Super Eco

Photo credit: SierraClub.com

Confession: I don't send Christmas cards. Never have. Never will.

I used to blame my Scrooge-y ways of card-less Christmases past on anti-conformity, a bah humbug excuse for my inability to locate my address book, stamps, even a pen. But now I have a bulletproof excuse to shirk sending Season's Greetings yet again. And it's conveniently as green as the Grinch: The Paperless Movement.    

Besides, the people I'd snail mail spam (because everyone else does it) already know what my kids look like. Thank you, Facebook! Don't we already tweet, Digg and Stumbleupon each other enough already? Enough not to consciously add to the wasteful 19 billion holiday cards, letters and packages overwhelming the USPS? 

So, please, skip the stamp and send an e-card. They're fast, easy, and, if you're smart (and okay with ads), free. Or, if you just can't quit paper holiday cards, greet greener by choosing greetings that:

• don't require an envelope; mail a postcard
• you upcycled yourself from greetings you received last year
• are made from recycled materials and are recyclable
  
• are free of shiny, sparkly coatings and metallic accents; they gobble up lots of natural resources and often can't be recycled
  

Don't forget to save the paper greetings you receive this season so you can give them a second life as DIY gift tags. Do the same with wrapping paper or try one of these cool crafty reuses.

Seasons Greenings (from the paper card Grinch)!