Givin in Green Holiday Tips
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Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Dec 6 2007 at 9:13am by In the short weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, household waste in the United States skyrockets...by 1 million TONS! That is a ton of extra trash, and most of that probably winds up in landfills. As you can probably imagine, a huge portion of that ton comes from giftwrap, and packaging. This holiday season, try giving in green! Greening up your gifts is simple, and it can make an enormous difference in reducing that load on our landfills. What's even better is that it can actually save you some GREEN!
Try any or all of these green giving solutions...
1. Green Wrap2 - Wrap it in a Green Bag! Double points for this one! You're reducing waste, saving money AND encouraging someone else to go green. The delighted recipient can re-use the Green Bag over and over again in the future. You'll be planting a seed where one might not have grown. Green Bags are inexpensive and you can get them for less than you'd spend on a cute holiday themed bag (that's just going to get thrown away). Try
http://www.ecobags.com/Our_Products/The_GreenBag [www.ecobags.com]. And please remember to bring your green bags when doing your holiday shopping!!!
2. Re-Use, Re-Use, Re-Use - Re-Use! You can re-use just about any kind of paper as gift wrap...I've been using the Sunday Comics as wrapping paper for years...it gives the package character ;) You can also use the business section for that stock broker uncle, or the classifieds for that ever-jobless cousin...the possibilities are endless with this one. Some other great ideas are maps, brown paper bags with a nice pretty bow or branches from your tree, some of the countless drawings by your children, holiday catalogs or magazines, last years calendar, etc. Another thing that is great to do is if someone gives you a gift in a pretty holiday themed bag...save it...and re-use it!
3. Use Recycled Wrapping Paper - Wrap it Up Right! If you must have the cute holiday themed paper and gift bags try to find some that is/are recycled. You can easily shop for that online, try any of these links or Google "recycled gift wrap"
http://paporganics.com/ [paporganics.com]
http://www.fishlipspaperdesigns.com/index.html [www.fishlipspaperdesigns.com]
http://www.papermojo.com/green_living.html [www.papermojo.com]
http://www.importica.com/GiftWrap/StoreGiftWrap/default.aspx [www.importica.com]
htmlhttp://www.catgen.com/ecopapel/EN/100002.html [www.catgen.com]
4. Give Green Travel!!! - You wont have to wrap anything at all! Triple points!!!! Book any trip at http://www.rezhub.com [www.rezhub.com]'s Green Travel Hub, it doubles as a donation to a green group and thats something we can all feel good about. You can even book with a green hotel, rent a hybrid car, and offset that carbon footprint. Plus everyone loves a vacation!!!
What are you doing to green up your gift giving this year???
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RE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Dec 9 2007 at 11:18pm by Hi, I like your post. I never thought about giving a gift in a green garbage bag. That
's clever. Your post made me think of something to add. I throw pounds of junk mail in the trash each year. I'm sure that one could come up with some very clever and colorful packages just from using one month of December advertizement brochures that arrive in the mail. I guess that the recycling method for trash takes care of that too but it's therapeutic for folks like me who get tired of too much junk mail. I think that I would rather use the garbade bags to make clever bows. One could cut them into ribbon just like it comes on a roll. Then use pipe cleaners to twist it into a bow using the same method that florists' use. Other methods would work too.
I have used garbage bags as raincoats and windblocks before. I was 7 hours away from home in a cold rainy city at a sports tournament where I did not have a raincoat. I didn't have time to shop. People didn't make fun of me for my style. Instead they complimented me for my creativity. It was a fairly decent shield against the wind. Not the best but it worked.
I've heard about homeless people who wrap up in newspapers to sleep at night in the cold. Maybe we should donate our garbage bags to them if old coats are not plentiful. In my city old coats are collected for the homeless but I doubt that type of collection happens everywhere.
Kids could make teepees out of them just like the indians used natural materials centuries ago.
Styrofoam peanuts would make pretty golden ornaments on Christmas trees. They could be hung individually or strung together in multicolored chains. The crafters could paint them in colors of their choice. They could be shredded to look like snow flakes too. Just put thread and a hook in them.
THE STYROFOAM COULD BE USED IN COMBINATION WITH THE GARBAGE BAGS TO MAKE VESTS AND COATS FOR THE HOMELESS TOO. QUILTS EVEN COULD BE MAKE TO COVER THEM UP. USE A GLUE GUN ON MAYBE A HAIR DRYER SET ON HIGH TO SEAL (QUILT THEM) THEM TOGETHER. --EVEN THREAD MIGHT BE USED.---THAT'S MY ORIGINAL IDEA BUT YOU CAN USE IT.
I just finished putting some Christmas ornaments on my tree that I made out of light bulbs. I have a Rudolf that I hung on a light switch. His antlers are made of tree branches. Of all the ones that I made I am most happy with him. My tree is a sophisticated tree so I must admit that I have hung the two or three others on the back side of it.
