Most of us are really excited for the upcoming holiday season full of food and gifts. But some of us also worry about how to save up during these seasons both economically and environmentally. Nature Pac have gathered up some useful tip to survive this upcoming holiday.
Planning:
It’s better to plan everything out before you start to do anything. Remember how our teachers always ask us to draw a mind-map before we start to write our essay? It works the same way in our daily life apparently.
- First, check your fridge and pantries to see if any ingredients can be used for the party, or you can even create new dish based on what you already have (Christmas dinner still taste amazing without some traditional food)
- Write down what to buy at the supermarket to avoid spending hours wandering in the magic land and end up with tons of food that you have no plan to use it until next month.
- If you host party this year, make sure that you have enough plates and cutlery to serve to your guests. If not, ask your guest to bring their own set (you know, we all want to reduce as much wasted as possible), or else choose single-use certified compostable product for your catering.
- Even better, have a potluck party! Good way to let everyone shine with their own creation dish and no one have to worry about the amount of money spending on food this holiday.
- Check your storage to see if there any old wrapping paper can be reuse for this year presents or come up with unique way of wrapping such as reusable cloths, pillow cases, stocking.
Spending money:
It always feels better to take control over your spending wisely, specially the season when you have 5+ Christmas presents swap that you need to attend.
- Bring your own containers and bags when shopping. There are few zero-wasted grocery stores around your area. All you need to do is a few clicks on Google, or simply just click here if you live in Wellington.
- Look out for your local special deals. It always feels good to spend less on the same product anyway.
- Sign up for customer reward, you will be surprise how much you have saved every year.
- Pay all your bills and avoid interest charges.
- Stress eating and retail therapy is dangerous, try to control your impulse and release stress with free outdoor activities.
The after party:
Marie Kondo your life! It doesn’t mean that you have to throw away everything that doesn’t spark joy. Your unused stuff might be useful to others.
- A good thing of having friends is that you can share food with them. Don’t let the food spoil in the fridge, reuse it in different dishes or simply share it with your friends.
- Check your neighbored area for compost facility, remember that certificated compostable packaging is still way better than traditional plastic packaging.
- Non-use stuff that no longer spark joy can be donate at local charity shop. Some of the library do accept donation books and toys. It doesn’t have to go to the landfill all the time.
Holiday is about creating memorable moment with your loved one, so let’s do that and skip producing waste aside.