow:

Check out CatalogChoice. It’s described as a free service by which people can sign up to reduce junk mail and thus reduce waste, fossil fuels for transportation, and methane/pollution generated when paper waste goes to landfill or incinerators.

The other thing to do is is email each company directly to get removed from their mailing list. This takes a bit of effort but is worth it in the end! We still get more junk mail than I’d like (although I DO love looking at the crazy expensive houses in the property magazines!) but it has reduced substantially.

Challenge 4:

This is a 2-parter.

1) Sign up for CatalogChoice

2) Collect your junk mail for a week and at the end of that week, call or email each of the companies to ask them to stop sending you stuff. If you feel inspired, you could explain to them that the junk mail actually puts you off shopping with them at all.

Buying plastic crap for kids (and adults!) has almost become socially enforced. My kids love it and other people seem to love to buy it for them.

But by going along with this, we’re simply teaching them that plastic (and STUFF) is a good thing and the more of it the better.

I read a great book called Simplicity Parenting. HERE are my notes to save you some time reading it. This helped me realize that less is most definitely more when it comes to kids.

Here are 10 ways I keep the plastic (somewhat) at bay:

1. Give them a WHY: Show them openly the devastation that plastic is doing to the earth – photos of animals surrounded by plastic in the ocean, the famous turtle with a straw in its nose and explain to them how our plastic use is leading to this. 
2. MODELING: I model refusing plastic at restaurants, take outs etc and I’m proud to say that my girls will now tell the server they don’t want plastic whether they are with me or not. 
3. COMMUNICATE: I BEG family and friends not to buy plastic presents or ideally any presents at all. If you review the Simplicity Parenting notes you’ll see that they propose too much ‘stuff’ is bad for children. I know I personally feel totally overwhelmed by stuff all the time so this rings pretty true for me. This is a constant battle. A family member who shall remain nameless literally bought them a big bunch of plastic straws with styrofoam cut outs to make a plastic bunch of flowers! Do they know me AT ALL??? I find giving a list of alternatives and letting them know you are happiest with either previously used stuff or experiences. 
4. GIVING over RECEIVING: I went to a birthday party recently where the 6 year old had elected for people to donate to a cause instead of bringing her gifts. I’m working on this one for my girls and think I’ll get there if I can promise a pretty cool experience in lieu. I’m thinking horse riding lessons : ) I also think this is an amazing lesson to teach them early on. Stuff won’t make you happy, helping others just might.
5. REDUCE the number of toys: My husband laughs because I’m literally cleaning out the playroom every 3 months of all the crap they seem to acquire. And that is with me being a total crap drill sergeant – it still seems to infiltrate somehow. My aim is for them to have about 8 stuffies, 4 board games, a few coloring books and 10 reading books out to play with. Everything else is locked in the locked ‘Toy Library’ and they have to request it then clean it up and exchange it if they want something else. To be honest, they just play with what’s out mostly and make up games with cushions and kitchen utensils. GREAT for their imagination and self-directed play.  (Update: I am failing!)
6. EXPERIENCES over STUFF: I’m always trying to emphasize giving them fun experiences rather than presents and constantly modeling how I prefer amazing memories to more stuff. 
7. SWAP TOYS: Younger kids are just happy with things that are new to THEM. They have no idea if it’s actually new or not. So get together with a bunch of friends and instead of buying new toys etc for birthdays and Christmas, swap among yourselves. Also check out TOY LIBRARY. You can sign up and they deliver you toys from their ‘library’ each month which you then return. They clean and sanitize and send out to another kid. I haven’t tried it yet so not sure on the packaging but it seems COOL! AND keep your eye on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist etc as you can find some awesome stuff on there.
8. TEACH THEM HOW TO RECYCLE / COMPOST: Make this a habit and they’ll have it for life and they can pass it onto other kids. Mine are constantly sharing their knowledge at school and encouraging kids to shop zero waste.
9. GRATITUDE: When kids do receive gifts, make sure they slow down and appreciate them. I’ve watched as kids rip through opening a ton of presents and barely glance at them. It ends up being less fun for the kids and definitely less fun for the giver.
10. GIFT THEM WHAT THEY NEED: Keep a list of everything your kid NEEDS (new shoes, clothes, toothbrush etc) and save it all up for birthdays. That way you don’t have to double buy. For example, mine received wooden toothbrushes with their names engraved on them for Christmas one year and also receive lots of second-hand clothes from CHILDISH THINGS.

CHALLENGE 5:

Simplify your kids toys. Get a big box or bag and go and remove at least 50% of their toys and books and hide them away somewhere. Did they notice? Did it impede their playing? Did they actually end up using their imagination more?

If you are a kid-free zone, try the same thing with an area of your house. Try attacking the cupboards in the kitchen and giving away those spices and random food items you haven’t used in forever. Go through your closet and grab any item of clothing that you haven’t worn in a year and pack it away. If by the beginning of next year you haven’t gone into the box to get it, you know you no longer need it.

If you’re anything like me, you hold onto things you don’t need anymore because you KNOW there’s got to be a better home for them than the landfill.

Good news, often there is!

