A Clutter Free, Eco Friendly Christmas

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A Clutter Free, Green Christmas

In recent years our family has tried to reduce the amount of clutter we generate at Christmas time. We have come to the realization that "stuff" is not that important. It is relationships and time spent together that really matter. I'll be giving you several ideas to cut down on the meaningless Christmas clutter and show you what you can do to replace it. This year make memories and not clutter!

What can you do differently this Christmas?

Look in the newspaper, tourist guides, or local websites and find a Christmas activity you've never done before. Maybe a concert, parade or a local performance. Go with your family and invite some friends. Make memories not clutter!

An Eco Friendly Christmas 

From National Geographic

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Photo by andy_j_crowder

There is a good article in National Geographic about the waste we generate at Christmas. "Between Thanksgiving and New Year's day, Americans throw away a million extra tons of garbage each week, including holiday wrapping and packaging, according to Robert Lilienfeld. Lilienfield is co-author of the book Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are.

So why not recycle holiday gift wrap?" Why not indeed? Better yet, why not find ways to avoid using it in the first place?

Homeless Charities 

Take your focus off yourself and think about someone less fortunate.

Feeding the Homeless



Salt on the Street is a church organization that serves the homeless. Every Saturday night they set up in a parking lot downtown. They pull in trailers full of donated clothing, shoes, camping gear and blankets. These items are all spread out on tables and the homeless people choose what they want or need. Teams of men fan out and look for homeless people under bridges and where ever else they can find them and invite them to come in for dinner, clothing and to hear about Jesus. My son and his friends serve on these teams from time to time. While this is happening the church people are setting up a buffet line. They serve dinner and someone gives a sermon. The Mission Statement of Salt on the Street : "We exist to reflect the love of Jesus by loving and feeding those on the street."

Project Santa Claus 

A clutter free Christmas project.

Santa


One of my favorite local charities is Project Santa Claus. It is sponsored by Police and Fire Departments in the area. They hold fundraisers during the year to raise money, and they take requests from needy families for Christmas presents. The requests might be anything from a turkey with all the fixin's for Christmas dinner, to a bike or a twin bed for a child.

When the day comes, the County Transit Authority donates several buses, each one having a route for deliveries and a crew to help. One year my son was on a crew as a Spanish translator. There are many ways to get involved with this charity. Look for what is available in your area and how you can get involved.

Here is more information on Project Santa Claus. 

Volunteering for a good cause like this is a good way to give to the less fortunate in your community. Maybe your family can participate together.
A call for volunteers for Project Santa Claus
As you can see by this blog post, charities like Project Santa Claus always need people to help out. See if there are similar Christmas charities in your area that need volunteers. Make Christmas a little cheerier for a needy child.
Pictures from a classic car cruise to raise funds for Project Santa Claus
This classic car cruise raises money for Project Santa Claus. Everyone likes to look at classic cars so this is a popular event. Click on this link to see pictures of the cruise.

What can you do? 

Look at the suggestions I've made and see what might work for your family. Think up your own ideas for a clutter free and more meaningful Christmas and add them to the plexo below.

 

Handcrafted Wooden Toys 

Designed to last for generations.

Heirloom Wooden Toys


Photo by ChrisAC

Parents are concerned about spending money on expensive plastic toys which don't last long and that may have toxic paint on them. Solve all of these problems with Handcrafted Wooden Toys. Attend a craft show or a farmer's market and look for a local craftsman that makes wooden toys. Look in the phone book or look online to find the nearest wooden toy merchant. Handmade wooden toys are generally heirloom quality, built to last and free of toxic paints and dyes. Chances are your child will be able to pass their wooden toys on to their own children some day. A great investment!

Women's Bean Project Three Gourmet Soup Bundle 

The Women's Bean Project helps women acquire job skills.

This bundle's contents are all handmade by the women at the Women's Bean Project, a social enterprise designed to help women in need with immediate income, arrange support services to overcome barriers to employment, and teach the job readiness skills needed to get and keep a job. These gourmet food products are delightfully presented in a Kraft paper box, shrink wrapped and tied with a signature Bean Project ribbon.

Women's Bean Project Three Gourmet Soup Bundle

Amazon Price: $18.75 (as of 07/06/2009)Buy Now

* Try it now for National Soup Month
* Teachers really love these bundles!
* Tell your hostess thanks for the invitation!
* Buy several to stock in your panty
* Great to show appreciation for service providers and vendors
*I sent some of these out for Christmas 2008 and had good feedback.

Reusable Fabric Bags 

Try beautiful fabric bags instead of Christmas wrapping paper.

Fabric Gift Bags


Photo by w.gayle41

I have several friends who make beautiful Fabric Gift Bags to use as Christmas wrap. If you have even basic sewing skills, you can make gift bags out of remnants you already have, or you can pick up great fabric on sale at the fabric shop. This might require a small investment at first but you can put the bags away and use them year after year. You'll be keeping all that paper, ribbon and tape out of the landfill and eventually you will recover the cost.

