Its The Most Recycle-able Time of the Year

"Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice."

- Dave Barry

Who needs one more thing...I mean, really? AND who has money to buy one more thing this year? I know I sure don't! This will be my first Christmas EVER that I have been a full-time student and my Christmas gifts will show it...in a good way. My lack of funds has forced me to reevaluate how I celebrate the holidays.

Chew on this for a while: According to Earth911, gift wrap became popular in the U.S. in the 1900s, and it is now a $2.6 billion industry. In addition, from Thanksgiving to New Years Day, household waste increases by more than 25%. Added food waste, shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons - it all adds up to an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills (www.recycleworks.org). WHAAAAT?! I knew it was bad, but 1 million tons a WEEK. Wowza...

I thought that with my bank account looking a bit grim and my commitment to being ecofriendly it would be much harder to go all out this year. Boy, was I wrong! With a little imagination and a lot of salt, I will be able to give some gifts that are good for my family AND eco-friendly. Thanks to The Girlie Girl Army blog, I have a fantastic recipe for a DIY salt scrub. The GGA blog suggests going to the thrift store and finding fun bottles to package your salts in. I personally find that any old funky canisters or spice holders make great reusable containers for home made bath salt. Whatever you use, you'll feel good knowing that you are doing right by your family and by mother earth. Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah!

BODY SCRUB

½ cup Sea Salt, Sugar, or Coffee (yep, any of the three would work)

4 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil

¼ cup Baking Soda

5-6 drops of Essential oil (Organic, of course!)

Mix everything in a bowl and consider yourself done!

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