Christmas wrapping paper is hard to avoid during the holiday season, but even the ripped up wrappings can be put to good use. The bonus is that you’ll still be feeling eco-friendly because you’ll be employing the R-words –reduce, reuse and recycle!
REDUCE
Reduce wrapping paper waste by using greener wrapping papers. Blooming wrapping paper is one of the coolest wrapping papers on the market. The eco-friendly rolls have embedded flower or vegetable seeds that can be planted after the holiday season. The rolls of paper can come in a variety of colors or in a coffee print design. Look for paper that is made from recycled, organic and/or sustainable materials.
REUSE
There are so many ways to reuse holiday wrapping paper that it is hard to come up with just a few. The easiest way to reuse it is to take some of the prettiest leftover wrappings and create drawer liners with them. All you need to do is cut the paper to length and paste into the bottom of the drawer (if you don’t want it to be permanent try double-sided tape). Another idea to reuse Christmas wrapping paper is to create home art décor with it. Again, take the prettiest paper or the ones with unique designs and frame them. You can use one print or make a collage. Once framed, hang them on the wall to add pizzazz to any room in your house. Ripped wrapping paper can be used for scrapbooking, creating pencil organizers, and to make Chinese Paper Yo-Yos.
RECYCLE
Recycle wrapping paper by using it again. There are plenty of other holidays throughout the year that require gift wrapping. Take the paper that can be reused and save it for the next gifting occasion. If you can’t save your paper, remember to recycle it with your other recyclables! However, not all wrapping paper is recyclable, so consider some other great green gift wrap ideas.
Extra for Green Wrapping Ideas
Eco-friendly gift wrapping isn’t hard to accomplish. Consider using old newspapers (comics are popular!), magazines, and sheet music to wrap your gifts. A music lover will adore a gift wrapped with their favorite song lyrics. Other cool recycled gift wrapping materials include calendars, fabric and maps. All can be reused and recycled over and over again!
Linda St.Cyr is a writer, blogger, activist, and short story author. She writes about news, sustainability, green energy, food, celebrities and much more. Often she is busy being vocal about feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and shedding a light on human rights violations all over the world.