Reduce, Reuse, Recycle….

Those words have become trendy lately as we wonder “Is #2 plastic recyclable?” or “Does my town have curbside pick-up?”

I realize after years of making cards out of scraps of junkmail, wrapping paper, and scrapbooking leftovers that I indeed love to REUSE. Don’t get me wrong, I love to purge (much to hubby’s chagrin) and make regular trips to the Salvation Army. But I strongly dislike trash. We’ve had fun working our way down to less than one small trash bag per week. We recycle or compost everything else. And if I can reuse a Costco cereal box to ship a gift to Colorado, or cover a cylindrical oatmeal container to hold craft supplies in my office/studio, then that’s my first choice. This past year I’ve really been on a mission to create less trash.

What are ways that you Re-use?

We cut down our first real Christmas tree this year. It was such a festive outing, despite the freezing temps. Definitely tradition-worthy.

I’ve wondered about the “green” way to have a tree, and a little reading shared that a real tree far surpasses a fake tree, even if a fake tree does last for years and years. In our town, real trees are picked up the first week of January to be recycled into mulch. Click Here to see if your town recycles.

Here’s a fun activity if your tree can’t be recycled - make a winter bird feeder! I remember making pine cone peanut butter bird feeders as a kid. What better January activity than re-decorating for the birds with popcorn and cranberries and peanut butter! Enjoy!

A first impression. A well-wrapped gift let’s that special someone know that time and care was taken in preparing that gift. And, taking it one step further - reducing waste that is created from wrapping is like an extra gift in itself!

Americans generate 2 million pounds of EXTRA (!!!) garbage between Thanksgiving and New Years. In order to be more “green” at the holidays, I love to use scraps of ribbon, colorful paper, newspaper, and fabric to wrap gifts. I read some ideas from Real Simple on CNN today that are also fun. I love the tea towel tied around a bottle of wine - that’s a year round gift idea! I once used a hot pink glittered belt around a young cousin’s Christmas gift.

A few ideas:

• Use an under-the-bed storage container to recycle ribbon and wrapping from gifts you receive.
• Pull the comics out of the newspaper to wrap up children’s gifts
• Cut up old Christmas cards (or any holiday) to use as gift tags the following year
• Use unconventional materials - scraps of fabric or calendar pages
• Magazine pages make great wrapping for small packages
• Newspapers in another language
• Reusable bags that can be used as shopping bags throughout the year are a GREAT green wrapping idea!

I love the Christmas season.
I don’t love seeing my bank statement at the end of December.

This year my husband and I decided to give homemade. We made homemade jams, apple butter, chutney - all of which connect us back to a fun experience from earlier in the year. Our family and friends receive a gift that is heartfelt and made with love, but we also have the memories of strawberry picking with close friends, apple picking in beautiful New England, and all we learned from our first vegetable garden.

It may feel a little late to go “homemade” this year, but here are a few ideas for any last minute giving - great for neighbors, hostess gifts, or colleagues! Happy giving!

I am creative. I am organized. I believe we have the gift of just one earth. Beauty Fully Used is founded on those three things.

This is an opportunity to be inspired by the world around me and share that through colorful, one-of-a-kind, handmade greeting cards. An opportunity to look around and simplify and organize the spaces where time is spent. An opportunity to re-use what we have in beautiful or practical ways - even if to divert what we have from landfills for a little bit longer.

Feel free to try any ideas I share on your own, or call on me to do the job!

Beauty Fully Used, in 3 parts…
SIMPLY GIVE: Share an encouraging word with my one-of-a-kind homemade line of greeting cards, announcements, and invitations.
SIMPLY LIVE: Spend more time doing what you love when you have organized spaces
SIMPLY GREEN: Incorporate sustainability into each day with “green” ideas and tips.

I look forward to sharing ideas that I hope you can incorporate into a daily routine, or a season of life. Please let me know what you think.