I Think I Finally Won

I think it happened.

It is finally over (maybe).

RedPlum coupons have not been on my doorstep the past 3 Tuesdays. The first Tuesday it was not there, I figured it to be a fluke. The second Tuesday, I got more hopeful. And the third Tuesday, made me feel triumphant!

Victory!

This was not an easy victory, as I highlighted previously multiple times. It came at a price of being so consistently persistent that I vowed to tweet at the Chicago Tribune every week until it stopped showing up on my doorstep. Something no other sane Chicagoan would put themselves through.

I started on this journey back in January and tracked every piece of it.

• January 9: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• January 9: Emailed insideshopper@chicagotribune.com to have our address removed
• January 9: Received automated email response “Thank you for contacting the Chicago Tribune Inside Shopper department – your email is important to us. Please expect a response within 24 hours.”
• January 10: Did not hear back in 24 hours.
• January 11: A Twitter follower suggested using an online form to unsubscribe. I filled out the form.
• January 16: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• January 23: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• January 30: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• February 6: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• February 13: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• February 20: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• February 22: Called the number listed to be removed and was told it would take 2-3 weeks.
• February 27: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• March 6: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• March 13: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• March 20: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• March 20: Called again to be removed and asked if it would take 2-3 weeks, they said no.
• March 26: Direct messaged RedPlum on Twitter
• March 27: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep
• March 27: RedPlum responded to my Twitter message, saying: “Thank you. Your address was removed from our distribution list on 1/12/18. We are contacting the Chicago Tribune, who handles delivery in your area, to make them aware of the delivery error.”
• April 3: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep, called and tweeted at the Chicago Tribune

• April 10: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep, called and tweeted at the Chicago Tribune. This time, they told me they would tell the delivery people that I have already called multiple times.

• April 17: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep, called and tweeted at the Chicago Tribune

• April 17: Received a reply to my tweet from a Chicago Tribune digital editor

• April 19: Got a voicemail from Chicago Tribune customer service referencing my tweets. When I called back it was just the same number I had been calling for weeks. I asked for the representative who had left the voicemail (Lillian), the person on the phone could not get her.
• April 24: Received an InsideShopper/RedPlum on my doorstep, called and tweeted at the Chicago Tribune

• April 25: Got another call from Lillian about my tweets. She asked for my address again (I have literally given it to them 25 times by now). She did inquire if I was the owner of the building because technically if RedPlum is being delivered to a building with multiple units, it is the owner who would have to go through this horrendous process. I assured her that no, I was not the owner, no one in my building wants it, and there was no way the owner would slave away at this. Lillian said she would follow up with the distributor and to allow 1-2 weeks for service to stop.
• May 1: Did not receive
• May 8: Did not receive
• May 15: Did not receive

So maybe, just maybe, I have won the battle with RedPlum and InsideShopper. I did not want to get too excited the first week it didn’t show, but I am hoping 3 weeks in a row means this has finally come to an end.

Thank goodness I succeeded because we are about to move! Fingers crossed our new building doesn’t get it or I am going to have to start all over. At least my current neighbors can thank me for ridding them of such unnecessary waste!

Meet The Less-Wasteful Vendors of My Wedding

It’s the nitty-gritty of wedding planning. Less than 30 days left until the big day.

We got our marriage license, we are making our final payments, and I am picking up my dress in 2 weeks. Crazy crazy!

I wanted to recap some of the unconventional vendors I am including in one of the most important days of my life and why it’s important to support these types of businesses.

My wedding is by no means zero waste, but I did my best to include more conscious decisions while planning and even applied it to my shower and suggested it to my maid of honor for my bachelorette party (We shall see how she does. Love you Britni!).

You kind of need to pick and choose where you really want your less-waste decisions to shine or it will drive you insane. For instance, I would rather have something visible like composting than something no one would notice like using all natural, vegan, organic makeup.

So here it is.

My Less Wasteful Wedding Vendors

(And Also Those That Aren’t) **

**I have said this before, obviously, the most zero waste option would be just get married at City Hall in an outfit you already own and be done with it, but I am having a ceremony, with a reception, with guests, in a large city. #sorrynotsorry

Venue: The Joinery

I booked our wedding at the Joinery well before it became a green event space backed by the Green Wedding Alliance. The building was saved from demolition, therefore keeping construction materials out of the landfill.

Source: The Joinery

Dress: House of Brides Couture

My dress is not vintage or reused, but bought from a standard bridal store chain. I had mulled about doing a vintage dress but ended up falling in love with one at a store on a whim visit with a friend from out of town. So that was that.

Hair

It’s my stylist that has been cutting my hair since I was sixteen years old. She uses standard hair products, so no “natural” hairspray over here.

Makeup

All regular. Full of chemicals.

Florist: Avium Flowers

I previously posted about my wedding flowers from Avium here. This small, women-owned business will locally grow and put together my wedding flowers. Afterward, the flowers that don’t get taken home will be composted.

Source: Avium Flowers

Food: Big Star

Instead of the standard wedding fare, we opted for food we knew our guests and ourselves would be excited to eat. It was soothing to know that one of the biggest pieces of your wedding budget was going to go towards food people have literally been talking about since we signed the contract a year ago.

We are having tacos. That’s right. Big Star tacos. 🌮

Source: Big Star

They were happy to accommodate my requests for no straws or plastic water cups. Additionally, since Chicago has strict laws about donating prepared food, Big Star agreed to provide my guests with takeout containers to take some tacos home, if there are even any left.

If there are some taco stragglers at the end of the night, they will be composted. More about that below.

Waste Disposal: Healthy Soil Compost

My normal compost pickup service also composts at events, so it was only natural that I chose Healthy Soil. They will drop off and pick up the bins, hauling whatever is left over to be eaten by worms and turned into fertilizer.

Source: Healthy Soil Compost

Invitations: Minted

While I opted to use an online service for our invitations, I did pay the additional fee to use recycled paper and print an extremely tiny, barely visible, recycled paper symbol on the back of them.

Day of Coordination: Prickly Pear Events

All of my vendors are then being coordinated by Green Wedding Alliance member, Prickly Pear Events, who so far has kept me thinking of different ways to incorporate less waste into my event.

That’s it! Catch up on the rest of my wedding planning journey with Waste Not Want Not Wedding.