Tips for a Greener Christmas Part III: Making Old New Again

Ordinary Environmentalists have the same challenges many others do coming up with affordable and memorable holiday decorations. The difference is that we also try to make sustainable choices that benefit, or at least do not hurt our environment. 

Since we are Ordinary Environmentalists we don't get all freaky about sustainability, however in our busy lives we look for simple ways to make an environmental difference. Here are a few ideas for making old items new again for the holidays in Part III in this three part series on Tips for a Greener Christmas.

Part III: Making Old New Again

Tip #8 Insert last year's holiday cards into picture frames.It if fun to holiday cards in the mail each year and so many of them are fun or beautiful that is difficult to throw them away. You don't have to if you simply insert the front cover of the cards into picture frames you will have instant holiday-themed decorations. This is also a great way to add a special touch if you are giving a picture frame as a gift.

Tip #9 Paint old picture frames in new colors.

Speaking of picture frames, if you have some outdated or scratched picture frames, take out some half-used paint cans and paint the frames in new colors. This is great for holiday-themed decorations, or for any time of the year. These repurposed picture frames may also make a nice gift to someone special. See Tip #6  Have an Upcycle Challenge. 

Tip #10 Paint old boxes for gift wrapping

Since we are on the subject of paint, and while you have it out for Tip #9, why not take some sturdy boxes and cover them in a coat of holiday-themed paint. Put your gifts inside, tie it up with a little ribbon and you have a great looking present!

Tip #11 Wrap garland around a tomato cage

If you have a summer vegetable garden, chances are you have a cone shaped tomato cage. Simply flip it upside down and wrap garland around it for a little Christmas Tree. It is a fun, inexpensive and easy way to decorate your yard while repurposing common items. Directions

That wraps up our three part series on Tips for a Green Christmas. We hope you try some of these tips and continue on as an Ordinary Environmentalist after the holidays!

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Tips for a Greener Christmas Part II: Reuse & Bring New Meaning to Gift Giving

Yes even us Ordinary Environmentalists can get caught up in excessive consumerism during the holidays. It takes a great deal of energy and resources to create holiday gifts - from the oil that make plastic toys, the manufacturing pollution, generated from making warm fuzzy throws, the immense about of fuel required to ship the products to your local store or home, and all of the packaging required to protect the gift.

Now Ordinary Environmentalists are not extreme green freaks, but there are some easy creative ways to give meaningful gifts that promote sustainable gift giving. Please read Part II of this three part series on Tips for a Greener Christmas to learn how.

Reuse and Bring New Meaning to Gift Giving

Tip #4 Give a White Elephant Gift

In ancient India it was a great honor to receive an albino elephant as a gift. The problem was, it was too valuable to use for labor, and it ate a LOT, and become less valuable to the new owner. Over time a "white elephant gift" became the tradition of giving away something you do not want to someone that might find value in it, will find it very funny.

White Elephant Gifts

Start a new White Elephant tradition with your extended cousin get-togethers and co-workers where you exchange unwanted items from your house for something from theirs! Dig into your closets and find that leg lamp (think "A Christmas Story), cat embroidered sweater, unopened Chia pet, wall-mounted talking fish, etc. And your holiday memories will be about the laughs you shared with your loved ones.

Tip #5 Re-gift (discretely)

Unlike a white elephant exchange, where laughter is your goal, giving someone an unused gift you received can be a great way to reuse an item. Don't like that bottle of Cabernet someone gave you? Put it in a nice gift bag and give as a host gift. Who would enjoy the bling jewelry that isn't your style, the beautiful scarf that doesn't work with your complexion or the gift card to the store you never go to. As long as it hasn't been used, is packaged nicely and you are certain the original gifter will not know you re-gifted, it is perfectly acceptable to re-gift and feel good about making Christmas a little greener.

Tip #6 Have an Upcycle Gift Challenge

For your gift exchanges, have a challenge where everyone has to purchase something from a consignment or thrift store with a set dollar limit and/or they need to repurpose it into a new gift. The ideas are endless; matching separate jewelry pieces into a coordinated gift set, finding picture frames and inserting fun pictures of the two of you in them, or putting together an action hero-themed kids gift box of barely used books, CDs and DVDs you know they will love.

Tip #7 Give the Gift of Time

Time is the most valuable thing you can give to those you love. Give the gift of time with a home made coupon book or gift certificate that declares you will do something with or for your loved one. It could be helping Dad clean out the garage, or spending an afternoon helping Grandma sort through her old pictures, it could be taking your niece to the zoo or giving a young Mom the day off while you babysit.

A greener Christmas is easy for an Ordinary Environmentalist with just a little bit of creativity. You may also find yourself saving time and money when you take a few steps to simplify Christmas.

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Tips for a Greener Christmas Part I: Reducing Waste While Personalizing Gifts

It is easy for us Ordinary Environmentalists just like anyone else, to get caught up in excessive consumerism during the holidays. This over-consumption steals our time, empties our wallets and covers up what the true meaning of the holidays is for us. It also means a 25% increase in trash between Thanksgiving and New Years for the average household according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Please read Part I of a three part series on simply ways to make better choices for our environment during this holiday season.

25% Increase in Trash

Here are three tips for simplifying your holidays by reducing transportation costs from manufacturing and shipping, and reducing packaging that ends up in landfills.

