We had Thanksgiving at our house this year and as tradition holds in my household, the kids and I put up the Christmas Tree the night of Thanksgiving.  We do this every year as a way to kick off the Holiday Season.

As I was getting out some of the Decorations, Ornaments and Lights-  It crossed my mind that ‘Tis The Season for Shopping, Heavy Traffic around the Shopping Malls, Rush-Rush-Rush trying to get everything done…

But not only all of that the makes the Season complete and in an odd way fun, It is also the Season for Loads of Trash!  Think about it.  We throw away old strands of Christmas Lights that either don’t work or we are just tired of.  We have Broken Christmas ornaments, linens that we replace, Clothing that we get rid of, Trees that often times go to the Dump…

I would be curious to know exactly what percentage of Garbage we accumulate in the Dump over the last 2 months of the year…and first few weeks of every year.

This made me do a little bit of Research that I thought I would share with my Turning Houston Green Friends.  I will be looking at options besides Trash Dump throughout the rest of the year…and will share those as well, but for now- Here are some ideas.

• Christmas Lights-  I ran across a site that will Recycle Old Incandescent Christmas Lights for FREE! They also sell Christmas LED Lights and Pre-Lit Trees.  When you send in something to be Recycled, they will email you 15% off Coupon to be used at their site.  The company is HolidayLEDS.com and they even recommend that you get together with your friends and family to reduce Shipping Emissions.
• Christmas Trees-  Personally, because of allergies I have to use an Artificial Tree but if you use a Real Tree of the Holidays, don’t forget to Recycle it!  The City of Houston, The Woodlands and most Surrounding areas have options.  Here is a link for a Google Search on Recycling Christmas Trees Just Click Here around Houston:
• Artificial Trees- We get tired of them, We upgrade/downgrade and often times they end up in the Dump.  I have been known in the past to sell them at Garage Sales, but I think I am going to try something new.  The Women’s Shelter in Houston takes ALL kinds of donations for displaced Families that are victims of Violence.  Often times, these Women have small children.  I am going to send over Christmas Decorations from now on.  Here is a link And to let you know, I got this idea from a Fantastic Person.  You can read her blog here <<—
• Clothing-  Women’s and Children’s clothing can also be taken to the Women’s Shelter, Men’s clothing is always welcome at other Organizations such as Goodwill and Salvation Army.  Do you know of other Organizations that need clothing?  I would love to hear about it.
• Old Bed Sheets-  Have you ever made Curtains out of old bed sheets?  I’m using some as a Christmas Tree Skirt this year that I jazzed up.
• Cardboard Boxes and Paper-  Recycle Bins of course!  HEB usually has Cardboard Recycling available in their parking lot and so do many Schools.
• Odds and Ends of Other Recycling Information for all areas of the United States can be found at Earth911.com – They are an excellent resource on where to Recycle Electronics and about anything else close to YOUR home.

The more you think about it, the more you realize how much we send to the Trash Dump- Not just during the Holidays, but all year.  Bed Pillows, Shoes, Old Rags, Broken Toys and all kinds of other items.

What are your ideas of Recycling Old Holiday Items? My goal is to send less than one Bag of Trash to the Dump of the Holiday Season.  Share your ideas with me!