If you are someone who has an area in your home for paper, bows, ribbons, tags and bags- here are our top tips for keeping this to a minimum so you can use the space for something else, or even leave the area clear altogether.
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Reusable bags: If you buy for certain people every year and for different occasions- you could get each person a reusable bag to cater for each celebration. For instance, an initial bag could be used for birthdays, Christmas, Easter and anniversary gifts. This saves you having to keep a themed bag in your home for every person for every occasion. Cloth bags can be folded down to save space. You could even ask the recipient to keep the bag until you need it again and just ask them for it back nearer the time of the celebration.
Ditch the bows and ribbons: They may make gifts look fancy, but they are a waste of money given that you can rarely reuse them because the sticky wears off or they are too short for use on another gift. Plus they can take up a lot of space and just get torn off and discarded most of the time anyway. Put the money you would have spent towards something more worthwhile.
Reusable gift wrap: If you are really trying to cut back on your waste- a new trend is to invest in some reusable wrapping paper. This is generally made from recycled materials and if you choose a non-specific design, it can have multiple uses throughout the year. Many of these brands attach cord to the wrap so you can easily tie it around the gift saving on sellotape too. And for extra bonus points- they take up no room at all because you can fold them down to almost nothing saving you lots of space compared to a roll.
Generic wrapping paper: A lot of wrapping paper can’t be recycled, so generic tissue paper is a more environmentally friendly option to wrap gifts in that is suitable for men and women, young or old and pets too. Stay clear of paper that has wording on it like ‘Happy Birthday’ or anything with occasion specific images such as a stork (for the birth of a baby), as this will limit what you can use it for.
Use brown paper: Another excellent choice for the environment because it can be recycled and can be found in most stores. The great thing about this type of wrapping is that it’s cheap, generic and also available all year long (when more holiday specific rolls might sell out), but mostly because you don’t have to waste time deciding on the best pattern for the gifts it will cover. Sometimes simple is better.
Vow to buy clutter free gifts where possible: The easiest way to avoid having a wrapping section in your home is to buy clutter free gifts as much as possible. Here is a list to our top 100 clutter free gifts to give you some inspiration if this is something you are interested in. The most you might need is an envelope which comes with the greetings card anyway.
Only buy when you need it: Rather than having a stock pile of wrapping items- buy paper only when you need it. If poorly stored, wrapping paper can get torn or go damp so best to buy as and when the occasion arises meaning you don’t need to give up an area of your home just for this.
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