REDUCING WASTE WHILE PERSONALIZING GIFTS

Tip #1: Use natural plant materials instead of bows to decorate presents. 
Go into your back yard and find leaves, evergreen twigs, berries and interesting barks and use them instead of expensive and over-packaged bows and ribbons that will get tossed out with the wrapping paper. Also look in your drawers for interesting buttons, small unused toys, kitchen gadgets, scarfs, etc. that can be repurposed into unique gift packaging for that reflects the gift receiver's personality, interests and/or hobbies.

Plants and foliage = great gifts and decorations

Tip #2 Give plants instead of flowers.
Flowers will be gone in a few days, however a plant can last for years, brings a bit of nature indoors and help improve air quality. There are plenty of price points and plant choices: an herb plant makes a great gift for Anita the cook, a high maintenance bonsai tree for recently retired Grandpa, a crazy-looking cactus for Tim, the on-the-go college student - you get the idea!

Tip #3 Give a donation to a good cause. 
Instead of giving Great Auntie Denise another scarf, why not donate in her name to a non-profit organization she supports? If you don't know what your gift recipient supports, this is a good opportunity to get to know them better and they will really appreciate that you gave to something near and dear to their heart. 

Donate a Gift to a Good Cause

These are three simple tips any Ordinary Environmentalist can easily implement this holiday season. Please comment and share your ideas to reduce holiday waste.

Watch for Part II:  Tips for a Green Christmas - Repurpose and Bring New Meaning to Gift Giving

Find more Ordinary Environmentalist tips and ideas on Twitter and Facebook!

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Why Would Anyone Want Your Trash??!!

We have all heard the phrase "One man's trash is another man's treasure", but how far does this really go? Many of us associate that phrase with garage sales and thrift stores, however it really can go far beyond that.

I came across an article today by Earth911 contributor Melanie Medina call "Businesses Redefine What Waste Is". The article focuses on how businesses are/should be looking at all of their wastes, i.e. cooking oil, waste food, plastic packaging, cardboard, etc. as a commodity instead of an expense, or a pain in the ----.

OK that is business, but what does that have to do with an Ordinary Environmentalist? We are focused on individual ways we can contribute to a healthier environment through small steps, not massive corporate green/sustainability initiatives!

It is simple - think about your waste, that is anything you take outside of your home and off of your yard, as an asset that someone else will find valuable. 

For example, after an aggressive pruning session with my trees and landscape shrubs I had a very large mound of branches and yard waste. Ugh, now what to do! 

I took several loads to a local compost site and was amazed at the mountains of compost and mulch they had there! They have been collecting food scrapes from schools, hotels and local businesses, yard waste from contractors and homeowners and create high quality commodities sold to landscape and construction companies. Exactly how the trash/treasure concept works!

And yes it feels good to know that my yard waste didn't end up in a landfill and actually has value to someone!

Here are a few ideas you may not have thought about for turning your trash into treasures:

1. Worn out athletic shoes - donate to the Nike Reuse-a-Shoe Program at your local store.
2. Household paint - give to a first time home owner or creative person to experiment with!
3. Coffee grounds - use as a odor neutralizer in your fridge or by the cat litter box.
4. Leftover Halloween/Easter/Valentine's day candy - bring it to the office lunch room, and although you many never see who eat the candy, know that it is very much appreciated!

As an Ordinary Environmentalist, look beyond what you can throw in the recycle bin and find out who will see your waste as a treasure!

Do You Have A Sneaky Leaker?

A what? Sneaky leaker?! I thought I had plenty of things to worry about in my day-to-day life, however then I saw an ad showing a toilet and asking me if I had a sneaky leaker.

Considering that a toilet is an ordinary household item, and I am an Ordinary Environmentalist, I thought I better take a closer look at the ad to see what this was all about.

It turns out that a toilet that is running without your knowledge can waste more than 100 gallons of water per day. I had to think about how to put that in context. The average household water heater is around 50 gallons. That means one sneaky leaker wastes two water heater tanks worth of water every day - or 730 water heater tanks (36,500 gallons) in a year.

A quick calculation of water costs, based on my city's website, showed that one sneaky leaker could cost me $133 per year. I could buy a nice spa treatment for that kind of money! 

Oh dear... but how would I know if I had a sneaky leaker? Fortunately, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency offers little dye tablets for FREE. You just pop one in your toilet tank and research spa packages while you wait. After an hour, if the toilet bowl water has turned blue you have a sneaky leaker.

If you are like me, you have no idea how to fix a toilet. Finding a handy friend with tools is a good option, or you can go on their website and find all kinds of videos and information on how to fix sneaky leakers.  The good news for me was that I didn't have a sneaky leaker... but then again, now I need to find a new reason to justify an afternoon at the spa!

Grandma Wasn't Thrifty, She Was An Environmentalist!

My grandma grew up during the depression and was noticeably thrifty when it came to her housekeeping. If, for example, she found a stray sewing stick pin while cleaning, instead of tossing it away, she would pin it to her shirt and deposit it back into the pin cushion later in the day when she cleaned her sewing area. 

Grandma used Grandpa's old undershirts and yes she made me dust with old flower-print underpants (clean of course). She was a fan of vinegar for a variety of physical ailments  cooking and of course cleaning. She could in fact clean most of her house using vinegar and water. I am proud to say I am following Grandma's example and use very few chemicals to clean my house, instead my go-to cleaners are vinegar, lemons and hot water.

Here is a great article by Earth 911 that gives examples on how to use common household items such as vinegar and baking soda to reduce chemical use while you clean your house. 

Clean Your Whole House with Vinegar, Baking Soda and Lemon

Grandma worked hard, didn't live in a world filled with chemicals, and managed to live to be 99 years old. She is still teaching me how to live as an Ordinary Environmentalist!