This is not a post on how to reduce the size of your waist line… you’ll definitely need to look elsewhere for the kind of information. The “junk in your trunk” we’re focusing on has a much higher carbon footprint.
The holidays are a time of celebration. A time to gather with friends and family and share in fun festivities of love and happiness. The holidays are also guilty of producing the MOST WASTE all year long. Sorry to burst your happy-cheery-holiday bubble, but we all know it’s true. Between shopping for food, gifts, and activities to keep the little ones entertained during their break from school, the amount of “junk in your trunk” skyrockets this time of year. BUT, it doesn’t have to. There are a number of simple steps you can take to reduce the amount of waste accumulated during the holidays and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency laid a few of them out perfectly!
- Got gifts to wrap? Instead of spending big bucks for fancy new wrapping paper, go the old fashioned route by using newspapers, magazine pages, or my personal favorite, comic strips! If you do go for the traditional wrappings, do your best to save what you can so you can reuse the paper next year. AND, if you decide you just can’t go without buying some new rolls of holly jolly wrapping paper, consider getting solid colors so you can use that roll for other gifts like birthdays and anniversaries.
- Avoid the “paper or plastic” question at the grocery store and bring your own reusable cloth shopping bags. Paper and plastic bags pile up in landfills so choosing to use your own bag, or no bag at all for super big or super small items, is a step in the right direction to eliminating that waste all together.
- Throw a decorations party! A party to prevent waste? YES! Inviting family and friends over to your home to help create decorations will keep the strands of old broken lights from piling up. Make ornaments from old greeting cards, garlands by stringing popcorn and cranberries, and wreaths out of artificial greenery and flowers. Re-use what you can in future years!
- Lastly, consider buying rechargeable batteries for your own electronics or electronic gifts. Not only will you be saving the amount of harmful materials thrown away, but you can save money at the same time!
