A mindful guide to zero-waste giving and gathering
In the book Braiding Sweetgrass, author Robin Wall Kimmerer says, “In order to live, I must consume.” This feels particularly heightened every November and December, during peak holiday & hosting season, when many of us want to give to those we love. Kimmerer’s point is that it is inescapable. As living beings, we take. Whether we adopt conscious consumer practices, opt outside, or even live off the grid…we have to take from the earth, in order to be here. The question is: how?
As a zero-waste business, we straddle this interesting line between profit and purpose. We exist within a system that relies on consumption, yet our mission asks us to reimagine what and how we consume. Every refill, every choice we offer is a conversation between taking and giving. Kimmerer reminds us that every time we take, we have an opportunity (and responsibility) to build relationships and give back. What if our celebrations were expressions of our relationship with the earth, rather than our separation from it? What if our giving carried less harm, more meaning?
Zero waste isn’t about perfection or deprivation - it’s about participation; joining the cycle of give and take with humility and intention. So that’s our invitation for you this season.
Join our reframe. Rather than chasing abundance, how about cultivating contentment, or a feeling of enoughness?
Here are a few mind-shifts for gathering and gifting:
🥣 In the Kitchen
Simplify
Kimmerer implores us to take only what we need, sooo maybe we don’t need three different kinds of potatoes on the table. Cut your menu in half - there will still be more than enough. Pause before you fill your plate so you avoid taking more than you need. Shop local & refill what you can to minimize the food’s footprint and packaging waste. We’ve got dried fruits, nuts, grains, beans, spices, baking essentials, plus bread from Moxie (and GF from Havenly) to help round out your menu. Finally, let this be your permission slip to make the food you actually love. No need to make turkey on Thanksgiving, especially if you don’t love Turkey.
Use what you have
Bones & vegetable scraps for broth!
Stale bread for croutons, bread pudding, etc.
Make yourself a glorious leftover sandwich with whatever’s left the next day
Freeze what won’t be eaten promptly for the future.
Honor
Honor your food and where it came from, honor your ancestors and all those that came before, and honor those you’re with today. This could be as simple as a quiet, inner thanks before you eat.
Give back
Share food with friends & neighbors
Donate unopened food to Erie Community Food Bank.
Sign up to serve a meal to our unhoused neighbors through Bridge House (and meet another Bridge in the community).
🎁 Under the tree
Simplify
Gift experiences over objects, time over things.
Gift consumables - like a jar with something to savor, that they can then refill.
Gift simply - handmade, heartfelt, local, thrifted - and let the Joneses be the Joneses. You don’t need to keep up.
Use what you have
Reuse old gift wrap - boxes, bags, ribbons, etc. saved from gifts past.
Repurpose old newspapers, magazines, jars…
Add natural accents, like cinnamon sticks, dried oranges, pinecones and evergreen to make gifts pop without the plastic.
And/or - use fabric! Bread bags, play silks, kitchen towels, handkerchiefs…they double as wrap and gift in one.
Honor
Honor the earth by choosing gifts that are reused, refillable, or regenerative in some way.
Honor makers by shopping small.
Honor receivers, by offering them something that’s nourishing to them, or needed.
Honor yourself, by choosing rest over rush.
Give back
Make a donation to a cause that is important to your loved one, as a gift.
Make fleece blankets for children at Children’s Hospital
Offer your time and presence to help someone in need
I know what it feels like to continue to feel holiday pressure, even with the best intentions. The expectations and endless lists are everywhere, and sometimes even the counter messaging is exhausting (I hope this isn’t that.) But zero waste living is not an aesthetic or a trend, it is a practice. It’s not about resisting the world, but remembering our place in it. And when we forget (which we will) we practice to remember again.
Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy…. 🌲