It's no wonder this time of year is the most wasteful, what with all the discarded wrapping paper, ribbons, packaging and greeting cards that pile up in landfills after the holidays and drained bank accounts and high credit card balances...However, there are steps you can take to make sure your tree isn't the only thing green but your wallet is as well this holiday season. Here are a few tips for making your holiday a little greener...
Decorate with LED lights, which look the same as conventional incandescent bulbs, but last longer and use 80 to 90 percent less energy.
Set a timer on your holiday lights so they'll automatically shut off, using less energy.
If you celebrate Christmas, use a real tree, whether it's "live" (potted with roots still attached, which you can plant later) or traditionally cut. Fake trees aren't biodegradable. Christmas pines are a business and are farmed. They don't come from the rain forest!
Get creative with giftwrap. Instead of traditional paper, look around your house and use old magazine paper, posters, grocery bags, newspaper or even wrap in a scarf for a gift within a gift! VHS tape, tape measures and shoestrings also work well as ribbon. A gift bag is another great choice for gift giving they can be reused many times over. This may sound cheap and laughable, "What will they think!?" I'd bet they'd think you were great and actually cared about your bottom line and the earth's.
Give gifts that can be experienced, like tickets to a concert or sporting event, or offer to make a gourmet holiday meal or volunteer for a free night of babysitting. Foot and back massage booklets are a great idea for couples. (IOU's) Make them entertaining, creative and fun. How about a free house cleaning for new parents or old ones? This also works for kids! What an amusing and FREE gift to give... guaranteed to make a smile.
If you do gift, gift green by shopping for recycled or organically-made clothing, toys or even jewelry and electronics! Check out Treehugger.com for more green gift inspirations.
Burn candles for a cozy glow around your home while you save energy. Just remember to stay away from paraffin-based wax. Opt for soy, vegetable wax or beeswax, which are all biodegradable. (Candles in jars can produce soot in the home and air.) They may be popular, but try to avoid them if possible.
Use real dishes and flatware, instead of serving food on paper or Styrofoam at holiday parties. If there aren't enough to go around, use recycled paper products, or use plastic plates and cups, which can be washed and used over and over again. Cheap cloth napkins are also a great alternative and a bit fancier. Choose darker colors when buying for staining. This can become a year round ritual saving you green and being green...
Send an e-card with a photo of your family and a holiday wish, or an e-vite if you are hosting a party, instead of wasting paper (and stamps!) on traditional greeting cards. In today's society texting and emailing are growing in popularity. Nothing beats the sound of your voice... Calling is free. A quick happy holiday well wishing will make distant family and friends feel a lot warmer this winter.
Outside of the environment but still within yours, try saving money this year! It's a hard thing to do with so much commercial pressure to perform and give bigger and better to so many on your list... Try changing this tradition now little by little to transition. Get your family involved and especially the children. Instead of five thousand gifts under the tree can you make it four thousand?
It seems many have forgotten the meaning of Christmas and it's turned so commercial and stressful for a lot of families. We live what we create and we're responsible for our own environments in which we build. My daughter asked me tonight if we can go caroling this year. I sadly laughed and explained that people just don't do that anymore... It was a part of yester-year and unfortunately times have changed. It sounded like fun though as I'm still a big kid.
Sled riding, ice skating, hot chocolate, caroling, building snowmen or igloos in the yard...actually baking something not in a bag or can... What happened?? Am I THIS old that I remember these simple pleasures in life and at Christmas?
Children don't need thousands of dollars in gadgets and "things" to be happy and neither do adults. Do they not have enough video games or tech toys? They feel the pressure as well from television, friends, and stores.
The commercials for diamonds and (his and her) cars are ridiculous. It's clearly intentional and for the price of diamonds... what man can afford this each year and what jewelry box can hold it all? Diamonds this year, so what's for next, an island?? How do we continue to top gifts each year while the cost of living is climbing...?
Are we all followers?
In the very near future, homebuyers will need to have a better credit rating and higher down payment in order to purchase a home. Renters will need a good credit score and standing in order to rent. We're literally putting the roof over our heads in jeopardy by frivolous spending, over extending and unnecessary waste...
Going green isn't just about the air we breathe, the cups we drink from, or the amount of walking we do in order to save on gas. It's also about our future both on the planet and tomorrow in our daily lives. People are so caught up today in spending and must have trinkets including $800 purses, shoes, and silly oversized sunglasses by some billionaire designer. If this is what truly makes one happy then by all means, spend on!
If not, perhaps one by one we can change some of these patterns we've created and start smiling, Botox-free...because our finances and surroundings as a whole are more secure and better off...
We're only a product of what we allow ... and our patterns and habits are passed down and continue to build...I don't know how much more building we can all stand.
Cecilia Sherrard is a full time dedicated Realtor
in Northeast Ohio. With years of experience and knowledge servicing the
Cleveland Ohio area. She has maintained a multi-million dollar
producer status. From relocation to tips and articles. Everything you
want and need to know about buying or selling a home. Visit her website
Cleveland Ohio Real
Estate you can also view her Ohio Real Estate
Blog
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» left by Dianne Lehmann(3,077) Dianne Lehmann (357 days 17 hours ago.)
Hi Cecilia. This is an excellent article. Great suggestions and insights. This year we are sending only an e-greeting that we put together ourselves. I thought I was being lazy until a recipient pointed out that I was being ecologically responsible. How nice that was.
The car-as-Christmas-gift commercials have particularly got me down. I think that is just crazy. Sure, if your car is now so old that it is costing you more to repair per month than a payment on a new one, well then buy a new one. But not just for Christmas. Come on!
I loved your IOU and service as gifts ideas. Respond to this comment
» left by Sandra E. Graham(2,244) Sandra E. Graham (357 days 13 hours ago.)
Some very fantastic ideas and I will have to admit that I have always been too wasteful at Christmas. But from now on I will keep in mind your article. As a matter of fact, I think I'll print it out and magnet it to my refrig. door.
Great article. Respond to this comment
» left by Karl Johnston (357 days 11 hours ago.)
I read this article and thought it was wonderful. Great job. Karl Respond to this comment
» left by sue thom from nj (356 days 18 hours ago.)
hi cecilia,
wonderful ideas.
it happens that after 51 years of being made to join in with society, this year, christmas will be dinner, and love. going through a divorce is hard, but one good thing, my three kids will know this year what christmas is really about.
thanks for an interesting article, and happy holidays,
best regards,
sue thom Respond to this comment
» left by Cecilia Sherrard(277) Cecilia Sherrard (356 days 8 hours ago.)
Thanks Karl. And thanks for the 2.5 ! lol...
And thanks Sue. There's a great Christmas song you must download and listen to, Faith Hill "Where Are You Christmas"
Your tough time may just turn out to be one of the best in your life. Stay positive! =) Respond to this comment
» left by Ben Jones(5,447) Ben Jones (355 days 11 hours ago.)
Some great ideas and suggestions. My family does Chris Cringle every year now which saves us money, wrapping paper and means we put a lot more effort and thought into that one big present.
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