Green Wrapping Paper: Furoshiki

I am turning over a new leaf. That green leaf is called furoshiki. The Ministry of the Environment from the Government of Japan has made available instructions for multiple forms of furoshiki, which is the wrapping of gifts in cloth. This eco-friendly presentation of presents not only staves off the waste incurred from traditional wrapping paper but also gifts the recipient beautiful fabric which they can reuse to furoshiki a gift to someone else. How fantastic!

The Tree Without a Footprint

In my efforts to start being more conscious about reducing my carbon footprint and saving the earth for both myself and my daughter, I have been increasingly aware of the waste that happens at Christmas.

The trees that get chopped down after years of growth for a one-month-stay in a living room seem like such an incredible loss after all the massive amounts of deforestation in the world.

For this reason (and the fact that we will be in Europe for the holidays), we slimmed down our tree and made sure it was a little more "green" friendly than in years past.