Jingle Bell Wrap
I’m dreaming of a Green Christmas 3.
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Jingle Bell Wrap
Hi all, and welcome to Make-It-Green Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for an Earth Friendly Life. This week, we’re going to cover gift wrapping, which will help all those celebrating the Christmas season, and hopefully be useful for all your gift-giving occasions.
Serial Wrapper
I’m one of those last minute wrappers. Yes, ever since I was a little girl, Christmas Eve was it. After the tree was decorated; the stockings hung; everyone else’s presents wrapped; Christmas Eve service over; and Christmas Eve dinner eaten, washed up after, and the dishwasher thrumming… I was in my element!
I would sneak around in the garage in the middle of the night, wrapping up my presents like a little elf. Usually it was, like, 30 degrees at this time of night, so I was always rushing around more than sneaking around. When I was young, I also thought it extremely funny to wrap presents in as many layers as possible as to frustrate the recipient.
As I grew older, I have seen the error — or at least the impact — of my ways. No, no, I’m still wrapping in the middle of the night Christmas Eve. But now that I am old enough to have seen too many piles of used-for-nine-hour wrapping paper in the destroyed post-present-opening living room, I’ve seen the light.
Let’s face it, we’re not going to stop wrapping Christmas presents in America any time soon. In fact, every year, Americans spend more money at Christmas time. That’s why it starts in October. So what can we eco-conscious citizens do? We can’t just give them the box, and say, look, a blender just for you! Well, you blunt folks can.
The Three “R’s” Revisited – Reduce
Fortunately, there is help to be had in my favorite of all eco-phrases; reduce, reuse, and recycle. The three R’s of greenness have been around since I was a child, and each can give us ideas about how to wrap those presents and save the world.
Reduce is the first “r,” meaning “use less stuff”! Resources are limited, especially for paper, and can only be used at a certain rate. If we use up paper faster than the trees can grow back to be made into new paper, there will be no more paper, and there will be a severe junk mail and file-room shortage. Also, the less we use, the less we waste! Hooray for smaller landfills!
You can reduce the amount of wrapping paper in a few clever ways. First, try a cloth wrapping instead of paper. You can fold fabric the same way as paper, secure it with safety pins, and come out looking like Martha Stewart.
For example, wrap that new cookbook in a dishtowel. Stuff that scarf and mittens into the hat, and tie off with a ribbon. Stuff that 400 thread count sheet set in a pillow case and gather the ends in a bow paper-bag style.
Stuff the coffee-lovers mug with a bag of fresh roasted beans, the cooks new utensils into a new oven mitt. You get the idea. Get creative — go crazy!
A second way to reduce your consumption is to just buy smaller boxes and gifts so you use less paper. Last, you can just not wrap at all. Present with a smile and lots of ceremony.
Reuse
Reuse is the second and most ignored “r” in our everything-is-disposable society. Disposable cameras, disposable diapers, disposable mop-heads… well, you get the point.
A great reuse strategy for the lazy environmentalist is to try those gift bags that were so hot … uh, never. But they’re eco-hot, especially if you can keep scribbling out the name and regifting the bag. Check out The Modern Manners Guy’s tips on re-gifting before you try this with the gift and the bag.
Another good way to reuse is to wrap boxes, not gifts. Eh? OK, so you take the box and wrap the top. Then you wrap the bottom in the same, or hey why not, different paper completely separately. When it’s time to wrap, you’re already done. Add the gift to the box, put the lid on, and tie it with a bow. Voila! Instant eco-reuse box. This box can be used over and over by your family. It may even get a reputation. The book box? The unlikely-to-please anyone gift box? The clothing that will get passed down, um, infinitely box?
Random-sized bits of wrapping paper that are left over from all of this make good craft supplies for Christmas projects, too. Or why not wrap a “quilted” box out of all the scraps?
Recycle
Your last resort after all the chaos is to recycle. If you have curbside recycling, you can take all that wrapping paper out with the daily newspaper. Coated plastic paper, and the metallic kind are harder to recycle, so be aware of those things when you buy new paper.
You can also buy new wrapping paper that’s made from recycled paper to close the loop.