If the sound of wrapping presents is more common than holiday music in your home these past few weeks, you may be thinking about how to simplify your season.
Rochelle Strassner, the sustainability outreach and engagement manager at SUNY ESF, said during the holidays, people use about 8,000 tons of wrapping paper, the equivalent of 50,000 trees.
"Try using gift bags over wrapping paper because those gift bags can be reused over and over and over again, where wrapping paper is usually a 'you tear it, and you're done,'" she said.
Strassner said save any reusable gift wrapping materials, and use them again next year or exchange them with friends.
She also alleviates holiday stress by keeping notes in her phone throughout the year about what her loved ones enjoy. Retailers project about one-third of holiday gifts are returned, with many of those ending up in landfills.
"I now have a list that has been throughout the entire year of things that they have mentioned that they like or want or need, so that way, I know if I am giving them a gift, it is something that they are truly going to want and need and use," Strassner said.
Strassner said don’t forget about experience gifts, like seeing a play or taking a cooking class. And remember, the holidays don’t have to be about how many things are under the tree.
"The magic of the holiday season really comes from being with the people that you care about in a way that feels intentional, so as long as you're doing it that way, I don't feel like you can go wrong."
