Last week, my mother sent me an email suggesting fabric gift bags for holiday gift wrapping, with the idea that reusable bags would cut down on the time we spend wrapping gifts. Earlier this week, I read on MegaCrafty about all the waste that is caused by holiday gift wrap. According to the EPA, between Thanksgiving and New Years, Americans generate 25% more waste than normal. I read here that during this period, Americans buy 2.65 BILLION Christmas cards, and there is a 40% spike in the purchase of batteries. Most gift wrap, apparently, is not recyclable, so it all goes directly to the landfill.
So, I decided to take a tiny baby step towards reducing waste. (Side note: check out our baby tree! Our place is too small for a real one, but it doesn't quite feel like Christmas without one. For some reason, the cat LOVES this tree...by which I mean loves to eat it...which is odd because it's plastic!)
I looked at a tutorial here, but honestly, it was pretty easy to figure out. I had some holiday fabric left over from last year, and cut it to fit some gifts I have already bought. Then I made a few more for gifts I intend to purchase...or because I think it will be useful to just have some on hand. The most time consuming part was just cutting things properly, and that's probably just because I am completely incapable of cutting in a straight line. Each bag probably took 10-15 minutes to make.
So this year, after Christmas when holiday fabric goes on sale, I'm going to buy a bunch and make some more. They're just as pretty as paper gift wrap, and so much more practical!
Erica, I love this idea! If I had more space and better tools, I would totally do this. Right now we're mostly using newspaper anyway. Next year?
ReplyDeleteLove to you and your husband (!),
Lisa