Nude Foods Market (3233 Walnut Street) takes a few things. Then there is a magical place called The CHaRM (Center for Hard to Recycle Materials.)

This post is focused specifically on Boulder’s recycling capabilities and every town is different so please research where to recycle each of these materials wherever you live : ) I’ve done some research into what Denver’s recycling capabilities are so this is by no means a comprehensive list!

HERE is an up to date list of what CHaRM accepts. Find the CHaRM at 6400 Arapahoe Road in Boulder and HERE is the price list.

For Denver, I recommend checking out this comprehensive Denver.gov list. If you scroll to the bottom, there is Waste Directory where you search specifics, from Christmas trees to electronics to mattresses, etc.

The list below is NOT always going to contain the most up to date information so is designed to inspire you about all the things you can recycle rather than be taken as gospel. Please check the links above to confirm what is accepted and what the prices are.

Challenge 6:

Go dig out those things you’ve been holding onto because you were sure there was a better place for them and take them to The CHaRM TODAY!!! 6400 Arapahoe Rd, Boulder. Mon – Sat: 9am – 5pm.

If you live outside Boulder/Denver, do some research and find a similar center in your area.

Please also double check all these details as CHaRM / Resource sometimes changes fees / what they accept.

A lot of cleaning products go straight into our water system.

Dish soap goes down the sink.

Dishwasher detergent down the drain.

Laundry detergent, all purpose cleaner, toilet cleaner, stain remover….. the list is endless!

Often these products use REALLY harsh chemicals which then go on to pollute and damage our environment. UGH.

The big challenge I find is the trade off between something working well and something being environmentally responsible.

I’m not going to lie, sometimes I just have to accept that I’m going to have to scrub a little harder to get the same results.

At Nude Foods Market we are HYPER strict on the environmental impact of our cleaning products. SO many ‘eco-products’ are guilty of major green washing and we refuse to be a part of that. If it’s stocked at Nude Foods, you know it is the absolute top of the range in terms of its eco-credentials.

Here’s a run down of easy ways to zero waste your cleaning closet:

Challenge 7:

Do a cleaning products audit. Go to EWG (Environmental Working Group – a great site to find out what is TRULY healthy for you and the environment).

What are you currently using that you can replace (when it’s finished) with something more eco-friendly? Take a pic of what you find and share it.

1. When in doubt, throw it out (or give Eco-Cycle a shout)! “Wishcycling” only contaminates the stream and potentially causes problems for equipment/human sorters. Denver folks, use THIS search engine!
2. The recycling symbol is unregulated and doesn’t mean the item is recyclable. Check your local guidelines rather than depending on the symbol to tell you whether you can recycle something in your home recycling bin or not.
3. Keep plastic bags OUT of the regular recycling! Stretchy #4 bags can be collected and recycled at places like the CHaRM and many grocery stores (like Nude Foods Market), but in the regular recycling stream they jam up the machinery and are costly and dangerous to remove.
4. The numbers on plastic packaging also don’t directly indicate recyclability. In Boulder County, stick to bottles, tubs, jugs, jars, tub lids, clamshells and hard to-go containers when it comes to plastics.
5. When recycling plastic bottles/jugs, attach the plastic caps. If they are separate, they are too small to be recycled and clog up machinery. (The rule of thumb is that if something is smaller than 2 inches, it should go to landfill.)
6. Tetrapak cartons can be recycled. Squish but do not flatten, and attach the plastic cap. Tetrapak are one of the few packaging producers who take responsbility for their packaging and they take the entire thing.

Boulderites, check out the full EcoCycle Recycling guidelines.

Denver folks, check out what’s accepted here.

Composting

1. If you have curbside composting, remember that you can put items such as bones and meat in your bin. These things wouldn’t be good in your backyard pile, but in the commercial facility it is hot enough to break all of that down.
2. Contamination matters! There are no mechanisms to remove items that should not be composted. If you put fruit stickers in the compost, they will likely end up as microplastics in our soils/new food. Keep plastic OUT!

Check out the full EcoCycle Composting guidelines.

In Denver, Compost is slowly being rolled out municipally. If you are not covered by the city, here are some options to check out:

–Wompost: Women-owned composting!
-Cherry Creek Recycling and Compost: Free food scrap (and recycling) drop-off for Denver residents.
–Compost Colorado: Curbside food scrap and organics collection in the greater Denver area.
–Denver Compost Collective: Food scrap curbside collection service geared toward apartment-dwellers. They donate their finished compost to a local community farm, Frontline Farming.
–Scraps: Residential and commercial food scrap collection plus a drop-off location.
–SustainAbility: Residential organics collection.

Challenge 8:

Download EcoCycle’s A-Z Recycling Guide App, take a screenshot and share it on the Facebook page (or just tell us you’ve done it if taking a screenshot is a pain!)

On Android.

On Apple.

We have become such a throw away culture that we tend to chuck things in the bin if they’re broken / we don’t need them anymore. Here are some alternative options:

Electronic Items:

In Boulder we have a shop called UbreakIfix. Everyone thinks they’re just for phones but I’ve taken a microwave, a bike light, a hairdryer and 2 laptops in there – almost all of which they’ve managed to fix. They evaluate it for free so there’s literally no downside to taking it in there. They’ll even recycle it for you if they can’t fix it and you don’t want it back. (You can also recycle Electronics at Nude Foods. Because the recyclers charge $$ for this, there is a cost involved.)

