One of the things I struggled with when I decided to have less stuff and work toward being plastic free, was "How do I tell my family?"  I'd hinted around at being more conscious of the things everyone buys, but I never put any solid RULES around it.

How would I get around the ickiness of explaining without judging and asking politely without offending? 

So I wrote and rewrote and hemmed and hawed until I came up with something that I thought would work.  Not too pushy, lots of suggestions, and plenty of room for forgiveness.  If you're struggling with spreading the message, here's what I wrote.  Maybe this can help you get started....

Before BLACK FRIDAY.

Here is a Template to get you started:  Fill in your own names an links in the spaces marked with [ ].

Hey [name]!

I'm excited to tell you about a few things I've been working on recently. Among all the work I've been doing and planning this and that, I've started organizing some actual spaces around the house, which is so satisfying.

Plastic Free
We've already talked about it a little, so you already know about this new effort to move toward plastic free. In order to organize my thoughts on it, I wrote an article that sums up the reasons why, and a few steps I've taken so far. You can find the article here, which is also linked in the blog [this blog] article above: https://wildini.com/blogs/blog/getting-to-plastic-free. Check it out when you have a chance & leave a comment even - that would be fun to see!

Help with Gifts
In the spirit of the holidays, I know gifts are top of mind, and I'm so grateful that you work hard to make sure we have a fun Christmas morning. You always come up with creative ideas.

With this plastic free thing, I thought I could help you brainstorm, so I've updated our Amazon wishlist with all kinds of things. This will give you ideas, and I'm sure you can come up with tons more of your own.

This article, which I found inspiring, has lots of ideas too: http://wellnessmama.com/62144/give-experiences/.

I'm working on a list of experiences in a Google Doc, which are specifically for our area. I'll keep adding to this as I think of more, and let you know when it has changed: [link to a Google Doc you make]

I know this puts a new element of challenge in your thinking and options for gifts, and I appreciate all you've already done in an effort to help out. I'm optimistic that this becomes less of a frustrating thing, and more of a fun challenge. Every little bit makes a difference.

We recognize it isn't going to be perfect, so there will be no ill-will if some plastic creeps into the gift baskets. We just want to do our best to minimize the waste from now on.

As a gift to you, I purchased a copy of the book "Plastic Free", which should be arriving at your door any day, and I hope this ends up being a helpful resource for you in navigating this limited plastic-free territory. She lists lots of websites in her book that sell products of all kinds. Let me know when you get it.

Thank you for all the love and thought you put into our lives every day. It's not just the holidays, it's the fact that no matter what, we know you're there for us. We couldn't have asked for a better support network.

Amazon Wishlists:
[Link to your Wishlist]
[Link to Wishlists for your Kids]

Love,
Heather