Conservation is important…especially when it comes to cash at the holidays! According to the American Research Group, the average shopper will spend $417 on holiday gifts this year ─ which is down from last year. Proof that everyone is looking to save. Here are some great ways to save green this season…most with a “living green” twist! Clip, Save, Rave. Clip your coupons. Seriously. The ones I send are a great head start on saving, so use them! Another way to save? Before you hit the stores ─ or head to a restaurant, movies, wherever ─ go online. Search “coupons” and the name of the place or type of coupon you want. Presto! Behold the savings. And try www.coupons.com, for a variety of coupons. Are you a person who clips the coupon, but forgets it at home? Start a new system. Put your coupons in a folder or envelope, and keep them in your car’s trunk or glove box. Restaurant Gifts that Feed Your Wallet! As I mentioned before, 97 percent of people who received a restaurant gift certificate would love to have one again. And here’s a great way to save! Visit www.restaurant.com and pick up local and regional restaurant gift certificates for a fraction of their face value. The recipient can even choose the restaurant! Make the Most of Gift Cards. Everyone loves gift cards. And everyone loves saving! Look online for discount gift cards. Sometimes the stores themselves offer them, other times you can get what you want through discount sites. And here’s a way to make your gift card seem like more: Present it with a small keepsake. A plush toy holding the card, a coffee mug with pretty tissue for a coffee house, an ornament with the card on a ribbon…you get the idea. Doing this creates a higher perceived value, so the dollar amount of your card gets a generous boost! Manage the Wrap Trap. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, our trash levels jump 25 percent during the holidays, which translates into 25 million tons MORE trash! And the Nature Conservancy says shopping bags and wrapping paper account for 80 percent of it. And each year, we dispose of 38,000 miles of ribbon! We can easily improve on this…and save money! Buy gift bags, boxes and tins, or baskets that people can use again. And don’t just toss wrapping paper, reuse it! Unwrap carefully, and salvage what you can. Ribbons and bows are EASY to set aside and use again. You can also wrap gifts in comics, old maps, brown paper grocery bags, magazine pages, white shipping paper, shelf paper, or the rolls of wall paper remnants cluttering your garage. Or use fabric! Bandanas, scarves, fabric remnants, cloth napkins, even pillow cases can be fashioned into pretty wrap, tied with a shoelace, hair ribbon or twine. Or skip wrapping altogether and send someone on a treasure hunt. Write little clues to that lead to the next clue, ultimately leading to the gift. This works especially well for large, hard-to-wrap items. For a few more ways to save green and give green, try these ideas! Green Spa-aaahhh. Make a delightful green spa basket! Use a basket or gift bag you already have or decorate a box (cover it in fabric or paint it up?). Fill it with relaxation niceties, like soy candles, a loofa, an eye pillow filled with flax seeds and lavender (you can make this so easily!) and homemade bath salt. To make scented bath salt, use coarse sea salt or Epsom salt sprinkled with essential oil (lavender is nice…or peppermint for the holidays!). Give Gifts New Life. Chances are, you have wonderful gifts waiting all around you! Sometimes you buy too many of something, you don’t use an item much, or you face a re-gifting situation, where something wasn’t quite right for you. Whatever the case, you can give objects new life, and dress them up with something new that you buy. Here are some ideas.
- Buy or make a special bookmark and give it with a book you’ve already enjoyed.
- Put a purse-size lotion and eco-friendly lip balm in a “previously loved” handbag.
- Recycle picture frames. Put a special photo in that the recipient will enjoy.
- Pair a coffee mug or teacup and saucer with a box of organic tea or bag of fair-trade coffee.
- Check out your “junk” costume jewelry. Give these as vintage items, or if you know someone who enjoys beading, pull apart stones and beads from necklaces you no longer wear, and give them new life! Create a jewelry kit by purchasing a few tools, and put the beads and stones in a compartmentalized box, cute sheer drawstring bags ─ or an egg carton!
- Speaking of egg cartons, why not fill one with used golf balls (perfect for golfers wanting to go out and hit a bucket of balls). Buy a set of biodegradable golf tees to finish it off.
With the money you save by re-gifting, you can easily add a gift card to a favorite shop or restaurant. Your gift will seem like twice as much, when you spent half! Recipe ready. Have a favorite or special family recipe? Package it with ingredients (all of them, if you can!). Maybe tomatoes, cilantro, onions and more for salsa. Or a jar of olives, garlic, capers and olive oil for tapenade. Or pre-measure baking ingredients and put them in zippered bags, place them in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon, along with a cookie or cake recipe. Use your head, your hands, your heart. Give the gift of time. From babysitting for an evening, running errands or washing a car, to helping someone assemble a piece of furniture, fix plumbing or launch a Web site, chances are you have some sort of skills people would really appreciate. Use them! Saving green is fun. And it’s even more satisfying when you’re promoting a green lifestyle at the same time. So get set to save green this holiday. You’ll probably create new habits for the coming year!