“I’ll give you my tuna fish sandwich if you give me your fruit roll-up.” Sound familiar? The old cafeteria game of swapperoo enters the virtual realm on a host of new swap websites where one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Websites such as Swap Tree, Swap Ace and Swap Bot help eco-minded people looking to give their things another chance at life while simultaneously reducing their own footprint by not buying new items. Reducing consumption is an great way to cut down on the use of raw materials and the energy used to manufacture them…not to mention lightening the load on landfills.
Let’s get swapping!
Creating homemade decorations was my favorite holiday activity growing up. Coming up with new ways to make gift wrap, gift tags and ornaments from things found around the house and around the neighborhood was part of the challenge and the fun. With being green on all our minds this holiday season, we have an even greater reason to be resourceful and to look to nature for inspiration. Here are some of my favorite projects you and your children can do together:
Green your gift wrap:
Save money on all that gift wrap that ordinarily gets ripped to shreds and thrown away. Make your own gift wrap by sprucing up paper grocery bags or recycled brown paper. Create nature stamps by coating leaves and flowers with non-toxic paint and stamping them on the paper. You can also find treasures from outside and glue them right onto the paper, or simply color and paint your own designs. For gift wrap that is reusable year after year, try wrapping your gifts in fabric Japanese style using a furoshiki. Click here to learn how to wrap virtually any gift shape in a furoshiki. If all that tying and twisting has gotten your mind in a knot, simply secure the fabric with a bow.
Green your labels:
Gather holiday cards you have received and let you child cut gift labels and name cards for the dinner table. He or she can simply cut off the written message and keep the cover image or cut the image into sections to make little tags. You can cut fun shapes like stars, hearts and trees to give the image new life. Or attach a ribbon and viola! You have an ornament!
Green your decorations:
Bring nature in from the cold to add life to your holiday decor. Evergreens, pine cones and berries make beautiful garlands, centerpieces and accessories to gift wrap. Gather dead vines to make a wreath that will last for years. Pine cones can be placed in a bowl and splashed with cinnamon and clove to add a nice aroma, or used to hold those homemade place cards previously mentioned at the dinner table. Remember to return these items outdoors when you are done so that they can biodegrade back into the soil and become part of next year’s evergreen boughs and berries.
“The Story of Stuff” is a must-see short video about where all of our “stuff” comes from, how it’s made and where it all ends up. It also reveals what effects the manufacturing, selling and disposing of all our “stuff” has on our planet, our bodies, and even our happiness. With great animations, The Story of Stuff is an engaging, thought provoking and life changing video. Going to the store will never be the same again!
Hey Kids!
The toys at your friend’s house always seem so much cooler, don’t they? That’s probably because they’re new to you. Half the excitement of getting new stuff is simply the thrill of having something different to play with or read. That thrill tends to quickly wear off, and soon your favorite new toy will end up in a pile in the closet or under the bed. One great way to get new toys and books and keep your mom from screaming “CLEAN UP THIS ROOM!” is to have a toy and book swap. This is an easy activity you can organize with your friends, neighbors or classroom. Gather toys, books, and even clothes that you no longer want but that are in good shape and ask your friends to do the same. To make the swaping fair, give everyone a number to determine the picking order. Number one chooses first for the first round of picking. Then the order reverses for the following round. By having a swap, not only do you get to bring home all new stuff, (well, new to you at least!) you’ll also help prevent pollution and save the energy and resources that are used to make toys.