Bikes:

Take a bike to almost any bike shop and get it fixed up OR learn to do it yourself with Community Cycles. They not only offer refurbished bikes for sale but are also an educational center for bike care and repair, seeking to provide equitable access to bicycles for everyone in the community.

Clothes:

If I didn’t know better, I’d think my kids spent their lives crawling on their hands and knees because they get SO MANY HOLES in their leggings. Instead of just throwing them in the bin, I have taken to (very badly) sewing them up myself. It’s a win-win because I feel very proud of myself and they get more wear out of their clothes! To make it easy, I keep an old wicker basket with needles and thread in which I buy from Art Parts or acquire from kids toy kits that they end up not using.

More Clothes:

Shopping second hand is SO fun and so much less impact on the planet (more about that in another post) but it does mean that not all sizes are available. If you find something you love but it doesn’t fit you, you can always alter it. I bought an amazing dress for a friend’s 40th, took it to Boulder Custom Tailoring (just near Nude Foods) where they took it up, added shoulder pads and made it a little less low cut! (I’m the one on the left).

Outdoor Gear:

I have been skiing in the same ski outfit for 17 years and often wonder if I’ll still be skiing in it when I’m 80! It’s pretty hard wearing but the insides of my pant legs got a bit worn so I took them to Boulder Mountain Repair which specializes in repairing outdoor gear and they sewed extra tough patches on the inside ankles and I’ve had no problems since. They also repair packs, sleeping bags, tents and more! Bare Boulder also offers this service AND if you have an idea to create a piece of outdoor gear yourself, they can even prototype it for you!

Tools:

Take them to locally-owned McGuckin’s Hardware for repair or servicing.

Pretty Much Anything…..

This is really the jewel in the crown of Boulder’s ‘fix-it’ community – Boulder U-Fix-It Clinic.  At Boulder U-Fix-It Clinic events, people bring all sorts of broken appliances, toys, electronics, clothing, and jewelry and work with volunteer coaches to learn hands-on repair skills. A set of tools is available for each participant to use.

Challenge 9:

Put together a little sewing kit if you don’t have one already then find something with a hole in and sew it up! It doesn’t have to be pretty. Take a photo and share it!

My mind boggles about the number of occasional use items we all own.

Power drills for the 3x a year we’ll use them.

In Boulder, a ton of people have snow blowers for the 7 times a year we get to snow blow.

SO MANY TOOLS in the garage that are used once and then probably never again.

Cars that sit unused for days.

Books that we read once and then leave on the shelf.

Toys kids lose interest in that remain unloved in the toy box.

Driving solo from Boulder to Eldora to fill up an overflowing parking lot.

There has to be a better way and good news, there is!

Renting Tools and Machines

Sadly Resource Central’s Tool Library seems to have closed so your next community option is Boulder Creek’s Community Toolshed. If you can’t find it there, then you can usually rent it at Home Depot.

Similarly, Denver Tool Library has an  inventory of over 5,000 tools that you can check out just like you check out books from a book library!

Snow Blow your Neighborhood

While not everyone needs to snow blow, this is simply an example of how neighborhoods can get together to share resources. Why not buy a snow blower between you and each time it snows, someone has a turn to snow blow the entire neighborhood?

Car Share

In Boulder we’re lucky enough to have an amazing car sharing club called Colorado Car Share. There are cars placed all over Boulder and you can book them online for as little as an hour. You simply use the fob they send you when you sign up to unlock the car and drive away. It is SO SIMPLE. Nude Foods Market uses them when we have extra deliveries to make or something big to pick up. They have lots of electric vehicles and a ton of different sizes to choose from.

You save on insurance, maintenance and the waste of your car sitting unused when you don’t need it.

Turo

Like Airbnb for cars. You post your car and people can rent it.

Lyft / Uber

Consider getting rid of your car entirely and just using Lyft and Uber. I think you might be surprised that it can cost less than owning your own car! And you’re basically being chauffeur driven!

Read this account of someone who ditched their car in favor of these ride sharing services.

Lime Scooters

These are fun little scooters placed all over town. You can pick one up almost anywhere and simply take it to where you want to go and snap a photo of it when you’re done. To unlock a Lime-S, simply scan the QR code located on the handlebars or the baseboard using the Lime app.

B-Cycle

B-Cycle is Boulder’s own bike sharing service and tons of other cities around the world have these. These bikes have dedicated stations all over town where you can pick up a bike then you simply return them to another station. This makes it slightly less flexible than Lime but a great option if you live near a station!

The Library (and Libby)

My kids LOVE going to the library to choose a book. It makes an event of it rather than them just picking up a book off the shelf at home.

And if you haven’t heard of Libby then I am about to blow your mind….

Libby is an app that allows you to borrow digital and audiobooks from your local library right to your cell phone or kindle. I use it every single day to listen to an audiobook while going to sleep.

You can even borrow magazines and cookbooks!

