Eco-friendly gift wrap

Tis the season for gift giving and receiving.  But how to wrap your presents in an eco-friendly way? Without going so far as ironing and reusing gift wrap, here are a few ideas that don't kill as many trees this holiday season.

Gift bags:

These treasures are as easy as it gets to wrap gifts and can be reused til they fall apart.  Just make sure to take off any sticker labels before giving to someone else.  However, don't go overboard stuffing it with tissue paper since it's not recyclable in some areas.  

Cloth bags:

These are the best option because they don't require any trees, and are great to re-gift.  You can make your own with some pretty fabric or buy some already made.
Here are a few links for a how-to
http://www.wikihow.com/Sew-a-Cloth-Gift-Bag and http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/sewing/holiday_craft_easy_to_make_gift_bags.php. 
And for already made bags, try Living Ethos or Lucky Crow for beautiful collections of cloth gift bags.  

Comics:

Use the comics section of the Sunday newspaper for children's presents.  Wrap in a festive bow and they won't know the difference.  

Brown craft paper/paper bags:

Stamp the paper or put stickers to decorate, or have your kids draw something special on the paper. Finish it off with a beautiful ribbon or bow.

Recycled gift wrap:

These use less resources to make and are recyclable.  A lot of the fancy gift wrap contain elements (like metal, dyes, and laminates) that aren't recyclable.

Reuse gift boxes and shoeboxes:
You can decoupage these or just finish it off with a nice bow or ribbon. 

Clothing or blankets:

Wrap gifts in scarves, sweaters, baby blankets, fleece blankets, snuggies, or anything else that can be used again.  If giving a food or cooking gift, wrap in a kitchen towel or apron.  

Cellophane bags:
These are 100% biodegradable since they are made from plants and trees.  Wrap gift baskets with this or baked goods.

Some other recyclable or reusable gift wrap ideas:

Chinese takeout boxes, festive tins, old maps, or old calendars.  Use a pretty ornament or small picture frame as your gift tag.  And don't forget to reuse your ribbon and bows every year.

Hope these ideas will help you make your presents beautiful and eco-friendly.  Happy Holidays!! 

Holiday Decor

It's the most wonderful time of the year... although, you wouldn't know it by the very mild weather we're having in mid-November.  For the next six weeks, my blog will be dedicated to the holidays.  I'll cover decorating, holiday cards, gift wrap, gift ideas (including homemade), and what to do with it all when it's over.   (For those scrooges who would rather not deal with the holidays, tune in at the beginning of 2011 for more non-holiday eco-tips.)

This week: Holiday Decor
Soon, Thanksgiving will be upon us and we can break out the holiday decorating bins to deck the halls.  But how to do this in an eco-friendly way?

First, reuse the same decorations year after year.  There are people who choose a different theme each year for their tree, which means new ornaments, ribbons, etc. to purchase.  Not only does this get expensive, but you need more space to store all of these decorations.  However, more people seem to have traditions of using the same ornaments for sentimental value and to pass on to their children.  We still use ornaments I had growing up and the kids get a kick out of it (since it's hard for them to imagine their parents were EVER little kids).

I was given a handmade artificial wreath several years ago that I use every year.  It's decorated beautifully and it saves me from having to get a real one to keep alive.  I can barely keep a potted plant alive so having to maintain a real wreath makes me anxious.  The same goes for garland.  I use the artificial kind only because it's easier to maintain and have gotten many years out of them.

Second, the Christmas tree.  Artificial vs. real:
Artificial trees are bad for the environment because of the chemicals used to produce them as well as the toxins they release in the air.  They also use fuel to transport these trees to the stores, usually made in China.  If you have an artificial tree you want to get rid of, please donate it or freecycle it instead of throwing it away since they are not biodegradable and will last forever in the landfill.

Real trees, on the other hand, are grown on local tree farms (renewable resource), specifically to get cut down every November/December and are replanted every year so there is no detriment to the environment.  They add oxygen to the atmosphere and are biodegradable.  There are gadgets to keep the trees watered, so it makes it simple and easy for me to keep it alive for the month it's up in the house. And then when the holidays are over, you can leave it on your curb which they will turn into mulch to reuse in the environment.

Next, lights:
LED lights last longer than traditional incandescent string lights and they use less energy.  They don't get as hot either, which means less risk of fire.  This weekend at Home Depot, they are offering a $3 coupon for new LED lights for every string light you bring to recycle there, broken or not.  (The offers ends today, Sunday, so take advantage of this great deal.)  Make sure you put your lights on a timer, or at least remember to turn them out at a certain time at night. Keeping the lights on all night wastes energy and makes your bills higher.

Lastly, homemade decor:
Consider making your own holiday decorations.  You can use pine cones that you find outside and can put them in a nice bowl either spray-painted festive colors, or just leave plain and add branches from evergreens.  Make your own wreath and garland, if you have a green thumb.  Have your kids make some decorations to help spruce up the home during the holidays.  (Remember, glitter and snowflakes are easy & add extra sparkle.)  Homemade ornaments are also fun and much cheaper to make than buy.  Plus, you'll make memories your family will cherish for years to come.
Check out this link to Family Fun's ideas for homemade crafts for kids.  http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/  
And this one for homemade ornaments:
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/holiday-ideas/homemade-christmas-ornaments

Hope all of this information will get you started to having a wonderful and green holiday.  And check out my eco-mami facebook page to get 25 days of Christmas eco-tips starting in December.  Enjoy!