Have you ever made fire starters from the grey cardboard egg cartons? When my kids were younger I had a great supply of old broken crayons and birhday candles. Save those along with the laundry lint from your dryer Wad up the lint and put it in the egg cups. Then melt the crayons and wax from old candles by putting them in a discarded tin can used for vegetables. After it melts use your tongs to lift up the can from the stove and pour it into the egg cups. It makes a great fire starter when you have lots of crayons and wax. Tear the egg cups apart. It doesn't take a lot of them to start a fire.
Old soda cans can be trimmed with sizzors to make pretty candle holders or votives. How pretty would those reflections be done in holiday shapes?RE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Dec 9 2007 at 11:35pm by The styrofaom egg cartons are very plentiful today. A multitude of Christmas ornamnents could be made with the flat lid -like stars or snowflakes to hang on a tree or window. The artistictly challenged people could buy stencils to cut out the shapes that they want. Then they could paint them. Perhaps this would only work for kids craft projects but more talented artist's would create heirlooms. The cups could be used for beautiful three dimensional shapes or even as stands for a nativity or a standing display. Just fill the cups with something heavy.
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RE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Dec 17 2007 at 9:06am by I was not talking about garbage bags! I was talking about Green Bags. Please see the link to see what I am talking about. These are bags you bring with you on shopping trips so that you don't have to waste all those plastic or paper bags. RE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Jan 5 2008 at 4:40pm by Thanks Greentravel. I see a few people using those. Not many at all though. Guess I've got egg on my face. Thanks for not ignoring me as the poster right below your last post advised. I use the plastic bags from the grocery store as garbage bags to take to my larger trash cans. I use them as last minute lunch bags too. Yikes I'm not cool. I don't fit in with the cool. Cool doesn't equal nice or decent though. Bye.
RE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Jan 5 2008 at 4:40pm by Thanks Greentravel. I see a few people using those. Not many at all though. Guess I've got egg on my face. Thanks for not ignoring me as the poster right below your last post advised. I use the plastic bags from the grocery store as garbage bags to take to my larger trash cans. I use them as last minute lunch bags too. Yikes I'm not cool. I don't fit in with the cool. Cool doesn't equal nice or decent though. Bye.
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RE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Dec 14 2007 at 11:43pm by I'd like to also suggest buying fair trade gifts for your friends and family from now on! Fair trade is the only ethical form of trading. Globally Minded (http://globallyminded.com) designs and produces beautiful and unique handcrafted, eco-friendly jewelry. Our products can be purchased on Amazon (type in "Globally Minded Fair Trade Jewelry") to see our amazing jewelry. Also, save 10% when you buy between now and 2008 and save more with FREE Super Saver Shipping. We package our jewelry in reusable poly bags. Each purchase supports artisans and children in Guatemala. -
RE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Dec 18 2007 at 1:22am by Here is a great gift for the greeny in your life a way to convert thier car to burn water. Yep that's right water. Right now they are offering a special promotion when you buy thier product as a holiday gift they give you a free copy as well so you can give the gift of green and get the gift of green. I did this to my car about 3 months ago and I am getting about 78% better gas mileage than I was and the engine just purrs now.
www.h20yourcar.comRE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Jan 5 2008 at 11:28pm by LOL, I love it! Horses and mules do that too but you have to add hay to the mixture and some sugar cubes every now and then. You get methane gas from that deal if you know how to harvest it. Ht Hm
Oops I'm supposed to be quiet now because someone suggested that I be ignored. I forgot. I guess some of the environmentally preachy are cliquish. Oh my those horrible proselytizers.
They are so sophisticated that their free speech is the only speech that matters.
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RE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Mar 9 2008 at 5:20am by How about packing with a green bag? . . .
Artisan Gear [www.artisangear.com]
Sativa Bags [www.sativabags.com]
Eco Friendly Bags - Bags and Luggage Company since 1997 Edgeware, London, UK +442089527732
Here is a place you can find worldwide green accommodation . . .
It's A Green Green World [www.itsagreengreenworld.com]-
RE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Mar 10 2008 at 9:39am by YES!!! Wrapping in a green bag was actually a part of the post :) I suggested the "Green Bags" brand though, because they only run around a dollar or two, which make them better suited for gift bags. -
RE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Mar 12 2008 at 10:16pm by No one mentioned newspaper! i always wrap my gifts with old newspaper from the recycling bin and then put a little bow on the top. At the end of the day it ends up in the recycling bin anyway (assuming all your friends/family recycle, which they should), and the bow can be re-used. I like this because it still gives you that satisfying feeling of tearing open a package, and it actually looks pretty nice as well. RE: Givin in Green Holiday Tips Posted on Mar 13 2008 at 9:13am by Yes, that was in there too! I looooove using the Sunday Comics for wrapping paper, especially for kids gifts. It comes out so cute!
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