Go green for Christmas

This year we had a "Make, Bake or Retake (regift)" Christmas.  Our budget is rather small, so this was good for us.  I had bought some reusable shopping bags last year when they were on sale for less than a dollar.  On them was a saying about going green.  I took those bags and began to fill them.  Most of the items I had on hand, if I bought anything it only cost a dollar or two. I also included some information I found on the web about aloe vera and making car wash shampoo.  Each family recieved one with the following letter.

Since the colors of Christmas are red and green, we decided this year instead of focusing on red, as in our bank account after buying tons of gifts; we will focus on green, as in going green.  We are not talking about a tree hugger, global warming, Al Gore kind of green, but a responsible living green for the sake of Sean and London and any other grandchildren we might be blessed with in the future.

 To begin with we put the gift in a nice reusable bag.  Here are a few facts about plastic bags:

v Plastic bags aren’t biodegradable. They actually go through a process called photodegradation—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic particles that contaminate both soil and water, and end up entering the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them.

v According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. Of those, approximately 100 billion are plastic shopping bags, which cost retailers about $4 billion annually.

So, with this in mind we have included a reusable sandwich container.

You will also find in your bag a carwash kit with homemade glass cleaner, to save you money, a cloth to use with the glass cleaner instead of using paper towels, and a sponge. I have included a recipe for different car wash shampoos.

Also in the bag is a movie and popcorn, some books, cloth napkins and just for fun, a whisk.  The aloe vera plant can be used for many different things and I have included a list of some of them.

We have been trying to reduce our paper use; the following facts can really make a person think.   

v 700 pounds of paper are consumed by the average American each year.

v The average American uses 18 cubic feet of wood and 749 pounds of paper – equal to a 100-foot tree with an 18 inch trunk – each year.

v Every tree provides oxygen enough for three people to breath.

 I try to buy in bulk as much as possible, there is a lot of waste in the packaging of smaller amounts and it is usually less expensive ounce for ounce to buy in bulk.  I have also been trying to make as many of my own products as possible.  There are so many chemicals in store bought products and organic is usually pretty pricey.

Merry Christmas and we love you,   Greg and Cathy