Green Festival recap

This weekend was the Green Festival in Washington, DC and, although I was very excited to attend, I wasn't that impressed.  Sure they had at least a hundred booths representing different and innovative environmental ideas, and several of them even had delicious samples to try and take home.  However, my overall impression was that they didn't offer much for those people who aren't already green.  It didn't give me new ways to be more eco-friendly without being very impractical, time consuming or inconvenient.

There were plenty of vendors in attendance to show you how to green your home, but I wasn't in the market for that.  There was a row of booths dedicated to being a green parent for infants and toddlers, but not for older kids like my own.  And then there were a few clothing vendors who sold clothes made of organic cotton or recycled water bottles that were overpriced.  Then there were those EXTREME eco-products like compost toilets and a spray that takes the color and smell out of the urine in your toilet bowl so you don't have to flush it.   I can't make stuff like that up.  

There were only a few select vendors that caught my attention where I actually spoke with their spokesperson or company owner for more than just a few seconds.  The rest of the booths started to blend together after a couple of hours spent there, which was highly disappointing.  If you tried one chocolate sample, you tried them all, you know?  There weren't enough companies promoting things for greening everyday living and that was disappointing.

Another disappointment in the festival was that their ad promoted a children's section that was going to highlight what the new National Children's Museum in DC would feature.  And because of this I decided to take my 9 year old son with me.  It was a waste of time.  They had reserved some open space in the convention center where kids could draw with crayons, make crafts out of plastic bottle pieces, and play bowling with some 2 liters filled with rice.  Thank goodness my son found the rest of the stuff in the other booths interesting or I would've owed him plenty for dragging him through this festival. 

But the biggest disappointment for me was the prices of the things sold.  The chocolate bars being sold, (that we so eagerly tried in the many samples they had shared), cost $4 a bar!!  A 2-year-old's dress cost $45?  Really?  Sure it was made out of recycled water bottles, but it's still for a child who's going to outgrow it in a few months anyway.  Some people are eager to spend this kind of money, and I guess that's great for stimulating the economy.  But for the most part, there are still people struggling out there to make ends meet and I believe the green movement will not go anywhere if it can't be affordable to everyone.  

I already felt a little out of place since I wasn't a Rastafarian, hippy, or LGBT, so it didn't seem like the heavenly place I anticipated the festival to be.  The food they served was mostly vegetarian, vegan, or goat (that one really threw me off!), so we had some curried tofu and rice, and some vegan version of lasagna that was pretty disgusting.  

Sooo, the conclusion of this story is to say that I felt that although I am a proud environmentalist, even I felt excluded from this crowd.  I feel like there is so much improvement to be made in order to get this movement into the mainstream.  I seem to be pretty normal in comparison to some of these extreme vegan, hemp-wearing, patchouli-smelling people and I hope to be able to bring the rest of you normal people into this movement with me.  A few simple steps don't have to cost you your paycheck, and some things will actually save you money.  I was pretty disappointed not to find anything like that at the festival, so maybe I'll set up my own booth at the festival next year.  :)  

Paperless environment

Have you ever thought about how much paper you use in a typical day? Between receipts, work and home offices, and junk mail, it can really add up. What can we do to eliminate such waste?

REDUCE
Just say no...
to ATM receipts, gas station receipts, or any other automated receipt where they actually give you the choice. These little pieces of paper can amount to a lot. Less is more.

Print on less paper
When you print from home or work, think about 1) whether you really need to print it, 2) whether you could print on both sides of the paper, and 3) if you could use already used scrap paper instead. This will save you money in the long run by not having to buy as much paper.

Use recycled paper
This goes for printer paper, journals, notebook paper, etc. Less energy used to make virgin paper and it increases the demand for recycled products.

Eliminate junk mail
How? Visit:
www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/
http://www.ecocycle.org/junkmail/index.cfm
http://www.donotmail.org/

Stop the catalogs!
Shop online instead. Call the customer service number on the back of the catalog and ask them to take you off their mailing list. Pottery Barn and their affiliates seem to be the ones that are delivered the most often, but there are several others out there.

Borrow instead of buying magazines
They have the exact same copies that are on the newstands at the library. And they're free! I believe you can check out the older versions but have to read the latest ones at the library. But it eliminates waste, fuel to deliver these magazines, and saves you money!

Online newspapers!
Unless you love getting the Sunday paper for the comics, coupons, or just to enjoy with your coffee, read your headlines on the computer. Or find other uses for your used newspaper, such as for packing boxes that you ship, or paper hats and paper airplanes for the kids. Use comics to wrap kids presents. Finish it off with a pretty ribbon and it makes a beautiful presentation. And when you're done, RECYCLE IT!!

Paperless billing
Pay your bills online. You can do this through your bank and with the company directly. This will eliminate those bills getting mailed to your home (less fuel), or having to go to the post office to get stamps and mail them back (less fuel). It's less paper to dispose of and less paper for those companies to have to produce.

REUSE
If you want to take it one step further in your environmental efforts, reuse as much paper as you can. I cut my letter sized paper in 4 and use that for scrap paper to make grocery lists, etc. I use a lot of the paper from flyers or regular mail for my kids to draw on. And then, of course, I use some scrap paper for printing things like coupons that I find online.

RECYCLE
Once you're done with your used printer paper, junk mail, and regular mail, please recycle it! Even your phone books are recyclable so don't just toss it so it can end up in the landfill. Don't forget all of the paper in your shredder! Every recycling center accepts paper.

More websites:
About paper in our society:
http://ecology.com/features/paperchase/
About the environmental benefits of recycled paper:
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagid=24437

Try these tips in order to use less paper, or at least dispose of it in a more responsible way. Less paper, less clutter in your home. Reduce, reuse, recycle!