I have been working hard at lessening waste in my home and at Your True Nature.  One way to reduce waste is to begin looking at things a bit differently.  A simple change in perspective and a little bit of imagination works wonders.  Here are a few ideas to get you thinking…1.  Wrapping paper for gifts…I have found that newspaper with some rustic raffia ribbon works and looks great.  For a child, you might use the comics.  For the sports fan - the sports section, of course.  For a birthday gift, try to wrap the gift with the actual birthday date showing.  You can also use brown grocery sacks, colorful magazine pages, old maps, brochures or even old blue print paper.  Tie some ribbon and you are green to go!  2. You know those wonderful clementine oranges that come in those adorable miniature wooden crates?  Save the crates and use them as gift or storage boxes. Try adding an orange scented candle and some orange spice tea for a lovely gift basket. Or use one of the crates for incoming mail and magazines.3. Soft and worn men’s button down dress shirts make wonderful quilt squares or throw pillow covers.  4.  Worn towels can be cut into squares for the rag bag.  5.  Mis-matched old bed sheets can be used a drop cloths for painting projects. 6.  Don’t even get me started with old jeans.  The uses for these are endless.  You can make anything from purses to table runners with an old pair of jeans.  Let your imagination go wild with old clothes and if you can’t think of what to do with the items…donate them.7. Have a few old calendars laying about?  Don’t throw them in the trash!  The artwork is often very high quality and perhaps worthy of a frame.  You can also cut the pictures out and use them to decoupage the top of an old table in a collage style.  This may sound like something a slightly weird Aunt would do but perhaps you can cut out the really lovely pictures to use as tags and cards for gifts. Delve into your own true nature, get creative and begin inventing your own ways to lessen your negative impact on the planet.  Shop wisely and then use it up, wear it out, and find new ways to extend the life of the things you purchase.  Shopping wisely in the first place means buying from thrift stores, online with ground transportation, or from reputable and green businesses, such as Your True Nature, that are committed to sustaining the planet.  Give green gifts.  The photo above is a perfect reminder of the ease and environmentally friendliness of shopping online. Avoid being a ‘throw it away’ consumer.  Be nature inspired in your decor and in all your purchases.  Sustainable living is a rewarding way to approach life.  As you model sustainable living, you share your true nature with others and hopefully inspire others in similar pursuits. Have any green living ideas to share? We would love to learn the amazing ways you are living Your True Nature!