For the past 30 years, Drew Barrymore has been writing his wishes on postcards and sending them to himself on New Year’s Eve. It’s a tradition she makes alone or with others, and wherever she takes her vacation, she brings a stack of pre-stamped postcards with her to write down her intentions for the year. Postcards from the last few years are strewn about in various addresses and storage boxes, a collection of promises she’s kept and broken.
“I always get the feeling, over and over, that this is clearly a bad habit in my life,” she told NYLON via Zoom. “20 years later, I thought: “It’s so pathetic that I’m still writing this. I finally fixed it and I’m happy to say, but it’s a good litmus test because you’re like, God, same thing.” yearly?”
This year, Barrymore intends to work a little less – a difficult task for the actress and talk show host. But it’s also about catching yourself when she gives up and continuing on her path to sustainability, made a lot easier by her partnership with Grove Co., the world’s first company to sell organic products. people to make more rational choices in their daily lives. Barrymore was the Grove brand’s first global brand sustainability advocate and investor.
An hour with Barrymore could fix my life; there’s something incredibly comforting about her and her advice is available, whether it’s how to make a vacation peaceful and glamorous, or offering simple tricks to make a vacation more sustainable, like cutting out plastic in your apartment. rent, bring your own sheets and soap bars for laundry detergent, soap and shampoo, or donate an experience instead of stuff. When it comes to sustainability and New Year’s resolutions, it’s best to start small – and more about building habits, says Barrymore.
“Focus on three to five real changes you want to make,” she says of New Year’s resolutions. “They don’t have to be heavy, so it can be really cute and motivating…some adorable little thing you want to do.”
Barrymore spoke to NYLON about everything from how to enjoy Christmas alone to Grove products that help her spend her vacation more sustainably.
I would definitely start with travel and packing. I try to only carry one bar of soap, one bar of shampoo, Grove reusable bags for my little biodegradable floss sticks, and Grove tea tree kitchen towels, my hand towels are actually made from that. felt almost like a piece of styrofoam in the full experience of handwashing and trying to get rid of all the plastic aspects of my life. Here I start.
I just thought too: try to plan your trip as eco-friendly as possible, whether it’s a commercial flight to get there or staying in an eco-friendly establishment that suits your budget and lifestyle. I like to bring sheets of Grove laundry detergent to rental homes, so I guess it really depends on the trip. I’m traveling this Christmas but I’m going on a spring break trip where I’ll be renting a house and my Grove laundry wipes will come with me.
I don’t have a very traditional family, so we didn’t make a Christmas tree, we didn’t make gifts. In fact, I spent many vacations reading books alone. Sometimes if I’m motivated I go on a trip with a friend, but most of my life I really struggle with vacations and I’m always sensitive to how hard they are.
And then I grew up feeling, “Hey, if I’m going to spend the holidays alone, this is an inspiring option.” I don’t work and I’m going to read a book. I can stay at home for the holidays. They are only for a few days. You just go through them. Then I started to really love being alone.
I really enjoy Friendgiving and maybe traveling with girlfriends who are also not family oriented or they can have a family vacation but by December 27th we will be somewhere. I thought, great, let’s book a trip, and changed my mind. Holidays can be anything. Then I fell in love with David Sedaris and thought, oh, a vacation can be fun, I get it.
I don’t think many people spend the same holidays every year of their lives. We all envy and admire families that live in the same house, have such a big family and do the same thing every year. I would like to have and develop this tradition. I think there are not many chapters and seasons in your life.
So now I have kids, we decorate our tree, we have our decorations, we put on Vince Guaraldi’s peanuts, we buy a tree with their father and our stepmother Ellie. We go every year, take pictures and do the same. We’re just building our legacy along the way.
But for me and the girls, I thought, “We’ll be traveling every Christmas.” I don’t want to give gifts under the tree. I want to take you to a place that you will remember, I will take a picture and make a book out of it, and let’s create a treasure trove of great life experiences. Also, I just think that traveling can greatly broaden one’s mind and horizons.
For as long as I can remember, every new year I write a card for myself and usually bring a bouquet for the people I am with, wherever I am. I also spend a lot of time on New Year’s Eve by myself, but if I’m with people, or at a dinner party, or traveling with a group, I’ll have enough for everyone and I’ll make sure they have stamps on them because that’s all operation. Where it fails. If you don’t post them that night, you won’t post them. I say write your resolution on it and send it to yourself.
It’s funny how I always have this annoying thought of doing the same thing over and over again and it’s clearly a bad habit in my life, like “I’ll do it less”. I am still writing this. I finally fixed it. So I’m happy to say, but it’s a good litmus test because you think, God, it’s the same thing every year? It’s still a problem. interesting.
They are everywhere because they are sent to different addresses, which are different mailboxes. I wish I could line them up neatly every year. I have to go through so many storage boxes and moving things. I really wish that I could organize everything perfectly like this. Then there are silly things like “Dental Floss”.
Maybe work a little less this year. I don’t know if I can do it, but I’ll try. It will be: “When you devalue yourself or have a negative mindset, catch yourself.” “Remember, you don’t have much time left on this earth. You can’t write these postcards forever. I’ll kick your ass.”
Absolutely. And I think the other is always more stable. I have kids, I wasn’t always this guy, it was one of my girlfriends that really changed my life. If you care about other people more than yourself, such as your children, your friends, your family, or anyone else, let them inspire you to want to stay longer on this planet.
Thanks to Grove, I now have this gift: I start working in partnership, this is really a new family that I have created, and I really care about all the people I work with and I want to make them happy, I appreciate what they do in the world and I want to be part of the amazing change they are trying to create.
But to be honest, I’m also an aesthetic junkie. The whole philosophy of beautiful lines that I create is very important to me, and it is that things that live in your eyes should be beautiful. Grove’s aesthetic is very modern, clean and fresh. Even when I refill my bottle, I don’t use it because I like the way it looks. Then when I see it, it fires me up and I do something positive, which in turn makes me feel better.
So really it all comes back to behavior. If we don’t do something great, we don’t keep it in our hearts. If we’re doing something great, every time we’re reminded of it, we dance a little victory dance about it. So, Grove is a very important company, and I was a consumer and a customer before they asked me to join the company. It is very real for me and my life and I am very happy to work with them. My girls love it. We all use Grove products. They don’t see plastic in the house. We live this truth. So they will be brought up in a normal way, and I think the younger generation is well aware of all this.
Do you feel that working with Grove has changed your entire life, not just how you clean, but how you live in terms of sustainability?
Of course, because these are all detergents, but these are reusable bags, napkins, linen, ubiquitous bottles and other things that we buy at the Grove Market. The girls saw me say, “I can’t use those plastic toothpicks anymore.” What reply? So I found biodegradable or compostable. You start to double-check every area.
Holidays seem like a good time for this, as it is also traditionally a time of great excesses.
Yes. I think I avoid it by trying to be a more thoughtful person throughout the year. I might as well, everyone gets gifts for the holidays. I thought I’d send you a present in May because something happens to inspire you.
Exactly. I am pleased with bonuses and gifts throughout the year from the people I work with because something happened.
Me. I’d rather spend my money on this, create memories, open my eyes and see more of the world. This is my biggest goal for me.
Do you have any advice for people to keep their New Year’s resolutions? Should we all put this on a postcard and hang it on the wall?
Yes. And bet three or five, don’t bet again. You just forget what they are and it doesn’t happen. Focus on three to five real changes you want to make, they don’t have to be heavy so it can be very sweet and motivating. Small delightful things that you want to do.