Hey, Green Junkie!
With the holidays upon us, it’s just about time to start wrapping all those gifts that our loved ones are excitedly anticipating.
According to a study from Stanford, over 25 million tons of garbage are created during the holiday season and most of that ends up directly in the landfills.
That is a ton of garbage!!!
Thankfully, there are some really fun and easy ways to wrap gifts that are affordable, fun for the whole family and also save some waste from filling up those landfills, all at the same time.
Here’s what to expect from this episode:
- Which wrapping paper can be recycled and which ones can’t
- What to grab around your home to use as wrapping paper
- How to reuse things you already have to make custom wrapping
- How to wrap your gifts in fabrics
- Creative ways to wrap with old books or sheet music
You’ll discover that and so much more in this episode.
By the end of this episode, Green Junkie, you’ll have more knowledge about how to wrap those gifts under the tree and have a lot of fun along the way.
If you love this podcast, be sure to leave a review and share a screenshot of this episode on your IG stories. Tag @greenjunkiepodcast so I can shout you out and publicly say thanks.
Thanks for listening and being here.
Your green bestie,
Xoxo Stephanie
Previous Episodes Mentioned:
How to Host an Eco-Friendly Holiday Party
The Ultimate Sustainable Holiday Gift Guide
Fake vs. Real- Creative Holiday Tree Ideas
Resources:
Brown paper bag recycling instructions
Eco-friendly gift wrapping paper you can recycle
Furoshiki: The traditional Japanese Scarf Gift Wrapping
Snag 1 on 1 Eco-Conscious Coaching with me
Follow me on Instagram
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Come join the Green Junkie Facebook Group
Become a Green Junkie Insider and gain access to bonus content
LISTEN BELOW
TRANSCRIPT FOR EPISODE 14
0:08 Hey Green Junkie. I'm your host Stephanie Moram, and today I'm going to be talking about creative and sustainable ways to wrap your gifts this season.
0:16 While the holiday season can bring people together; it also brings a lot of waste to our landfills. Did you know that 25 million tons of garbage are created during the holiday season, according to stanford.edu?
0:30 The truth is gift wrapping paper is often used once, and then we throw it away. Sometimes it can be recycled, but mostly it can't. If it's metallic, if it's texture, if it has glitter all over it, or has a waxy coating, it just can't be recycled. However, plain laminated wrapping papers are usually able to be recycled. But like I always say, check with your waste management in your city to be sure that it can.
0:59 Because most tissue paper is made with low-grade materials; it's typically not recyclable. Thankfully, though, tissue paper tends to hold up year after year so that you can reuse it every holiday season. You can use it for birthdays; you can use it when you are celebrating and need a gift. The ideal choice is searching around your house and using what you already have on hand before you run out and buy something new.
1:27 Wrapping your presents doesn't have to be complicated and unhealthy to the planet. If you love learning new ways to reduce your impact on the environment, please subscribe to Green Junkie podcast on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. That way, you will never miss another episode. Now let's dive into eco-friendly gift wrapping.
1:51 Do you have way too many brown paper bags from your shopping trips in your home? If you do, you can use them as wrapping paper. It's super simple. Cut along the seam on the side of the brown paper. Next, just cut the bottom off and flatten it. And now you have gift wrapping. Or do you have any reusable brown paper at home? Maybe you got it in something you ordered online, or you got it as a gift? Use that brown paper to wrap your gifts.
2:26 So for the brown paper bags and the brown paper, you can have some fun decorating them, you can paint them, you can draw on them. If you have kids, you can ask your kids to draw pictures on them. You can draw tiny leaves on them and tape bows on them. So it makes it a little bit more custom to the person you're gifting. The options are endless. And the best part is you're doing something for the environment by reusing the paper bag and the brown paper and other items you have around the house. So there are just so many ways to make brown paper and brown paper bags look super, super pretty.
3:04 Number three. Don't throw away those boxes that you just got online. When you place an order, you might start to feel like a hoarder, just like I do at times. But saving those cardboard boxes could help you wrap your gifts. Or, if you have too many, you can use them as storage. You can put your tissue paper in there, gift wrapping bags or any holiday decorations that you have. So by saving these boxes, it's going to help you down the road. You can use them to wrap other gifts coming up, like birthdays or other occasions. Plus, cardboard boxes have a super long lifespan. So they're going to be able to be reused over and over before they end up at the recycling facility.