Airbnb / VRBO

Although these have now morphed into more official holiday rental property sites, the original idea behind them was people sharing their own homes so that travellers could get more of a locals experience and people could make money renting unused space.

We rent our home on Airbnb and while it’s a TON of work to get it in shape every time, the money is nice and we have made some great connections with our guests.

Toy Sharing

I mentioned this in another post but it’s worth reiterating here. Instead of buying new toys that your kids will get bored of, subscribe to a toy library. You can get ‘new’ toys whenver you are done with the old ones (when you send them back.)

Check out Green Pinata, Toy Library and Whirli.

OR set up your own local Toy Sharing community, I’ve got to admit I’m kind of tempted…….!

Challenge 10:

Make a list of how you can use the sharing economy even more than you likely already are.

Register for at least one of them!

As much as we might try to deny it, shopping is fun! Getting a new outfit, a great item for your home or a new piece of sports equipment is exciting.

But 10% of global emissions come from the clothing industry and it’s clogging up landfill too!

Well, you can actually have it all. You can have the fun without all the guilt by shopping second hand.

Here are my favorite places to shop:

Household Items (think vacuums, Instant Pots, shelves etc)

Boulder’s Virtual Yard Sale, Craigslist, Buy Nothing Boulder. or Facebook Marketplace.

Clothes

Common Threads, Apocalypse, Plato’s Closet or Rags in Boulder.

Or online at Poshmark, ThredUp, Swap.com, Mercari, Goodfair or Facebook Marketplace.

For extra fun, have a clothes swap party with friends or just shop your closet. I went 18 months without buying any new clothes or shoes and it was actually super liberating. When events (like weddings) came up, instead of having that mad panic to go find the perfect outfit, I knew I had to find it in my closet somewhere and so I did : )

Outdoor Gear

In Boulder there’s  Boulder Sports Recycler and Play It Again Sports.

Online you have Patagonia Worn Wear, Gear Trade, REI Used Outdoor Gear, Out&Back Outdoor and The North Face Renewed

Furniture

Check out IMA Design & Consignment on North Broadway and the Amazing Garage Sale up there too.

Most towns have a ton of thrift shops you can browse but if you’re looking for something specific and more highend, check out these online options.

1st Dibs, AptDeco, Chairish, Etsy, FloorFound, Kaiyo, One Kings Lane (sells both new and used), Rejuvenation, Sotheby’s Home (for antiques) and Sunbeam Vintage.

Kids Stuff

In Boulder, I let my kids run free and buy whatever they want at Art Parts because it’s all used arts and craft stuff.

I also LOVE Childish Things. When my kids were little I used to get everything here and it’s still my go to for clothes and shoes. And of course Boulder Babies Free Swap which is a Facebook page where you can ask for items people are giving away and even request things that may not be listed.

I also have friends and family members with older kids save the stuff their kids grow out of and I offer to take it off their hands. They’re happy because they don’t have to deal with taking it to the thrift store and because a lot of stuff gets a second use on my kids. When my eldest was born a friend was giving away ALL her baby stuff and was so grateful that we were willing to just take it all. Most people just want it OUT of their houses once they no longer need it.

Challenge 11:

Go shopping! Pop into a consignment store or get online and treat yo’self, you deserve it : ) Share a pic of what you bought / acquired for free.

It’s GREAT to be as zero waste as we possibly can but you’re just one person. The biggest impact we can have is by sharing the zero waste message far and wide, and voting with our $$$.

For example, in the last 3 years I have walked into Noodles Restaurant 7 times with my kids and each time we discover they were STILL only doing food in dreadful plastic whether you eat in or out so we explained to them that we’re not willing to eat there again until they bring back reusable plates and silverware.  ALSO, even when they do have reusable plates and silverware, the kids meals always come in a plastic tray so we just order our kids an adult meal and take the leftovers home in tupperware.

But…. last week I went in and they agreed to put meals straight into our own tupperware and we’ve been in THREE times since! And given them a great review.

So what can you do?

At Restaurants:

1. Ensure you say ‘no straw please’ to your server BEFORE they go get your drinks. If they bring you one anyway, let them know why you asked them not to – spread the word – and make a point of not using it. Be obnoxious and take it out and leave it on the table : )
2. If a restaurant offers you a landfill-destined cup for water, ask for an alternative or just use your water bottle. At Flower Child for example, they give out single use plastic-coated cups but when I ask for an alternative, they give me a lovely glass mason jar. (I also then tell them how sad I think it is that they don’t automatically give these to everyone.)
3. Tell your server that your kids do NOT need plastic sippy cups. Bring their own bottles if you’re worried about spills or let them use grown up glasses.
4. Ask for REAL silverware when offered plastic. At the French cafe in Boulder they were more than happy to oblige.
5. Email the restaurant and express your disappointment at their environmental impact and suggest alternatives that customers love e.g. metal water cups.

