Did you know that if every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet?
Have you ever thought about wrapping gifts in something other than paper? During the winter holidays, 4 million tons of wrapping paper and shopping bags are thrown away. This holiday season think repurposing. Get creative. Look around your house for items you can give new life to. Here is a break down of where in your house to look and what to look for:
Eco Friendly Wrapped Gift
The Kitchen: People spend a great deal of time in the kitchen during the holidays cooking, cleaning and entertaining so it should be easy to find some ‘hidden gems’ to wrap with.
Menus: Say your husband or boyfriend has a favorite Thai restaurant. Use the take out menu to wrap their gift in. Chances are you have several of them stashed in a drawer.
Table cloths and cloth napkins: Wrap gifts in those with a festive print. Napkin rings can be used for decoration.
Old recipes: If you have old recipe books you don’t care about, wrap gifts with the different recipes. There might be photos too. People who have an interest in cooking will really love this.
Reusable Bags: No need to wrap at all! Chances are you keep these in the kitchen for when you unpack your grocery goods. The reusable bags you use to shop with are a great way to give gifts and encourage others to go green. Plus, it saves you time!
Flowers: Instead of bows, use the dried petals from the flowers sitting on the kitchen table to decorate a wrapped gift. Whole flowers could also be pressed as future decorations.
The Bedroom
Clothes: Why wrap gifts in boring paper when you can wrap gifts in your cool old tee shirts? You can have fun going through closet (and get some cleaning done at the same time!) if you go this route. Check for lace and string on clothes you no longer care for. Find clothing that has significance to your recipient. For example, wrap a gift in a jersey for a sports fan.
Jewelry: Use pearls and jewels instead of bows to “garnish” a gift. Also utilize hair accessories.
The Office
Maps: Maps are a clever way to wrap a gift. Choose the recipient’s favorite location as a special touch. (Perhaps wrap a gift in a beach towel from a specific location as well)
Newspapers: Take the recipient’s favorite section (comics, business, sports) and wrap the gift with that.
Posters
Shelf Paper/Wall Paper: Most people are not putting up wallpaper anymore so take advantage of the old unused stuff sitting in the office.
Finally….
Backyard: Many things grow in nature you can decorate with. Look for pinecones, red dogwood twigs, spruce tips, cedar branches and acorns. Arrange these on top of the gift. It will be much more special than a generic bow.
This holiday season wrap the green way by repurposing items you already have. Save the 38,000 miles of ribbon and make new memories.
For more tips on green wrapping read The Daily Green’s post The Smarter Way To Wrap Presents.