"Don’t worry about the whole Earth. Worry about the piece of the Earth that you can influence."

—Douglas W. Tallamy, an entomology professor at the University of Delaware and author of several books on conservation. Tallamy echoes Bluedot Living’s credo: It’s easy to be overwhelmed, paralyzed even, by the constant barrage of bad climate news — fires, floods, injustices. But we can start somewhere, even if it’s our own backyard. “Restore whatever part of the environment you control with native plants. Even a window planter helps.” (Start right away with a windowsill of microgreens!)

For how many years should you use a fake Christmas tree in order to offset the environmental cost?

For more information, check out this Washington Post story.

And if you hate fake trees (all that plastic!) and want to eliminate plastic from your gift giving too, check out Bluedot’s great guide to plastic-free gifts.

Prioritizing seasonal and local ingredients gives you sustainable eating at its very best. Straight from Martha’s Vineyard,

(but appropriate in many coastal areas), we love these two
seafood recipes, both perfect for December.

Whether it’s reforestation, orangutan rescue, or donating meals to the elderly, these food and kitchen brands all do extensive work to better their communities and the planet, while making your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Want more? See our marketplace here.

The Bluedot Marketplace includes affiliate links. We may earn a commission when you purchase products through our links. 

When your holiday decor has exhausted its merry-making for you, it might still have enough life to deck someone else’s halls.

To find out where you can take your excess holiday decorations (and where to recycle your no-longer-working lights), check out Bluedot’s

How to Get Rid of (Almost) Anything guide.