Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
5 Simple Ways to Be Green for the Holidays
As we enjoy the holiday season, here’s five simple & creative ways to be green for the holidays without breaking the bank.
1. Give Holiday cards a New Life
Recycle Reduce Reuse – the 3R’s of Green Living. Recycle your old or even newly received holiday cards for gift tags & gift bags. Easy to do, using inexpensive craft scissors, cut a fancy edge around the card, punch a hole, thread a piece of string through & attach to the gift.
OR - cut a fancy edge around the card, glue it to a recycled paper bag, get creative & decorate the bag with some glitter glue & attach another recycled gift tag to it. (This a fun activity to do with children. Something my family has done for many years.)
2. Get Creative with Holiday Gift Wrapping
Reduce the amount of holiday paper by wrapping gifts in scrap pieces of fabric. Or better yet, wrap up GREEN spa & bath product gifts with a festive holiday towel, which becomes an added bonus to the gift.
For kitchen gift ideas, include some green cleaners, green organic dish cloths & again wrap it all up in a GREEN holiday dish towel or GREEN shopping bag, like the Onya bag & tie it off with a recycled gift tag.
3. Light Up Your Holidays for Less
Check out the new green Energy Star rated holiday lights. Indoor or Outdoor - they offer at approx. 90% less energy than your old lights. And not only do they save energy, they save you money in both energy and in start-up costs as they are priced less than the other standard holiday lights.
4. Green Up your Holiday Parties
Reduce the amount of paper waste by using washable, reusable acrylic glasses & dinnerware. Being acrylic they’re tough, won’t break if dropped, , looks festive & not much more expensive than paper products & you can reuse again next year.
5. Green Gift Ideas under $20
A few simple gift and stocking stuffer ideas I stumbled on that won’t break your budget.
Cargo Cosmetics new line PlantLove™ exclusively at Sephora offer an eco-friendly line of natural cosmetics, including 20 new glossy lipsticks with colors inspired by celebrities. Even the packaging is eco-friendly.
Check out the complete line for other gift ideas.
Solar powered chargers for your IPOD, digital cameras, IPHONE, even hand held gaming devices. Target stores & other retailers offer a variety to choose from.
(NOTE: Target lists this item onlie at 29.99, depending on the item & retailer, some may be more expensive.)
Children’s toys. Many are made from recycled plastics, paper & recycled post consumer waste. Amazon offers this item Don’t forget the rechargeable batteries.
Onya Bags – Have you heard of these! The most convenient & simplest way to always be prepared for shopping that I’ve seen.. A ‘green’ bag that looks great & is small enough to be carried on your keychain or belt loop. Folds into itself, strong enough to carry up to 9 bottles of wine. Check out the video for more info. http://tinyurl.com/59goaf
(Thanks goes to my friend Heather for sharing the info on this awesome green idea with me.)
Comments & suggestions are welcome on more ways on how to be green during the holidays.
I hope these ideas have inspired you to enjoy a more eco-conscious holiday this year.
Debbie Zachry
Founder, Simple Ways To Be Green
1. Give Holiday cards a New Life
Recycle Reduce Reuse – the 3R’s of Green Living. Recycle your old or even newly received holiday cards for gift tags & gift bags. Easy to do, using inexpensive craft scissors, cut a fancy edge around the card, punch a hole, thread a piece of string through & attach to the gift.
OR - cut a fancy edge around the card, glue it to a recycled paper bag, get creative & decorate the bag with some glitter glue & attach another recycled gift tag to it. (This a fun activity to do with children. Something my family has done for many years.)
2. Get Creative with Holiday Gift Wrapping
Reduce the amount of holiday paper by wrapping gifts in scrap pieces of fabric. Or better yet, wrap up GREEN spa & bath product gifts with a festive holiday towel, which becomes an added bonus to the gift.
For kitchen gift ideas, include some green cleaners, green organic dish cloths & again wrap it all up in a GREEN holiday dish towel or GREEN shopping bag, like the Onya bag & tie it off with a recycled gift tag.
3. Light Up Your Holidays for Less
Check out the new green Energy Star rated holiday lights. Indoor or Outdoor - they offer at approx. 90% less energy than your old lights. And not only do they save energy, they save you money in both energy and in start-up costs as they are priced less than the other standard holiday lights.
4. Green Up your Holiday Parties
Reduce the amount of paper waste by using washable, reusable acrylic glasses & dinnerware. Being acrylic they’re tough, won’t break if dropped, , looks festive & not much more expensive than paper products & you can reuse again next year.
5. Green Gift Ideas under $20
A few simple gift and stocking stuffer ideas I stumbled on that won’t break your budget.
Cargo Cosmetics new line PlantLove™ exclusively at Sephora offer an eco-friendly line of natural cosmetics, including 20 new glossy lipsticks with colors inspired by celebrities. Even the packaging is eco-friendly. Check out the complete line for other gift ideas.
Bedol's Eco-Friendly Water-Powered Clock. A small desktop clock that runs on water, and even saves times when you need to refill. Just a little water, a touch of salt, and this low-maintenance digital clock is good to go.
Get one at Amazon for 19.99 or direct from Bedol online store for $16.
Solar powered chargers for your IPOD, digital cameras, IPHONE, even hand held gaming devices. Target stores & other retailers offer a variety to choose from.(NOTE: Target lists this item onlie at 29.99, depending on the item & retailer, some may be more expensive.)
Children’s toys. Many are made from recycled plastics, paper & recycled post consumer waste. Amazon offers this item Don’t forget the rechargeable batteries.
Onya Bags – Have you heard of these! The most convenient & simplest way to always be prepared for shopping that I’ve seen.. A ‘green’ bag that looks great & is small enough to be carried on your keychain or belt loop. Folds into itself, strong enough to carry up to 9 bottles of wine. Check out the video for more info. http://tinyurl.com/59goaf(Thanks goes to my friend Heather for sharing the info on this awesome green idea with me.)
Comments & suggestions are welcome on more ways on how to be green during the holidays.
I hope these ideas have inspired you to enjoy a more eco-conscious holiday this year.
Debbie Zachry
Founder, Simple Ways To Be Green
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