At Schools:

1. Question everything plastic. Be a squeaky wheel. I luckily have 2 other amazing Moms at my kids school who are as squeaky (if not squeakier!) than I am about avoiding plastic use. We regularly write to the Principal.
2. Speak Up: When you see pointless waste happening, go over and say something. For example, Boulder High put on a Halloween event for the kids at our school and it mostly consists of a ton of black plastic bags taped together. I watched as they pulled it down so went over to talk to their teacher about what would happen to it. They were going to trash it so we had a discussion about how it could be kept and used for the next year. While this might not have happened (I have no idea) it will have planted a seed in his head and make him think twice when he puts it in the trash.
3. Sit on the PTA or the Environmental Group. We managed to get reusable party plates, cups and silverware for each class to use as all parties until then were filled with trash.

At the Grocery Store:

1. I sometimes pretend I’m doing a survey for a local marketing company and ask people their reasons for putting vegetables (particularly those with skins) into plastic bags. Often they don’t have a good answer and you can see them really considering why they’re doing this.
2. Yesterday I saw a guy leave his car running the entire time he was in the store so I politely reminded him that this was illegal in Colorado. It didn’t go down well but I bet he won’t do it again!
3. Talk to the cashiers. Encourage them to not push bags on people.
4. Bring back all the packaging from the food you bought and tell them it’s their problem. If we all did this, packaging would reduce significantly.

Post on Social Media:

1. Share your own successes. Share a photo of your Go Bag and tell people how awesome you feel about saving all that waste.
2. Post about your favorite zero waste grocery store (hint: It’s Nude Foods Market ; ) and tell them about a specific product they should try there or a special offer that’s on
3. Post about recycling and composting rules, post about CHaRM. In fact, share anything fun you’ve learned on this 21-Day Challenge that you think others might find interesting.

Talk to Friends and Family:

1. This is BY FAR the hardest one as you don’t want to be super obnoxious and lose friends : ) I mostly try to lead by example and avoid preaching but the occasional ‘did you know’ can be received okay. E.g. did you know they also offer real silverware here? I hate eating with this plastic stuff, don’t you? Did you know that these cups take thousands of years to break down in landfill, it breaks my heart when I see them being offered out in restaurants.
2. There are SO many people who have come back to me later, sometimes years later, and proudly told me that they no longer bag their veggies or they don’t use glad wrap anymore and you realize that all it takes is a little seed in their mind to create a big change. And others tell me I’m the voice in their head when they’re getting a take out coffee and they feel really guilty ha ha!
3. Buy them zero waste gifts! Buy a gift card to Nude Foods Market as a birthday / new baby / new house gift or give them something like this cool rainbow silverware set or a fab reusable coffee cup.

Apps you can use to stop Plastic:

We love Remark which helps you send sustainability feedback to businesses in less than a minute and was founded by a Nude Foods customer!

And PlasticScore which is a crowdsourced zero-waste rating for restaurants take out and dine in packaging.

In Conclusion:

I know I sound pretty obnoxious in this post. Saying something scares the crap out of me every time because the reaction isn’t always particularly positive. But I do it because some things are more important than my comfort and I’ve seen over and over again, that by just planting a seed, you can grow a big tree of change.

P.S. If you’re looking for a great restaurant, I have recently discovered Cup of Peace at Arapahoe and 33rd (just near Nude Foods). They are really thoughtful about their impact and have great food. BUT do not get take out as they still put that in a plastic bag. More on that tomorrow!

Challenge 12:

Download Remark and PlasticScore and review a restaurant that you know uses way to much plastic packaging.

Taking your meal to-go has some serious consequences.

Single-use bags, plastic bottles, food containers and food wrappers are the four most widespread items polluting the seas, making up almost half of the human-made waste.

And depressingly, plastic use tripled since the start of the pandemic and takeout waste is at least partly to blame.

At the current rate, online orders are projected to grow tenfold by 2030. UGH.

You can immediately limit your takeout waste by making small changes:

• Request no disposable napkins, plastic utensils, straws and unnecessary condiments
• Opt out of a plastic bag
• Reuse your to-go containers
• Support businesses making eco-friendly choices

But we don’t like to do things by halves, so here are things you can do to REALLY make a difference:

Use Deliver Zero)

Get your takeout without the trash with Deliver Zero, a reusable takeout container program!

Simply order directly through your favorite delivery app, like Toast or DoorDash, and make sure to add the “Use DeliverZero Reusable Containers” menu item to your cart!

Once you’re done eating, return the containers at one of the drop-off bins (you can drop them at Nude Foods) and Deliver Zero will sanitize and reuse them : )

That way, you can keep enjoying your favorite takeout, without the waste.

Here’s a list of restaurants they’re currently in on the front range. Please support them so they can keep growing!

Leaf

Foolish Craig’s

Rincon Argentino

Deun Deun Box

Pasta Press

Saucy Cluckers

Naked Lunch

Zeal Boulder

Just BE Kitchen

Shamane’s Bakery

Order In but Take Out:

However hard I explain that I don’t want single use packaging, something plastic always ends up in my order so instead I go to the restaurant, order food then when it comes I scrape into tupperware and head straight home to share it with my family. 

This obviously works best in more take out style restaurants rather than going somewhere super fancy!

