Waste bugs me. a lot. Its not even so much that wrapping paper (or other things) will go trash up a landfill. I just hate seeing things get wasted! I love wrapping presents elaborately. It has always been slightly frustrating that it all goes in the trash in the end anyway (well, not the ribbon of course!). So I got the idea of making re-usable wrapping bags. Even though I’m sure this isn’t an original idea, I’ve still never heard of it. I got some (not tons, I’ll stock up AFTER the holidays when its cheap) nice tasteful Christmas fabric to make re-usable drawstring bags. You just make a simple bag, with a casing for the ribbon on top. Put the box (or item) in, pull it closed over the bottom, and on top fold the edges over and tie it down with the ribbon in a bow on top. Things like DVD’s and CD’s are a standard size (and a fairly standard present) so they work well too. You just have to have enough extra material to fold it over so the gathers are on the back. The ribbon gets permanently matched up with the bag. Now I just need to figure out how to add pictures.
sounds like a really great idea. you’ll have to post some pictures. i got one of my bridal shower gifts in a reusable bag- it was just, like, a tote bag, with a ribbon tied around the top- i thought that was a good idea, too!
liesel, this was ages ago, and i read it back then, but just got onto our little blog today and read it again.
you know, you could also do the same thing maybe by hemming fabric in common sizes (like dvds) and tying it with a ribbon. i would do this with family members, since i would be the one collecting wrapping materials and reusing them…. though i do think the bag idea is better for friends since they might like to re-purpose the bag as a bag rather than gift wrapping.
ooh, i also think covering shoe boxes in cloth would be a good re-usable/gift-able option too.
and using a solid color fabric bag with a christmassy ribbon might make the bags more multipurpose/multi-seasonal as well.
just a thought, mr. fox (phrase borrowed from one of my kids’ books, we use it all the time.
by my first add-on idea there, i mean hemming fabric and leaving it flat, like a cloth napkin or something, and wrapping gifts just like we do with paper.
okay, one last comment for gift packaging: i like the little tins you can buy at thrift stores. people get cookies and popcorn and things like that in them and then give them to goodwill. why not reuse them? a lot of the ones i find are christmassy. that would be a timesaver, as long as you can find them in the right size.
uh-oh, one last thought on waste: paper is compostable. at least it wouldn’t be going into a landfill or recycling plant. I really like the idea of wrapping gifts in that nice brown packing paper and tying with ribbons. some of it is nice and thick enough you could use it a few times before retiring it to the compost or recycle bin.
i personally am still dreaming about composting. i occasionally carry things out to the corner of our yard where i heap yard trimmings… but i don’t have a system yet.
I wish I knew how to upload pictures here… I did do a few solid color ones (to be more versatile) with more elaborate ribbon. I also just used them within my family, so I could keep track of them and re-use all of them. The hemming just solid fabric is a fantastic idea too (wish I had a serger!).
I haven’t composed paper yet, its easier to just recycle it. I did start a compost pile though, and it has been fun. I have only composted easy things, like vegetable peelings and yard waste and eggshells. Those can rot by themselves just fine, even if I’m not doing it ‘just right’. My only system is an old ice cream bucket I empty out once a day to the compost pile, and occasionally I rake it and turn it over and sometimes dump water on it (and admire the worms)…. not fancy at all, but its used constantly.