It’s easy to overdo it during the holidays in a myriad of ways. From getting sucked into a Black Friday “doorbuster” to piling Santa figurines on your mantel, we sometimes go a little crazy.
But a Zero Waste holiday season is totally doable. Here’s how to make your space festive without being wasteful.
1. Keep it simple
Save yourself the post-holiday agony of packing up all your decorations by putting out less this year. Think about which items make the most impact – maybe it’s a special strand of lights you wrap around your stairs or a gorgeous natural wreath for your door. Don’t get sucked into going out and buying new trinkets you truly don’t need (we’re looking at you Target $1 bins).
And go through old decor items you don’t put up anymore and sell or donate them. Don’t hold on to items that are just accumulating dust in your storage closet.
2. Use natural and organic materials
Use what your mamma gave ya! (mamma earth that is)
If you want to add new decor items into the mix, keep them completely organic and/or natural – think natural fibers like hemp, burlap, or 100% organic cotton. And items directly from the earth like tree branches, gourds, pine cones, palo santo, or sage. All of this is totally compostable after.
Get real, fresh branches of pine needles and use metal wire to make a garland around your banister (bonus, it will smell amazing!). Set out small glass jars filled with fresh sticks of cinnamon (that will also smell amazing). Hang fresh mint up for a pseudo “mistletoe” and use the dried mint later for tea. For tablescapes, line the center of the table with tealights, seasonal produce, and plants. You can even let guests take some home with them as a parting gift.
Basically, ask yourself “will I be able to eat this item later, or will it be compostable?” when looking for decor items to add to your place.
3. Find secondhand decorations
If you do want ornaments, lights, menorahs, or anything holiday-related that isn’t 100% natural, try finding them secondhand on sites like Craigslist or eBay, at garage sales and secondhand shops.
4. Put up fewer (or no) twinkle lights
If you live in a home or apartment, you might decorate with lights outside, but what if you skipped them this year? Or got solar-powered ones?
By putting up fewer lights, we doubt your holiday cheer will truly be reduced, but we can guarantee your energy bill will (cha-ching). Holiday lights are beautiful and festive, but also suck up a load of energy. A traditional strand of lights, when lit for 10 hours a day, uses approximately 50 watts of energy – and let’s be honest, who normally puts up just one strand?
5. Recycle old twinkle lights
We’ve all had half of a perfectly good strand of lights just stop working mysteriously. But don’t throw them away – you can actually recycle twinkle lights!
Stores like Lowes and Home Depot oftentimes offer a twinkle light recycling program during the holiday season, and Holiday LEDs offers a free online twinkle light recycling program if you ship them your old lights.
8. Stick to natural handmade candles
Candles are a great way to add warmth and ambiance without sucking up energy or creating waste. If you celebrate Chanukah you’ll also be needing some for your menorah. Search for sustainably-sourced wax.
6. Opt for real trees
It’s a common misconception that fake Christmas trees are better for the environment because you’re not “killing any trees” by using one. But in reality, fake Christmas trees are made from non-renewable plastics, and the average household gets a new fake tree every 6 to 7 years, sending their old ones to live in a landfill.
Real Christmas trees are a renewable and recyclable resource, and most communities offer a tree recycling program where the materials will oftentimes be turned into mulch for community gardens and parks.
Some places also sell real trees that can be replanted in the ground after the holiday season is over. And real trees absorb carbon dioxide and other harmful greenhouse gases and release fresh oxygen into the air. If you have nowhere to plant it, try donating it to a community garden.
If you currently have a plastic tree that you use, continue to use it. No sense in adding something to the waste stream that’s still viable.
7. If you don’t buy a potted tree, or can’t donate yours, compost it
The great thing about a real tree, it will naturally decompose! Make sure to take it to an outdoor space where it can do this properly – don’t let it get picked up by the garbage truck. If you don’t have a yard, ask a friend with a big yard, find a local compost site or piece of forest. You can even give a sweet post-holiday treat to the birds, and a place for them to nest by setting your tree in your yard and spreading some bulk peanut butter on the trunk of the tree, and sprinkling it with bulk seed.
The holidays are filled with so many opportunities to get trapped into wastefulness, but all it takes is being a conscious consumer to keep your holidays #zerowaste!
4 comments
Those wooden bowls and plates are so beautiful! Where did you get them?
I googled the wooden bowls and plates and saw some similar to the ones in the picture. They are at Kohl’s and Amazon.com. The ones at Amazon that I saw were made out of beechwood though. A little bit lighter in color, but basically same design. Hope that helped.
This is an awesome post and an awesome blog. your super inspiring keep up the good work.
Very informative article! Nice tricks to decor home and office perfectly. Thanks for sharing with us!