Just Eat In:

Being British, takeout is less of a cultural norm to me. I find the food doesn’t taste as good, I find the ordering process stressful (when I’m hungry I don’t want to have to wait an hour to get the food!) and the packaging piece of it just kills me. Plus you have to clear up afterwards. Honestly, I think it’s easier, more delicious and less wasteful to just cook yourself OR just eat in.

Eating in gives you a real break. You get your food way quicker. Someone brings your food to you and clears it up after you. You get quality time with family or friends and when you get home, there’s no mess to clean up or ‘stuff’ to dispose of. Win-win-win!

Order Extra:

Finding the time to cook can be hard so another thing I do is order 2 meals at a restaurant, eat one and put the second into my own container for the next night. That way dinner is sorted and no waste was created. I especially love to do this when I venture to the vegan restaurants in Denver. My faves are Blue Sushi Sake Grill (best vegan sushi in the world!), Watercourse Foods and City o’ City. At City o’ City I order extra ‘Chicken’ and waffles to take home plus their BBQ ‘ribs’.

Food Trucks:

I love going to the Rayback Collective especially on vegan food truck night. There’s lots of food choice plus most trucks let me take my own tupperware and they’re happy to put it in there.

Challenge 13:

Sign up for Deliver Zero and order from a restaurant that uses them OR try the order in and take out method.

Getting people to change their shopping habits to zero waste is REALLY hard.

Most people have been grocery shopping for years and don’t have the mental energy to make (what they see as) a big change.

Moving from a store with familiar, colorful packaging that they recognize in an instant to a store with clean glass jars and a deposit and return system can be mind blowing!

The best way we’ve seen to get people to change is by SHOWING them rather than just telling them.

So your challenge today is simple.

Challenge 14:

Bring a friend (who has never shopped with us) to Nude Foods Market at some point THIS week and you’ll BOTH get 15% off ALL your purchases.

All you need to do is introduce them to a Nude Foods team member as a new shopper and they’ll give you the code for 15% off.

This one is SO simple.

If you’re composting properly then your tiny bit of remaining trash should be pretty clean and dry.

If you’re still using a plastic trash bag to line your can, STOP.

It’s unnecessary.

You’re just adding a ton of plastic to landfill.

Your bin is already made of plastic or metal so is super easy to rinse out or give a good clean every now and again. Bin bags are a myth.

And definitely don’t use them in smaller bins around the house as again, all it takes is a good rinse to get them clean.

If you are unable to compost, consider using a large yoghurt tub with a lid / lidded bucket to collect food scraps and keep in the fridge or freezer until trash day, and empty these directly into the external bin.

Challenge 15

Stop Using Bin Bags. Simple : )

Get rid of goody bags!

I find it so odd that my kids go to someone else’s birthday party and THEY get gifts. It’s not their birthday!!! They’ve already had cake and plenty of other ‘treats’ as well as a damn good time with their friends, more gifts are not only wasteful (hands up who hates more small plastic toys in their home) but also spoiling to our kids. It’s teaching them to want more STUFF.

If you can’t bear to not provide something then how about a book swap? Everyone brings an old book and swaps it for someone else’s old book.

Don’t underestimate the joy of something being new to you rather than having to be new new.

Second Hand Gifts

Building on the theme of things being new to you, why not shop second hand for gifts? If you know the perfect thing to get someone then search FB Marketplace and Craigslist or head to a consignment store. For me, a second hand gift is always so much more meaningful because I know it took much more effort and thought for the giver to find.

Say no to gifts or only ask for what you need

It’s hard not to feel like Scrooge when writing this but my friends and I have started to say no gifts to each other for our birthdays. It takes the pressure off and makes the birthday all about spending quality time together instead.

Prioritize Experiences

Objects lose value while memories are priceless. Instead of contibuting to consumer waste by giving physical gifts, plan an experience that will be remembered and appreciated for a lifetime. My kids get art classes, riding lessons or a trip to the movies. My husband and I plan a weekend away for each other.

Regift!

Regifting is cool : ) Just because you don’t have a use for something you’re given doesn’t mean that someone else shouldn’t. If you get a gift you don’t absolutely love or need, then put it in a regift box or drawer. Either you’ll find a need for it at some point or it will come in handy when you need to get someone a gift and have left it til the last minute : )

Give Zero Waste Gifts

If you have to give a ‘thing’ make sure it is reusable and environmentally sustainable. Gifts like reusable coffee mugs and water bottles are not only stylish but also serve as a reminder to people that replacing single-use items with something reusable is totally easy. We have TONS of zero waste gifts at Nude Foods. Check them out HERE.

Zero Waste Gift Wrap

Single-use wrapping paper isn’t actually recyclable. Use materials like newspaper, brown delivery paper, handkerchiefs, t-shirts or reusable bags to wrap your gifts instead. If you’re feeling really creative (and have time) you can even find newspaper and magazine articles that are relevant to the recipient to wrap their gift in.

Zero Waste Party Pack (Jeff & Paige approved!)

Rent our 28-piece Eco-friendly Reusable Dinnerware Set for your next party! When your party is over, just put it back in the boxes (no need to wash anything) and bring it back to us so we can sanitize for another eco-family to use and enjoy.

Challenge 16:

Find some things in your house that you could regift and surprise a friend with a present you think they’ll love.

