A Green Valentine...

Christmas left piles of discarded wrapping paper, ribbon, and packaging in its wake. Now, thanks to Valentine’s Day, we enter a dangerous, trashcan-clogging world of plastic hearts, tissue paper, and greeting cards. Add to that complicated packaging for every item, and nearly any holiday can be one of our most wasteful times of year. A couple years ago, for Christmas, my mom came up with several clever, sustainable ways to “wrap” her presents for us. She was my inspiration for this blog.

--Following are a few tricks I’ve used that you can try. Remember them for birthdays and other holidays, too!

~ Earth-friendly Gift Wrap Tricks! ~

*REDUCE PACKAGING WASTE: Inside a gift I had bought, I found paper stuffing used to give it shape. Instead of letting it get thrown out, I used it as wrapping paper for one of the other gifts! Worried your paper is too boring? Jazz it up with glitter, stickers, or even just your own handwriting. For your Valentine’s gift, try writing a love poem on it. Be creative!

*USE ALTERNATIVE WRAPPING MATERIALS: Find things around the house, like the removable cover of a decorative throw pillow (Thanks again to my mom for this trick).

Instead of wrapping boxes, decorate them or keep an eye out for ones that are already decorated- no wrapping necessary! L

ook for cloth gift bags while shopping. If you have a hard time finding some, I recommend visiting a wine shop. They often carry a variety of elegant decorative cloth bags for wine bottles. They make smaller gifts look dazzling, and they can usually be found year-round!

Last, but not least, remember that some presents don’t need anything more than a bow to be magical. J

*Last but not least… RECYCLE (OF COURSE!): After the presents have been opened, don’t forget to check your items for recyclable materials. We all know that nearly every product is locked deep within seemingly impenetrable plastic. Recycle it! Save space in your trash can, and help save the Earth at the same time.


Love & Light,

Kaitzilla J