The After-Christmas Cleanup

This is a guest post by Kelly Smith from miskellany, long-time blogger and the mastermind behind the Green Holidays series.  

I love Christmas – the warmth, the light, the togetherness, and, yes, the food. But there is also something so energizing and renewing about cleaning up after Christmas and starting the new year with a clean slate. If Christmas cleaning and organizing are not among your strengths, here are a few tips to get you started:

It’s Not Too Late for Intangible Gifts!

This is a guest post by Kelly Smith.

Are you a last-minute Christmas shopper? Or are you stumped by some of this year’s gift recipients? Do you have someone on your shopping list who already seems to have everything? Consider some of these eco-friendly intangible gifts for the people remaining on your list.

We Love Our (Plastic-Free) Play Kitchen

I've been meaning to post about our wooden play kitchen for a while now.

We love it.

Current and Aspirational Christmas Traditions

Last year I once again pretty much let the Christmas season pass us by with minimal fanfare.  But I swore then that Christmas 2011 would be different.  So here are 10 easy, inexpensive and/or eco-friendly Christmas traditions that we are trying to do this year.

Green Gifts for Adults: Reusables

Don't forget the reusable gift wrap.

This post is part of the December Green Moms Carnival hosted by Citizen Green.  Click over to Citizen Green on December 10 for more green gift ideas.

Initially, [disposable] products were a tough sell – at least to the generation that had come up through the Depression…The ethos of reuse was so deeply ingrained that in the mid-1950s when vending machines began dispensing coffee in plastic cups, people saved and reused them. They had to learn—and be taught – to throw away…We learned to throw away so well that today half of all plastics produced go into single-use applications.
-- Plastic: A Toxic Love Story

My Favorite Cookbooks

Home-cooked meals, baked goods, and snacks save money, allow greater control over ingredients, reduce food waste, and eliminate the need for take-out packaging. Make cooking easier and more fun with the gift of a cookbook - for a loved one or for yourself! Here are some of my favorites.

Stuff an Eco-Stocking

This is a guest post by Kelly Smith from miskellany.

It can be expensive to buy eco-friendly Christmas gifts if you are shopping in green boutiques with high end organic wares. Fortunately, there are other ways to go green at Christmas, such as buying gently used gifts, making your own gifts, giving intangible gifts, and giving practical gifts that will actually be used.