My parents weren't hippies, but I grew up green. We saved take out containers that I brought lunch in. I fashioned textbook covers from brown paper bags. My Halloween costumes were never purchased. At Christmas, my father wrote recipients' names directly on the wrapping paper right next to a re-purposed holiday bow. I hated this look. It was thrown together and thoughtless, gave the impression we were poor and later resulted in the impetus for a trade-up spending spree-cum-debt for nearly all of my 20s. While the money management in my childhood household is now fully appreciated, and I spend only what I have, I am driven to appreciate something larger. And that is a desire to live more modestly, resourcefully and purposefully. This means consciously wanting less and reusing more.
But, unlike, the aesthetic trade-offs that it used to mean, I have made it my mission to look for stylish solutions in my home, in my wardrobe and when entertaining. I take pleasure in making something work for you rather than casting it aside. I like reusing an existing tote bag from '99, rather than buying a whole new one that proclaims it is "not a plastic bag." Rather than "going green" for the environment, I am thinking about acting on a greater responsibility and conscientiousness. Call me a slave to humanity and a sucker for style. Save the people!
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