3:55 So when you receive those boxes in the mail number four, you get sometimes bubble wrap and that peanut packaging, and you're sometimes not sure what to do with them, repurpose them when you are wrapping your gifts. So I was shipping something to a friend recently. I received something in the mail, and I got a box with some compostable peanut packaging. So what I did was I took that box, and I used it to send the gift to my friend, so it's getting another use out of the box. The peanut packaging is getting another use, and it's not going to end up in the landfill necessarily, and I hope fingers crossed that my friend reuses that box and that peanut packaging as well.
4:36 Number five, why not wrap your presents up in cloth. You can use old t-shirts, scarves, or other fabrics that you have lying around the house. And that way if you're you know have a nice scarf and you might not want it anymore, or you saw it at the store and you thought your friend would really like it. Just wrap the gift in that so now they're kind of getting a two for one; they're getting their gift, but they're also getting a scarf at the same time.
5:01 Also, for example, if you are giving someone a kitchen-themed gift, maybe wrap it in a kitchen towel, or put it in an oven mitt, if it's a small gift, or buy an apron, or if you have an apron at home that you don't use anymore, wrap the gift in that as well. In Japan, a traditional method for wrapping gifts is when they use scarfs and cloth. So grab a scarf, grab a cloth, and wrap up your gift that can be reused repeatedly. Go to the show notes, go to utopia.org, and there are how-to instructions on how to wrap your gifts with simple fabrics and keep them and keep them looking pretty.
5:46 So on the subject of using maybe old scarves or old t-shirts, you can cut them up into strips and make bows out of them. So when you are wrapping your gifts, if you want to get a bow, but you don't want to reach for the plastic one-time use bows, how about using a scarf or something to cut it up. So reusing anything you have on hand or you can go to the secondhand store and buy something secondhand, will have a positive impact on the environment. So cut up that old t-shirt. And now you have your cute little bow ties.
6:23 Number seven, newspaper. Any sort of that junk mail that you get kind of looks like a newspaper, and before you throw it into the recycling, how about you use that to wrap gifts? It's recyclable. So before it goes in the recycling, at least give it another use. So it can be personalized. Maybe you have a friend that likes to laugh a lot, and you're like, oh my gosh, they would love the comics. Well, maybe in the newspaper, you'll find the comics section and then wrap the gifts with the comics. I am just trying to be original and trying to look at ways that you can reuse stuff and make it look really pretty. Also, if you find an article that you read in the newspaper, and you're like, oh my gosh, this totally reminds me of this person, then use that article to wrap the person's gift up.
7:13 Number six, do you have a music lover in your life? Sheet music is made out of a little firmer paper than regular paper. So it makes a great alternative to using wrapping paper. Plus, if your gift receiver is a musician, you could customize the wrapping paper to match the instrument that they play, which is brilliant. Sheet music is not as large or as wide as traditional wrapping paper. So you might need to, you know, kind of tape it all together. But it's another way to reuse sheet paper-like music sheet paper before it ends up going into the recycling.
7:52 Rolls of toilet paper number nine, you can use rolls of toilet paper to wrap your gifts. You can form it around the creases and the folds on the toilet paper, especially if it's a small gift. And then you can just kind of tape the ends together, and boom, you have wrapping paper. Again, just like the brown paper bags and the brown paper. You can colour them, you can paint them, and you can customize it. So it looks personalized for that person that you're giving this gift.
8:26 Do you have an old book that's broken, it cannot be donated, it's fallen apart, and there are probably pages missing out of it? So number 10 is if you have a book like that, and you're really not sure what to do with it – use that as wrapping paper, save those pages, and let them live as you're wrapping paper. Book pages are typically more fragile and thin, so they tear easily. So make sure to reinforce the pages or stack multiple book pages on top of each other, so they don't rip and tear and all that kind of stuff. 9:02 Book pages are customizable. So it's kind of like the newspaper, find a page or two or three or four out of the book and have them maybe read part of the book, make it a game, make it fun. Again, it's all about being creative and not having to necessarily go buy new stuff that is going to be used once and then end up in the trash.
