This month, at Cherchez La Femme, we really wanted to focus on how important it is to keep our planet in mind during the holiday season, because living sustainably can never go on holiday!! In this week’s blog post, our focus is on how you can reduce waste while still celebrating in style (because you don’t have to give up these joys in the name of sustainability if you don’t want to!).
Between decorations, packaging, gifts and food, we tend to produce a lot more waste during the holiday season than the rest of the year. Even if you’ve stayed conscious of reducing your waste up until now, it’s easy to forget to translate these tips to your holiday habits. Did you know that on average, 43% more waste is produced during the holidays than any other time of year? OnePoll study last holiday season found that the biggest culprit is wrapping paper, followed by gift bags, tissue paper and food.
How To Waste Less on Decorations
- You don’t have to give up Christmas lights to reduce your impact this holiday season. Look for qualified Energy Star LED string lights—they use 75% less than conventional incandescent string lights.
- Get a real Christmas tree! Real trees pull carbon from the atmosphere and typically travel much shorter distances to get to the consumer than artificial plastic trees do (so less carbon footprint!). When December is over, ensure your real tree is composted or chipped into mulch. If you rather go for an artificial tree instead, at least try using it for as many years to come as possible!
- Use decorations made of natural materials and make them yourself to ensure zero waste! Strings of popcorn, dried cranberries, or garland made of fresh cedar or fir, dried citrus garlands or cinnamon stick snowflakes… There’s so many natural materials out there that can become your next Christmas decor!
- Stop with the traditional holiday cards (they represent so much paper waste!) and start making phone calls to wish your loved ones a joyful holiday season. You’ll see, it’s waaay more personal this way!
How To Waste Less on Dinner
- Food waste tends to increase around the holidays and there’s usually a lot of leftovers! Why not use online resources such as Guestimator? This platform helps hosts determine how much food to prepare so there’s very little leftovers at the end of it.
- Use cloth tablecloths and napkins as well as real silverware and plates when serving food rather than disposable plastic utensils and paper plates! If you’re really not a fan of washing up, you can always rent a tablescape (there’s plenty of companies that deliver these to your door as well as pick them up!)
- Shop local and/or from the bulk section when you’re grocery shopping for a holiday party and don’t forget to bring your reusable totes with you!
To further minimise your waste this holiday season, stay mindful of your recycling habits! Many holiday staples like ribbons, styrofoam, and plastic bags, can’t be recycled and many others such as broken string lights can, through special programs though and not in the recycling bin at home!
If you’re looking for more tips on reducing your waste this holiday christmas, check out our blog on Sustainable Gift Wrapping Ideas and Vintage Gifting ideas.
Comment below if you have any extra tips on how to reduce waste this holiday season!
Lots of love,
Cherchez La Femme team
[Images sourced on canva.com
Info sourced on thegoodtrade.com]