My Zero Waste 30th

So last June I turned 30! I spent months agonising over what I would do to celebrate such an exciting birthday. I was suggested things like: winery tour, hire a hall, go away for the weekend with the girls, have an all out massive party in Melbourne... and although all of those things sounded fun, nothing really resonated with me. And the idea of organising it (usually one of my favourite things) made me anxious and frustrated. I didn’t want to spend heaps of money, invite people because I felt I had to, and most of all, I didn’t want to create heaps of waste! So I decided to have a little party at my house. INVITATIONS- I created a Facebook event page and invited all of my guests. I used Canva to create a cute header picture. My event read:

“I'm turning 30!! And to celebrate, we're going to have a little party. Food and drinks at my place, kids and partners welcome. Hope you can all come and celebrate with me.

Please make sure you RSVP before June 1st so I can organise food!

As this is my Dirty Thirty, I will be doing my very best to make sure this party doesn't impact our environment.

Please don't buy me Things, I have more than enough for my 30 years. Instead, I'm wanting to start growing my own veggies/fruits/herbs and I would LOVE if anyone had any old spare planter boxes, half used potting mix, seeds that you've forgotten about, or clippings of your fruit/veggies plants that can be repotted. No need to buy anything new! Upcyclable, recycled and second hand would be the best!

I'll also have a well wishing pot for cards (which will be kept forever <3 )

If you do bring a gift, please don't wrap it. I'll have reusable gift bags if you'd like to wrap it, otherwise wrap free is perfect! Sorry for all the instructions but this is why you all love me right? haha. Hope to see you all soon <3

**its been brought to my attention that not everyone has or wants to gift me plant stuff haha. I also love Lush and any other ethical products 🍃”

My family and friends were absolutely fantastic and totally understood and respected my wishes.

TABLEWARE- my mum scoured the local op shops and found cute little plates for us to use, and I borrowed cheese platters and boards, as well as glassware from friends.

DECORATIONS- my mum had a huge piece of trellis sitting in her backyard. I borrowed it and used gorgeous foliage from our gardens to decorate it, then finished it off with (already printed) photos of my 30 years of life, clipped on with little pegs (which now live on my photoboard) We also used foliage in between the cheese boards and filled glass jars (sourced from a friend) with flower and succulents (later planted or composted) and wrapped twine around them.

GIFTS- My friends and family gifted me donations to charities, cuttings and seeds from their own gardens and second hand planter baskets. I was absolutely thrilled and now have a thriving veggie garden! My cake topper and flower crown we’re loving made by one of my besties, using real flowers, and were my present. Also, no one wrapped presents or they were wrapped in recycled paper, and I’ve kept the cards in my sentimental box.

FOOD- we created a grazing table kind of look, using all locally sourced food and none of it went to waste. My housemate and I were eating cheese for weeks after haha. There was some rubbish produced, cheese in plastic and cardboard boxes for crackers. But these were all recycled and redcycled where possible. We even specially chose certain crackers and cheeses for their recyclable packaging.

Having an eco friendly party isn’t hard to do, it just involved a little more planning but it all worked out amazingly and I couldn’t have been happier! I was so thrilled that everyone got on board. I’m so lucky to have such a wonderfully supportive group around me!

If you have an event coming up, see how EcoFriendly you can be, and let me know!

-EnviroJen