Tips for a sustainable holiday


The holiday season is a celebratory and joyful time of year. Most of us choose to spend the season with loved ones in a spirit of generosity and gratitude, enjoying the gift of good company. But the holiday season is also a wasteful time of year. A time of year where much attention is placed on giving to each other and little attention is placed on giving care and gratitude to the Earth. This bit of truth does not have to be something that derails our festive spirit. Rather, it can be a catalyst to green up your Christmas a bit. Here are our suggestions and tips to help you have a more sustainable holiday.

When it comes to presents, we have so many more options than some plastic item wrapped in paper. Green up your holiday gifting by avoiding gifting things that are just making a pitstop on their way to the landfill? Consider gifting an experience or a service instead of a thing. Preferably, one that's low impact. Challenge yourself to only purchase gifts, cards, and wrapping materials made from recycled products and/or FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified papers? Give to a cause for a better future in the name of that someone you love. And don’t forget, love and kindness are the most sustainable of all gifts. A warm smile can and does change a person’s day, and sometimes it changes their life. Extending your kindness with sincere generosity of spirit is not only sustainable for the Earth, but it also sustains others.

When planning holiday meals be conscientious of where your food is coming from. Factory farming and the crop export/import industry are some of the largest polluters in the world. Industrial livestock farming is one of the main contributors to soil erosion around the world. Regenerative farming and ranching practices exist and are becoming more common. Knowing where your food comes from means knowing why to purchase from regenerative and local producers as often as possible, and then doing it. This means you will eat seasonally, and close to home while contributing to regenerative practices on sustainable farms and ranches. That’s a lot good eating for the holidays and year-round.

As for aesthetic, i.e., décor and attire, the age-old rule applies. Less is more. Less plastic. Less electricity. Less shopping. Less sequins. Less Trash. Those stringy tinsels sure are pretty but they are a major polluter. Consider ribbon instead of tinsel. It can be used again and again year after year. Or even better, string some popcorn and cranberries and then throw them in the compost when the tree comes down. For outfit inspiration dig deep into your closet. Should it leave you wanting, see what you may be able to borrow from others. If you must buy, shop consignment and second hand. The clothing industry is the second largest polluter in the world behind petroleum. Reducing our consumption and reusing as many articles of our clothing as possible, we can greatly reduce our contribution to an already gargantuan problem.

Did you know that you can cut down trees in a sustainable manner? Yes. Yes, you can. Especially if your friends live in the forest and have no defendable fire break around their homes. Help them out, cut down a couple of dangerous evergreens and chop up some firewood while you're at it. And as for the tree you cut down to decorate, make that one into firewood too when it’s through brightening up your home. Of course you can also get a live tree to plant after the holidays are done, that is a very green option. Just don’t plant it too close to the house when it’s time to plant, especially if you live in a wooded area.

The most important tip we can give you to help you have a sustainable holiday is to remember the airline safety rule and put your own mask on before assisting others. Take care of yourself. Take care so that you can enjoy the entire holiday season. And, if you need us, we’re here to help you with all of your laundering needs.

On Voting...

Next week is election week! Elections don’t get everyone jazzed but at Clean we get excited about our opportunity to vote. At Clean, we understand the ripple effect choices have and voting is making a choice, hence rippling an effect into the world.

Every choice contributes to a ripple effect. Some choices enhance life and others do not. Our tagline “Make Clean Choices” is more than some mere marketing ploy. To us, making clean choices is a life philosophy. It is the ethos of our business and a daily invitation. To make clean choices is to be aware. Conscious of our shared humanity, our home the Earth, and our shared responsibility to the future.

In America we vote at the ballot box, and we vote with every dollar we spend. Whatever it is we are voting for, having choices like these gives people agency. When people feel like they have agency, they have power. That is why voting is so powerful.

And society is not homogeny. Society is more like your average American wardrobe. There are quite a few different kinds of garments made of different fabrics and different patterns. Each garment has their own history, their own unique care and cleaning requirements, much like people. Some get all the attention and others are mostly ignored. If we lived in a world where everyone had to wear only blue - the same blue and the same fabric and the same cuts – even if it's a nice blue, it would be miserable. If we lived in a world where everyone looked the same and had the same values, histories and needs, that would be miserable too.

