A Sustainable Gift Idea For Valentine's Day (Or Any Holiday)

Sustainability - it's a term we've heard many times before. But what does it actually mean to live sustainably? Living sustainably means reducing our environmental impact through various practices. Adopting such practices, whether big or small, can have a positive impact on the environment in the long run and create a better habitat for future generations.

AN EASY WAY TO PRACTICE SUSTAINABILITY EVERY DAY
Repurposing plastic containers and glass jars is probably one of the easiest and most effective ways to be more sustainable. By not throwing away single-use containers, the demand for disposable plastics is lowered, which in turn reduces waste and energy consumption. Reusable sauce jars or yogurt containers are great for storing everything from soup to cookie dough in the freezer or fridge, and we have no qualms about using them as meal prep containers to bring with us to work. 

You'll just need a few supplies to start:
• String
• Empty glass jar (search your fridge and pantry for one you can reuse)
• Dish towel (like our dill-lightful Dill Herb dish towel)
• Fresh flowers

HOW TO CREATE A REPURPOSED VASE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY (OR ANY SPECIAL OCCASION)

Below is a simple 4-step process for turning your reusable glass jar into a giftable Valentine’s Day vase.

STEP 1: Find a glass jar. Is that salsa or pasta sauce almost out? Don't throw the jar away when you're done, wash it out (you can use one of our sponge cloths), and dry (we have lots of dish towels to help you with that).

STEP 2: Wrap the empty jar with a Neighborgoods dish towel. Lay the dish towel on a flat surface design side down. Fold the towel in half bringing the top seam to meet the bottom seam. Place the jar at the top of the fold on the right side where the design starts. Fold the towel in half again from bottom to top OVER the jar (this will ensure your jar doesn't slip out of the towel when carrying).

Take the extra towel material on the right and fold it over the jar. Then start rolling the jar to the left. Before you get to the end, take the bottom left edge to meet the top seam, forming a triangle fold, this will give it a nice finish and keep the edge of the towel from hanging loose.

CLICK HERE for a quick video tutorial.

STEP 3: Add water to the jar.

STEP 4: Add fresh flowers to your glass jar. We collected ours from the back yard or you can pick up seasonal flowers from your local florist.

This DIY vase wrap shows you put in a little extra effort into your valentine flowers, and your recipient gets an additional dish towel gift that will last all year round once the flowers are gone. It also makes a great gift to take to you next dinner party or your friend's housewarming.

We have lots of other dish towel designs you can use for this gift like our Edible Flowers and Fresh Herb Collections.

Leave a comment below if you have any questions or let us know how your vase wrap turned out if you tried it!