Lower Impact Travel

Travel itself isn't a green activity (planes use a *lot* of jet fuel), but boy I love to experience new places, new food, new cultures... so the next best thing is to make some good choices on the journey. 

Here's how I start most trips:

1) Take Uber Green to the airport. It's just a ride type selection in the app, and costs the same as Uber X. When you select Uber Green, you'll be guaranteefld a hybrid or electric vehicle. Today, we rode in a Tesla!

2) Bring an (empty) reusable water bottle. Many airports now have the water bottle fill stations or at least water fountains. Compare to $3.10 at the Hudson for a 20oz plastic water bottle and you could save a lot over the course of your trip. Compare to the $7 for a bottle at a resort and you're doing even better!

I love this insulated stainless mug because it keeps my water cool all. day. long. You definitely want to stay hydrated when flying.

3) Bring a reusable shopping bag. It can be a larger purse or tote, or I love a lightweight bag like this that folds into its own pocket. You can use the carabiner to clip to your belt, or it's small and light enough to toss into any purse. Chico Bag (Amazon affiliate link). You can use this bag for days when you're out all day and may need to take on/off a sweatshirt, and of course as a shopping bag for your souvenirs, with no need to acquire disposable shopping bags.

Now, go enjoy your vacation!

Happy Early Birthday!

Do you like surprises? Do you like discounts? That sounds to me like a celebration!

Who wouldn't want this delicious giant (hand for scale) snicker doodle for 67% off?

There's an app for that! Too Good To Go knows that restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores have leftover items at the end of the day that they don't want to sell as "day old" or nearing their best by date. For most stores, this means those food items go into the trash.

So why not help those businesses recoup some of those losses, prevent that food waste, and reward us customers for participating with a 50%+ discount? This isn't a foreign concept - apparel stores do sales at the end of a season, right?

The idea: businesses list their leftovers in "surprise bags" at the end of the day. You get a fun surprise and enjoy a steep discount for taking the risk of not knowing exactly what you're going to get (check them out if you have few dietary restrictions and love adventure!). I used to get surprise bags at my favorite olive oil store, and love that this idea is expanding to other food businesses. 

Here's a peek at the app experience (and click the link above to download the app yourself, or visit your smartphone's app store):

 

Here you can see I'm viewing a local cafe whose surprise bag is valued at $12 and being sold for $4 (a 67%) discount. It also shows a pickup window, usually an hour or so before closing the same day, or reserve ahead for the next day. I know this cafe, and am expecting pastries in the bag, although some of the stores describe the contents a bit. For example, a grocery store shares that it will include prepared salads from their deli.

 

You simply click the reserve button, and pre-pay. When you arrive for pick up, you just show the app and click a couple buttons to acknowledge the pickup. 

I was super pleased with the contents of my surprise bag: 4 large pastries, including the snicker doodle at the beginning of this post and...

this gorgeous berry fritter,

and this savory bacon cheese scone,

and this still-super-moist crumble coffee cake.

Hungry yet? Go sign up for a surprise bag. :) I definitely think I got over $12 of value, and was thrilled to eat my $1 scone for lunch yesterday, and $1 coffee cake for breakfast today.

As you purchase from Too Good to Go, you can feel good as they send you confirmation emails that let you know about your positive impact:

Thank you for saving your first Surprise Bag. For each one rescued, you save 5.5lbs of CO2e - the same amount that would be emitted if a lightbulb was left on for 29 days. 

Today there are 16 deals within 5 miles of me (outside Seattle) and 142 deals within 15 miles of me (includes downtown Seattle and Bellevue). I can't wait for more businesses to get on board!

Video Content Here, On Social, and On YouTube

Hi friends! 

If you follow me on social, you may have seen some of my new video content. I will continue to add written posts, but if you enjoy video for your content, I now have some posts for you too. :)

I will be adding them to a sub-page of this blog here, or you can subscribe to my channel on YouTube. 

If you missed any of my prior posts, check out my first few videos!

#4 Solid Hair Products are the Ultimate Concentrates

#3 Overhauling my laundry routine with Dropps pods and wool dryer balls

#2 Saving $323 by shopping online consignment.

#1 Saving $120 on thrifted jeans

 

<3

Kimberly