Wrapping Paper

Yep, another seasonal post...dealing with wrapping paper! How much wrapping paper do we really use in the holiday season? No doubt the number is up there. Here are a few suggestions to make the tradition a little more environmentally friendly.

1. This is the easiest! Recycle! All that lovely wrapping paper doesn't need to be bunched up and thrown into the trash, where it eventually will end up clogging a landfill. With the same amount of effort, the paper can be placed into a recycling bin.

2. Reuse! This might be a little tricky, depending on whether you are a patient or inpatient gift-opener. If you grab your gifts eagerly and tear right through the paper, it might be a little tough to put back together. However, I know a lot of people who like to unwrap their gifts slowly, without tearing the paper. Therefore, if you are one of the latter, you can reuse the gift wrap later. Usually the patterns, prints, and colors are so nice anyways, so I always feel bad just tossing it away.

Some of my friends have this wacky tradition of giving each other back the same square of wrapping paper. It's crazy - it's already changed hands several times.

3. Get some recycled gift wrap. Here's a website with some pretty cute designs. Another website has some plainer colors, if you like those. No doubt there are some stores around you with plenty of selection.

4. Be creative! Transform the comic page of the newspaper into gift wrap...maybe personalize smaller items such as gift cards with old letters. The possibilities are really endless.

This image is from Asia Ru.