Ever hear of “Green Monday”?

Evidently, it’s the biggest shopping day in December and the second biggest online holiday shopping day of the year, right after Cyber Monday post-Thanksgiving.

In fact, Green Monday so big, it’s also known as Cyber Monday 2.

Green Monday got its name in 2007, when eBay reported that its busiest day was the second Monday in December.

At the time, when most items were shipped by mail instead of overnight, the second Monday in December was the last time you could purchase something and be guaranteed it would get delivered by Christmas.

People panicked and bought stuff like crazy!

That second Monday was so profitable for retailers and manufacturers that they dubbed it “green” because of all the money they made. In 2016 alone, Green Monday online retail sales amounted to $1.621 BILLION, Statista.com reports.*

These days, retailers promote “Green Monday” as another way to maximize sales. But when I first heard about this year’s December 11 being “Green,” I foolishly thought, “Oh! They’re promoting eco-friendly products on this day. Isn’t that great!”

Of course, that turned out not to be the case at all. Which is why I’m writing this post.

“I think Green Monday SHOULD be about actually being GREEN.”

That means, it SHOULD be about buying less, which is the greenest way to celebrate the holidays.

And, it SHOULD be about buying the greenest version of whatever product or service or present you want to give this holiday season.

Need help figuring out what’s actually eco-friendly?
Use our Green Shopping Guide Principles. 

That’s why I’m going to do my best to take over Green Monday on December 11 and actually make it GREEN.

Help Me Take Over GREEN Monday!

Here’s how:

I’m going to start with suggestions on how to enjoy Christmas without buying anything at all.

That’s the best way to reduce the environmental impact of producing, manufacturing, and shipping stuff, a lot of which people don’t need anyway.

The product recommendations I do make will focus on the greenest, cleanest options available.

If you’re going to be buying things anyway, I want to make it easy for you to buy the most planet- and people-friendly versions available.

I’m also going to try to spread the word.

Could you help me do that? I’d really appreciate it.

Start by sharing this post so more people join in the effort to put the green back in Green Monday.

Then, do your part. If you’re shopping on Green Monday, choose the greenest products and services available.

And please let me know what you’re doing to make GREEN Monday actually green.

NOTES

• Data on Green Monday sales came from Statista.com. 

The post Make “Green Monday” Actually Green appeared first on Big Green Purse.

#1 – Shop Smart

The first trick is to buy what you actually will eat. I’ve gotten pretty good about taking stock of what’s still in the fridge before I go to the store. I never get around to thinking about recipes before I grab a shopping cart, but I have finally stopped buying double or triple of something, just because that’s what I always buy.

Plus, I try not to be motivated by what’s supposedly on sale. Would I buy it if it weren’t on sale? If the answer’s no, I still skip it.

Timesaver Tip: No time to even make a list? Take a picture of what’s inside the fridge or in the pantry with your smart phone.

#2 – Cook Smart 

I usually try to make a bit more than I and my family can eat at a sitting, just to save time when prepping another meal. I’m a big fan of leftovers, either reheated or combined with other ingredients. And if I find stalky veggies, like celery or rhubarb or even carrots, wilting, I just pop them in a glass of water. It only takes an hour or so before they’re revived and ready to eat.

Timesaver Tip: Make twice as much as you need for one meal, then freeze the leftovers for a later date. Check the freezer regularly so you don’t lose track of what’s in it. At our house, I pull out the leftovers  Friday night to eat on Saturday when everyone is busy with household chores, sports, and other family activities.

#3 – Compost Smart

Many communities are dealing with food waste by encouraging people to compost more. Ideally, people would compost their food waste in their own backyards, where they can turn their food waste into beautiful soil like what is pictured here.  If that idea appeals to you, here’s a quick guide to how to get started composting at home.

Timesaver Tip: Using a composting barrel or bin spares you the need to make your own, and it’s pretty quick to spin a barrel rather than have to dig compost into a pile.

If you just don’t like the idea of composting your own waste, maybe you’re lucky enough to live in one of the 180 communities that have started picking up residents’ compost and treating it in an industrial compost facility. My town is going to start picking up our food waste for composting in 2014. I’ll let you know how that goes. You can also check out this directory to see if community composting is available where you live. UCan Products has produced this nifty kitchen compost bin, along with biodegradable bags to put the compost in to keep everything tidy.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, people waste about 30% of the food they buy. That means we’re wastinge 30 cents of every dollar we spend on food. By shopping, cooking and composting smart, you’ll save all that money – and do the planet a little favor, too.

Want more ideas? King County in Washington State has started this Facebook page offering creative tips to help people waste less and recycle more. Why don’t you add your own suggestions to theirs? They’ve also pulled together a terrific list of resources on their web page here.

Related articles

Compost: Crack for the Garden

My Green Goals for 2013: Less Bathroom Plastic, More Home-Made Yogurt, Better Compost

The post Three Best Ways to Reduce Food Waste: Shop Smart, Cook Smart, Compost Smart appeared first on Big Green Purse.

  The brainchild of Annie Leonard, an “activist who has spent the past 10 years traveling the globe fighting environmental threats,” the story tackles “all our stuff—where it comes from and where it goes when we throw it away.”

Listen closely, because Annie barely catches her breath as she reviews the life cycle costs of the products we use. From the extraction of natural resources to their production into iPods, shoes, dishwashers and cars, to their distribution, consumption and disposal, Annie examines how economic policies of the post-World War II era ushered in notions of “planned obsolescence” and “perceived obsolescence” —and how these notions are still driving much of the U.S. and global economies today.

Her three-fold message resonates completely with what you find time after time on Big Green Purse: you don’t need as much stuff as you may think you do; don’t buy stuff you don’t need; and make the stuff you buy matter.

The post The Story of Stuff appeared first on Big Green Purse.