Green SAHM

Not every gift creates waste, and some, such as reusable shopping bags, can even cause less to be created. Today I want to suggest more gifts that create little to no waste.

Charitable Contributions 

Pick a charity that you both can believe in, and give a contribution in that person’s name. There are plenty of great causes out there. One that I find particularly interesting is heifer.org. Giving a donation that directly gets someone an animal to help them live a better life. The animals help these people get more food, earn money and generally have a better life. I love doing things that help for a long time.

Give Your Time

This is an especially good gift when you have elderly relatives who may be lonely or have trouble doing everything around the house that they used to do.  Tell they you will come over and clean, help run errands or whatever it is they need done. Or just promise regular visits.

Don’t forget that if you do housecleaning you should try to use organic or at least nontoxic cleansers. A supply of these can even be a part of the gift.

If you aren’t local, find a cleaning service in their area to help out. You may even be able to find some that use organic products.

Parents can also really appreciate it if you give time. Offer to babysit so they can get a night out together.

Handmade Gifts

If you’re good at crafts there are plenty of things you can make. It allows you to indulge a hobby while making something that will be really special.

A simple idea would be to help someone who is not too good at organizing their photographs. Get a nice album and help them. It’s often best done together, so another good idea for elderly relatives who will really appreciate the time spent.

One of the great things about these kinds of gifts is that you don’t have to shop crowded malls for most of them, and aside from the handmade gifts, they can be taken care of at the last minute. Very helpful if you find you are running behind.

One of my favorite gifts to give would have to be books. That’s probably because I own a huge collection, and I’m the type that reads them over and over. Worth it to me to own them, rather than go to the library. Besides, my main love is science fiction, and some titles you just don’t see at the library very often.

But books to give people ideas on how they can help the environment are a great gift idea. The best ones give practical advice, or focus on a particular aspect that you know the person is interested in.

Green Books for Kids

The Lorax
Very subtle, and even people who aren’t interested in the environment are likely to read this one to their kids.

Earthways: Simple Environmental Activities for Young Children
Crafting ideas to do with kids that will encourage them to interact with nature. Many of the people who like this one seem to also be into homeschooling. But my daughter is in public school, and I’m still considering it for her.

Gone Wild
An alphabet book using images of endangered animals.

Down-to-Earth Guide To Global Warming
Geared for kids ages 9-12, this book goes over global warming in a way kids can understand. There are some people who are understandably upset over an incorrect graph in the book, but the information is otherwise good.

Where Does the Garbage Go?
An early reader book that also helps kids to think about what happens to the things they throw in the trash. You could consider combining this with a trip to the dump so that children see the reality of it.

It’s All Connected: A Comprehensive Guide to Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions
A book good for teens to learn about sustainability. Goes over global issues and talks about people who have made a difference.

Green Books for Adults

The Consumer’s Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists
Ever wonder if you’re making the right choices for the environement? Here’s help. Finally a way to make spending your money a little greener. I don’t have it yet, just found it while researching this post, but I’m going to get it.

Green for Life
For the vegan in your life. Lots of recipes to help inspire people trying this lifestyle. No, that’s still not me, but even with that I can see the value to this book.

The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time
While a lot of the tips are so simple I’ve been doing them for years, others may surprise you.

The Weather Makers : How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth
Environmental changes mean changes in the weather, and that’s going to have a huge impact on just about everyone. He goes over what he thinks ought to be done, including actions he would like to see taken at the very end of the book.

Solar power has been improving and become more accessible of late. In fact, solar powered items can make great gifts.

Solar powered lights for the garden are of course quite popular. So much easier than wiring up outdoor lights. They can be decorative, light up a garden path, or even be used as security lights.

Or there are solar chargers for cell phones. I like the ones for rechargeable batteries too.

These little panels may not seem like much, but I see them as a way to get people used to solar power and learning that it can work well.

Christmas for many families comes close to lacking any other meaning than “gimme, gimme”. People rush around looking for the perfect gift, buying gifts they hope will be appreciated.

I’ve been sharing a lot of green gift ideas recently, but this is perhaps the most important one:

Cut back

Look at what you give. Look at what you want. Is it all necessary?

I’ve been working on keeping my own requests practical. One of the big things I want is a good battery charger with a solid range of rechargeable batteries. Since we have not entirely avoided electronic toys and gadgets, this would make a lot of sense for my family.

Talk with the adults in the family. Do you all need to buy gifts for each other?

My sisters and I draw names. It allows for a decent budget for each person, rather than a bunch of cheaper gifts. It’s really nice to only have to shop for a very few people.

For the kids, beware of overhyped toys and really think about what will be loved for years. Too many toys have a lifespan of under 3 months. Seems like a waste of money and resources to me.

Gifts for kids are the most difficult area to cut back in many ways. Even if you avoid commercial television, they’re going to hear about things from their friends and have to deal with comparisons. It takes some extra effort, but choosing toys that encourage activity, education or creativity while following your child’s interests can help toys to last longer than the latest ‘hot’ toy.

It takes some work to really cut back during the holiday season. But when better to cut back than at the time of year that practically symbolizes overconsumption?

Technorati Tags: gift giving, cutting back

With the need to cut down on the use of plastic bags, one of my current favorite ideas is to give good looking reusable shopping bags as gifts. They’re very practical yet something many people don’t own yet. They can be plain or have a bit more style to them.

Most people will want several if they’re going to use them. One is just rarely enough, unless the person lives alone.

A potential benefit to this gift is that it can also help the recipient save a bit of money. Some stores take a few cents off your total per bag of your own that you use. It’s a small incentive, in addition to suddenly being free of those pesky plastic bags, but still an incentive.

If the person you give them to seems to doubt their ability to remember their bags, suggest they just stay in the trunk of the car. That way the bags do at least make it to the store. It takes time to build new habits. Some women even prefer the super compact ones that can be kept inside a purse.

There’s a lot more than just reusable shopping bags available, however. You can get reusable wraps for sandwiches and other reusable lunch supplies, drink bottles, gift bags and more. Just about anything that encourages people to reuse the container rather than use a disposable one every time is a good idea.

And as I’ve mentioned before, reusable bags can be great gift bags, especially if you’re doing a sort of environmental theme in a gift.