The Paper Challenge

This month is all about gift wrapping.

I can’t believe it is already December 4. The last month of my Operation Consumption Liberation challenge!  While I *may* be gearing up for OCL 2 in January, for the time being, let’s break down my December challenge: I want to reduce my consumption of paper products and other packaging (we’re talking bubble wrap and Styrofoam peanuts, people.)  I chose December for this particular challenge namely because the holiday season’s abundance of gift-wrap.  But reducing my paper waste goes far beyond skipping the fancy gift-wrap paper.  Here are a few things I am currently and will be doing this month:

• I will recycle old calendar and catalog pages for wrapping.  Example A: here is a little housewarming gift I took to some friends last night, wrapped in pages of Land’s End.

(It's a set of biscuit cutters!)

• Catalog pages are also great for crumpling up and using in place of packing peanuts, or wrap them around fragile pieces for protection in shipping.
• I will take steps to get off as many catalog, direct mail, and spam lists as possible.  I just spent the last 30 minutes opting out of a bunch of catalogs online at CatalogChoice.org.  I signed up for a free account some time ago to unsubscribe to phone book delivery.  So today I pulled out all the junk mail in my recycle bin and looked up the mailing companies on CatalogChoice (CC) to remove my name and address from their mailing lists and to prevent them from sharing my information further.  One neat feature: CC displays Environmental Benefit stats at the bottom of the “Your Choices” page online. Right now, I can see how much CC and I have each saved so far in terms of full grown trees (CC: 732,908; me: 1), pounds of greenhouse gas (CC: 305,243,442; me: 226), pounds of solid waste (CC: 108,204,730; me: 81), and gallons of water (cc: 735,130,745; me: 545). With any luck, I’ll have significantly less junk in my mailbox six months down the line.
• In terms of little daily changes I can make to effect change, I bought a reusable coffee filter for my drip so I don’t need to use paper ones anymore.  The French press also works well.

So cute!

• I will do my best to always have a reusable bag or two with me when I go to the store. Likewise, I will tote a travel coffee cup with me when I anticipate needing to stop anywhere for a caffeine fix.
• I will print documents that aren’t for work or other professional reasons double-sided and single spaced with very marginal margins.  I will reuse junk mail and old documents with blank backsides for printing when I can, or for scratch paper instead of using a new notebook page.
• Things to avoid using whenever I can: paper plates, paper cups, paper napkins, paper towels, and Kleenex.  Use reusable dishes and cloth napkins, towels, and handkerchiefs.

That’s it for now, but I’m sure I’ll come up with more ways to reduce my paper waste as the month proceeds. While every month this year I’ve made an effort to add something to my life to compensate for what I’ve taken away, I don’t really feel like I am depriving myself of that much by reducing my paper waste this month.  Still, I think adding more meditation and yoga to my December sounds like a great way to keep calm in the hectic holiday season. 

By the way: I’d love to hear what steps and choices you’ve made to reduce paper and packaging waste, or how you stay sane during the holidays.  Also, I’m thinking about a new Operation Consumption Liberation in 2012 and I welcome your ideas for new challenges, or those from this past year that you think I ought to try again.  Fire any thoughts my way!