UsedEverywhere.com is offering original and creative holiday season ideas to put the green back in Christmas by emphasizing saving and selling useful used items (instead of throwing them out), encouraging recycling, upcycling and thoughtful local community shopping.
“Christmas has become a time of excessive spending, packaging, waste and consumption so we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to go back to our environmental roots and offer tips for a more eco-friendly holiday,” said Lacey Sheardown, director of marketing at UsedEverywhere.com.
UsedEverywhere.com is sharing its Top 10 ideas to help us all enjoy a greener holiday season while discovering our creative sides, and saving – or even making money at the same time:
- Make Room for Christmas- Reduce the clutter in your home and makeroom for Christmas. Before your house fills with even more stuff, sell unwanted items online and make some spending dollars. If it can’t be sold, donate to your local thrift store.
- Gift Giving- Many of the items on the Usedeverywhere.com sites are new and unused. If you have specific items in mind, search your local site before buying in a store.
- Buy Gently Used Gifts- Some may gag at the idea of giving used items as gifts, whereas others will embrace the idea of saving dollars and eliminating packaging and tax.
- Christmas Trees- Buy your plastic Christmas tree used, or this year consider an alternative Christmas tree made from upcycled materials.
- Excess Packaging- Use scarves, fabric scraps, old books and maps to design beautiful gift wrap and tags with a more personal touch.
- We’re up all Night to get Crafty- Making your own gifts can save a lot of money. Using pre-loved items for an upcycled gift also saves items from the landfill.
- Christmas Card Waste- A great idea to eliminate excess waste is to donate to a charity in lieu of Christmas cards. If you love to send cards, recycle last year’s received cards with some crafty supplies.
- Decor- Buy quality seasonal decor that can be used year in year out. Buy used where you can, bags of decorations are usually available in thrift stores and on UsedEverywhere.com sites. Look to nature for inspiration and let children use their great imaginations to turn pinecones, leaves, feathers and more into pretty decor.
- Local- When buying gifts, try and buy local. Support your community vendors at the same time as aiming for carbon neutral purchases.
- Party Party- Use reusable tableware, shared or public transport, electronic invites, doggy bags for leftover food, recycling bottles and food containers, and organic food and drink choices where cost and selection allows.