Planning a wedding can feel like a huge task to accomplish, let alone throwing a sustainable zero-waste wedding. As a fellow eco-friendly bride, I can tell you that planning an earth friendly wedding is possible with some good boundaries and a healthy perspective. In this post, I am going to share with you how our sustainable wedding went. I’m sharing all the details - from what we truly threw in the garbage to how much it cost!

Let’s all admit that the most sustainable wedding is the one where you and your partner *walk* to the courthouse in the clothes you already own with your IDs and proof of residency and get married in front of a judge. Full stop. 

Honest moment. A truly sustainable wedding is the one where you don’t have a wedding at all. No traveling family and friends with a carbon footprint, no rings exchanged whose precious metals and gems are mined, no food catered because no food waste - AKA no fun at all.

Listen, I fully understand that a wedding, even if a bride works for it to be a sustainable one, has an effect on the environment. But to my fellow brides, you deserve to spend this special day surrounded by family and friends. Having said that, your big day can also be one that reflects your values. Let’s dive in!

In the hubbub of holiday shopping from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, I like to keep it simple here at Green Willow Homestead and do 40% off sitewide. Grab both The Holistic Home Ebook and the Chicken Tractor Build Plans discounted at 40% off and start 2020 with your most sustainable foot forward. Scroll on to learn more about both deals!

I know how overwhelming holiday shopping can be. As someone who loves finding the perfect gift, I know how daunting it can be when there are so many people you hold dear that you want to make feel special. I will admit that sometimes it feels like I am buying “just to buy" and get it crossed off my list. Pair that with being someone who cares deeply about being sustainable, ethical, and low to no waste with my shopping - it can take hours of online searching to find companies and products I trust.

So I know firsthand when the holidays come around, the call to spend money on gifts is at a fever pitch. It can be hard to navigate everyone’s wants and needs, while also keeping in line with your own values. 

That’s why I created The Green Gifting Guide. 

With over 60 gift ideas (categorized by age group and interests!), you can easily shop for everyone from toddlers to besties using the guide and give the earth a big hug while doing so. I want to save other earthy-friendly shoppers the time spent searching so you can breeze through your gifting with a clear conscious.

All of the gift ideas shared in this guide can be purchased online, they benefit great companies or artisan makers, are non-toxic, and good for the environment. ​​

We can hardly believe it's been a YEAR since we launched the Positively Green Podcast. Launching this sustainable and holistic living podcast has been such a joy. Becca and I love seeing your sustainable swaps, hearing what episodes have inspired you to change your habits, and creating content that can hopefully make a positive impact as we curb climate change. 

• How we felt about each of the episodes we created
• What episodes are our personal favorites and why
• What’s next for both of us
• When you can expect Season 2 to air!

For all our earth-friendly cat moms and dads out there, we have got the purr-fect episode for you. If you have been wondering how to care for your kitty in a sustainable and toxin-free way, Roberta Donaldson of The Millennial Cat Mom is here to help. In this episode, we learn why cats are true carnivores and how to source ethically raised meat for the healthiest and most sustainable feline diet possible. We also cover everything from eco-friendly litter box care to zero-waste cat toys.

Roberta Donaldson is an Environmental Scientist and Conservation Biologist by day and passionate pet parent by night. She is the creator of the blog Millennial Cat Mom and is the pet parent of her two beautiful fur children, Loki and Lambeau. Roberta’s goal is to inspire pet parents everywhere to take their pet's health into their own hands by providing knowledge and resources about the monster that is the pet food industry. She was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI, but is now lost in the mountains in Denver, CO.

• Why cats are true carnivores and how to keep them healthy
  
• The ethical and sustainable issues in the pet food industry
  
• What types of food options exist for sustainably-minded cat parents
  
• How Roberta went from feeding Friskies to pastured chicken hearts
  
• Pet Fooled Documentary and the Talk To Us Campaign
  
• Holistic Pet Radio
  
• What eco-friendly litter options exist and their pros and cons
  
• How to make the litter box transition for your kitty
  
• What zero-waste cat toys are out there
  
• Our cats, because Roberta and Kelsey are crazy cat ladies
  

• Feline Nutrition Organization
• Raw Feeding University
• Truth About Pet Food
• Karmavore Nutrition
• Perfectly Rawsome

• Vital Essentials
• Answers Pet Food
• Orijen
• Primal Pet Foods
• Steve’s Real Food
• Stella and Chewies

• Stainless Steel Litter Box
  
• Stainless Steel Litter Scoop
  
• Loft 312 Biodegradable Bags
  
• Branch Basics for cleaning
  
• Boxie Cat Litter
  
• sWheat Scoop Litter
  
• Simply Pine Natural Litter
  

The Millennial Cat Mom
@LokiTheKittyKing
@LambeauMiniAussie

Throwing a sustainable, zero-waste, and ethical wedding does not have to feel impossible. I created this guide as a way to help put all the options in one place.  In June of 2019, my husband and I pulled off our very own sustainable wedding and I am so excited to share the eco-friendly an zero-waste options you have at your disposal, hah, you see what I did there? 

