My Holiday Season Upcycling Revelation

We’ve all been there. The small woman with arthritic hands behind the counter starts bagging your groceries. Chips and salsa, blueberries, bananas, flax seeds, water, veggies, etc. But wait, you’ve forgotten your bags. You feel a slight twinge in your gut. Your head drops, disappointed at your inability to get this reuse/recycle game right. You thought you were better than this. You thought you were better at life. You look at the person in line behind you and they are holding reusable grocery bags. Shit. However, the two customers behind her don’t have bags. Phew.

You let out a little sigh. Next time, you tell yourself, next time. You pay the ten-cent California mandated fee for those brown bags. You arrive home and decide what to do. You look at the brick wall, trying to understand the meaning of the mountain of brown paper bags tucked between your fridge and dining table.

Admittedly, this was me recently. I was given a when life hands you lemons moment. Those brown bags were a golden opportunity with the upcoming Christmas Holiday. I decided to not let myself succumb to a dwindling life of bag-ladydom, and use those bags as chic, upcycled wrapping paper. I am a minimalist at heart, and I was struck by the grace a flipped-inside-out grocery bag can provide as wrapping paper. Tie a gold bow around it and voilà, très chic!

This little disheartening experience of shame in the grocery store line was turned into a golden opportunity. Now, I’m not saying go and hoard all the brown bags you can find (please do bring a reusable bag to the store), but I’m talking about using all our materials wisely. We live in a world where recycling, reusing, upcycling, and sustainability are no longer luxuries or cute add-ons, but the norm, the much-needed expectation.

Now, can I speak a little bit about my boyfriend? He’s 6’5 and handsome and wonderful. Bragging done. But oh, he also loves to bring me flowers. I haven’t told him yet, but I don’t exactly like getting flowers all the time, because I feel sad for the little pieces of colorful life being pulled from their homes for my enjoyment. I’d much rather have potted plants (which he has also given me), because that way I can watch them grow and wean them myself into a thriving work of natural art. So, I decided that when the flowers that my boyf brings home to me have died I would tie them up with a little ribbon and let them dry. Leaving all the pretty petals hanging elegantly on the wall. When the time comes (like it did over Christmas) for wrapping, I take the dried flowers and attach them to presents as added grace.

The moral of the story is: let our 21st century material accessibility be turned into 21st century material responsibility! Use the blue can for plastic and glass. Get involved at your local recycling center. Be informed. Not everything can be recycled at home, cardboard I’m looking at YOU. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Be a trend steer. Be real. Be happy. Breath easy.

For more facts and resources, check out: http://www.recycleworks.org/resident/holiday_facts.html

Edited by Augustus Britton