Women's Bean Project Lovingly Handmade Medium Gourmet Basket 

These gifts are food and not clutter. The support a good cause.


These products are made by the women at the Women's Bean Project, a nonprofit social enterprise that offers a transitional job in gourmet food manufacturing designed to provide immediate income, arrange support services to overcome barriers to employment, and teach the job readiness skills needed to get and keep a job. The Women's Bean Project employs women who come from backgrounds of chronic unemployment and poverty, and helps them develop the work and interpersonal skills needed to function independently in the workplace and community. These tools empower women to create better lives for themselves, provide their families with hope, and contribute to a stronger community.

Women's Bean Project Lovingly Handmade Medium Gourmet Basket

Amazon Price: $50.00 (as of 07/06/2009)Buy Now

Salsa Sampler (Green Chili, Southwest, Medium Original, and Hot Original), Uncle Bob's BBQ Rub, Malaysian Spice Rub, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Mix, Toni's 10 Bean Soup, and Mexican Pinto Bean Dip

Homemade Baking 

Always a welcome gift.

Christmas Cupcakes



Bake Sugar Cookies , Gingerbread Men , or Cupcakes and decorate them for a children's home. Working in the kitchen together with your children on this project creates a nice memory. Neighbors might appreciate homemade Banana Bread, Zucchini Bread or maybe some yummy Dilly Bread. Homemade baked goods can be part of a clutter-free Christmas and they are always appreciated.

Women's Bean Project Soup Lover's Gourmet Food Bundle 


Women's Bean Project's Toni's 10 Bean, Marian's Black Bean, Sarah's Spice Split Pea, Old Fashioned Chili (mild), Firehouse #10 Chili (hot) and Six Bean Organic Soups. Give a wonderful gift for the gourmet food lover in your life with this Women's Bean Project Six Soup Bundle. This bundle's contents are all handmade by the women at the Women's Bean Project, a social enterprise designed to help women in need with immediate income, arrange support services to overcome barriers to employment, and teach the job readiness skills needed to get and keep a job. These gourmet food products are delightfully presented in a Kraft paper box, shrink wrapped and tied with a signature Bean Project ribbon.

Women's Bean Project Soup Lover's Gourmet Food Bundle

Amazon Price: $35.00 (as of 07/06/2009)Buy Now

* Buy now to celebrate National Soup Month
* Teachers really love these bundles!
* Tell your hostess thanks for the invitation
* Buy several to stock in your pantry
* Great to show appreciation for service providers and vendors

Heifer International 

Another worthwhile charity.

Heifer International



Supporting Heifer International has become a favorite project for Sunday School Classes and Youth Groups. It is a project to end world hunger. From the Heifer International Website: "In 2007, Heifer had 867 active projects in 53 countries/provinces and 28 U.S. states. Heifer projects around the world help families achieve self-reliance through the gift of livestock and training. Gifts are passed from recipient to recipient until entire communities are transformed."

Ten dollars allows you to give three rabbits, or a share in a goat or sheep. For $20 you can buy a flock of geese, chickens or ducks. Thirty dollars buys honeybees. This year instead of giving a sweater that will hang in someone's closet unworn, why not donate $50 in their name to buy a share in a "knitting basket" from Heifer International? The recipient will be able to then produce an income, keep her family warm and as the gift of sheep and llamas multiplies it will help the whole community. A truly great way to have a clutter-free Christmas!

 

Christmas Bells

 

Santa Elvisl

Community Theater 

Another great way to make memories and not clutter.

My husband participates in community theater and this year they did a Christmas musical production. You may have seen him as the Scary Fairy last Halloween.
This time Don appears as Santa Claus, handing out gifts to the children. Later on he sings White Christmas, Elvis style, with four elves for backup. The audiences loved it! This was a great experience and a great way to make memories, not only for our family but for everyone who participated, and all who saw the show.

One Laptop per Child XO Laptop 

Give a Laptop, Get a Laptop

This project is a great way to give to the less fortunate. You can just make a donation so a child in a developing country can have a laptop, or you can buy two, one for yourself and one for a child. Give one get one.

The One Laptop Per Child Organization
Founded in 2005 by MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte, One Laptop Per Child has a simple mission: to create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each and every one with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, creative, self-empowered learning.
By giving a laptop, you are helping bring education to children in some of the world's most remote areas. You are connecting them to each other. To us. To hope. And to a better future.

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Great Lenses about the XO Laptop 

The Give a Laptop Get a Laptop project

This is another great way to have a clutter free Christmas. Make a donation of a laptop computer for a child in a developing nation. Give one get one, buy two and one is sent to a child in a Third World country and you get one for a child in your life.

 

Christmas Bells

Clutter Free Christmas Gifts 

Clutter Free Things to do at Christmas Time

Here are ten frugal, clutter free, eco friendly or humanitarian things you can do for Christmas. I'm sure you can think of many more. Isn't this what Christmas is all about anyway? It's not about how much cool stuff you can accumulate. It's about faith hope and love. It's about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us make an effort this year to shift the focus from commercialism and materialism to things that really matter.