If you are here as a new bride, congrats! If your here because you want to get your research done before the ring is on your finger, awesome! Take a moment and give yourself a pat on the back for caring enough about the earth to learn how to go about a green wedding.
​
I want to preface this guide by saying I worked as a wedding photographer for a decade in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. I’ve photographed over 100 couples and thus have seen a lot of different types of weddings, and in turn, have seen first-hand the amount of waste that is produced from the average wedding day. Even then, when I wasn’t the conscious consumer I am today, it raised a red flag in my mind.

A 130 person wedding on average produces 62 tons of carbon dioxide and 400-600 lbs of waste. These numbers include everything from the wedding invitations to the flowers to the wedding dress.

An opposition arises when you try to have an earth-friendly wedding within the confines of modern wedding culture. We are constantly bombarded by pictures and ideas on Pinterest of perfect personalized weddings with all the trimmings. Then you have the concept of zero waste, which can feel so minimal and bare, making a bride feel like there’s very little wiggle room to make it feel special for herself and her guests.

The good news is that there are so many options for making your day feel special while still achieving an earth-conscious wedding. Once you understand the basics of having a green wedding then you can choose your own adventure from there. I can tell you from personal experience with my wedding that we were able to achieve a beautiful aesthetic without having to compromise our earth-friendly values.

In this guide, we will go over the options you have from finding an ethical engagement ring to where you can buy an eco-friendly wedding dress. While we talk over these options, I’ll provide you with what I chose for my low to no-waste wedding so that you have some experience to fall back on and you know you are not alone as you plan your own big day.

• The top ethical and conflict-free ring companies
• The best fair trade and sustainably made wedding dress companies
• How to go about sending invites to cut down on your carbon footprint and reduce waste
• How to set up a conscious consumer wedding registry
• Tips on how to cut down on food waste and the right questions to ask your wedding caterer
• The best places to get eco-friendly glitter and confetti (because duh)
• Other sustainable wedding tips you might not have thought of!

Four years ago when I started practicing conscious consumerism, I had the darndest time finding sustainable shoe companies I could trust. So many footwear brands didn’t openly talk about where their materials were from, how their shoes were made, and how they treated their workers. The opaque quality of the fashion industry is starting to be chipped away thanks to nonprofits such as Fashion Revolution and trending hashtags like #WhoMadeMyClothes.

Transparency is what I look for first and foremost when assessing if companies are eligible for these sustainable posts. If companies aren’t openly sharing how they treat their workers and what they are doing regarding buffering their effect on the environment, it’s a hard pass. 

Next, materials used to make the shoes is assessed. If there is no open statement on their website about where they source their materials then it's a pass. I look for eco-friendly, regenerative or sustainable, and organic materials being used.

Lastly, how comfortable and versatile the shoes are comes into play. I won't lie, I think Toms are hella uncomfortable! Maybe my feet are extra sensitive. Rest assured, I won't be sharing any companies that may work hard to be transparent and eco-friendly, but fail to consider the customer's comfort level.

So let’s dive into the top three sustainable shoe companies I’ve found and why they rock!

If you've fallen into a slump with your green and clean beauty routine and want to take it to the next level - one of mindful and conscious self-care, this episode is for you. Becca walks Kelsey through her very own Custom Green Beauty Consult, which is full of tips on how to take your own toxin-free beauty habits from humdrum to heck yes!

Becca recently launched her Organically You: Custom Green Beauty Consult service. So today, you get a front-row seat to the amazing work she does as she walks Kelsey through a consult of her own. With all of Becca’s hard-won knowledge on organic skincare, she helps Kelsey find a perfect, simple, and natural routine with some new clean beauty and skincare products.

• Cleanser: Osea Ocean Cleansing Mudd
• Facial Oil: The Sunday Standard Blue Tansy & GLA Ultra-Clarifying Facial Oil (code ORGANICALLYBECCA for discount)
• Toner: Osea Sea Minerals Mist
• Enzyme Mask: Ursa Major Bright & Easy 3-Minute Flash Mask
• Eye Serum: Ladyloved Jupiter Enlivening Under-Eye Serum
• Spot Treatment: Osea Corrective Complex Roller
• Lipstick: Faraday Face Cream Lip Color
• Mascara: W3ll People Expressionist Mascara, Lily Lolo Natural Vegan Mascara

If you want to see the companies you love the most utilize fully recyclable or compostable packaging for their products - I created a group where we can tackle the problem together.

After listening to your feedback on the #PackagingForThePlanet movement, I decided to put together a central community where we can problem solve openly together. We now have a Packaging For The Planet Facebook Group for us to call home!

If you are wondering how to use diatomaceous earth for a parasite cleanse, you are in the right place! I can tell you that it has safely helped not only me and Paul, but our three cats, and all 90+ chickens on our farm.

I tried diatomaceous earth as a last ditch effort to find out why I suddenly couldn’t eat eggs anymore. TMI, I had been dealing with constant diarrhea for nearly a month that would worsen with eating eggs. I was so frustrated and at the end of my rope. After doing exhaustive research, I felt that I was dealing with a parasite. Enter diatomaceous earth.

In this post, we will discuss exactly what diatomaceous earth is, how it works to kill pests and parasites, and how exactly you can use it for your health and your pets and livestock. Let’s dive in!