Top 10 Ka-Ching-Free Ways To Green Your Holiday

Would you believe me if I told you that during this upcoming holiday season, it's not necessary to pull out even one solitary dollar to deck your halls or give your friends and loved ones thoughtful gifts that they'll appreciate for years to come? I'm dead serious. There's already so much stuff cluttering our world and our own homes - we just have to view it in a fresh, new light. In order to make this seemingly outlandish ka-ching-free holiday claim a reality, all you have to do is: 1) hunt down diamonds in the rough either inside your own home or "out in the field" 2) adopt, barter or graciously offer to take said items off the hands of willing donors, and 3) repurpose the free loot in insanely clever and imaginative ways.

For some, this three step process sounds daunting to achieve and yet, it is almost the same as shopping for brand spanking new manufactured items. In both scenarios, you are required to invest a significant amount of your free time in the month of December to locate desirable items that you can place under the tree or throughout the house. With the free DIY scenario I am proposing, the main difference is that you are making a concerted effort to keep your money firmly planted inside your pocket while injecting thought and personality into your gifted trash-to-treasures. Hey, you might even have a little fun in the process, too! Be forewarned...tapping into your inner eco-crafty demon might become habit forming, especially when you realize just how much extra money you'll end up with at the end of the month and how elated your recipients will be with goodies they can finally really use. So...ready to take the plunge?

1) Use Last Year's Decorations.

You aren't one of those people who trash perfectly good holiday resources at the end of the season, are you? Phew, what a relief. You've probably accumulated a lot of decorations by now, but human nature dictates that we tend to get a little bored with what we already have. If you're suffering from a serious case of the ho-hums, why not shake things up a bit? Give part of your holiday stash a year long vacation and use the remainder of your decorations in unconventional ways, instead. String ornaments across your windows on pieces of fishing line (rather than on the tree), drape garland around the backs of chairs and exercise your creativity with the rest of the pieces you own. Remember, you don't have to follow convention every single year, and you just might find that it's a lot more fun to travel a little left of center.

2) Dive Into Your Recycling Bin For Wacky Decorating Inspiration!

Ever considered creating an entire theme around "trash-to-treasure" holiday decorations? Think about all of the materials ripe for the picking in your recycling bins and you can see where I'm going. Plastic containers can be easily cut into all sorts of shapes and sizes, tin cans can be turned into mini holiday themed dioramas, light bulbs can be converted into painted ornaments, magazines into beaded garlands and old clothing can be transformed into decorative frippery. These projects could be as much fun for adults as for children - in fact, make it a holiday tradition in your family and bestow a special gift to the most original creation each year.

3) Organize Swap Parties With Friends, Family & Relatives.

Sometimes, even the most eco-friendly among us end up feeling hopelessly uninspired by the holiday supplies already in our possession, no matter how many times we repurpose them. In that case, organize a friends-and-family swap meet so that the goods are recirculated and end up finding their way to happy new adoptive homes. Tie in your annual cookie swap party to make it a genuinely festive event with a green undercurrent, or if you're not into the "baking thing" then make it simple by requesting that everyone contribute one potluck entrée. Food and free swapped goodies -- who could resist?

4) Take A Walk Through The Forest To Access A Decorating Wonderland.

Think back to what we all did in kindergarten class - Mother Nature's bounty was our greatest artistic resource. If you can't recall what wonderous things can be created out of acorns, pinecones, fallen branches, feathers, and leaves, do a little research on the internet and you'll hit a jackpot of ideas guaranteed to spruce up your home in no time with absolutely no out-of-pocket financial investment. If you're locked in a concrete jungle, hand-strung popcorn and cranberry garlands will offer a festive beauty to your homestead décor as will recycling the boughs that many Christmas tree retailers trim off at the base of their stock (in fact, they'll often part with those clippings for free).

5) Breathe New Life Into Old Ornaments That Have Seen Better Days.

Decoupage them. Cover them in glitter. Stud them with sequins. Repaint them. The ideas are endless. Use them as a canvas for whatever creative inspiration materializes in your noggin -- who says they have to look like what you might buy from a store? (Come to think of it, who really wants them to look like they just came off a Chinese manufacturing conveyor belt?!?)

6) Search Craigslist and Freecycle Ads.

On a daily basis, people are constantly downsizing or deciding that they'd like to lead simpler lifestyle. Among that population, there are fortunately a select few who realize that it would be nice to offer their unwanted goods to the public rather than giving them the heave-ho in the closest garbage can. Search the ads in your community or place one that specifically advertises your green holiday desires and you'll be sure to get several bites and even a few enthusiastic respondents who will trip over themselves to unload their trash into your hot little treasure-transforming hands.

6) Declare This Year A Homemade Holiday Gift Fiesta.

If you set the expectation right up front that store bought gifts are off limits this year, then everyone in your gift-giving circle will be on equal ground.  While handmade goods tend to get a bad rap (launching one thousand arghs and a whole lot of eyeballs to roll in unison), there are so many more creative, fun and really useful how-to projects available than most people realize.  Explore various video tutorials, hunt down the supplies you need in your own house and get busy!

7) Make A Large Collection Of Reusable Fabric or Plastic Gift Bags.

No matter how many bags of clothing I drop off at Goodwill, I always seem to have an infinite supply of additional items that will be on the waiting list (when I get around to locating them). Instead, take a bunch of shirts, skirts or other garments and recycle them into handmade fabric gift bags or locate all of the old plastic shopping bags crumpled in the back of your closet and turn them into durable fused plastic bags that can be used over and over again. Either way, both versions can be spruced up with decorative elements (such as sequins, beads, etc.) and you can add a handwritten tag with enough space for each future gift recipient to record the name and date they received it before passing it along.  

8) Try Other Alternatives To Conventional Gift Wrap.

The whole point of wrapping a present is to ensure that the surprise remains intact until Christmas, but in the interest of avoiding unnecessary waste, here are a few ideas to get your juices flowing. Barring really good hiding places, prying eyes are the real reason why wrapping paper was created. Unfortunately, the crumpled up remains - in conjuction with other hallmarks of the season - contribute to what RecycleWorks claims is more than a 25% increase in household waste during the month of December. Instead, you might want to simply wrap your entire gift in a piece of clothing that you're gifting your recipient with, or exploring the art of Furoshiki, in which scarves or other pieces of decorative fabric are artfully wrapped around a package. If you are giving a gift to someone in person and don't need to conceal it, then this eco-friendly Furoshiki gift basket is a nice idea - you can also try some of these unique presentation ideas on for size.  

9) Get Out Of My Dreams...and Into The Kitchen.

Okay, so Billy Ocean I'm not, but I'm sure he'd agree that there's nothing quite like something fresh from the oven...or stovetop. Whether you're interested in creating a gift or expanding your holiday cooking repertoire, 99.99% of the time it always tastes better when you make it yourself...and there's no denying that it's greener.

10) Making Everything Yourself = Minimal Trips To The Store This Holiday Season.

Of course, we all need a few basic essentials that end up making a few visits to grocery store or other purveyor a necessity. Compare this relatively pared down consumer behavior to what generally occurs when people make shopping the sole focus of their December activities and you're ahead of the game in more ways than one. In addition to saving serious bucks by repurposing what you already have, making your own gifts or swapping resources with others, you end up saving serious fuel by keeping your vehicle in your garage, reducing your carbon output, and virtually eliminating wasteful packaging. All of those efforts add up to one seriously eco-friendly holiday season - viva la green!