Christmas, zero waste

I know this is a bit early but as I say or just started saying, there is no time like now and you can never be to prepared. The great thing about zero waste is that it makes you more conscious of what you bring with you. Forgetting 1 thing means that you might have to produce some plastic or not get something. It’s sad but I have been so much better at bringing stuff since I have started my zero waste journey! Let’s get into it… Christmas is one of the most wasteful times of the year. With all that paper rapping that has plasticky film, yes it is the most wasteful time of the year! Now sing that to the most wonderful time and it is funny, well i think it is. Did you know between Thanksgiving and New Years we produce 25% more trash? If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet, woah. If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in reused materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the United States could fill a football field 10 stories high. If we each sent one card less, we’d save 50,000 cubic yards of paper. Aren’t those facts astounding? Now, the question is, how do we reduce your christmas waste? The japanese use scarfs or pieces of cloth to cover gifts. They reuse this every year and it looks beautiful. Here is one that I found on Etsy. My Mom’s Mom wrapped a jar of pickles and put it under the tree. For days my mom tried to figure out what this mysterious item was. And then when she opened she found out that she was spending all of her time thinking about a jar of pickles and all the cool things it could possibly be. So this is fabric is an homage to that. If you have an inside joke in your family and they have it on fabric, there you go!

Or Japanese ones

If you already have some scarfs or don't want to get new ones, (how eco-friendly of you!) you can go to the thrift store! They are bound to have some cheap scarves.

Now, for how you tie them! You take your fabric and lay it on a flat surface.Then you put your item into the middle and take two out of the four corners and tie them together. After that, you tie the other two in a bow and you are done!

Another way you can be environmentally friendly for Christmas is to thrift shop. While your at it getting you fabric get some gifts to be wrapped in. No I’m kidding. Part of being zero waste is getting things that you really need vs. want. Can you imagine seeing a WWE fight like that? Need vs Want, whose is going to win? I would watch that. Getting something that you need might be a core piece of your wardrobe. Something that you use everyday and love (not your ego).