Christmas is almost here and the act of giving has been on my mind. I want to share with you an inspiration that changed not only gift giving, but my life. Less is more and go green. It's a precious concept.
Chris and I made the decision 5 years ago to go green. It was difficult. Biodegradable products were not available the way they are today. We learned what we could about our ecological footprint, signed contracts with Mrs Meyers and Seventh Generation promising to live a certain lifestyle no matter how inconvenient it is. For example, we wash all clothes in cold water and hang them dry. See, a real pain in the tush.
Anyway, here's what I want to share... This year see how minimal you can be with wrapping and packaging. Give baskets put together by you. I have been doing that for years. It's usually less expensive and can change someone's life. My parents switched to organic sugar in their home because we gave them some in a coffee themed basket last year. They never would have tried it otherwise. Another more notable example is in my church. Chris and I buy green products in bulk. In the last year we have given most families that have moved here welcome baskets containing organic biodegradable products in addition to using them ourselves. I see that not only do they continue to use them, but they spread the word and other families use them too.
Going green is a lifestyle. When we went green it didn't stop at Christmas time, but it's a great time to implement green-ness. Some practical examples are to use newspaper as wrapping, give baskets of pretty wash clothes for the recipient to use as napkins on a table. Make and give organic spice mixes in glass mason jars. Put a personal touch on it with pretty fabric or string.
This is a very special topic close to my heart that I am excited to write about. Those closest to me joke about my earth friendly thriftiness. I am by no means putting judgement on those who don't do these things. No one is 100 percent green all the time. I will post here and there with more ideas and examples of what we've done and seen. Merry Christmas and happy gift giving friends!
Love,
Jackie