Now this may seem like an oxymoron given that air travel is TERRIBLE for the environment but many of us do it so how can we do it while having the least impact possible?

I’m a Brit who lives in the US so without fail, I do long haul flights twice a year. It hurts my heart to see the insane amounts of waste produced on an airplane so this is what I do to ensure that I add to that as little as humanly possible.

Average trash from one 10 hour flight PER PERSON!

Water

Flight attendants push bottled water like it’s going out of fashion and sadly, usually those plastic bottles are incinerated at the end rather than recycled. Ugh.

I pack my metal waterbottle AND a camelbak.

Once I’m through security the first thing I do is go fill up both to the max from a water fountain or coffee shop. This way I can say no to ALL the drinks they offer me in plasic cups or bottles as I have my own : )

Food

A flight attendant friend said she would never eat plane food knowing how it is prepared, which is even more impetus to bring your own.

Go online and opt out of the meal altogether and pack yourself a delicious (plant-based ideally) spread.

Not only does this ensure you get to eat what you enjoy but if there’s a delay, you’ll be fully stocked up and not relying on the attendants to provide food.

I was once on a flight from Mexico with my 2 young daughters and we sat on the tarmac for 4 hours without moving. I had taken tupperwares down to Mexico with me and had filled them up from the breakfast buffet at the hotel that morning so while everyone else survived over dinner time on one measly granola bar (given out after about 3 hours and a lot of complaining), we feasted on delicious food, had plentiful water and were super comfortable.

I now never fly without my own food and water supply.

Coffee and Tea

Simply ask the flight attendant to fill up the reusable coffee cup you brought with you right from the jug. From my experience, United are happy to, American Airlines are not.

Extras

Most long haul flights come with a few extras such as blankets wrapped in plastic, headphones wrapped in plastic and maybe even a little toiletry set. Be ahead of the game by bringing your own. I’ve got a super soft giant scarf that acts as a blanket, my own headphones (make sure they have a stereo jack for the flight) and have a toiletry bag with toothbrush, moisturizer, ear plugs, eye mask etc so I can say a resounding no to theirs.

Offset your flight

If your airline offers carbon offsetting, take it and if not, find a carbon offsetting organization and offset your flight directly with them : ) It doesn’t make it guilt free but it certainly makes it better.

And of course don’t forget your ‘Go-Bag‘!

Say Something

Tell the airline how appalled you are with the amount of waste produced. On British Airways they bring a new plastic cup of something around every hour. Why not just let people keep ONE cup and refill it? I write to them every time because hopefully, the more consumers shout, the more they listen.

Challenge 17:

Message an airline and tell them how strongly you feel about the plastic waste they’re producing.

1 million cups are used on airline flights in the U.S. ALONE every SIX HOURS!!!!

In the United States alone, approximately 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons are discarded each year. WHAAAAAT?!

These take years to break down in landfill, and many are flushed down the toilet (ew) and end up causing wastewater treatment facilities a ton of problems.

A silicone menstrual cup creates 99.6% less impact to the environment than using sanitary pads and 94% less plastic waste than tampons over a span of 10 years so here are 11 reasons why YOU should give one a try (or buy one for the women in your life : )

1. They are honestly VERY easy to use. Once you get the hang of them they’re just as easy to use as a tampon.
2. Save Money. One cup will last you a long time. Many users claim at least 10 years.
3. They’re safer. Tampons come with the chance of Toxic Shock Syndrome. No chance of that with a cup.
4. You never run out. You’ll always have your a cup available as it never gets used and discarded.
5. You can go MUCH longer between changes. The chances of TSS from a tampon become high at 8 hours whereas you can go at least 12 hours between changes with a cup. And honestly probably a lot longer.
6. Holds more liquid. A normal tampon holds 6-9 grams of liquid. A menstrual cup holds almost 5x that amount!
7. Leak Less. When inserted properly (see point 1) the cup creates a suction and collects all liquid whereas a tampon can shift and create leakage.
8. No unsightly strings. Wearing a swimsuit with a string accidentally hanging out is NOT a good look!
9. Chemical free. Almost all tampons contain bleached rayon – a material that creates the possibly carcinogenic byproduct dioxin. Plus you’re shoving BLEACH up there! WOAH. Menstrual pads are only better in that they keep the bleach n’ stuff on the outside but still too close for comfort.
10. Carry less. No more having spare tampons in every purse you own (or risking them falling out at inopportune moments….)
11. You CAN change them in a public bathroom (although you shouldn’t need to given how long they last). Just take a paper towel into the stall, empty your cup down the toilet, wipe clean and reinsert.
12. Eco Friendly. Loop Menstrual Cups (carried at Nude Foods) are made of 100% natural rubber so will even biodegrade eventually (don’t worry, not while you’re using them!)

Top Tip: Empty your cup in the shower in the morning.

If the idea of collecting your flow in a menstrual cup grosses you out then just picture the pile of blood engorged, bleach-filled tampons sitting in landfill.

Yup, much more gross.

Give a menstrual cup a try, I PROMISE you will be so happy you did!

If this doesn’t suit you, you can also try reusable menstrual pads, like partypantspads.com and gladrags.com.

