Christmas is just 25 days away, and that means it’s time to start planning for the most festive time of year! While, for most of us, Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, it’s actually bad for the environment. Yes, you heard that right – trash increases by 25% during the festive season, including 38,000 miles of ribbon, $11 billion worth of packaging material and a 30-40% increase in food waste. Here are some tips from our team of cash house buyers in Dallas on how to make the most of your festive season while caring for the environment. (We can also sell your home in 24 hours!)
Buy a Sustainable Christmas Tree
All traditionalists can breathe a sigh of relief – a real Christmas tree is an eco-friendly one! However, there are some criteria to meet to ensure it’s actually a sustainably farmed tree. First, look for FSC Certification, as this means your tree has been sourced from a forest that has been managed according to strict criteria for social, economic and environmental standards. And when it’s time to take down your tree, make sure you take it to a local tip where it will be properly recycled.
Not a fan of real trees? Buying a second-hand artificial tree is another sustainable option, as you’re recycling! You can also get a bit creative and use driftwood from the beach or even a beautiful rosemary shrub as your Christmas tree.
Use Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap
Most gift wrap cannot be recycled, making it one of the biggest waste contributors of the season. But there are some great eco-friendly wrapping papers on the market that are fully recyclable and even biodegradable, so you can use them as brown waste for your home compost. You can also wrap presents in newspaper, brown kraft paper and twine, reusable gift bags, glass jars or material scraps. Add a sprig of greenery for a rustic, beautiful finishing touch.
Shop Locally for Gifts
This has been a tough year for small businesses, so try to shop locally for your gifts this year. Not only is this a great way to support your local economy, it also lowers the carbon footprint for your gifts through reduced shipping.
Get Eco-Friendly Crackers
As much as we all love the tradition of Christmas crackers, they’re another big waste contributor. Not only is the paper not recyclable, the little gifts inside often go straight into the trash. Make your crackers a big win this year by choosing eco-friendly Christmas crackers and filling them with your own little gifts – a small luxury chocolate, a personalized Christmas ornament, a mini perfume, a Christmas facemask or a tiny bottle of craft gin!
Go for Quality, Not Quantity
When it comes to food shopping, be reasonable about portion sizes and choose items that are a small but luxurious special treat rather than just huge in size. With Christmas being a lot smaller this year and many of us looking to stick to a budget, it’s better to treat yourself to something special and different that will all get eaten rather than huge quantities of food that end up in the trash.
Another good idea is to plan your leftovers before you go shopping. If you love turkey, gammon and big roasts, then plan to use the scraps and bones to make delicious soups and stocks that you can freeze for later meals.
To help keep track of what you are buying and using, track your waste with a piece of note paper on the fridge – we often don’t even realize how much we are throwing away! If you buy in bulk then realize you’ve over-shopped, considering donating the excess to your local food bank or soup kitchens to support your community.
Having an eco-friendly Christmas is a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays and uphold the values of the season by caring for yourself, your loved ones, your community and your planet!
Find Cash House Buyers in Dallas and Sell Your Home in 24 Hours
Need to sell your home over the festive season? If you want to avoid the whole, lengthy process of cleaning, staging and recleaning your home (not to mention remodeling and repainting), then another option is to sell directly to cash house buyers in Dallas.
If you want to want to sell your home quickly, our cash for houses Dallas team is happy to buy it for a market-related price – sight unseen and no upgrades needed. It’s completely COVID-safe because we don’t need to visit your house for viewings, and you can sell your house in 24 hours. Here’s how our process works:
- You enter your information on our website
- We’ll contact you directly to discuss an offer for your property (you can also get a free property evaluation from our website)
- You can accept or reject the offer
- You can also call us directly on 469-858-0088
You can also download our FREE eBook for more information on how to sell your house in 24 hours.
Our team is compassionate and highly-motivated to offer you the best possible market-related price for your home, so you can sell your house in 24 hours. Not only does this cash go straight into your bank account as soon as the sale goes through, you also pay zero real estate agent commission. It’s all about making selling your home as fast and as rewarding as possible!
At Shiny Key Properties, our trained consultants have years of experience in helping homeowners to sell quickly. To find out more about our cash for houses Dallas service or to speak to our cash house buyers directly, please contact us today and speak to one of our friendly cash house buyers in Dallas.