9:06 Number 11 glass jars. So if you are buying items and glass jars or even plastic jars for that matter, upcycle, that peanut butter jar, or whatever it is and put your gift in there. So if you are doing a homemade gift, you're making a sugar scrub, bath salt or some sort of homemade goods. Use some jars that you already have around the house, so you don't have to buy anything. And then you can wrap it with some fabric that you have at home. And boom, you have this cute little gift that you get to give somebody.
10:03 Number 12 We were talking about old gift bags and tissue paper. So when you have a birthday party that you're celebrating, save those gift bags and the tissue paper so you can reuse them at the next celebration. I don't know how many times somebody at a birthday party gets a Christmas bag, or somebody for, you know, a birthday party, you might get a happy shower, it's just, I need to reuse those bags. And to be honest, I don't think very many people are looking at the bag.
10:36 Another fun way. So this is number 13. Another fun way to wrap your gifts is a cereal box. Not sure if you ever thought about it, but a cereal box could be a great way to wrap clothing. So nicely fold them slide them in sideways into an old cereal box. Obviously, you want to clean out the cereal box first. Use the tight corners of a cereal box to store other stuff you've been given that year, maybe small towels, laptops, books, or planters, whatever that is. But just slide the gift into the cereal box, tape it all up. Give it like that or wrap it in cloth if you choose to make it a little bit fancier.
11:18 Number 14, we've been talking about this. Look for things that you have around your house that could be unique or different stuff that maybe you're going to donate that you no longer want but are still in good condition. So perhaps you have a bucket or a basket or some tin cans or something else laying around the house. Use that instead of again, going out to buy something new. Find some recyclable ribbon or some sort of greenery, something you have around the house. You know, you might have some old ribbon or shoelaces or something like that. Use that again, instead of buying something new. Your lucky receiver will get your thoughtful gift along with a reusable container that can have endless amounts of purpose. So really, you're giving to guests, it's just like the scarf. You're giving the scarf wrapping paper, but they're also getting a gift.
12:08 You know, as I mentioned above about the book the glass jars, you can save baby jars, baby food jars, yogurt cups, sour cream, whipped cream, whatever it is that you eat in your home and you have containers, save those containers and use them as ways to wrap gifts.
12:28 Number 15, do you have extra tote bags lying around that you don't use anymore? We get a lot of tote bags. Many companies give us tote bags when we go to different events. So if you have some lying around, reuse them as sustainable gift wrap. Tote bags are often used as a green replacement for single-use shopping bags. So using a tote bag you already have on hand as a gift wrap is two gifts in one again; just like the scarf, tote bags can last forever and can be easily thrown into the washing machine when you're a busy mom the go. So again, you're giving two gifts in one.
13:06 And lastly, use Etsy. If you don't have anything around the house to use to wrap gifts, or you're not feeling creative, or whatever, it is turned to Etsy. Type eco-friendly gift wrap in the Etsy search bar. Suppose you don't want to make your gift wrap, loads of pre-made gift wrap and bags or supplies. Etsy sellers are independent small businesses. The makers and creators of the small shops sell items such as brown paper with hand-drawn, or stamp designs compostable wrapping paper wraps made out of beeswax or fabric you can find biodegradable cards, ribbons or even tape made out of brown paper and Etsy. Hence, if you are looking to buy something, turn to Etsy and find something there; most tape is made with plastic, so that you can opt for a plastic-free tape or brown tape.
13:59 Well, Green Junkie that wraps it up for today's episode. It's no surprise that wrapping paper can be wasteful and harmful to our environment, instead of buying rolls of gift wrap this holiday season, or during any special occasion for that matter. Try one of these creative, sustainable gift wrapping ideas.
14:18 For more inspiration on having a green holiday, check out my seasonal episodes like number 13 Sustainable Christmas Tree Ideas. Or number 12, My Sustainable Holiday Gift Guide or episode 10 How to host an Eco-Friendly Holiday Party.
14:33 Connect with me over on Instagram at Green Junkie podcast. And if you try any of these creative ideas, please share them on Instagram and tag me @greenjunkiepodcast. Please subscribe to my Green Junkie podcast on whatever platform you're listening on. And if you'd like to pick my brain, ask me any questions one on one and get a customized plan on how you can live a greener life, click the link in the show notes to find out how I can support you on your journey to living more green.
15:02 Please do something this holiday season to live a little more green and inspire others to live a little greener. Thank you for tuning in. And I'll see you next Tuesday, Green Junkie.
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