Waste Free Gift Wrap, Japanese Style

There are a number of different ways to reduce waste in gift wrapping, from as simple to reusing gift bags until they are well-worn to more elaborate methods.

Today, let's explore a traditional Japanese method of wrapping with fabric, called Furoshiki. Wikipedia states that this practice started back in the 1600s as an early equivalent of the gym bag: bathers at the public baths would wrap their clothes to distinguish them from other bather's belongings. It has since extended to wrapping bento boxes and then as gift wrap. The practice declined with the emergence of plastic bags, but is on the rise again with environmentalism.

The different wrapping techniques are varied in how elaborate they are and how much skill is needed. Being brand new to this practice, I needed some help and used this basic YouTube tutorial. There are hundreds of videos and how-to guides out there for different techniques.

You have a lot of options for fabric choice: from a square of festive holiday fabric that is specifically for wrapping, or a fabric item that is part of the gift itself, like a scarf. For my friend Allison, who is a fan of biking, I found this cute tea towel, that doubles as part of the gift.

Start with your fabric and whatever needs to be wrapped.

Center the book in the middle of the fabric, on a diagonal.

Roll two of the sides around the book, like you're rolling up a burrito.

Take the two remaining corners, pull them to the center, and tie a knot. Voilá! Cute little bundle with "bow". 

Result: no disposable wrapping materials needed for a festive birthday gift.

Why That's a Fancy Greyhound You Got There!

I'm headed down to Portland for a quick overnight to see one of my dear friends for her birthday. It's a quick drive, just under 3 hours, but when I'm taking a vacation day, I'd rather sit down with a good book than sit behind the wheel. Enter Bolt Bus.

Bolt Bus is a premium class of Greyhound with extra legroom, free wi-fi, cupholders, and outlets at every seat. This makes it fantastic for relaxing or working on your trip.

It's also variable cost, depending on the popularity of the travel time. While I haven't seen many trips at the advertised "as low as $1", I also haven't seen prices much more than $30. This trip for me will be $42 round trip, about half the cost of the comparable trip on Amtrak.

Compared to gas: I live 162 miles from Allison. Round trip that's 324. My car gets 34 mpg, so 9.6 gallons of gas. The average price of gas in my area currently is $3.29 right now, totaling $31.58 in gas.

Alternatively, if we look at the standard mileage deduction rate that incorporates wear and tear on your vehicle, we figure  $0.535/mile x 324 miles = $173.34.

Therefore, this trip saves me $131.34, saves the environment some portion of 9 gallons of gas, and gains me 6 hours of relaxation time. :)

Now, off to go read my book...

Trash to Treasure #2 - Corinne's Coupons

My monthly prescription comes in an insane amount of packaging. Forget the paper bag and literature that the pharmacy is required to include, the pills themselves come in a foil + plastic blister packing, plus more paper literature, stickers, a plastic or cardboard "wallet", and all of this is bundled in a plastic wrapper.

Now I'm not going to suggest anyone change their medications. Mine treats a number of symptoms, and I'm not open to alternatives. But we can think about what we do with the waste. In the US alone, 11 Million women are using birth control pills x 12 months a year = 132 million packages a year sent to the landfill. While not the largest source of waste, it's certainly not a laughable number either.

In particular the little wallets are actually useful.  

A little decoration, and these can be turned into:

• wallet sized photo albums
• kid's dress-up accessories: FBI badges, superhero badges (an example I found below)
• business card holders
• gift card holders

 
This is one of my favorite repurpose ideas I found: a travel sized first aid kit!

Now, while I want to reduce waste, I don't have time or ambition to DIY or re-purpose everything myself. This is where you can utilize community groups that may have crafty folks. I gave these away on my local Buy Nothing group, and the recipient Corinne said she'll be using these to organize the coupons and receipts in her wallet. 

It's super easy to become a hoarder of these things while debating how to use them, or hoping that someone will be interested, so I'm starting to set some guidelines for myself. I've designated an area in my entryway with items to offer up to my local groups, and a box for items that have been posted for over a week. Once that box fills up, it's time to take a trip to donate to the local thrift store.

What are you tossing on a regular basis that seems small, but could be re-purposed?

Edna's Eggshells a.k.a One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure

It started with a post in my local Buy Nothing group to give away some egg cartons. T and I eat a whole lot of eggs and I've seen a bunch of ideas for reusing the cartons: from seed starters to craft projects to just giving them to people with chickens to collect their own eggs.

Well, I didn't get an immediate taker for the cartons, but I did get a woman asking me if she could have the shells. An odd request?

Not so much. It turns out that eggshells are a great supplement for your plants. You can grind them up and put them directly into the soil, in your compost, or soak them in your watering can. For potted plants, you can replace any gravel in the bottom of the pot with chunks of egg shell. The eggshells are a great source of calcium and act as a natural fertilizer. For some fruiting plants like tomatoes, it can prevent blossom end rot on the fruit, caused by calcium deficiency.

After a bad experience with some neighbors with an unofficial food scrap pile that led to a rat infestation, T and I have been really nervous about doing our own compost and risking pests. I end up putting a fair amount of my veggie scraps in our yard waste container, but totally have the egg shells up for grabs.

And so, my neighbor Edna and I decided we were a match made on the interwebs. I'll collect the shells in a rescued takeout container and save them in my freezer to prevent any possible pests or odor. Every couple weeks, I'll leave a bag of shells for her on my porch. I'm looking for ways to reduce waste, she wants free fertilizer - win/win.

Cost: FREE