Eco-friendly Vintage Chic

I admit, I am not the most faithful tree-hugger, eco-friendly, Earth-conscious girl around, but I have been recycling since as long as I can remember, I use "Green" cleaning products, I rarely use plastic grocery bags, and cringe when I see Hummers. I have also just recently made some new efforts to be more Earth-conscious...first, my husband and I started composting when we moved to our new house. It is really easy and not nearly as smelly or gross as I had once thought.

Image via here

We registered for and received this pretty little pail from Crate & Barrel which we keep in the kitchen for food scraps. Every other day or so, one of us then takes the pail outside to dump onto the compost pile, which is housed in a wooden box with a lid that the hubs built. Turn the compost pile with a shovel and keep it moist and then voila, you have usable compost for your garden--and you've kept food waste from the landfill! Sweet.

My other exciting, slightly more vintage-chic, green development has been not using paper napkins or plates...no disposable cutlery or drinkware either. I love to entertain and have done quite a bit already in our new home-- a couple wedding showers for some friends of ours, James' 24th birthday this past Sunday evening...(that's right, my husband is only 24; I am a proud cradle-robber).

I have begun using cute appetizer plates and cloth napkins, as well as real glasses and silverware for all parties. Some people question my decision to do so, thinking I am silly to create such work for myself washing the dishes and napkins after the party-goers have long gone home. But, I take a simple pleasure in knowing that I have kept so much disposable plastic and paper out of the landfill, not to mention saved money too. And the stylish statement conveyed by the vintage mixed with modern plates and cloth napkins= very eco-chic!

I was inspired to write this post when I came across these amazing cloth napkins made from re-purposed vintage sheets on Etsy:

Image via here

LOVE these napkins!

My newest eco-friendly venture is going to be to get a rain barrel. Good Magazine, one of my favorite things to find in my mailbox, introduced me to the concept in this article. Here's the Smith & Hawken collapsible rain barrel mentioned in the Good article...I'm adding it to my Christmas wish list:

Image via here

If you have never read or never even heard of Good magazine, you should look into getting a subscription.

Image via here

You can subscribe for $10, $20 or $50...whatever level you can afford, and 100% of your subscription amount is donated to GlobalGiving. GlobalGiving funds hundreds of grassroots projects around the world, impacting education, health care, and human rights. How amazing is that!?

Happy Thursday!

Share