BY: Patricia Gaylor – Eco interior designer
Web: www.patriciagaylor.com
Email:pgaylor@patriciagaylor.com
A guest post from Patricia Gaylor:
Well, it’s that time of year again. When holiday mania takes hold and our carbon output goes through the roof. And our landfills become even more filled with garbage. Just look around your neighborhood right after Christmas, and you can see the piles of trash that are put out for collection. Not to mention the extra power used to light up those front lawns, houses, and Christmas trees….
What to do? Here are a few simple ways and some awesome gift ideas that will not only be easy on your budget, but easy on the planet.
Number one on my list is to tell my family that I want to cut back on the number of gifts I give and receive. I don’t need anything. I have everything I need, and am most happy that I’m healthy and have a loving family. If you insist on giving me a little something, let it be something that’s been made from recycled materials, like these incredible sea-glass earrings I found on a website called Fire and Finesse.
Sea Glass harvested from the California Coast line $39.00 pair – sterling silver mounted earrings
Or how about these cool baskets and door mats made from left-over scraps of a flip-flop manufacturer? You can find these colorful eco- gifts at VivaTerra:
The mats start at $29.00, and the baskets are a set of two for $135, and are big enough to use as laundry or recycling baskets.
For the student or hiker in your life, there’s a solar powered backpack made from PET, recycled plastic soda bottles from Voltaic Systems.
It comes with 11 different adapters for cell phones, laptops, MP3 players, etc. This amazing little backpack sells for $ 249.
I just bought one of these gorgeous recycled rice bag totes from Ecobags.
They come from Vietnam, where discarded rice bags are cleaned and stitched into one of a kind market bags. Take this one along to the supermarket and never get asked the question: “paper or plastic” again! The 18x 12 bag sells for $ 27.00
When it comes to putting up lights on the outside of your house, running extension cords, not to mention a large power bill has been easily remedied by switching to solar powered LED outside lights from Herrington. The lights come on automatically at dusk, and turn off at dawn by themselves! And LED lights last at least 30 times longer than regular incandescent bulbs. They are reasonably priced from $ 29.95 a string and up.
There’s many more green gift ideas out there that can help you and your family cut down on the senseless waste of our precious resources without blowing your budget. And remember to wrap your gifts in newspaper, brown craft paper, or even fabric. And going paperless with your seasonal greeting cards isn’t a cop-out, it sends a smart carbon-cutting message to the receiver.
HAPPY GREEN HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE !!!!!
- Patricia Gaylor has practiced as an interior designer in the Northeast for more than two decades. Here, an abundance of older homes in need of complete renovations requiring the removal of everything, from dated appliances to cabinetry, has prompted Pat to ponder the question: “What happens to all this stuff after it’s ripped out?” Pat’s passion for green design continues to be fueled by this question.
Recognized for her earth-inspired style, Pat was hand picked two years in a row by renowned architect and best-selling author Sarah Susanka for the Home by Design Showhouse, and the Not So Big® Showhouse at the International Builder’s Show. Pat was also the interior designer for BASF’s Better Home, Better Planet initiative with a new Showhouse in Paterson, N.J. that shows how healthy, energy-efficient homes can be built economically with materials that also enhance the home’s durability and aesthetic appeal. Pat’s contribution to the house will appeal to those interested in pursuing green design solutions.
