No gift wrap challenge #1: Tees

Last December, I received a gift that included tips on how to live greener in the new year. One of the tips was about doing with less packaging. Since I've been using cloth shopping bags for years already, I thought of it in terms of gift packaging. I already re-purpose shopping bags, old calendars, and outdated office print-outs into gift wrappers. The next challenge for me is, can I do away with gift wrapping?

If you think about it, wrapping simply hides the gift from the recipient and adds the simple pleasure of anticipation. I don't think I can do away with wrapping completely, but I realize that there are some objects that don't need to be wrapped to maintain the element of surprise. I'll document the results here, of course, and this is the first.
  A tee is a tee is a tee. I figure that it's really the design on the T-shirt that's important to hide, so I just folded and tightly rolled the tee, completely hiding the print in front, and tied it with three kinds of ribbons—all reused—in different widths. Since the shirt tag was blank at the back, I used it as the gift tag, just putting a sticker on it before writing the greeting. I tied the tag onto the shirt with the narrowest ribbon.

Roll 'em

I love gift packaging, but I also find it very wasteful when they're just thrown away after the gift is opened. So I always try to reuse gift bags and ribbons. To store used ribbons—and stretch them out at the same time, without having to iron them—I roll them around the cardboard cores of toilet paper.  Depending on the width of the ribbon, each core can accommodate one to five ribbons.
  I anchor one end with a small piece of adhesive tape onto the cardboard then start stretching and rolling. The other end needs another piece of adhesive tape, of course. A word of warning: resist the temptation to roll the ribbon perfectly parallel to itself and to its neighbors. The point here is to store the ribbons neatly for reuse—and quickly enough so it doesn't feel like too much of a chore that you end up just throwing them away because keeping them is a bother.

I also keep cords, string, and yarn, but they don't require stretching, so I just loop them then tie them into very loose knots.
  The ribbon rolls are carefully stacked when I store them, but the loops of cord get carelessly tossed into one box.

Patchwork gift bags

If you're like me, you have a gazillion paper shopping bags at home. I now carry my own reusable shopping bags and always turn down store bags, but I think I've accumulated enough through the years to open my own store. Taking a cue from one of my treasured finds, a bayong covered in scrap fabric by What If Handmade, I decided to reuse the shopping bags as gift bags by covering them in scrap gift wrapping paper.


Between the smaller wall calendar bags and these bigger shopping bags, I won't have to buy gift bags for a long, long time.

Sturdy little things

Back in 2010, I wrote that I use old wall calendars as drawer liners. Though not quite card stock, the paper of these calendars is thick and, therefore, very strong; except for a good wiping every now and then, I haven't had to change them since. Which means that I now have two years' worth of calendar paper.

I was at a loss on what to do with them, then I realized that, because their photos and artwork are really pretty, I can make them into small gift bags.


[Just for the record, the ribbon is also reused from old gifts and the gift tag is an old business card of mine with outdated information. The foam sticker is new but is part of the gift of a friend who knows what I like doing in my spare time.]

If you don't know how to make your own gift bags yet, I found instructions on mairuru's blog (text and still photos) and a video on YouTube.

Of course, the other side looks kind of funny.

At least my friends will know that I'm trying to help Mother Earth even in small ways, and that they're a part of it.

Make it pretty

I prefer using liquid hand soap for several reasons. One, there's nothing to get soft and mushy with frequent use. Two, I can dispense just the right amount of soap I need so there's no waste. And three, I don't have to worry about the person before me not rinsing the bar of gunk and stuff that can get stuck on it.

The only problem with liquid soap is the dispenser that they come in. It's such a waste to throw them away when they're empty. Aside from being still perfectly usable (unless it gets broken for some reason), they're usually made of plastic which isn't biodegradable. So I've taken to reusing them.

But first, I try to make them a little prettier. I remove the labels then use scrapbooking plastic and foil stickers to decorate the body all around. Unlike paper stickers, these won't rub off when they get wet, which makes them ideal for the project.

But now, I have a different kind of problem. Unless our stores begin selling liquid soap refills, I'm going to have more dispensers than I know what to do with.

Art marks

As I promised in my previous post, here's an idea for how to recycle the artwork and photographs of smaller desk calendars.


The easiest is to turn them into bookmarks. The handiest width for bookmarks is about two inches so that usually means having to crop the artwork first. In cropping, try to follow the photographer's Rule of Thirds (click the link for a tutorial). Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule; in cropping my 2008 desk calendar (these photos are from the middle of last year), I was limited by the height of the images. This is how I decided to crop two of the paintings; many of the sheets gave me two bookmarks rather than one.


After cutting all of the sheets, I punch a single hole near the top and add a ribbon (or yarn). As much as I can, I try to match the colors in the images, but since I only work with what I have on hand (and many of these ribbons are scraps from the packaging of gifts given to us), it's not always possible. My all-purpose ribbon for those instances is a narrow, gold gauze ribbon.


If you have no need for so many bookmarks, then just give them away to family, friends and colleagues who you know to be avid readers. Even consider giving them to your local library, with instructions to give one each to the next several people who take out books. You'll be making some people happy and you would have done a small part in helping reduce environmental waste.

Artsy drawers

It's the first day of the new year and if you're like me, you have several 2009 calendars to dispose of. Before chucking them all in the garbage or recycling bins, first see if you can re-use them.

Calendars of all sizes made of paper stock (not cardboard), as long as one side is blank and the paper is not too thin that the print shows through, can be used as note/memo paper. Just cut them into squares or rectangles in the size of your choice. This is best done with a paper cutter or an X-acto knife with a steel ruler and cutting mat; but lacking either, scissors will do, though it will take longer.

The bigger wall calendars that are made of card stock, especially the ones with paintings, photographs and illustrations, make for great drawer and cabinet liners. I use them everywhere, from clothes drawers and the closet we use to store toiletry products to our kitchen cabinets.


Lay the loose sheets down on the drawer bottom, making sure that each piece overlaps with the others. When you are satisfied with both the coverage and the placement of your favorite designs, keep the sheets together with adhesive tape. Pay special attention to the corners—you don't want to accidentally tear the sheet out while getting something near the bottom of the drawer.

These liners may not be as pretty as the big drawer liners you can buy at home centers, but they're more eco-friendly and much sturdier, being able to withstand several years' use as long as there are no accidental spills from food and bath products. And chances are, you will always have replacement sheets every year at no extra cost.

Next, how to re-use smaller card stock desk calendars.