Return it

Posted on January 3, 2008 by Allie

If the holidays left you with yet another holiday sweater from Aunt Bernice, or a ceramic monstrosity that’s supposed to be who knows what from your sister’s new boyfriend, return it.

I know it seems ungracious, and lots of people (myself included) have issues with returning gifts. If it’s the thought that counts, shouldn’t you just wear the darn sweater the next time you stop in for tea with Aunt B?

But, if it’s the thought that counts, focus on that. Enjoy the fact that your aunt spent time thinking of you and cared enough to put effort into giving you a gift. Then stick the sweater in a (reusable) bag, take it back to the store, and exchange it for something you will actually use. Or donate the sweater to an organization that will make sure it gets to someone who could use a little extra warmth this winter.

Filling our closets with things we don’t need isn’t eco-friendly, no matter how the items make their way into our lives. And when we have too much clutter, it’s hard to keep track of the items we’ll actually use.

Return the gift without guilt, and write Aunt Bernice a lovely thank you note.

Posted in Holidays, Tip of the Day

No Comments +

I am absolutely down with this one. This also reminds me- now would be a good time to donate some of the warm clothes I no longer wear. Thanks.

January 3rd, 2008 at 9:06 pm

Comment by mickey
Does anybody know about this site ( http://www.earthlab.com ) ? I have seen other environmental sites with carbon calculators like yahoo and tree huggers, but I am wondering what the deal with earthlab.com is, is it credible? I saw they also published a list last month of the top ten greenest cities ( http://www.efficientenergy.org/Top-Ten-Green-Cities-in-the-United-States ). Does anyone know if this site is better than say WWF site? Fill me in

I took their carbon foot print test and it was pretty interesting, but they said that I put out 4.5 tons of carbon while another test gave me like 15 tons? I think I trust earthlab.com’s test a little more (because my score is lower). Does anyone know about any other tests?

January 4th, 2008 at 1:03 am

Comment by adrian2514
[...] Tuesday – Return It [...]

January 5th, 2009 at 5:07 pm

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Tip of the Day

Bunnies Don’t Like Spicy Food

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“But, Allie,” you say, “don’t you have a big, hulking, wolf-like dog? Doesn’t he scare off the bunnies?”