Day 13, of 31 days of less waste
Below ideas from Yogajournal.com
Have you ever waded knee-deep through the detritus of discarded paper, tissue, and ribbon after a gift-opening frenzy and thought, “What a waste”? Well, you’re right. According to Use Less Stuff, during the holiday season Americans throw away 25 percent more trash than usual—or 25 million tons of garbage. What’s more, many wrapping materials are not recyclable because they have a high metal content
6 Eco-Friendly Ways to Wrap Gifts
- Furoshiki is a type of traditional Japanese wrapping using cloth. Take any square of cloth—a bandana, a scarf, or even a cut-up shirt or pair of jeans—lay it out in a diamond shape, and center the gift on it. Flip the southern corner of fabric up over the gift, tucking the cloth under if necessary, and bring the north corner over the top and let any extra material hang. Then tie the east and west corners at the top of the gift.
- Decorate a paper bag with stencil or crayon.
- Use an out-of-date map or some sheet music.
- Recycle vintage containers, such as cigar, shoe, or hat boxes.
- Incorporate environmentally friendly items, such as raffia, string, or strips of cotton or silk, in lieu of synthetic ribbon.
- Use natural gift-box fillers, such as leaves, straw, pine needles, or shredded recycled paper scented with a few drops of essential oil.
My favorites for wrapping gifts are:
** Use washable, reusable shopping bags as gift bags
** I reuse the gift bags from last year for this year’s gifts.
** Use light hand towels or cloth napkins.
** Use wrapping paper made of recycled materials
Health4earth 