VitaEurope wants to keep you company until Christmas and remind you of all the beautiful things you can do to make the last bit of 2011 useful, fun, sustainable and unforgettable.
We have prepared for you a special advent calendar. Everyday we’ll suggest you a simple action to improve your life and the world around you.
Since it’s Monday and we want to cheer you up, you get to open 3 windows today.
Day 10: Choose the right Christmas tree
And for the joy of many of us it turns out that the more sustainable choice is…buying a real tree. It is true that plastic Christmas trees are reusable from year to year but they are made of petroleum products and use up resources in both the manufacture and shipping and when they are discarded and sent to landfills where their plastic content makes them last forever.
The ideal thing would be buying an organic tree, locally grown. If you can get a tree with both attributes, you’ll be promoting energy conservation and organic agriculture.
Make sure the tree you choose is root-bound, replant it in a larger pot, so that you can reuse it for several years. If you have a garden, you could re-plant the tree outdoors.
Day 11: Do something grand
Start a project that will make your life and your community better. Organize a big party in the hall of your building and invite all the people who live there, so that they can spend time together and get to know each other, gather a group of friends and start a free hug campaign, organize a flashmob in your city and make the people sing and dance on their way to work.
Get some inspiration here.
Day 12: Become a social investor
Get involved in microfinance. Check out Kiva, a non-profit network that connects people through lending to alleviate poverty. With Kiva you can lend as little as 25$ to help create job opportunities around the world.
