Making Christmas Green . . .
for your wallet and for the environment- 
I've talked quite a bit about helping to keep your wallet green during the holidays, but what about the environment? Environmentally friendly and frugal often walk hand in hand; Christmas is no exception.
Here are some more ideas that are good for the budget and the environment:
1. Using LED Christmas lights
These lights use 90% less energy, are cool to the touch, and the bulb lasts for 50,000 hours. They are more expensive initially, but they will save you money in the long run.
2. Recycle paper for wrapping.
Using newspaper, especially the comics can be a fun way to wrap presents. Another idea is to recycle brown paper bags for wrapping. Let the kids decorate the paper with Christmas pictures or designs, then wrap the gift. This is a big hit with grandparents.
3. Decorate with biodegradable materials.
Popcorn and cranberries really do make pretty garland for the tree. It is a fun project to do as a family, and the birds will enjoy the leftovers (taken off the string) after the holiday. Make paper chains with the scraps of construction paper left from the kid's other projects.
4. Use recycled materials for packing.
If you need packing material in your box, use newspapers, shredded paper, or plastic shopping bags.
5. Avoid the disposable.
Use real plates and silverware for your gatherings. Washing the dishes really doesn't take that long, especially if you have a dishwasher. It is worth the savings.
Make this Christmas a green one; for your wallet and the environment. Feel free to share your favorite green and frugal ideas.
For more ideas at Stop the Ride, check the Christmas label.
Frugal Fridays
10 comments:
OK, every frugalite in the world probably knows this one-but we cut up last years cards and then use them as the gift tags on this years presents. That's recycling :)
Super post! I love the idea of a more green Christmas. There are so many things that we can recycle and reuse. Thanks for the tips and great ideas.
You know....now that you mention it wrapping paper is a terrible waste of paper and money. I don't think I am going to buy anymore. I do have a stash to go through but after that I am all about the newspaper. You can always jazz it up with funky ribbon.
Great post! Thanks for the tips.
Ditto what Jenn said.:-) My mother-in-law gave me a bunch of Christmas wrapping paper, gift bags and gift tags 2 years in a row, so I'm still working on using that. I sold the gift bags at a yard sale as I had way too many to store and honestly, we don't give that many gifts!!! (Or maybe it's because I usually give food gifts that aren't wrapped traditionally!)We really like the idea of making cloth gift bags that can be re-used. Maybe we'll do that when we've used up our Christmas wrap.
Oh yes I forgot about using cards for name tags. They are so pretty too!
I also have a stash of clearance wrapping paper to use, but I did let the kids decorate some plain paper last year. Grandma loved it! :)
I love the cloth bag idea too.
I love the cloth gift bags - they are so good for weird shaped presents. I buy Xmas fabric when its marked WAY down after Christmas. I also "must" save large pieces of wrapping paper, so I haven't bought any new Christma wrapping paper in years - never in the 8 years we've lived here.
Good post and great ideas. :)
We use some biodegradeable Christmas ornaments. We live near the ocean, so I collect lots of seashells that end up on the tree. I drill a little hole through them or look for ones with natural holes for hangers. What a great topic for a post! Hmm, I'll have to try to find time to get crafty.
Great ideas to use. I was just thinking today how my nephew loves the cartoons in the Sunday paper. So we're going to wrap his present in cartoons.
Thanks for sharing your ideas with the Carnival of Family Life- Bonfire edition.
I'm late getting out to visit all of the participants. Sorry! It was a crazy week!
Don't forget that you can still enter a post for this week's Carnival which is being hosted at All Rileyed Up until midnight tonight, November 10, 2007, Pacific time.
Thanks for helping to make Colloquium's inaugural edition of the Carnival a great success! I hope you will participate in a future edition!
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