Many people are becoming more and more aware about the environment that we live in, and making conscious choices, in their day to day activities, that will not harm our lands, seas, and animals. While this environmental awareness is really catching on, the holiday season can be a very stressful time and the environment, animals, and plants are probably the last things on people’s minds!
The good news is you can still have a great time while being productive and environmentally responsible….making this the best holiday season ever! Here are some helpful tips that are easy to follow while still accomplishing all your holiday shopping, cooking, and decorating!
1. Recycle: Yes, the old standards still apply as far as recycling glass, plastic, and paper….but you can also go a step further and reuse your wrapping paper, bows, and gift decorations. You don’t always need to go out and buy new wrapping paper. Use the comics section of the newspaper, paper bags with special messages and glitter, a cool scarf , fabric gift bag, or wicker basket (all, items that the giftee can later enjoy) and use pine cones, maple leaves, and greenery for decoration. Gather scrap materials from your storage closets and see what you can come up with. If you do find yourself needing to buy wrapping and decorating items, try hemp wrapping paper and ribbons and cards made of natural and biodegradable materials.
2. Eco-Friendly Gifts: Give gifts that are re-usable, and will help your recipient become environmentally responsible as well, such as cloth bags for groceries, or a cool glass water bottle. Also, try giving gifts that will be used up such as soap, candles, and baked goodies!
3. Holiday Cards: Use recycled paper or card stock and make your own cards with art supplies or on your computer. You can also go totally paperless and send e-cards instead!
4. Lights: Use LED lights to reduce your energy consumption (don’t forget to turn your lights off at night). Since LED lights burn bright and have a long bulb life, this choice will also help to reduce the crunch on your wallet.
5. Christmas Tree: Be sure to recycle your Christmas tree, or if you have a wood chipper, you can turn it into mulch and use this for your landscaping and gardening needs.
These tips should really give you a boost in becoming a responsible consumer this holiday season. You can also use this opportunity to teach your children and others about responsible consumption to instill a caring and nurturing spirit as the stewards of this world. Hopefully this will be a great guide to start off the New Year right!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
This is certainly a superb bit of information, I currently have conducted quite a chunk of browsing your material of late and consequently i have to state it is undoubtedly awesome to find some different not to mention factual reading instead of all of the duplicated junk which is published all around the net. I hope there is going to be a lot to come and i definitely will be certainly sure to visit back shortly and bring in your rss feed