Life
11 Ways You & Your Partner Can Make Your Dates More Environmentally Conscious
Relationships involve a lot of decision making. Where do you want to eat dinner? What movie should you see? What's the plan for Saturday? To make this process easier, we narrowed the answers to these questions down to environmentally conscious things to do with your partner. Because you should not underestimate the romance of saving the world one vegetarian home cooked meal at the time. Especially with Earth Day — Apr. 22 — around the corner.
There are many ways you can spice up — or rather, green up — your relationship with your partner. From volunteering together to just getting outside without your phones or game consoles. Get matching dirt manicures while digging in soil to plant a new bed of flowers. Sometimes planting flowers together is nicer than receiving them. And it's a bonus for the environment. While you're nurturing your relationship with your partner by doing all these fun things, you're also contributing to the well-being of the earth. Which hosts your partnership. So it's a good idea to be as nice to it as you are to each other.
Being environmentally conscious together when it comes to date ideas or just fun activities to do together can be a great way to get closer to each other. Get environmentally friendly without compromising on fun. Grab your hiking boots and stroll into the sunset, picking up trash on the trail. Making the activities you do with your partner environmentally friendly will be the best decision you two could ever make!
Volunteer To Clean Up A Park Or Beach
The couple who keeps the parks and beaches free of litter together, stays together. Doesn't that roll off the tongue nicely? Despite the existence of trash cans, trash seems to always accumulates quickly on the beaches you like to stroll on and the parks you enjoy romantic picnics in. Volunteer your time as a couple to keep your favorite natural date spots free of waste. You can find a local effort to join through VolunteerMatch.com.
Go On A Hike And Clean The Trail
A day spent on the trails can invigorate the kind of conversations that bond partners. Spend a electronics-free date navigating mountain trails together (after you've ensured you have directions available to you offline so you don't get lost.) If you see trash, pick it up and dispose of it properly. The endorphins from doing good for the environment and for yourself can lead to a lot of post-hike ~sweetness~.
Enjoy A Concert Responsibly
If you and your partner enjoy live music, you don't have to feel guilty about jumping on the summer concert circuit. While waste is an issue at venues, environmentally friendly solutions are starting to surface. Your favorite reusable water bottle Nalgene has teamed up with non-profit Reverb to paint your night out on the town green. Bring your own or purchase a water bottle and reduce the presence of plastic water bottles in the audience. Just find the Reverb eco-village at a Maroon 5, MGMT, P!NK, X Ambassadors or Harry Styles summer concert and rock out with your refill together.
Plant A Garden
Growing your own food and flowers is a great way to show the earth and your boo some seriously loving. Get in the dirt and clean up the environment together. Look at you two, partners in ridding the environment of toxicity.
Clean Out Your Closets
It might seem like a chore, but going through each others wardrobes can help both of you sort what you need and what you don't need. Think of this as your movie montage moment where you can dress up for an adoring audience and have a few laughs. Donate the clothes you don't need to a charity together.
Plant A Tree
This could be very ~romantic~. Watching your tree grow up into a mature, oxygen-producing member of the environment will make you and your partner proud. It's also super symbolic. (Hello, family tree, anyone?!)
Host An Environmentally-Friendly Dinner Party Turned Fundraiser
If there is a non-profit or charity that supports environmental efforts, gather your friends together for a green dinner party hosted by you and your partner. Think a vegetarian menu and biodegradable bamboo plates that can be composted. If you don't feel comfortable asking your friends for donations, just host an environmentally-friendly dinner party for the fun of it.
Shop Responsibly
Couples who enjoy shopping together or ~for each other~ can do so with the environment in mind. One surefire way to do this: supporting brands that give back to environmental efforts. For instance, if you're a fan of Free People, clue your bae into their latest collaboration with Waves for Water and get your matchy-matchy on with a tee.
Waves for Water works to provide clean water for communities around the world. Each tee purchased will contribute to the brand's donation to the charity, especially targeting the non-profit's efforts in Puerto Rico. Look good together while doing good together.
Unplug From Video Games And Play Outside
You're never too grown up to turn the video game console off and play outside. If you're not into hiking, you can still find fun ways to enjoy being outdoors. It can be as simple as taking a walk, or bringing a basketball to the outdoor court.
Stroll Through The Farmer's Market
There's nothing like a romantic stroll through the farmer's market. If you're not in the ~market~ for groceries, just stopping from stall to stall and talking to local farmers can be a fun early morning event to kick off your day together. You might just get an idea for dinner while you're at it.
Netflix & Chill
Stay in and cuddle up to your favorite educational documentary. Nothing says romantic date night like a lifestyle changing documentary.
