This season is filled with fun, frenzied shopping, out-of-town road trips to see family and friends, sweet indulgences at every meal, and, sadly, extreme excess. Did you know that household waste increases by more than 25% during this time of year? Can’t we do better to show our planet that we are putting it at the top of Santa’s Nice List? Check out the ways you can sustainably deck your halls this year.
Be smart when making your house shine bright
Choose ENERGY STAR qualified LED lighting when decorating your house. This type of lighting reduces energy, maintenance and cooling costs; is durable; and offers convenient features such as dimming, automatic shut-off and motion sensors.
Opt for e-cards versus traditional paper cards
When you send warm wishes digitally, you can customize pictures and messages based on who is receiving your message, plus you’ll be creating no physical waste. If your friends have chosen the more traditional route, you can recycle their cards and make gift tags for next year’s presents.
Take the time to eliminate your name
That is, from unwanted mailing lists for catalogs and credit card offers. www.optoutprescreen.com can process your request to opt in or opt out of offers of credit or insurance.
Let Mother Nature be the theme of this year’s gift giving
Make sure your children, your nieces and nephews, and your kiddos’ favorite pals know how special our earth’s treasures are with gift ideas like a zoo membership, an ant farm, a science kit, a kite or live plants.
Make your gift wrap elicit a chuckle
Use the Sunday funnies as wrapping paper this year – it’s a great way to recycle your newspaper and lessen purchasing and paper waste, while giving family and friends a giggle before they tear into their present.
Find stocking stuffers that help in more than one way
Edible goodies such as oranges, apples and nuts prevent us from tossing little, plastic trinkets and toys into our landfills three months from now. Plus, the peels, cores and shells are great for your compost pile.
Make sure everyone’s toys are loaded with rechargeables
Powering up the new toys, gadgets and gizmos using rechargeable batteries is a great way to cut down on consumption of batteries. Be sure you keep the battery charger handy for when that favorite thingamabob runs out of juice.
Trees are not meant for landfills
Real Christmas trees are a renewable resource, are carbon neutral and create organic, biodegradable waste. But we need to make sure they don’t end up in our landfills. Find a tree-recycling event in your area to ensure you’ve wrapped up your holidays with a big, eco-friendly bow.
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