Tree-cycle

Now that Christmas is over what to do with the tree? Assuming you went the greenest route and bought a replantable tree, there are many online resources with tips to plant your tree. We personally went with live trees this year and recycled them in our curbside recycling program which turns the trees into mulch. To find out if your town recycles Christmas trees check www.earth911.org. If you used an artificial tree and aren't keeping it, donate it to a hospital, thrift store, or Freecycle it - anything to keep it out of the landfill!

Greening your Christmas Cards

If you're like me, you're torn on the whole Christmas card issue. On one hand it's a time honored tradition and on the other hand it's not very earth friendly - all the paper which rarely gets recycled, the chemicals in the photos, the gas used to transport the cards...the list goes on and on. This usually results in a yearly debate with my husband on whether or not I'm doing cards this year. In previous years I have done handmade cards with gorgeous photos of my daughter which some people still display, this does eliminate some of the waste issue but is very time consuming. Last year I rebelled and went the earth friendly route and didn't send cards - while this was better for our planet it felt like something was missing. This year I feel that I have found the perfect solution - Smilebox. Smilebox is an easy way to go green and send environmentally friendly digital photo scrapbooks with personalized messages to family & friends. There are tons of designs to choose from and customizing you scrapbook is super easy and best of all it's free. I personally upgraded our scrapbook to the premium package for just $2.99 - this allows my family & friends to watch my scrapbook free of commercials and for those who would like to have a hard copy of our scrapbook they can print the scrapbook out. To me this is the best of both worlds - no wasted paper, but for those on our Christmas list that would like to keep the photos they can. Best of all it's not to late to send your card - scrapbooks can be completed in just a few minutes and can be send via email immediately or even posted on your family's blog. www.smilebox.com

Green Gift Ideas Under $35

Give a great earth friendly gift without breaking the bank. Check out my great finds for under $35:

1. Tees For Change tees - these fabulous tees are incredibly soft and sport great 2 word messages on them like breathe deeply, live simply, etc. For every shirt sold the company plants a tree. The organic cotton or bamboo tees are $32 and the tanks are $28 www.teesforchange.com

2. Prepare a gift basket of eco-friendly and healthy beauty products. Include some wonderful all natural soaps from Sustenance Soaps www.sustenanceskincare.com some silky lotion from Pangea Organics www.pangeaorganics.com and some terrific cosmetics from Peacekeeper Cause-metics the first cosmetics line to give all of its after-tax distributable profits to women’s health advocacy and urgent human rights issues www.iamapeacekeeper.com

3. Give the gift of green knowledge in the form of a magazine subscription. Check out Positively Green a great new magazine with wonderful tips for going green. A one year subscription is only $16.00 www.positivelygreen.com or for those on your gift list with kids, Kiwi magazine is great for parents trying to raise their kids a little greener and you can't beat the price of $11.95 for a year's subscription! www.kiwimagonline.com

4. Want to give the gift of a little scandal? Check out Scent of Scandal's awesome candle line with it's great vegan soy candles with naughty little names like - Tighty Whities, Santa's Pole, and One Night Stand you are sure to find the perfect scent for everyone on your list. The company even has two candles that support organizations that work for animal rights - Farm Sanctuary and Sea Shepherd - the star of Animal Planet's new series Whale Wars.

5. Make a gift basket of little indulgences such as organic fair trade chocolate, locally grown wines, fair trade coffee, and fresh fruits from the farmer's market.

Give the gift of time...

It's holiday shopping time again, but instead of heading to the mall why not give a different type of gift this year and help a friend or family member by sharing your time and talent. Everyone has little projects that get put off due to lack of time or the skill to complete them. Think you don't have a talent to share, check out some ideas:

1. Help someone by organizing their photos, closet, pantry, or collections.
2. Prepare some homemade meals to help stock a friend's freezer.
3. Help organize items for a garage sale.
4. Help with home decorating projects.
5. Lend a hand with any handyman projects - installing lights, cleaning gutters, lawn care, painting, etc.
6. Prepare and plant a garden.
7. Sew curtains, pillows, or perform wardrobe repairs such as hemming or sewing buttons.
8. Computer help - set up a blog or family website.
9. Help train a new puppy or attempt to teach an old dog a new trick.
10. Everyone has a special talent that friends admire them for, find out what yours is and share it with those you love.

Giving a gift of your time is green since it adds less stuff to the planet. An added benefit is that every time your friend looks at their well organized closet, they will remember the love you shared with them.