Challenge 18:

Buy a menstrual cup and give it a try OR send this blog post to the women in your life. Not everyone knows these exist or the dangers they’re putting themselves and the earth in by using the alternatives.

According to NRDC, many major toilet paper brands are making their products from trees in the Canadian boreal forest, essentially supporting the logging of a vital environmental resource for a product that is LITERALLY flushed down the toilet.

Logging this forest releases 26 million metric tons of carbon emissions every year, and even toilet paper itself releases remaining carbon into the atmosphere because it has such a short life cycle.

For most products, the majority of its carbon footprint comes from extraction of resources so using recycled content is HUGELY beneficial.

Toilet paper made from new materials is worse because the extraction of wood pulp contributes to deforestation, fossil fuel emissions and water & energy use.

So it’s VITAL to use recycled paper.

We love Earth First Recycled Toilet Paper.

• Made from 100% recycled paper and 80% post consumer content
• Recycled toilet paper has 1/3 of the environmental impact of non-recycled
• No unnecessary plastic packaging
• No chlorine or other harmful chemicals used in the bleaching process
• Recycled-content toilet paper may be a more sustainable alternative to bidets in water-scarce regions like Colorado where saving water is a top priority

Even better, try Pee Cloths for Women which are essentially cloth“toilet paper”

• Made of natural fibers AND deadstock/upcycled fabric
• Save you $100 every year, after the first year
• And, it also feels good. (Charmin’s “softness” can’t touch this!)
• There’s no odor whatsoever and you just wash them with your other intimates on laundry day
• And honestly, I thought this was a little weird at first but now I’m obsessed and even take them on vacation with me!

Challenge 19:

Change to recycled toilet paper. You can find it HERE or buy some Pee Cloths for Women. You won’t regret it.

Kitchens can be a huge source of waste.

Packaging, kitchen roll, glad wrap…. the list is endless.

So here are some alternatives:

Car pollution is one of the major causes of global warming.

Cars and trucks emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which contribute one-fifth of the United States’ total global warming pollution. Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere, which causes worldwide temperatures to rise.

Burning excessive amounts of fossil fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, has caused an increase of 0.6 degrees Celsius, or 1 degree F, in global temperatures since pre-industrial times, and this will continue to rise over the coming decades. Warmer global temperatures affect farming, wildlife, sea levels and natural landscapes.

So what can you do?

As much as possible, leave your car at home, become a 1-car family or don’t have one at all.

In Boulder in particular, biking is AWESOME. Do it as much as you can.

Not ready to a bike all the time? Try running your errands on a city bike. In Boulder, we have BCycle for rent in most busy areas! Checkout Denver’s Scooter and Bike Share program too.

There’s very little rain, it’s usually sunny and you know what they say, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes. Even in the middle of winter, if you wrap up warm and have the right bike accessories (more on that later) you’ll be fine.

Even if you live somewhere with a less conduscive climate, you can still bike. I biked to work almost everyday in London, UK and rarely had to skip because of the weather. If it rained, I wore waterproofs.

So if you’re going to the local shops, to school, on date night, or to work, try walking or biking. And if it’s further than your legs want to bike, consider shelling out for an electric bike. What you’ll save in gas will cover the costs AND you’ll be so much happier getting outside everyday. Plus Boulder and Denver have both launched e-bike rebate programs, so make sure to check out those out if you are in the market for an e-bike! 

This is my electric bike. It’s carrying all our groceries AND one of my kids’ bikes (and a kid)! Who needs a car?!

ALWAYS wear a helmet and ideally flashing lights (and a sign telling texting drivers to STOP texting ; )

You can also choose public transport. While it doesn’t have the convenience of taking you from A to B, you don’t have to deal with the hassle of parking once you get there. This is particularly true of getting to the airport. The bus from Boulder to DIA is low-cost, quick and easy and takes you right the the door.

The Right Gear:

I ferry myself and my kids around on my electric cargo bike ALL year, even when it’s below freezing (but maybe not when there’s snow on the ground!)

I realized that remembering gloves for everyone every time was almost impossible so I added stroller mitts to the bars next to the kids so they can just pop their hands in those and be toasty warm, and I added Bar Mitts to my handlebars. I often don’t even need to wear gloves in winter because they keep my hands so warm.

Then I have a face mask and a headband under my helmet to keep my ears warm plus clear glasses or even ski goggles to stop the wind.

Stop Puffing:

This is the practice of leaving your car running to warm it up while you are not in it. This is actually illegal in Colorado.

However, I’d like to take it a step further. PLEASE don’t leave your car running when it’s parked even when you’re sitting in it. I know it can get very hot or very chilly but we can survive a little while of that before boiling / freezing to death so rather than clog up the atmosphere even more, consider turning your car off as soon as you stop.

One trick I find is that if the ignition is on, the heated seats will still work so it keeps me warm without the need to have the engine running.

Challenge 21:

Some time in the next week choose to walk, bike or take public transport in an instance when you would usually use your car. Whether that’s popping to the store or going to work. I think you’ll be surprised how easy it is and how much getting outside improves your mood. Enjoy!