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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Did You Put That Wrapping Paper in the Compost? Confess Now!

9 years ago

Wrapping paper, boxes, paper plates;
what bonus materials have you wackos harvested on this most spectacular of all bonanza-for-the-compost days???

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Comments (7)

nancyjane_gardener
9 years ago
Read today that wrapping paper is a big no-no in the fireplace cause it's so filled with carcinogins!(sp)! So I wouldn't want it in the garden!
We have taken to furoshiki (Japanese folding) that we learned from the local library (you can look it up on-line also). We buy scarves and fabric cheap and wrap our gifts in this. If the recipient wants to keep the scarf/fabric fine, but they usually give it back to us. There are wonderful and beautiful ways of using this lovely craft including carrying babies or presenting 2 bottles of wine! Nancy
sylviatexas1
Original Author
9 years ago
Yikes!

Fabric & scarves sound lovely!

I never buy wrapping paper (well, maybe for a wedding or a baby shower, when I really want something fresh & elegant).

I usually use the Sunday comics or plain brown paper with yarn, or gift bags that can be re-used.

I spent Christmas with my cousins, & I did bring home a few cardboard boxes & some paper plates with the "scrapings" still on them.

(My cousins are used to me, & they've explained me to their young ones.)

Maybe the thrift store can use the wrinkled wrapping paper for packing material;
they always need newspaper.
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I agree that beautifully presented gifts do not have to cost much. My favorite DIY touches come from my garden... a sprig of rosemary or clipping of boxwood tied with twine on plain craft paper. I also have a hearty lavender bush, and I love to clip from it because the leaves still have a light scent even in winter. My favorite paper is an ivory craft paper. (It's not all paper-bag brown anymore). Some green garden twine... cheap. And various dried florals. I work with dried florals so always have extras, but you can go outside and snip anything from your garden. Greeting cards have become ridiculously expensive for what they are, IMO. Instead, I use a lot of dried florals for greeting cards, too. Plain white or ivory stock cards from the craft store work just fine. I know an amateur photographer who prints his favorite landscape shots and flower close-ups, attaches them to the front of plain card stock, and uses them for thank-you's, birthdays, invites, etc. The handwritten message on the inside is what makes it so special. I'm wrapping a few special gifts today... I'll try to remember to take a photo.
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toxcrusadr
9 years ago
Nope, none of that in the compost! I did get the remains of the Thanksgiving turkey, made 2.5 gal of stock, chopped up all the skin/cartilage and froze in portions for a local stray cat, and composted all the small bones. Of the 28 lb turkey, only 2 lb of large bones actually went into the landfill.

I don't know about carcinogens, but if paper burns with pretty flame colors, the ink has metals in it, some of which are flying up the chimney. Probably not a good idea.

I prefer to reuse as much as possible, which means carefully unwrapping big items and saving the paper. However I am usually at the inlaws at Christmas, and they are a family of tearers. They don't get it. My sister in law practically has OCD about gathering every piece of paper immediately and stuffing it into a trash bag. I'm the weird guy who recycles everything, so now she lets me have the fancy bows (haven't bought bows for years) and the shirt boxes which we fold up and store for next year. I do what I can.
nancyjane_gardener
9 years ago
We have a box that is wrapped in comic page from Pearls before swine, that is all about using comics for wrapping paper!
My (cheap) sister is known for using comics.
We have used this same box for at least the last 5 years to wrap her gifts! LOL We just give token gifts these days!
Our actual gift is to the community college for a scholarship in our parents' name. Nancy
FrancoiseFromAix
9 years ago
We had the parties at my place this year and everyone was very glad that I'm now compost obsessed, because they could pretend to NOT grasp the concept of compostable, which allowed everyone but me to indulge in lazyness and stay on the chair while I was all alone sorting out the remains ;-)

Then they exchanged glances and laughed at me when I went mad because I couldn't find the 14th used tea bag because they couldn't realize how nice those organic and wet tea bags are for the compost.

I made a fool of myself but I don't care because I got everyone fed, worms included, and on top of that my young neighbors also had the parties at their place and I got all their remains, half rotten grapes included, and there were a lot !

Parties are even greater for one who has compost piles !
toxcrusadr
9 years ago
The 14th Tea Bag. It would make a great title for a book!
nancyjane_gardener
9 years ago
LOL^ Nancy

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