Forget the traditional and Earth un-friendly styrofoam for packaging delicate gifts. Instead, check out these innovative and Earth friendly ideas.
Have you read Sherry’s post about shopping for holiday gifts? I have to confess that I am way behind in my shopping. What makes it worse is that I’ll be shipping some of the gifts myself. Other gifts that will be given in person will still need to be carefully packaged so that they survive long drives home.
But, I have never been a fan of styrofoam. It fills up the oceans and the landfills, and has a half life that exceeds many human lifetimes. That means that it takes hundreds of years just to degrade by one half, making it last almost forever.
Fortunately, there are a lot of options out there for packing materials, both store bought and home made or recycled. Here they are.
For cookies, try using an empty and clean Pringles potato chip can. It will keep the cookies fresh and unbroken, and the can will get a second use.
You can purchase environmentally-friendly packing peanuts that are made of starch. Instead of adding to a landfill, these peanuts will simply melt when soaked with water.
Shred newspaper, magazines, office paper or even scraps of gift wrap to provide great packing material. Don’t have a shredder? Crumble the paper instead.
Fresh sprigs of pine make for soft and fragrant packing material. If you don’t have your own trees to trim, check in at a garden center or Christmas tree lot, where you may find all the sprigs that you need for packing your gifts.
Popcorn is a lovely packing material, especially for small to medium gifts. It is inexpensive and easy to produce. Your gift recipient can string the popcorn for decoration or offer it to the wildlife, who will have the bonus of their own holiday gift.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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