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Our Green Sprouts tips come to us today coutesy of Green Living Solutions.  You can find more Top 10 Green Tip Lists on their site
Save Energy, $ave Money, Save the Planet
Top Ten Holiday Tips for Sustainability

Use low wattage or LED Holiday lights
This goes for Christmas tree lights, Menorah lights, window candle lights and exterior decorative
lights. A timer will limit the amount of time lights are on to reduce energy.

Consider a live Christmas tree
A live, potted tree adds ambiance, and is less of a fire hazard. Your family could also plant it after the
holidays. An artificial tree could be used repeatedly without needing to cut down real trees. At a
minimum, you can shred your live tree and use it as mulch.

It is okay to “re-gift”
It is always a wonderful feeling to give a gift. If you donate to a charity, you could get a tax benefit!
Alternatively, return gifts that you will not use to the store. It is a shame to have these items sit in your
closet for years, only to be thrown away, or end up in a garage sale.

Donate “Gently Used” items to local charitable organizations
Books, video games, toys, coats, clothing, and other items could travel from home to home, and
make many children happy. This reduces the need to make more toys (using additional resources),
and keeps them from ending up in a landfill.

Carpool Shopping Trips
You can save time and gas by carpooling with neighbors, friends, or even combining multiple
shopping destinations into a single trip.

Shop locally
No need to travel to a store or mall many miles away, there are always options closer to home.

Minimize the use of wrapping paper and packaging
Minimize your use of bubble wrap, styrofoam, and cardboard boxes while wrapping your gifts or
packages.  Be creative!  Use newspaper to wrap packages and it can be recycled afterward.

Recycle cans and bottles after your Holiday party
This is environmentally sound, reduces resources needed for virgin materials, saves your town
money on solid waste removal costs, increases their revenue for recycled material, and keeps the
material out of landfill.  And besides… IT’s THE LAW!!!

Close the flue.
Be sure to close the flue to your fireplace after the fire and all the embers are burnt out. More times
than not, fireplace flues are left open, which allows heat to escape the house at a surprising rate.

Minimize the use of space heaters.
Have your heating system serviced properly, and make sure it can handle your heating needs. Space
heaters use a lot more electricity, cost a small fortune to run, and could be a fire hazard.

Download a PDF of this list.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season and
good luck in making our planet a better place for your family!
For additional information, contact Green Living Solutions at:
info@greenlivingsolutionsnj.com – 201-390-4280
www.greenlivingsolutionsnj.com