Shades of GREEN

Scroll down to read feedback from this blog and email me to join in the debate!

Oh the Holidays...

What a joyous time of year! Lights and trees. Cards and candy. Gifts and parties. Now let's try it a little greener. Not so easy!

Christmas time is a ton of fun as it is, but with two small children under age 3, it becomes magical. Our Christmas tree lights burn from 9am to 7pm...on a good day. Wrapping paper is often more exciting that what it's hiding. Baking and cooking consume large quantities of day and eat up a healthy dose of energy to boot. How do we tone it down without taking away the fun?

I've been trying to think of ways to limit our energy and natural gluttony without sacrificing the feel of the holidays...

CHRISTMAS TREES

So many people I know love a live tree. And give me an earful for having a fake one. I, for one, encourage artificial christmas trees, here's my perspective...Real tree lovers enjoy the smell, because obviously we don't live in a state where we can step outside and see Evergreen trees growing with abandon. They love the look, and seemingly don't mind the mess, daily, for 3 weeks until Christmas. They must really enjoy letting nature in and sharing their home with more spiders than necessary. And the financial budget always makes room for the annual cost. Here's my platform:

  • one-time cost (and up to 75% off during day after sales!)
  • no hassel to dump it (sometime additional cost!)
  • not a fire hazard
  • save water
  • save trees
  • early set-up option (and perfect for staging holiday card pics...)

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

A tough one. The newest option for LED lights is a positive step, though they cost considerably more than the standard option and lights hardly need to be replaced yearly. This is one where we should weigh the need against the benefit. We can save energy next Christmas, or wheneven my current strands burn out.

However, a timer is a GREAT tool. I use a multi-plug timer with built in extension cord. I got it during the post-holiday sales for about $5. I have the option to allow my lights to burn dusk-dawn, or at 2-, 4-, 6- and 8-hr intervals. Neat, and thrifty!

WRAP, CARDS & OTHER PAPER NEEDS

Another tough one as the cost of recycled paper goods is often double the price of the 'bad' stuff. But if you have kids, this is a no brainer! Brown paper grocery bags can be your best friend with a wet afternoon, a kid and some paint...PRESTO! Homemade, heartfelt wrapping paper, or card scraps.

Another cool option is not limiting yourself to 'Christmas' papers. You could buy an inexpensive roll of recycled newsprint or mailing paper and fancy it with a cloth scrap, twine or leftover ribbons. I find that the fancy ribbons (ie. the REAL kind) is often appreciated and kept. Better for all -- reduce, reuse, recycle, you get it.

How many of us keep ALL the previous years xmas cards? Well, you just saved yourself from buying another box of cards. Simply turn the card cover into a postcard, or if you insist on the traditional card format, glue a piece of cardstock inside the back half of the old card and write your own message. As much as I love the idea of reuse and green living, I can't buy into the art of emailing your Christmas wishes. It seems less personal and too robotic. Even if someone only signs their name in a card, at least it feels intentional.

GIFTS

You know I encourage the "BUY HANDMADE" movement and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE etsy for high end handmade gifts. But this isn't always practical or easy. I think gift giving is really personal and you are on your own on this one...but not without a shameless plug for a couple of my homemade items over on fromONEmom.blogspot.com -- beautiful Tulle Tutu's in various color combos. Check them out! And see my blog entry below about year-round gifts in 'WHERE IS ALL THIS STUFF COMING FROM?" http://smidgegreener.blogspot.com/2008/08/where-is-all-this-stuff-coming-from.html


Good luck with your 'green' Christmas and here's wishing you don't get too caught up in the preparation to actually stop and enjoy it!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Shades of Green

Welcome to my discussion post. Some feedback regarding smidgegreener:

"Sure, everyone has a carbon footprint, some larger than others, and if everyone cut back a little we could make a difference. BUT the huge violators are commercial businesses. For example, I think it’s hilarious that people suggest we stop using disposable diapers and switch to something eco-friendly, yet Huggies and Pampers aren’t faulted for making these environment polluting merchandise. I think the government should be going after distributors of diapers, cleaning supplies, light bulbs, etc. and make THEM comply with environment standards. They are the big wigs who could afford to make a change, yet it’s the consumer who is placed the responsibility of “cleaning up the environment”. And since the producers will then try and pass the cost of becoming green on to the consumer, the government should place a cap on inflation of these products so that the consumer doesn’t have to absorb the entire cost. Let’s take a little out of their enormous profit they are making."

"And what’s even more hypocritical is the businessmen who own and run these conglomerates. Their carbon footprint is ENORMOUS. So next we should go after the wealthy like them and basically all of Hollywood in general (who insist on taking private jets to and from location 3 times a week, driving 100k+ vehicles and lighting a 10,000 s.f. home). It sickens me. They expect us peons to come out of pocket even more (in addition to skyrocketing gas and grocery prices) to protect the environment. I say no way! I can’t afford to, with either time or money."

"It’s election year…get ready for some changes!"

"One thing I also think though is that as consumers, the middle-class probably has the largest "voice" in consumerism. That being said, we can make a pretty big impact by choosing what we want to buy and eventually the companies would have to listen. I don't know if you noticed but even Clorox is making green cleaning products, and that has to be a result of following the trend and trying to pursuade buyers to pick them."

"You bring up some great points and yes, I think we are impacting our environment with the pollution which we have been advancing dramatically to clean up and with great success, but China, India, etc. are not nearly as ecologically minded as we are and their pollution impacts us. But global warming is a natural phenomenon and the concept is great for businesses creating new products and services. As you mention, the bottom line is how much will it cost us and are we willing to bear the brunt of that cost and to what degree..."

"I love the recipes for household cleaners..."

Join the debate and send me your feedback! fromONEmom@gmail.com