Did you know that a few weeks ago was America Recycles Day? That’s right. You and most of the rest of the nation missed the big announcement that on November 15 we were all supposed to come together to do our part and recycle. But even if you missed the big event, you’ve still got plenty of time to do your part to help our environment. I’m always excited to have the Christmas season get started. I find so many ideas for living green in the holiday season.

Living Green in the Holiday Season

How can we live green in the holidays? The Christmas season is a great time to get started doing our part to reduce, recycle, and recycle.

Reduce

Our society puts a great emphasis on quantity. Everyone wants to have the most toys under the Christmas tree. But if we reduce the number of presents we put under the tree, we also reduce the waste we produce. This year, consider quality instead of quantity.

• Consider finding at least a few gifts that are previously loved or gently used.  Kids toys especially are great for this category.  Have you seen the packaging for new toys?  If you buy just 2 or 3 gifts that are sold without packaging, you are generating less trash.
• When we shop in stores, we combine our trips so we pay less for our cars, gas and time.

Reuse

Everytime we pull out our traditional artifical tree from the attic, we are doing are part to help our environment. I love my artificial tree! We purchased it many years ago and love the way it looks.

• When we pull out the ornaments from the storage boxes we are keeping stuff out of the trash.
• When we wrap the presents, we often use gift bags and boxes that have been used for many other presents.
• We save the bows and flatten the tissue paper.
• Christmas cards are often reused as thank you notes, decorations or seasonal crafts.

Recycle

I’ve been hearing from many of my friends who are using recycled materials to create some amazing creations. Junk is just junk until someone comes up with a creative idea for how to repurpose and reuse it.

• Tobacco sticks are being turned into prim decorations.
• People are using old palettes to create shelves and wall art.

Anytime someone takes an old piece of junk and turns it into something creative, they are doing their part to be green.

How are you living green this holiday season? I’d love to hear your ideas!