How To Wrap Presents With Reusable Cloth Bags

Check out how you can cut back on waste by using cloth grocery bags to wrap presents.

  It is a couple days after Christmas and trash cans are filled with so much waste from all the wrapping paper and boxes from all the gifts. The trash service doesn't come until Friday and the cans are overflowing. It makes me sad to see all that waste in my neighbor's trash cans as most people do not take the time to recycle the boxes and the wrapping paper. On top of that, if one did want to recycle the wrapping paper, they would be surprised that most of it can not be recycled. There is some wrapping paper that is able to be recycled but that is only good if your city allows any wrapping paper to be recycled. My city does not recycle any wrapping paper so I decided this is going to be the last year that I wrap my gifts with paper that will end up in the landfill. I already have stopped buying paper napkins and instead use cloth ones so I am ready to do even more to reduce my trash waste.

  I want to keep plastic out of our oceans and landfills. Did you know that some Christmas wrapping paper has chemicals in them or even plastic? It also takes trees to make the paper. So that means trees have to be cut down for that pretty paper. So even if your city takes the wrapping paper in your recycle bin, think of what it is doing to our environment. Using cloth bags for wrapping presents is just smart.

                                    I hate all the trash after the holidays

Reduce ~ Reuse ~ Recycle 

This was our mound of trash after we opened up presents. I will recycle the boxes but sadly the wrapping paper will go in the trash can as my city does not accept it in the recycles. After attending ShiftCon a couple of weeks ago, I am trying to be more "green" as I want to not only take care of my body but also the earth. So I thought up a better way to wrap presents. I will use cloth bags, you know the ones that people use at the grocery store, to wrap my gifts. I always have a stash of these cloth bags as I get plenty from blogging conferences, like ShiftCon, and from brands that I work with. I discovered that with a few extra touches, like ribbon, that I also get from brands, that I can use these bags to wrap almost any gift. 

The bag becomes a gift to use at the grocery store.

  The awesome thing is that the receiver of the gift will then get a cloth bag to use at the grocery store. This bag just might help a person to be greener and thus reduce the use of plastic grocery bags. Did you know that most of those plastic bags end up in the landfill? If the consumer does take them back to the store to be recycled, well then energy needs to be used to recycle them. So using a cloth bag over and over is the better choice. I like to stuff all my cloth bags into a bigger cloth bag and then keep them in my car so they are always ready to use. When I unload the bags, I then place them by the garage door to then put back in the car next time I drive. 

My city is eliminating toxic plastic bags at the grocery store next month and replacing them with a more environmental-friendly bag. The grocery stores will also be charing ten cents per grocery bag. So my family will appreciate some reusable cloth bags with their Christmas gifts. One can never have enough fabric grocery bags.

What are some ways you can reduce trash for your gifts?

Now here is a picture of gifts in reusable cloth bags. I love that after the presents are opened, my guest can take a cloth bag with them to use for grocery shopping. The bags that I use for my family's gifts can then be stuffed into a bigger bag and then be stored for next time. Those bags take up less room than all those tubes of paper. I also do not have to waste money by buying more wrapping paper at the after-holiday sales. That keeps me out of the stores buying items I don't need just because it is on sale. 

 For some people using cloth bags may not seem as pretty as Christmas wrapping paper but with some practice and using items that you already have like ribbon, silk flowers, etc, you will make a great looking gift that is great for the environment. I also like to reuse Christmas cards for gift tags. You can also paint some pretty designs on the cloth bags with fabric paint.

 I would love to see how you wrap a gift without using wrapping paper.

Reduce ~ Reuse ~ Recycle