I’m not alone in my quest for more balance in our lives – especially not in my own family.  I’m a moderate compared to some of my kin.  So occasionally, the holidays can be bittersweet for us.  Don’t get me wrong, we enjoy getting together, watching football, cooking, and eating, but we can’t help but notice the amount of waste that’s produced during this season, particularly when it comes to gift wrapping.

Instead of cutting out gift giving altogether (my siblings and I have lobbied for travel in lieu of gifts), several years ago a competition of sorts evolved – who can find the most innovative way to wrap gifts without using traditional disposable wrapping paper.  It started off simple – giving jewelry in a new jewelry box or my brother’s favorite – wrapping gifts in newspaper and sealing them with duct tape.  At least the newspaper was reclaimed.  I think the duct tape just added ‘flare’ to his presentation.

Over the years, we’ve learned to develop this basic idea.  Instead of just grabbing random articles and slathering duct tape around them, we use clippings that cater to the interest of the recipient.  My brother still gets the comics.  For my sister who’s really into film and music, the pages of Interview or Rolling Stone magazines work well to wrap a CD (there’s a little patching required in the back).  And my dad is still fond of hiding gifts on the tree for us to find – no wrapping required.

But we don’t like sticking to just one idea.  A few years ago, I started making cloth gift bags with drawstring or button closures.  Honestly, I think they’ve been as well received as the gifts I put inside them.  My grandmother has enjoyed watching my sewing skills improve and my aunt and uncle are always sure to wrap my gift in the bag they received the year before.  As a result, the bags are circulating through the family nicely.

My mum has also used dishtowels to wrap kitchen gadgets – two gifts under one bow!  I think I even received an oven mitt as my stocking one year.

One of my favorite examples of our competition that I think really exemplifies our devotion to the reduction of waste and our sense of humor took place back when I was in early high school.  We had a piece of wrapping paper that started out around a huge box.  I forget the gift, but it had to be a TV or stereo.  The same red and white striped paper was carefully trimmed and reused each year becoming smaller and smaller.  Finally, I believe it was my senior year in college; it was used to wrap a stocking stuffer.

Granted, these ideas are not going to offset the amount of waste that’s produced during the holidays but I thought it would at least give people something to think about.  I remember as a kid we’d have huge trash bags filled with wrapping paper from opening gifts on Christmas morning.  Now more often than not the wrapping itself can be used or worn and any paper that does make it into the mix, I squirrel away for reuse.  Doing a few small things like this can really make a huge difference.

For those of you in the AEC industry, you could always use old plan sets and decorate the unprinted side!  Or anyone can try learning Furoshiki.

Here are some other local organizations that are doing their best to promote reducing waste during the holidays:

http://www.kanuhawaii.org/campaigns/details/?id=12

http://www.kokuahawaiifoundation.org/

Do you or your family have any of your own trash reducing traditions?  Know of anyone else on Oahu that’s trying to help out with suggestions?  I would love to hear any and all of your thoughts.  Feel free to contact me at shines@honblue.com.