"I Love You" Gift Idea #1:
Identify a time when your sweetheart will be away from their home for a large portion of the day, slip into their humble abode and give them the gift of a greener personal environment. This might include such common sense efforts like:
a) Recycling all of their crumpled up plastic shopping bags for them and leaving reusable versions behind.
b) Setting up an attractive DIY recycle zone right near their front door with a wall-mounted hook that you hang their reusable bags from.
c) Gifting them with a collection of washable rags, homemade household cleaners infused with citrus peels and 100% recycled content bathroom tissue.
d) Scattering several soy-based candles throughout the rooms of their home.
e) Surprising them with an entire new organic cotton bed set, including sheets, blanket, comforter and dust ruffle.
f) Setting up a countertop kitchen composting bin.
g) Leaving a freshly prepared, entirely organic chopped salad for your sweetheart in their refrigerator and a note that says, "Your countertop kitchen composting bin is officially initiated."
h) Leaving organic cotton pet toys for their cats, dogs and other critters (whether handmade or store-bought) and taking the liberty of banishing anything made with latex, plastic or other conventional toxic materials.
i) Filling one of their cupboards with a diverse selection of organic pantry staples - who knows, they just may become hooked!
j) Replacing all of their conventional light bulbs with energy efficient versions.
k) Leaving a selection of homegrown organic herbs on their kitchen windowsill along with a few handwritten recipes that you plan to make for them (using those herbs).
Impact on Your Significant Other:
Ideally they will have already indicated to you that they've wanted to "go green" for ages now but just haven't gotten their act in gear. If that's the case, then they will likely be thrilled that you've made their transition so effortless. On the other hand, if they've never before expressed any green leanings (or they like to have personal control over all organizational efforts...or they're a Republican...ha, ha 
), then things could get a little rocky on the romance front despite your good green intentions. Before you forge ahead with this idea, make sure you really have a good sense of what makes your main squeeze tick!!
Impact on the Planet:
Two green thumbs way up! If more people did this, we'd be a lot closer toward making the idea of going green a mainstream way of life.
Impact on Your Wallet:
This could involve serious ka-ching factor, particularly if you're furnishing their place with store-bought items....or it could involve minimal financial investment if you decide to DIY and tweak garage sale finds or integrate green supplies that you already have on hand. On a scale of 1 to 5 ka-chings (1 meaning that this is a pauper-friendly idea and 5 meaning hold onto your hat, now would be a good time to get a second job), if you DIY it all the way, this practical Valentine's Day gift will score a glycemic ka-ching index of 1-2. On the other hand, if you load your shopping cart up with 100% new green items, you'll easily tip the ka-ching scale at 5.
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"I Love You" Gift Idea #2:
Create a handmade collage professing your true love and admiration for your significant other. This is not the time to second-guess your artistic skills...and don't make the mistake of assuming that Hallmark can do a far better job than you can. Think about it...when was the last time that you or anyone else you know received a visual documentation of their sweetheart's feelings for them? Purchasing a pre-worded, pre-illustrated card and merely just signing your name to the bottom of it is light-years different than channeling your own personality and feelings into a piece of home-spun "(he)art" that is highly personalized and reflective of the time that you've shared together as a couple. Cut up select phrases and images from old magazines and greeting cards, add ticket stubs, fortune cookie sayings and any other ephemera that you've collected from your dates together and get crazy with the glue stick. Whether you choose to small or big with your presentation, there will be no question that it comes straight from the heart.
Impact on Your Significant Other:
Wowza! Since this gift requires thought, a little creative flair and personal investment of time, the object of your affection will be seriously touched. Before you know it, their eyelashes will begin fluttering, their cheeks will get a bit flushed and they'll be cozying up to you - mission accomplished ;)
Impact on the Planet:
Two green thumbs up. The majority of the paper-based resources that you'll need for this project will be recycled and the only "new" supplies necessary to pull off your collage will be glue and scissors (which you probably already have on hand).
Impact on Your Wallet:
On a scale of 1 to 5 ka-chings (1 meaning that this is a pauper-friendly idea and 5 meaning hold onto your hat, now would be a good time to get a second job), this thoughtful and romantic Valentine's Day gift registers marvelously low on the glycemic ka-ching index. 0 - 1 tops, depending on whether you choose to rely exclusively recycled paper sources (you KNOW you wanna) or dip into fancy craft store virgin reserves (ehhh, scrapbook, art and origami papers - while all very attractive - are highly overrated).
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"I Love You" Gift Idea #3:
Surprise your sweetie with the gift of fresh, clean air by presenting them with a collection of living, air-purifying plants rather than cut flowers which are chemically treated and end up withering away far too soon. Since most internal environments contain far more chemical vapors and toxic volatile compounds that the that air we breathe outside, do your honey a huge favor by giving their lungs a break via the introduction of fresh greenery throughout their halls and rooms. Much has been written about NASA's study on the most effective air filtering plant species - suffice it to say that the shining stars are the Areca Palm and the Lady Palm (both with a purifying score of 8.5), the Bamboo Palm (with a purifying score of 8.4), the Rubber Plant (with a purifying score of 8.0), the Dracaena, the Date Palm tree and English Ivy (all with a purifying score of 7.8), the Ficus Alii (with a purifying score of 7.7), and finally the Boston Fern and Peace Lily (both with a purifying score of 7.5). In addition to your V-Day gift beneficiary being able to inhale with reckless abandon, their digs will look more homey and your thoughtful surprise will last for decades (as long as they're on top of watering and fertilizing)!
Impact on Your Significant Other:
Jungle love! All that luscious greenery will help them to think with greater clarity (thanks to the higher oxygen content in the air) about all the ways that they love you....and they may be more tempted than ever to show you exactly how appreciative they are behind the palms.
Impact on the Planet:
Two green thumbs up!! Can I hear a hell yeah for copious amounts of oxygen and kicking air-borne pollutants to the curb without relying on any electronic devices or propellant-delivered neutralizing chemicals?!?
Impact on Your Wallet:
Okay...how about a yowza ka-ching of the 5th degree? This is not an investment that anyone with a faint heart (or monopoly money bank account) should take on. If you choose to purchase a diverse array of filtration plants (as stated above) at a local nursery or home improvement store, you could easily spend $100 on just one potted Palm or a tidy hundy for eeensie weensie versions of three to four plants. The only way that this could gift idea might be more budget friendly is if you commiserate with a local botanical society and participate in a plant swap or search online for green thumb trading or plant cutting opportunities. You can do it more affordably, but you'll have to put in some sweat equity in order to shake down the deals. Still, if you can bankroll the investment without infringing on your other fiscal responsibilities, this is the type of gift that will give back year after year in more ways than one.
Got any other green Valentine's Day inspiration you'd like to share with your fellow eco-peeps? What are you planning to do to knock the socks off your honey this year?
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The collages above courtesy of The I Love You Blog and My Artistic Life
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For more great Valentine's Day ideas, you might want to take a moment to check out:
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