The holidays are just around the corner. A little planning can help you be green and save you money!
1. Save extra gift boxes to use as drawer organizers. They keep “like” items together and prevent the contents from shifting.
-- Leslie Walden, CPO®, It’s Time To Get Organized, LLC,, Atlanta
2. Use holiday fabric, napkins, or tablecloths as gift wrap and tie with a beautiful bow. Just fold them up and reuse next year.
-- Monica Premo, Practically Perfect, Bonaire, Ga
3. Save old newspaper comics and run them through the shredder to use as stuffing in holiday gift bags.
-- Monica Ricci, CPO®, Catalyst Organizing, Alpharetta
4. Collect old holiday cards and cut off the parts where they were written on to use as gift tags. Write family member names on the tags and use them for their gifts year after year as a new family tradition.
-- Madeleine DeNitto, STRESSED.PRESSED.MESSED, Charleston, SC
5. Give the gift of time – enjoy a cup of coffee, lunch or an afternoon with someone you care about.
Give the gift of service – rake the yard, complete a few household repairs or chores, run errands, or put up and take down holiday decorations.
-- Monica Premo, Practically Perfect, Bonaire, Ga
6. Use the cardboard from small boxes, small milk cartons and the foam packaging to make “gingerbread”
-- Madeleine DeNitto, STRESSED.PRESSED.MESSED, Charleston, SC
7. Use pumpkins as fertilizer once you're done with them.
-- Kevin Copeland, Just TRASH it, Atlanta
8. Set up a recycling station for gifts, wrapping, and packaging before you open the gifts. Separate plastics, paper, boxes, Styrofoam, etc. and take it all to the recycling center.
-- Monica Premo, Practically Perfect, Bonaire, Ga
9. How long do you need to save boxes that gifts come in before recycling them?
Save electronics boxes for the length of the warranty. They often need to be shipped in original packaging when using the warranty. File the receipt and warranty together.
Recycle immediately:
-- Allison Carter, CPO®, The Professional Organizer LLC, Marietta
10. Catalogs: If you like to look through them, create a catalog basket where you do your reading. Recycle them all after December.
-- Allison Carter, CPO®, The Professional Organizer LLC, Marietta
NAPO-Georgia Organizers help people get organized in their homes and offices. Professional organizers may also help with moves, time management, senior issues, and much more.
