The Most Wasteful Time of the Year

Christmas time is the most wonderful time of the year. I love the spirit of giving, the joyfulness, and celebrating the life of Jesus with family and friends. Sadly, it is also the most wasteful time of the year. The combination of an excessive amount of unnecessary things, excessive packaging, wrapping, single-use plastic, and meat and dairy consumption are a recipe for a climate disaster. We are taking away the earth's natural resources faster than it can keep up with and it is especially worse during the holidays.

Overconsumption at Christmas time

Over the years, it seems as if we have lost the simplicity and true meaning of Christmas. It has become about greed, over-shopping, over-eating, too much waste, and excessive use of money and resources. The holiday season should be about giving, genorosity, and enjoying time with friends and family. There are also so many ways that we can gift consciously and more sustainably which I will talk more about in a minute.

Learning from The Grinch

The story of The Grinch captures the true meaning of Christmas; celebrating the life of your family and friends. I didn't learn until this year about the numerous hidden messages behind The Grinch. The overall message is that people can change no matter how disgusting they are. In order for them to change, they need to be shown by an example of kindness and understanding.

The magical change that the Grinch undergoes gives people hope for a better world and that people can always be better no matter what. This story of hope is the reason why The Grinch will never get old. The Whos show this hope even more by being an example of the kinder side of human nature that we don't see as often as we should. Even out of anger and darkness, they show light and joy.

The Grinch teaches us that we should care more about people than things. Our society really needs to work on this one. We need to go back to truly caring about what we have and the people that we have in our lives instead of things that can be bought. We need to show compassion and empathy to people that are harsh and cruel. Be the example of what our world needs more of. Don't hold grudges and welcome people in with open arms. This lesson is one of my favorites: view humanity through the eyes of a child. Seeing the world in this view will give you a different perspective on life and it can bring imagination and curiosity to its highest capacity.

Lets Go Back to the Basics

In general, we need to go back to the intention that we don't need more and more every year. We need to stop buying things that we don't need. We need to think before we buy new things and realize that over consumption not only leads to a dying planet but also numerous human rights issues. Let's strive to be imperfectly zero waste at Christmas time and also in our everyday lives.

1. Normalize giving necessities as gifts

2. Normalize giving e-gift cards as gifts

3. Normalize secondhand gifts

4. Normalize giving DIY gifts

5. Normalize re-gifting

6. Normalize giving time and experiences as gifts

7. Normalize not gifting at all when our economic circumstances or simple personal preference don't support it.

8. Normalize not overextending ourselves emotionally or financially

Source: Terra Shepard Boutique & Apothecary

Gift wrapping is one of the most wasteful parts about Christmas time. The amount of wrapping paper used at Christmas is enough to wrap around the Earth 9 times! That thought is too hard to even imagine. Wrapping paper usually can't be recycled because of the metallic finishes or weak fibers so it just piles up in landfills and lasts a lifetime. There are numerous gift wrapping alternatives. Make your gift wrapping eco-friendly and be creative and have fun with it. The gifts that have meaning behind it mean the most.

All of these things are extremely important, but one of the most important is our food waste and our excessive meat and dairy consumption. This is the component that has the most impact on our environment. For us to have a livable planet, it is crucial that we evolve and become more plant-based; as our bodies were designed to be. Even though it would help tremendously, I'm not saying you have to go vegan, but we should be getting most of our meals from plants not from meat and dairy. Animal agriculture is the largest driver of species loss and deforestation and therefore plays a huge role in climate change. Almost 85% of the freshwater used is for agriculture and food processing. By going plant-based, especially at Christmas time, you will contribute to rebuilding a healthier environment and ecosystem.

As consumers, we have so much power to change the world by just being careful in what we buy

Of course, this post would have been more helpful to post before Christmas, but I really hope this encourages you to be better next holiday season and to use these tips in your everyday life. In order for us to have a livable future, we need to collectively work together and take care of the only home that we have.