6 tips for a greener Christmas! December 5, 2016 04:26
The holiday season is filled with house-decorating, gift-giving, festive feasting, fancy parties... and at the end of all that bustle, a mountain of waste to clear? Well, let's reboot and make Christmas zero-waste this year. Here are our best tips for putting back the green in the ol' red-and-green -
1. Plan ahead.
The rule for grocery shopping comes in helpful for Christmas shopping too. Working out in advance what you really need and want (decorations, gifts, food etc) before hitting the stores can help cut down on overbuying and impulse buys!
2. Shop with your reusable bags in tow.
Because those plastic or paper bags from all the different stores really add up!
3. Be mindful of the packaging waste.
While shopping online, check if your retailers can minimise packaging waste. This applies to online groceries, as well as other purchases.
At Pur'itsy, we ship orders with minimal packaging - and most times, that means no extraneous packaging at all, when our trusted in-house delivery specialist sends it straight to your home!
4. Pick the right gifts.
Choosing good-quality and durable gifts maximises the utility of the present and minimises wastage.
Or when it comes to that person who seems to already have everything, how about gifting experiences instead? Like tickets to a show, or an online subscription. These can give as much pleasure without the waste.
Gifts also don't always have to come from a store. If a friend loves your baking, a jar of home-baked cookies could be a welcome gift!
5. Rethink gift-wrapping.
Spare a thought for the rubbish you are gifting your family and friends - and we're not talking about the actual gift. Does the short-lived gift-wrap really bring joy commensurate with the effort of getting the gift wrapped (whether it be the manual effort or those long wrap queues at the mall) and the wastage? Avoid gift-wrapping, if you can - or, if you must, get innovative with reusing materials. We've tried reusing gift wrap (so long as your gift is smaller than the original!), or using glossy magazine pages or festive brochures to great effect!
6. Cut the festive excesses.
In the preparation of these once-a-year feasts, we can sometimes get overenthusiastic with the amassing of precise ingredients for the 'traditional' dishes or with food quantities. If you find yourself throwing the same old expired jars year after year, or always having far too much leftovers, break with tradition and rework that menu this year!
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And if you're getting the house spick and span for the guests this green Christmas, we heartily recommend our green cleaning recipes here and here!