Green Your Holidays!

Don’t let your “green” habits fall by the wayside this holiday season.  Instead incorporate them into your usual holiday plans.  Here are some suggestions.

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  For your holiday feast, support local farmers who grow organic meat and produce – an organic heritage turkey is unbelievably moist and delicious. Incorporate vegetarian options as well.

• Buy a pesticide-free Christmas tree. Some growers use 40 different pesticides and colorants.  You can find no or low pesticide trees at some of the local tree farms and they always last longer when you cut them yourself.  There is controversy about which is more environmentally friendly, a fake or a real tree, and there are arguments for both, but you can’t beat the smell of a freshly cut tree.  After the holidays, recycle your tree. Many cities offer programs to turn trees into mulch or woodchips. (visit www.earth911.org for information)
• Lots of fresh greenery and berries make beautiful, natural decorations!
• Energy efficient “LED” lights use 90% less energy than conventional holiday lights and are also less expensive for you.  You can recycle your old incandescent ones at HolidayLEDs.com. You can find LED lights at Target, Costco and most major retailers.
• Mass produced wrapping paper is beautiful and convenient, but usually ends up being thrown away. Make your own holiday wrapping paper instead, which is greener, more personal and doesn’t have to be time-consuming.  Holiday dish towels, colorful scarves or bandanas, newspaper sections, old maps, or even plain brown paper tied with a colorful bow and some greenery cut from your backyard make great wrapping paper. If every family wrapped just three gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.
• Gifts to your favorite charity are much-needed in this economy and not only make you feel good, but obviously cut down on waste.
• Green experiences like restaurant gift certificates, cooking classes, theater or concert tickets, or memberships to sports clubs are meaningful, waste-free presents.

Feel good this holiday season knowing you are taking simple “green” steps that make a big difference!

HOLIDAY SHOPPING QUOTE

Image by Peter Wild

“Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money.”

 ~Author Unknown

So……..now it’s time to stop shopping and spending money.  Enjoy time instead with your family and friends, visit a poor or lonely person in your life, bake holiday treats and think about all the green changes you have incorporated and will incorporate into your lifestyle.  Have a very happy holiday!!

MADE IN AMERICA

The holidays are fast approaching and it’s time to start thinking about holiday shopping.  In these tough economic times with so many Americans unemployed, consider buying “Made in America” products. American manufacturing companies have especially been affected by the economic downturn and it’s important for each of us to do what we can to help turn this around.

Most of our home goods, clothes, shoes, appliances, computers, trinkets, etc. are made in China and other Asian countries.  We buy them because not only are they usually the only option, but also they are cheaper.  But at what cost?  Lost jobs here in America?  Products made in sweatshops using child labor and unfair labor practices?  Poor quality? Listed below are several websites with directories of American made products, a couple of which list products made in each state.

• AmericansWorking.com www.americansworking.com/
• MadeinUSA.org  www.MADEinUSA.org/
• MadeHereinAmerica.com www.madehereinamerica.com
• USAonly   www.USAonly.US – this website emphasizes smaller, mom and pop companies and represents over 25,000 jobs.
• etsy.com www.etsy.com – an online marketplace where artisans and artists sell their products.  My artist daughter sells her adorable line of restructured vintage clothes on etsy (wheredesigns.com).

Image via Wikipedia

One of my readers sent me an email about “think outside the box” gifts like gift certificates for an oil change, car detailing, a cleaning lady, gym memberships, local restaurants, a babysitter, tree care, cooking class, concerts, plays, ballet, etc…  The ideas are endless and all help support small, local businesses.  You can’t get more “Made in USA” than that!  Besides, who really needs more things around the house that just have to be cleaned, dusted, stored, managed, recycled or sent to the landfill?  Plus, you’ll be reducing your environmental impact with “think outside the box” gifts!

This year think differently and support “Made in USA”.  Another simple step that can make a difference…