Donate your old clothes, toys and appliances.
While cleaning out your closets this Spring, don’t throw away old clothes, toys and appliances, recycle them instead. Americans throw away 68 pounds of clothes on average each year, which accounts for four percent of total municipal solid waste.  Drop off gently used items to your local second-hand store or use old clothing as rags and towels for outdoor chores.

Use organic cleaning products to clean your home
The average American uses about 40 pounds of toxic household cleaning products each year.  Help the environment by cleaning with non-toxic, organic products.  Begley’s Best, featured on greengiftguide.com, is environmentally friendly and won’t contaminate water or drainage systems.

Compost yard waste
Don’t burden landfills with yard waste; save money and the environment by composting. Yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute 24 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream.   Composting lets you produce rich nutrients to fertilize your garden the natural way.  Allow mown grass clippings to remain on the lawn to decompose and return nutrients back to the soil, rather than bagging and disposing of them.

Fix your sprinklers to avoid leaks and water waste
The average family of four uses 400 gallons of water every day!  In order to reduce your water waste try setting your sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only, not the street or sidewalk.  Use soaker hoses or trickle irrigation systems for trees and shrubs.  Sweep outside instead of using a hose.  These small steps can help conserve much-needed water resources.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency, Charityguide.org, Earth911.com

Recycle used Valentine’s Day cards or consider sending e-cards
This year, acknowledge the ones you love without creating unnecessary waste.  Try sending holiday e-cards or giving a photo with a personalized message.  Even a verbal Valentine’s wish is a great way to show someone you care without creating excess waste.  If you receive Valentine’s cards, put them in your curbside recycling bin, along with any cards left over from the holidays.
 

Buy Valentine’s Day cards made from recycled paper
Every time you use a product without recycled materials, new resources must be dug up and manufactured, making an environmental impact, including stockpiling in your landfills. Conservatree, a national authority on recycled paper, estimates that approximately 7 to 24 full grown trees are saved for every 40 cases (1 ton) of recycled paper purchased instead of virgin fiber paper.
 

Buy organic or locally grown flowers
Organic farmers produce flowers free of chemicals and toxins that can harm the environment.  Buying locally grown flowers is safe and offers you a chance to support local organic farming communities. If you have a garden, purchase your favorite flower seeds and cultivate your own flowers right at home.
 

Give your Valentine green jewelry
Consider pre-owned jewelry or purchasing from jewelers who are certified to acquire precious metals and gemstones in an ecologically and socially responsible manner.  You can also check out the jewelry made from recycled products right here on our Website:
http://www.greengiftguide.com/buy_green/category.php?id=6
 

Have a guilt-free Valentine’s Day with organic chocolate
When you purchase organic chocolate for your Valentine, you are giving them only the highest quality ingredients, none of which have been genetically modified like most other chocolate. Not only does organic chocolate taste better, but it’s better for you.
 

Have a Romantic Evening with Green Bubbly
Pour your valentine some organic champagne or sparkling wine made from organic or locally grown grapes. Visit www.yemmhart.com to find out where to send your corks to be recycled and converted into things like furniture or tile.  Whatever the beverage, don’t forget to recycle your bottles and cans.
 

Source: Environmental Protection Agency, Waste Management Northwest, Organic Consumers Association, Recycledproducts.org, Solar Power Energy Generation Blog, Globalexchange.org

Find something new to recycle in your home
Many of us already know how to recycle paper, plastic and aluminum.  Learn to recycle your electronics: DVD players, computers, batteries, televisions and cell phones.  Recycling metals takes less energy than mining and processing raw materials.  Visit your city’s Web site to find your nearest Household Hazardous Waste Center.
 

Be a smart shopper
Reduce waste by shopping for items that use the least amount of packaging. Buying in bulk can help decrease the nearly 690,000 tons of material that are dumped into landfills every day. 
 

Turn down your home’s thermostat in the winter to save cash
You can save up to $40 a year by lowering your thermostat by just one degree Fahrenheit.  Also, think about having a professional home-energy audit. The results can give you a better understanding of how much energy is used in your home.  Making small changes can help you save as much as 30 percent on your utility bills.
 

Start a carpool
By getting out of the car at least one day out of the week, you can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that your vehicle puts into the air. Ride with a co-worker, use public transportation or take your bicycle to get you around. Finding alternative transportation will also help conserve energy.
 

Create a new green policy in your office with these easy steps:
-         Start a beverage container recycling program at www.bottlesandcans.com 
-         Purchase recycled paper
-         Print documents two-sided and avoid printing when you can
-         Set up recycling bins for used paper
-         File bills electronically
-         Bring a packed lunch from home
-         Bring your lunch in a reusable bag as opposed to a plastic bag
 

Source:  Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy

Let us know. You can share your thoughts and insights on how Green Gift Guide visitors can live more sustainably. Post your comment below.

Purchase locally grown produce for the big day
An average piece of produce travels 1,500 - 2,500 miles before it gets to your kitchen.  By purchasing local, not only are you making a healthy choice for your body, but a healthy choice for the environment as well. You are also circulating money within your community, which will improve the quality of life for you and your neighbors.

Buy in bulk
For the holiday, remember to buy food with the least amount of packaging.  You can reduce the 80 million tons of packaging that enters landfills each year by purchasing items in bulk.

Suggest dinner party attendees to carpool
If every person in the United States cut out just one commute in their car per week by carpooling or taking public transportation, they’d reduce carbon emissions by 149 million tons.

Recycle bottles and cans used for cooking and drinking
Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to operate your television for nearly three hours. That one aluminum can will allow you to catch most of the football game on Thanksgiving Day.

Use cloth napkins instead of paper
Americans use 50 million tons of paper each year, consuming over 850 million trees.  Why contribute to this waste?

Use reusable dishes instead of paper plates
Discarded paper plates and cups account for more than 890,000 tons of waste in one year alone.  Now is the perfect time to show off your nice dishware.

Donate leftovers to shelters or offer them to your party guests instead of throwing away
Ask each guest if they’d like to take the leftovers home or donate to a shelter on their way.  Who doesn’t agree that the best part of Thanksgiving is the leftovers?

For Black Friday shop online to save gas
Continue shopping on our Green Gift Guide to find environmentally-friendly products for the home, office, children, pets and the outdoors. You don’t have to get in your car to do it!  Many of the featured products are made from recycled bottles, cans and other materials.

Source: Department of Conservation, World Watch Institute, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Transportation, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Do you have additional ideas?  Tell us how you go green for Thanksgiving!

Want to be GREEN this holiday season and look good doing it? Well, check out MissionPlayground.com for some amazing clothing and accessories. Mission Playground uses recycled and organic fabrics for their line, while the graphics help raise awareness and spread the GO GREEN message. The shirts, hoodies, bags, footwear, hats, and belts are a bang for their buck and make a great gift idea for family and friends. Let us know what you think of Missonplayground’s products or please take the time to share some of your green gift giving stories, ideas and tips