Nate was reading his blogs the other day and quoted the following:
"Half of the paper America consumes each year is used to wrap and decorate consumer products. (Source: The Recycler's Handbook, 1990) In the US, the annual trash from gift wrap and shopping bags totals over 4 million tons. In Canada, the annual waste from gift wrap and shopping bags equals about 545,00 tons. If everyone wrapped just three gifts in reused paper or fabric gift bags, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 hockey rinks. (Source: eartheasy)"
"Great idea!" I said, "But it's A's first Christmas, and I already bought wrapping paper..."
To which he replied, "So?"
"So, I want to take pictures..."
"An even better reason why we should demonstrate our eco-lifestyle early in A's life."
I don't know what my deal is. My birthday gifts growing up were wrapped in the bag they were purchased in (if we were lucky, a reused bow was taped to the top). My grandma flattened out all of her gift wrap to reuse. I am not the type to be overly concerned about what a gift looks like on the outside (or inside, for that matter).
I have no doubt that we'll wrap gifts in reused paper next year, but this year, I'm still having trouble letting go of the fact that it's A's first Christmas. I'll get there, but in the mean time, the gifts will sit in the basement unwrapped as I practice letting go of my frivolous decorating needs.
"Half of the paper America consumes each year is used to wrap and decorate consumer products. (Source: The Recycler's Handbook, 1990) In the US, the annual trash from gift wrap and shopping bags totals over 4 million tons. In Canada, the annual waste from gift wrap and shopping bags equals about 545,00 tons. If everyone wrapped just three gifts in reused paper or fabric gift bags, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 hockey rinks. (Source: eartheasy)"
"Great idea!" I said, "But it's A's first Christmas, and I already bought wrapping paper..."
To which he replied, "So?"
"So, I want to take pictures..."
"An even better reason why we should demonstrate our eco-lifestyle early in A's life."
I don't know what my deal is. My birthday gifts growing up were wrapped in the bag they were purchased in (if we were lucky, a reused bow was taped to the top). My grandma flattened out all of her gift wrap to reuse. I am not the type to be overly concerned about what a gift looks like on the outside (or inside, for that matter).
I have no doubt that we'll wrap gifts in reused paper next year, but this year, I'm still having trouble letting go of the fact that it's A's first Christmas. I'll get there, but in the mean time, the gifts will sit in the basement unwrapped as I practice letting go of my frivolous decorating needs.
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