With the holidays around the corner, now is the perfect time to plan and prepare for the coming festivities. This season, RecycleMore is sharing tips and tricks you need to precycle your way through the holidays. “Precycling” is the act of making a choice to avoid single-use products and instead buy reusable, unpackaged, or recyclable products. Read for more information on exploring precycling through decorations, holiday meals, gifts, and more.

1) Holiday Decorations
Decorations are an essential and exciting part of all holiday festivities! This year, consider visiting your local thrift store to help bring the holiday spirit. Visiting neighborhood online reuse groups such as Facebook Marketplace, Buy Nothing, or Nextdoor are also wonderful alternatives to thrifting your way through the holidays.  Getting creative with your friends and family and giving new life to used clothing and materials is a wonderful way to build community, host a series of art activities, and incorporate sustainability practices in your home!

2) Holiday Meals
Unsure what dish you are going to delight your guest with this holiday dinner? Try getting inspiration from the ingredients you have at home! According to the USDA, around 40% of food purchased for holiday meals is thrown out yearly. Emphasizing on foods you have readily available at home not only saves money but saves the planet too. Planning and making a list before you shop for your holiday meals can help ensure that you only buy what you need. Additionally, having reusable containers for your family and friends is a perfect way to ensure leftovers have a second life as a to-go care package.

For healthy holiday recipes, check out Urban Tilth’s recipe page at Urbantilth.org/recipe. Be sure to also check out food sustainability sites like savethefood.com, stopfoodwaste.org, stilltasty.org  to find recipes and storage suggestions that extend the freshness of your food.

3) Holiday Gifts & Packaging
Paper grocery bags, newspaper, fabric, and reusable gift bags are a perfect way to wrap your presents and save money on wrapping paper. Gifts that are durable or can be handed down generationally are excellent ways to ensure your gifts are thoughtful, sustainable, and perfect for your loved ones.

Precycling is one way to help reduce your holiday waste. Keep these ideas and others in mind when planning, preparing, and shopping for your holiday activities.

Happy Holidays!