>It wasn’t fully green. We did use paper plates; you can see them here. However, there were many green elements to the graduation party at our humble home last weekend.

There were plastic cups available, but no one used them. Those who chose not to drink out of the cans and bottles (yes, we’re a casual crew) used real glasses and actual coffee mugs. We used regular flatware instead of plastic utensils. Between our own set and the stash from La Petite’s apartment, we had plenty of forks and spoons for the picnic-style meal.

Serving dishes were all reusable. They didn’t all match (not by a long shot!), but they all fit in the sink or dishwasher later for cleaning.

Can you see them, behind Chuck’s German potato salad and my mother’s baked beans? To the right of the coffeepot? The basket in the corner has cloth napkins. Yes, you read that correctly. We used cloth napkins for the party. We own plenty, and they were easy to wash with the rest of the regular laundry.

The end result: one bag of garbage. One. Thirty to forty people (give or take a few) had supper at our house, and we only generated one bag of garbage. If we do this again, I might collect the paper plates separately and bury them in the compost bin.

Maybe. If someone else does the dishes.