One of the things that I’ll be doing this year is giving gift cards so the recipients can use them in their favorite store. I know that many people who receive gift cards never re-deem them, but the trick is to get them a card that is for a store or service they use all the time. Cards for places like gas stations, food stores, coffee shops and I-Tunes are almost guaranteed to get used.

By purchasing gift cards you automatically cut the waste going to the landfill because it is small and can fit in an envelope. No wrapping paper or boxes. Of course if you box them up, include other items in the box.

Donate money to an environmental group in the name of the gift recipient. What a great way to say Happy Holidays while helping a good cause.

As far a wrapping your gifts, let’s get original and start using paper we may already have. Newsprint, old road maps, used paper grocery bags or fabric. Use plain paper or a box and print or paint a message of your own holiday wishes. If every family wrapped just three gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

Reuse old bows and wrapping paper from past occasions. If you don’t have any, be sure to start saving all the wrapping and bows you get this year.

If you get a new cell phone this Christmas be sure to recycle your old one. Staples, Of-fice Max and many other retailers have recycling boxes to make sure your old phone gets reused instead of thrown into the landfill. Every year 130 million cell phones are thrown out. Recycling your old phone prevents hazardous elements like mercury, cad-mium and lead from ending up on our landfills.

When the holidays are over, make sure you recycle your Christmas tree. Each year, 10 million Christmas trees end up in the landfill. Many cities offer a program that accepts Christmas trees that will be turned into mulch or wood chips.

I hope you use some of these ideas to help you minimize your impact on the environ-ment this holiday season. It is a fun time and I want everyone to have a great holiday season.

My next Blog will be about providing for wildlife during the winter. With the New Year coming up and all the New Years resolutions that are going to be made, it might be time for your family to start enjoying wildlife by providing food and shelter for our friends in the wild.

Until then, Stay Green and remember to Reduce, Reuse, and Recyle.