Homemade, Repurposed Gift Wrap (FREE!!!)

We've been invited to a lot of birthday parties lately.  (I know! We're very lucky!)  Parties are a great time to have loads of fun, enjoy a tasty treat, and let someone know you care about him/her.  How fun is that?!

I'm definitely not one who thinks a gift is necessary to let someone know he/she is important but it's usually appreciated (especially by the under 10 crowd) so here's how we wrap those gifts.

And, yes, it's usually a book and a donation.

Yep, it's just some good ol' artwork.  What can I say; I like to paint. ;)  It's very gratifying to know you created part of the package too.  If you have kids, this might help free up some of that valuable real estate on the front of your fridge.  Really, it's a win-win.  Repurposed wrapping (FREE!) that gets some clutter (beautiful as it is) out of your house, while boosting the artists self-esteem all at the same time.

What?!  You don't have stacks of artwork just piling up on the front of your refrigerator?!?  My sister likes to use the comics section from her daily newspaper.  Older kids love this because they can read it too!  I've used maps from vacations.  These are fun because they're usually brightly colored and seem to multiply otherwise.

There's also the option of using reusable bags (if the recipient needs/wants them!) or even using part of the gift itself like dishtowels (think: weddings or housewarmings) or blankets (babies) as the wrapping. 

Personally, I usually stick to the artwork, newspaper, or maps because I think it looks pretty and it gets it out of my house. ;)

Yep, same theme but different book.

With all this being said, please, don't give me a gift.  I'd rather share a meal or an adventure.

I know you have some great ideas out there.  Please, share.

Peace,

Stacey

Use What You Have

Quick!  Name something that's really easy to do and green at the same time.  Oh, that's a good one!  You should put that in the comments.  

I was thinking about using something that we already have rather than buying something new - no matter how environmentally-friendly the new thing is.  It's still better to use what you have until it fails to meet your needs.  (And as my dad used to always ask me, "do you need it or just want it?"  My dad should be proud every time he looks at the sink in our new kitchen!)

Mr. Green Stuff and I really wanted to replace our old sink with a different one.  Our original plan was to reclaim an old farm house sink (with the drainboard and all!) but then we remembered how scratched and disgusting the porcelain sink was that came with our house.  After that was scratched off the list, we talked about a trendy under-mount sink.  We weren't looking for trendy and we were concerned with the bowling alley counters being exposed to that much water so that was nixed.  Then we looked at new square stainless steel sinks.  They were all really great looking but then realized they weren't that much different than the one we put in our kitchen when we bought our house.

So here's what we put in:

Our old sink.  Isn't it lovely?  It may not be the oldest, the coolest, the trendiest, or the fanciest sink around but it makes me happy that we kept it.  And that makes it fancy-cool to me! 
 
What have you been able to reuse lately? 

Peace,

Stacey

Buy "Local" Books Online

O.K., by now you know I don't really like to shop.  (Oh, if my teenaged self could see me now!)  When I have to get something, I try to find it used.  Buying used usually means that it takes a lot more time to find.  That is unless you're looking to buy used books!  Amazon.com has made it so easy.  In fact, it's so easy that there's almost no point in buying one new anymore.  (Almost!)  Here's a simple little tip for greening your used book buying, which is inherently green already.  Find the one that's closest to where you live. Obviously, if there's a used book store in your town, you've already found the one that's the most local.  If you're not so lucky or they are out of what you want, here's an example for buying one of my favorite books on amazon:

In the third column (Seller Information) it lists specifically where the book ships from so all I need to do is figure out which state (in this case Utah, Oregon, Maryland, or Virginia) is closest to where I live and buy that one because the price and condition of each are all similar.  Ebay and Etsy also list where your goods will ship from.  

The shorter the distance the book has to travel/ship, the less gas it will take to get to me, Yeah for a smaller carbon footprint!

That's it.  Easy enough, huh?  Happy shopping! 
Peace,
Stacey