For years our family has been diligent about recycling. But in 2008 we are kicking it up notch. We are eliminating gift wrap and holidays. Yes, I have wrapped my last Christmas gift and sent my last card. Even though we always put used gift wrap and holiday cards in the recycle bin and carefully save bows for future use, it just doesn't seem like enough.

Yes, yes, I know that you can buy gift wrap and Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah cards that are made from recycled materials. But I think that it is time to kill these environmentally destructive traditions.

Do we really need to wait for Oprah to issue a press release stating that she is not going to use gift wrap any more before we decide to take action? Come on, you hate wrapping gifts anyway and you are tired of working hard to wrap the perfect Martha Stewart-like gift only to have it instantly destroyed. So what is the big deal?

Any isn't easier to send holiday cards in email anyway!

Stopping telling yourself that you want to be more environmentally conscious and start actually doing something. Something that is easy to do!!

Did you know:
** Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New holiday season than any other time of year. This extra garbage amounts to 25 million tons of trash.
** If every family in the U.S. reused just 2 feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.
** The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high. If we each sent one card less, we'd save 50,000 cubic yards of paper.

So from now on holiday, birthday, and baby shower gifts from our family will ONLY be delivered in a gift bag.

Benefits of gift bags:
**Gift bags are easy to store—I keep all of mine folded up in a drawer.
**Gift bags are easy to use—no cutting, no folding, no tape.
**Gift bags last year-after-year—reused wrapping paper doesn't look so hot.

Let's put the gift wrap industry out of business by creating a new holiday tradition.
**Give all your gifts in gift bags.
**Brag about how many times a bag has been reused. *Check the bottom of the bag for the print date—the older the bag, the better.
**Giving an older bag that is a little tattered shows how much you care about the environment.

Make this a New Year's resolution.