The holiday season is upon us, and everyone can use a hack or two to save money. One sustainable stylist showed followers how to use paper packing as free wrapping paper.
The scoop
Sarah Teresinski (@redeux_style) shares tips and tricks for upcycling and sustainability with more than 360,000 followers. They've shown viewers how to use soda cans to hang frames and Tic Tac containers for travel. In a holiday-themed video, they show the easy steps to free rolls of simple wrapping paper.
@redeux_style The Ultimate Wrapping Paper Upcycle & it's Free! I've showed you guys how to make beautiful tree cuffs with cardboard boxes, but what about all the paper that comes inside them?! Who doesn't love a brown paper package tied up with string! Let's get the wrinkles out of that paper and use it for the holidays! #Christmas #holidaydecor #gifthack #wrappinghack #thriftmas #upcycledholidaydecor #sustainabledesign #ecofriendly #upcycle #rework #DIY #thriftflip #homedecor #upcycling #upcycle #diy #thriftflip #homedecor #upcycles #rework #upcycling #thriftflip #reuse #recycle #secondhandstyle #transform #oldtonew #upcycleddesign #makers #upcyclersofinstagram #makersofinstagram #upcycling #sustainableliving #sustainsblestyle #diystyle #ecostyle #ecodesign #thriftmas #ecoholiday ♬ Christmas - neozilla
As you get all your holiday gifts shipped this season, save the packing paper. This brown paper is what will turn into your wrapping material. To get it nice and tidy after being bunched up in the box, Sarah suggests laying it out in a nice long strip on the floor.
You can then use a spray bottle to gently mist the paper and use your hands to flatten out the wrinkles. Once your paper is nice and flat and has dried out from being misted, Sarah recommends rolling it onto an old wrapping paper or paper towel tube.
Sarah finishes the video saying, "Who doesn't love a brown paper package tied up with string?"
How it's working
This tip is an easy way to save money on wrapping paper while upcycling packing materials that might otherwise end up in the landfill. In 2018, The Huffington Post wrote on the massive amount of wrapping used each year. They reported, "People in the U.S. spent a total of $12.7 billion on gift wrap, including wrapping paper, tissue paper, and gift bags."
This is a ton of money and a huge amount of waste.
Around 2.3 million pounds of wrapping ends up in landfills each year. While some wrapping can be recycled, other types of paper—coated in non-paper materials—have to be tossed in the trash. Green Matters wrote, "To determine if your gift wrap is coated with plastic, you can try a rip test—if you can't easily rip through the paper, then there's probably plastic at play."
If it passes the rip test, you are pretty safe to recycle, but double-check with your local waste company.
🗣️ Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics?
🔘 Giving me money back 💰
🔘 Letting me trade for new stuff 👕
🔘 Making it as easy as possible ⚡
🔘 Keeping my stuff out of landfills 🗑️
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
What people are saying
Folks in holiday prep mode were thrilled to learn this tip.
"Wonderful idea. Thank you for the recycling tip. I will definitely be trying this one," wrote one person excited by this idea.
Someone else suggested another use for the simple brown paper. "Would also be cute as a little table runner for the kids table at Thanksgiving they can draw on!"
Another thankful commenter added, "Every time the Amazon package comes with paper, I often thought, what can I do with this besides dropping it in the recycling bin? Now I know!"
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