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Though the season can get hectic, there are lots of easy ways to cut down on a typically very resource-intense time of year.  Here are some of my own favorites – which not only help me feel conscientious, but can also make the season more fun! I hope you enjoy, and Happy Holidays!  -- Erika

1. Unwrap gifts carefully and salvage any wrapping paper and bows to use for next year.  Fold carefully and store – it’s a fun surprise every year to find “new” wrapping paper in your supplies that originally came from someone else’s house!  For recycled gift wrap, check out The Gift Wrap Co. and Green Field Paper Co. 

2. My mother always saves the holiday cards she receives, cuts off the front pictures and uses them as gift tags the next year.  She uses some of these tags on family gifts over and over for years on end!  They can even look much fancier than store-bought gifts tags. 

3. Send beautiful, animated holiday E-cards (try Paperless Post, Jacquie Lawson, or the Nature Conservancy!) – or if this feels too impersonal, look for cards that are made of recycled paper and can be re-recycled (meaning not too many baubles and crazy decorations attached).  Check out Pear Tree and Green Field Paper Co., among many others - even Amazon has a selection!

Check out the next set of tips!

 

The Hudson Valley Materials Exchange is now being organized by the Town of New Paltz. With a new name, the New Paltz Reuse Center, this great resource will have its Grand Re-Opening May 1^st.

Although the term “upcycling” hasn’t made it into the dictionary yet, Wikipedia has an article which states, “Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.”

The Hudson Valley Materials Exchange – or I should say New Paltz Reuse Center - is a storehouse for unwanted industrial…stuff! Bulk paper, construction materials, windows, and amazing things you would never think of are all the types of things you will find at this recycling center. If you have an art, construction or educational project on the horizon, visit this amazing place for all manner of cool industrial byproducts.

For directions and contact information visit their website at: http://www.hvme.com

You’ll be glad you did.

CEO and Founder of ECOBAGS; the company Eco-Bags Products, Inc and the webstore, www.ecobags.com.  Twenty plus years ago Sharon and her husband Blake put two words, Eco and Bag, together (way before anyone was talking about reducing plastic in our environment or creating a more sustainable future). They just thought it made sense to bring our own bags.

Today, Rowe runs the company and is a speaker for what matters most --generating and maintaining the connection to a clean environment because it just makes sense and doing it from a business POV - starting, running, marketing and positioning a green business.

My friend Marty has an incredible home.  Hudson River views, wonderfully decorated, welcoming, and spacious. It's the soul of efficiency you can find what you need and what ever it is it's always close at hand.  She is a successful business woman, mother and wife. This article reminds me of her lifestyle. Reduce Redecorate and Reconsider What Belongs to You, posted by Ronnie Citron-Fink on Care2

When it's "gotta go" it's gotta go...

Now is a great time to clean up, consolidate and get rid stuff you don't need. That old dress, the spare bike that was replaced by your new mountain bike, kid's clothes and toys, and pretty much anything else you can think of will find a welcome home somewhere else. All you need to know is where to take it! Just in the nick of time the County's Department of Environmental Facilities new recycling quick reference guide is here. Not only will it give you basic recycling guidelines for Westchester County it has a terrific guide to help you find convenient locations for giving away your unused stuff.

http://www.westchestergov.com/envfacil/pdffiles/QuickRecI.pdf

They also have a great web page to help you figure out how to recycle almost everything else:

http://www.westchestergov.com/envfacil/default.htm

Giving away your used but still great stuff, helps reduce waste, combats global warming and gives you that wonderful fuzzy feeling of helping others.