MERRY "ALMOST ZERO WASTE" CHRISTMAS

I love Christmas.  The beautiful holiday decorations, the incredible food, the time spent together and the memories made with family and friends.  This really is the most wonderful time of the year for me.  What I don't like is the waste.  With all of the boxes, paper and packages, it can be a challenge to keep trash cans and recycling bins from overflowing.  But holiday celebrating doesn't have to be a burden on landfills and recycling centers.  With a little forethought, just about everything can be reused and recycled.  Here are some of the ways I keep my Christmas "almost zero waste".

After the Christmas presents are opened and the gifts are put away, I separate the gift wrapping into 6 piles:

Tissue paper that can be reused

and wrapping paper for 

protecting holiday decorations

Gift Bags for next year     

         

Folded bags can be stored underneath

or behind the couch

            Tissue paper is reused for holiday/birthday gift giving and craft projects.

                                 "Crinkled" tissue paper protects fragile holiday decorations.

                                     Larger sheets of paper are folded and saved for next year. 

Small or damaged paper is used for wrapping holiday decorations.

                                       Store ribbon and reuse for craft projects and gift giving.

                                  Gift boxes can be stacked and stored for future gift giving use. 

                                        Larger boxes can be used to store holiday decorations. 

Cardboard can be composted, recycled, or 

used at the bottom of raised beds

A compost bin and box make a great seed starting tray. 

 The heat from the bin warms the soil

and gets my seeds growing quickly

Next Christmas, when I bring out my holiday decorations, I reuse the boxes and wrapping paper to ship Christmas gifts.  Using Christmas wrapping paper gives me one more reuse of the paper, adds a festive touch to the boxes, and eliminates the use of those pesky Styrofoam peanuts that everyone hates. 

   For smaller gifts and boxes, and for craft projects I shred the wrapping paper.

                                                  

No need to waste a good Christmas tree.  When the holidays are over we drag it out (stand and all) and turn it in to a bird feeder.  These are great crafts to do with the kids and grandkids.

In early spring I thin out the branches, shredding them to use as a mulch around acid loving plants.

In the summer I placed the thinned out trunk in one of the raised beds and used it as a green bean trellis. 

In the fall we cut it up our tree, mulching and composting the small branches.  The trunk was cut into logs and left in the wood pile to dry.  Next winter it will warm us when burned in our fireplace. The ashes from the wood will be placed in the compost bin.

                           Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Everyone. 

Easy, Upcycled Bird Feeder

I love teacups.  They're practical and beautiful, and when you're drinking out of an old teacup you can imagine the history-the guests seated around a dining room table, enjoying dessert and discussing marriages and kids.  Oh wait, I may be daydreaming again.  Anyway, I saw the cutest teacup bird feeder idea on pinterest.

The artist (Robbyn Mast) used it as a birdfeeder but you could also use it to hold water for birds, butterflies and insects, or you can plant a succulent garden in it.  The possibilities are endless. This idea spoke to my love of the garden, everything old and upcycling.
It looked simple to make and I knew I had everything I needed here at home but it turns out I wasn't ready to part with my grandma's teacups so I've been checking out our local thrift stores every once in awhile.  Wouldn't you know it, they've been a little scarce these days.  But I'm patient, and persistent and it recently paid off with this find at the local Goodwill store.  The cup and saucer cost just .79 each.  I had on hand: household cement (water resistant), a narrow throated bottle (any old bottle will do) to hold my teacup upright, and some sandpaper to rough up the surface of the ceramic.  The roughing up was something that was recommended on the cement package though I'm not too sure it was necessary.

 

 5 items-5 minute project 

 

 

 

 

I gave the cup and saucer a quick once over with the sandpaper.

Glue the cup and saucer together.  Put the cement around the edges of the cup and not in the indentation in the center like I did the first time.  Hold the pieces together for 60 seconds. 

 

Put the cement around the edges of the glass bottle

 

Press the bottle to the bottom of the teacup and hold for another 60 seconds. 

 

 

Let the whole thing dry, upside down, for 2-3 hours (or overnight if you can wait that long).

 

                                          This couldn't have been more simple.

 

I love this is my garden

I used an old piece of rebar to perch my garden teacup upon but there are a ton of things you could substitute  (bamboo cane, broken broomstick, copper pipe, pvc pipe) as long as it fits the opening of your bottle.  
Some bird seed will scatter (and germinate) so keep that in mind when looking for a spot to display your teacup feeder.
Enjoy vintage, upcycled garden art and make your local wildlife happy.
Be well and happy gardening!

Feeding our Feathered Friends

Christmas is officially over at our house and the tree that lit up our living room has been moved to a back corner of our yard.  It will temporarily serve as a feeding site for the birds, then as a trellis for beans, as mulch for blueberries, and lastly, firewood.  Today I am making bird feeders out of citrus rinds and pinecones to hang in the tree until it's next "reuse".
Supplies for this project are:
Bird Seed (check out the dollar stores for cheap buys on seed)
Peanut Butter
Suet (I used bacon grease)
pinecones
wire (approximately 12 inches long)
citrus rinds
ribbon or twine (approximately 10 inches long)
large nail
cookie sheet
spatula
large bowl
Wrap one end of the wire around the top of the pinecone and shape the remaining end into a hook.  Combine the peanut butter and bacon grease (or suet) and use a spatula to spread the mixture in between the spaces of the pinecone.  Working over a cookie sheet will minimize the mess.  Pour your bird seed into the bowl and roll your pinecones in the mixure. 

Use the nail to pierce 3 holes in each of the citrus rinds.  Thread a piece of ribbon or twine through each hole and tie in place.  Take the 3 lengths of ribbon and tie a knot at the top for hanging.  Cut off any excess ribbon.  Fill the rinds with bird seed.

Hang your bird feeders in the tree. Throw any excess pieces of ribbon in the tree for added pizazz as well as material for nesting.  I placed my tree on an old shower curtain to keep the falling seed from germinating.

This is a quick and easy crafting project that would be fun to do with your children or grandchildren.
The bird feeders were inspired by the book "Crafts for all Seasons" by Lorraine Bodger and Delia Ephron.