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How To Buy An Eco-Friendly Christmas Tree

2022-11-22 Mama Minimalist

Ah, the holidays. The 5-ish weeks between Black Friday and New Year’s Day tend to be an extended party of sorts in which many of us overspend, overeat/drink, overdecorate, and excessively waste. The excesses associated with the holidays come with a hefty environmental cost: on average, US households produce 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day; worse, wonton wastefulness can (and does) add more than half a metric ton onto our annual carbon footprints.

I believe it’s entirely possible to have a joyous December without the waste and so, on today’s show, we discuss practical ways to spread holiday cheer with the planet in mind.

Here’s a preview:

[2:00] Artificial, local, root ball intact, and more: Breaking down the Christmas tree conundrum via Steph’s handy dandy grading rubric

[17:00] 4 of the most impactful (and practical!) ways to spread good tidings without being wasteful, according to mathematics

Resources mentioned:

Organic Christmas Tree Farms Near You Database
The Carbon Trust’s Tips For A More Sustainable Christmas (via Carbon Trust)
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The Cost of Constant Connection

In this era of relentless connectivity, taking an exit ramp from our digital lives has never looked more inviting. In fact, emerging science is now confirming what many of us feel: Smartphones are draining our cognitive reserves, shattering our focus, and keeping us in a state of low-level chronic anxiety.

To see if there’s a better way, reporter Courtney Lindwall shelved her iPhone for a $45 Nokia flip phone. Courtney is on the show today to discuss the "dumb phone" movement, the logistical friction of navigating an app-dependent world, and why research says our brains are so desperate for a break.

Here's a preview:

[7:00] Continuous partial attention, instinctual muscle memory, and other ways in which our smartphones are working against us

[9:00] Gray scale? screen limits? Here's why the tools and tricks don't work for the vast majority of us

[14:00] Thoughts on our emotional attachments to our phones—and the emotional experiences they provide

[22:00] The psychological benefits of embracing a bit more "friction"

[33:00] Our brains are malleable, and we get used to a new normal quite quickly. Lean into that!

Resources mentioned:

How an old-school flip phone changed my life (via Consumer Reports)
This detox may erase 10 years of social media brain damage, researchers say (via The Washington Post)
The Brick phone access blocker device

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My Story

Hello there, I’m Stephanie. I live a crazy, beautiful life as a full-time wife, blogger + mother to two spirited daughters. I’m on a mission to simplify eco-friendly living so as to greater enjoy life’s sweeter moments.

Want to know more? Read my story.