The winter holidays are just around the corner and here at Motherlove we love seeing our hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado prepare. There are beautiful white lights all throughout the downtown area and a lot of great local shops have some wonderful options for gifts. Another thing we love is that the city of Fort Collins is encouraging everyone to be mindful of the waste they generate this time of year. They have some helpful tips on their website that we shared with our staff and also want to share with you all.
1. Go green with gifts
When selecting your gifts, try to be mindful of the packaging they come in—seek out products that have minimal packaging. Additionally, get creative with your wrapping! You can cut down on your waste by wrapping gifts in repurposed paper bags from the grocery store or your local newspaper.
2. Be mindful of food waste
A family of four loses approximately $1,500 a year in wasted food! There are a lot of tips out there about how to minimize your food waste such as:
- Make a meal plan for the week and go to the grocery store with that list
- Don’t go shopping while you are hungry as this can lead to over-buying
- Learn how to store foods so that they keep longer
- Freeze items that you can’t use right away
3. Send leftovers home with dinner guests
Everyone knows that the holidays are a great time to together with your loved ones over some delicious food. You can cut down on your food waste by carefully planning out how much food you need and then encouraging your guests to bring containers in case there are leftovers.
4. Conserve energy
Holiday lights are beautiful but they do use a lot of energy. Try to use less by incorporating LED lights and putting your lights on a time so they automatically come on at dusk and turn off when you go to bed.
5. Eco-friendly gifts
You can even consider gifts with a smaller eco-footprint such as tickets to a local concert, movie or play.
Let us know if you have any other tips for minimizing your waste this holiday season!