Diversity is what makes people interesting, just like color, texture, and pattern make wardrobes interesting. Having the choice to express ourselves through our style and having the choice to express ourselves through a vote for democratic leadership, are each unique privileges not to be squandered in apathy or for comfort.

 So, put on some stylish clothes and go vote! Join us and ripple some effect into the world. Vote your values and celebrate your freedom to choose.

Last Minute Costume Ideas

Though some of us might be overexuberant about Halloween preparations, there are many who are less enthusiastic. For them, Halloween is just another distant day on the calendar until the invitation to the Big Halloween Bash shows up and the unprepared party goer finds themselves in a pickle.

This is not a moment to lament or stress out. These days most of us have closets full of clothes that do nothing more than collect dust most of the year. So, rather than rushing off to the costume store, make your way back to your own closet and see what treasures it may hold.

Here is a few of my own personal quick fixes and a couple others I just love.

  • Have an old white sheet? – You can now go out as Patrick Swayze, Whitney Houston, Arthur Manby. Really, with this costume you can go as any dead person you can think of.

  • Have a long black skirt, a black dress, a black shawl, a black blouse, and some black lace? – You can now go out and scare all the children as La Llorona. Put on some fake nails and grab their shoulders from behind to really creep them out.

  • Have an all-white ensemble? – Be a member of the creepy silent chainsmoking cult The Guilty Remnant, from the show The Leftovers.

  • Have some blue yarn laying about? – Wrap it around yourself and arrive to the party “tangled up in blue.”

  • Own a suit or some vintage duds? – Be a time traveler.

Of course, you could go simply wear your pajamas and be “ready for bed.”

Whatever you get up to, have fun and be safe - that’s a requirement.

When the parties over and you’ve returned to the land of the living, bring us your clothes and we’ll get them cleaned up for their return to your closet. Except for that sheet, it’s time to throw the sheet away.

Let's Talk - Costumes

Costumes are an iconic part of October. Many of us get so excited about Halloween we start making costume plans before the month even begins. For us overenthusiastic celebrants putting a costume on gives us permission to play, and no matter our age we know that play is good for us.   

While the idea of wearing a costume for Halloween may seem childish, I’m here to tell you it’s anything but.  

The most basic definition of the word costume is “a style of dressing”. Which makes it unsuprising to learn that the etymological root of the word costume, from the Latin consuetudinem - translates simply to - custom, habit, or usage. Wearing a white dress as a bride then is not just putting on the appropriate costume it is also honoring a custom and tradition. 

Costumes are not just for ceremonious occasions, they are also worn to indicate the personification of customs during certain eras in time, such as the costume one would wear in a theatrical or historical performance. Costumes also denote archetypical expressions of the nature of humanity, take for example the Clown, Wizard, Nurse, Queen and the creepier characters that take the stage on the dark night of Halloween. Wearing a costume can invite us to take on the persona of the character we portray giving us an invitation to explore parts of our own personalities we may not have spent much time with before.  

The Halloween Holiday that we now celebrate is an evolution of the ancient Pagen celebration of Samhain. The Samhain celebration marked a time in the natural cycle of the year thought to thin the veils between the living world and the afterlife. Ancient Pagens lit bonfires and dressed as ghouls to ward off bad ghosts and unwanted spirits.  

While modern reasons to put on a Halloween costume feel far less ominous, the joy of participating in this time-honored tradition continues to inspire many to dig deep into their imaginations and share something special about themselves with the world. They do this not because they are childish but because costumes are fun and invite us to play at any age, they teach us about customs across cultures and centuries, and if we let them, they may even teach us a thing or two about ourselves.  

Wishing you a Happy Halloween!

~ Genevieve

Friendly reminder: Our standard turnaround time on cleaning is one week. Don’t forget to bring your costumes in if they need cleaning before the Holiday.