Let the shopping begin!

Now that the Turkey is eaten, the leftovers gone, and the house guests have vacated the premises, it is time to start your holiday shopping! Did anyone go out on Black Friday? I have to say that I ventured out but not until after 2pm. At that time, the only places that were crowded were places to eat. Everyone had bought their door buster deal items and retreated to one of the many food establishments to re-fuel.

As I was shopping the few small businesses I needed a few things from, I noticed that there is a big difference between them and the big box stores. Oddly enough, the difference is in the name of the comparison.

Big boxes vs. small boxes.

Have you ever noticed that in small businesses, aka mom and pop shops, the amount of packaging almost always seems to be less than that of the big box retailers? I remember reading somewhere that the built in price of the packaging can be anywhere from 1 to 10 percent of the item’s total cost.

That reminds me.

As you are shopping the latest and greatest items this season, be sure to keep in mind what you learned from my Pre-cycling post. Think about the packaging and the item you are buying based on its recyclability, longevity, and reuse.

In the 5 weeks from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Americans trash more than 1 million TONS MORE every week than usual. Let’s see if we can’t make a dent in that increase this holiday season. So here are a few green holiday tips to guide you.

1.       Save and reuse your cardboard boxes.

2.       Green your meal prep by buying fresh produce with no packaging, recycling your containers and give food gifts (like cookies!!) in reusable containers.

3.       Make recycling easy for guests by making small recycling bins visible and available for use.

4.       Create an art project for the kids and have them color those larger holiday season newspapers. Use it as a great personal gift wrap that is fully recyclable!

Happy shopping!