Today’s Eco-Friendly column is made of the story of actual friends. First, my friend Renee of En direct des iles is making a big change in her life. She lives part time in Montreal and part-time at Isla Mujeres in Mexico. It is easy for her to find people to take care of her cats while she is in Montreal but it is more complicated and costly to do so when she is not in Montreal. She decided that it was time for her to stop maintaining an apartment in Montreal.
What this means is that she sold, gave to friends, donated to charities and thrown away most of everything she owned in Montreal your stuff. Starting a nomad life is a big step that ultimately reduces her footprint on Earth compared to how she was living before.
As a result, I inherited her set of beautiful lemonade bottles. Recycling glass bottles instead of buying new jars is a little step. You can use it for liquids and dry foods, like she did. I am glad that she passed them along to me. I will take good care of them. As you can see, I already found a place in the spotlight for 3 of them.
After the Metrosexual Male comes the Eco-sexual
Carmen of Urban Green Girl wrote a guest post for I am that Girl about a new trend in dating. With green living becoming more and more mainstream, it is normal that you seek these values in your potential mate.
You can look for people who defined themselves as tree hugger, vegetarian or people who share your interest in animal rights, green economy, alternative energy, recycling, organic farming or endangered species. No need for enrolling in a dating services, participating in social media can help you find the right person through conversations in Twitter, joining groups in Facebook or attending Meetup.
Like Carmen said, you can always educate and convert to the green living cause your potential or current boyfriend.
eliane
March 17, 2009 at 16:48L’idée de la vie nomade, c’est génial…
Quant aux bouteilles, je fais maintenant (et depuis que j’ai découvert les bouteilles de limonade française!) des choix de “packaging” qui peuvent être réutilisés. Les plats de margarine faisaient déjà ça, comme les petits formats de Nutella!
Comme si j’avais besoin d’une raison d’en acheter…
Renée
March 18, 2009 at 07:36Merci Eliane, oui la vie nomade, c’est génial – je l’ai expérimentée depuis 4ô ans et demie, j’adore et vais la continuer,mais sur un autre rythme. Au lieu de garder deux appartements – avec tout ce que cela comporte – j’en conserve un, et compte vivre à Montréal en appart-hôtel, par exemple. Paix de l’esprit et réduction de mon empreinte écologique…
Neno
March 19, 2009 at 06:37I love this post. I have been scouring the thrift shops of Montreal for the past 2 years searching for the perfect old bottles for storing my herbs and spices.
It’s a great way to give a hint of eclecticism to the kitchen.
Another recycling tidbit is buying vintage calendar teatowels. They are cheap (as low as 1.00 on Ebay) and can often be bought in new condition. I especially like the Irish souvenir teatowels from the 60’s and 70’s.
At Home with Kim Vallee
March 19, 2009 at 12:10Neno: Send me pictures, I wish to see them. You are right that it is a great way to add character to your home.
PennySue
March 24, 2009 at 08:21Great ideas and like the pictures. Living “Green” is Echo Friendly and will save our environment. Good ideas.