Do some of your Christmas shopping at craft shows and support your local artisans.

4 points

Have your child give away an old toy to make room for a new one

3 points

Buy winter coats at the thrift store and deliver them to a homeless charity.

2 points

Decorate the tree with popcorn garland.

2 points

Buy or collect food and donate it to a food bank.

1 point

Attend a Christmas Symphony Concert.

1 point

Attend church services as a family.

1 point

Volunteer at a soup kitchen or other charity.

1 point

Sing Christmas Carols at a nursing home.

1 point

Attend a Christmas parade in your town.

1 point

Recycle wrapping paper, ribbon and paper gift bags.

1 point

Get the family together and have fun playing board games.

1 point

Watch "It's a Wonderful Life," serve popcorn and apples.

1 point

We go caroling in the neighborhood with our church more...1 point

0 points

 

Christmas Wreath
Merry Christmas From Our Family to Yours!

Lenses on Making Christmas Memories and Not Clutter. 

Please take a look at these lenses by lensmasters who know how to make Christmas memories and not clutter. They know how to reduce consumption and spread a little love during the Christmas season.

 

It's A Wonderful Life 

A Classic Christmas Film

Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density."

It's A Wonderful Life (Two-Disc Collector's Set) (B/W & Color)

Amazon Price: $18.49 (as of 07/06/2009)Buy Now

George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all - and it's Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn't been for all of his good deeds over the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his family and forget suicide?

 

Who could forget It's a Wonderful Life at Christmas time? It is our family's favorite Christmas movie. Get your family together and invite some friends over for a Christmas movie night with your favorite Christmas movie. Serve popcorn and hot apple cider. It won't cost hardly anything but it will be a fun evening with no clutter and memories will be made.

 

What do the blogs say about an Eco Friendly Christmas? 

Handy & Eco-Friendly: SandSac Travel Beach Pail Set
Well, we were thrilled to learn about the new eco-friendly SandSac foldable travel beach pail, designed and sold by a mom and dad team who understand the challenges of traveling with young children, as well as the responsibility we all ...
Daily DIY Network - Science Projects Plans Guides ยป Blog Archive ...
Eco Friendly Kissy Fish PiData. Pinatas Filled with candies, small gifts, and fruit are a tradition at birthdays and Christmas. Kids take turns trying to break the Pinata with a long stick or baseball bat. Sounds easy-Until you find out ...
Suggestions for a Cheaper, Greener, More Eco Friendly Christmas ...
If you have evergreen shrubs and trees - to make sure you have an annual supply of eco-friendly Christmas decorations why not do some of your pruning just before Christmas and use the choice bits for inside? ...

 

More lenses by lensmasters who know how to make Christmas memories and not clutter. Browse these lenses for more ideas on how to celebrate with a clutter free Christmas.

 

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I hope you enjoyed reading about A Clutter Free, Eco Friendly Christmas 

Make Memories Not Clutter

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How about making memories this Christmas instead of making clutter? 

Your comments make my day!

Do you think striving for a clutter free Christmas is a good idea? What do you think you might do differently this Christmas?

Avare wrote...

This lense is awesome! Thank you!

ReplyPosted April 23, 2009

susannaduffy wrote...

Another excellent lens from you!

ReplyPosted March 22, 2009

tandemonimom wrote...

Please join the new "Best Tips for Homemakers" Squidoo group!

Also, lensrolled to "Household Gadget, Tips, & Tricks."

ReplyPosted January 24, 2009

monarch13 wrote...

I love your design! How do you get your borders and caps like that? 5 stars and rolled to "Re-gifting, a Monkey Brain Debate".

ReplyPosted January 01, 2009

JudyDunn wrote...

Some wonderful ideas, and terrific charities. Perhaps the upside of the down economy is more people are beginning to question what Christmas needs to be for them. Let's hope some of that energy continues throughout the year!

ReplyPosted December 22, 2008

Lensmaster

Devendra wrote

Well What to say

Reply Posted December 03, 2008

Tiddledeewinks wrote...

A wonderful 5 star lens. We go caroling with church members each year.

ReplyPosted November 30, 2008

Evelyn_Saenz wrote...

Thank you for featuring my lens.

Just lensrolled and featured your lens to Inexpensive Eco-Friendly Christmas

ReplyPosted November 20, 2008

tandemonimom wrote...

GREAT lens! Every year I try to add (purchase or make myself) a few more cloth gift bags to add to my collection. My kids are getting used to seeing them at birthdays and Christmas now!

ReplyPosted November 18, 2008

StephenC wrote...

Terrific stuff. I have made a lens on cheap Christmas Gifts. I think the best gift is food, as it gets used up and leaves nothing behind, so to speak.

ReplyPosted November 16, 2008

 
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