The Green Leaf Diaries

If anyone is truly interested in taking on this challenge of reducing the amount of waste you create, I highly recommend it. Over the last six weeks that I’ve been transitioning to zero-waste, I’ve experienced a number of new things. It has been challenging and incredibly exciting to work it all out, not to mention it makes for a great conversation starter! So I thought I’d share with you some of the highlights: Your friends will be curious. Probably my favorite aspect of my zero-waste mission has been talking to people about it. People at the grocery store, my friends and family, even my co-workers. Everyone wants to know how you do it, and some might even take up the cause as well. So keep on keeping on! Cooking. You will start cooking AND (gasp!) meal-prepping (AKA strategically packaging leftovers for the week). For me, cooking for one sadly wasn't something I did very often. Not that I didn't like to cook, I just didn't make it a priority. Now I have star

So, I'm going to be completely honest, shopping clean and package-free requires a bit of preparation. There's a learning curve, and it is much easier to slowly ease into the process instead of diving right in. Check out my previous post for the story of my first grocery trip trying to go package-free... to say the least, I was NOT prepared. I have a really bad habit of going list free and just buying whatever looks good. That being said, you are going to want to have a sort of meal plan in mind as going package-free means you will be cooking your meals and snacks. I'm a big snacker and my first week trying this was a bit of a challenge because all my usual snacks were packaged in plastic or some other form of questionable packaging. Bye bye Belvita snacks and fruit snacks. Time to learn to make my own! On the bright side, this is a whole new way to approach healthy eating since most of the bad stuff comes in packaging! Go figure! THINGS YOU WILL NEED: Reusable

It has been 7 days... SEVEN WHOLE DAYS since I started intentionally avoiding plastic. Have you ever stopped to take a look at everything around you that is plastic? Let me save you the trouble and just tell you that it is pretty much everything. According to a recent article from Thrive Global , "an estimated 500 million plastic straws are used every day in the US alone... Every minute one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the ocean and by 2050, scientists project that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by weight." My poor boyfriend had the pleasure of being on the phone with me on my way to the grocery store for my first shopping experience sans plastic. It might have gone something like this... Me: Seriously reconsidering my decisions here, I think I'm only going to be able to buy produce. Him: I'm sure you'll figure something out. Me: But I'm really craving cookies and I can't buy them! Him: Could you make them?

It's been quite some time since I've felt inspired to write and publish a blog, but guess what?!? I have found inspiration! And a CHALLENGE. Do you remember the girl from several years ago who was in the news because of the minuscule amount of trash she produced in 5 years? The one that all of our eyes bug out because we make 10x that amount of trash in just one day? This girl? Well her name is Lauren Singer, and I want to be her when I grow up. She has an awesome blog, Trash is for Tossers , and business, Package Free Shop , which have both inspired me to try going trash free! So I'm going to give it the old college try. I know that I can't make an immediate change, but I can take small, intentional steps in the right direction. All it takes is seeing video clips like this one to make me seriously reconsider my purchasing habits: I feel like I need to save those penguins! I'd say they could move in with me, but I don't do well in the cold

I  know that there always comes a point in ones life/travels where it is time for them to move on. Time to close this chapter. Time to take on the next adventure that lies just around the corner. But honestly, right now I just want to freeze time.  Sloth inside La Ruka Hostel .  I want to capture all those special little moments I've had with my friends here so that I can keep them forever.  Pirate Trivia - Tasty Waves Cantina I want to be able to go back to those nights I tore up the dance floor at The Lazy Mon , rocked an air band rendition of Journey's epic anthem Don't Stop Believing at Tasty Waves , or just spent my afternoons with the best of friends out at Playa Cocles.   Karaoke Night - Tasty Waves Cantina There have been so many times I've said, "Remember this moment" in the back of my mind. Like the times I would see my friends after a long time apart and get the biggest hug and kiss on the cheek you could imagine. Like

Hopefully up to now, you have gotten a pretty good idea about Costa Rica and what I am doing down here for the time being. And even further, I hope that you are strongly considering a trip to this beautiful paradise I have been blessed to call home for the last year. Whatever your situation, I hope to provide you with some honest information regarding travel in Costa Rica and experiences with the Tico culture. First of all, Costa Rica isn’t necessarily cheap. Yes, some things such as fresh produce are much cheaper, but the luxuries are not. Gas is quite expensive and clothes and beauty products are comparable, if not more, than you would pay in the States. For accommodation, you can generally stay somewhere as cheap as $10 per night (depending on where you are) or as expensive as $300+ per night. My suggestion is that if you plan on doing excursions and having cultural experiences just get a cheap room or stay at a hostel because, let’s be honest, you won’t be spending that much t