From Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, household waste increases by more than 25%. You can keep the cheer, but cut the waste. Start with some of these simple ideas and continue by creating your own low-waste holiday traditions!
Mailboxing Day: Reduce the hail of unwanted mail
Are catalogs pouring out of your mailbox every day? You can slow the flow of unwanted mail coming to your mailbox.
First: Reduce. Here is where to go for some of the most common types of unwanted mail.
Catalogs: www.CatalogChoice.org. Identify the catalogs that you want to receive and those that you would like to decline. Catalog Choice contacts the catalog provider for you, asking that you be removed from that mailing list.
Direct Marketing mail: www.dmachoice.org. This online tool was developed by the Direct Marketing Association; choose what companies you want to contact you. It's easy to do, and you'll be reaching some of the biggest direct marketers in the country.
Credit card offers: www.optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (567-8688). This service allows you to opt out for two years or permanently. No matter what you pick, the same service makes it easy for you to opt back in at any time. Either process will ask for your social security number, full name, address, and telephone number.
Phone books: www.yellowpagesoptout.com. Simply enter your zip code to find the phone book publishers in your area that are participating in opt out requests. You will need to inform each phone book publisher that you would like delivery stopped. Opt outs take 60 days to process.
Sign up for a service. There are some nonprofit organizations that will work on your behalf to opt out of junk mail for you for a small fee. Check out Junk your Junk Mail or Precycle to learn more. Give the gift of waste reduction this year...
Then recycle. Household paper—glossy catalogs, old phone books, window envelopes, shipping boxes—is generally considered "recycleable." Find out about recycling options in your area: contact your county.
Holiday news. Wrapping paper cannot be recycled because it contains too many unrecycleable materials, such as foil or fuzzy textures.
The shredder is better. Before recycling, rip up the credit card offers before you discard them. Prevent identity theft and protect your credit rating and privacy.
A bright idea: LED holiday lights
If you use strings of holiday lights at your house, switch to light-emitting diode (LED) lights this year. LEDs use a whopping 90% less energy than incandescent holiday lights: powering a string of 280 LED lights will cost $0.56 for the entire holiday season as compared to $6 for similar incandescent lights. (EnergySavers.gov)
LED lights in many colors are widely available at retail, last for an estimated 40 years, and are cool to the touch, which reduces the risk of fire. Look for ENERGY STAR qualified strings of lights.
Recycle your old holiday lights
The Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM) has a special holiday lights recycling program that you can use for your old incandescent strings. Visit their website to find a drop site near you.
You can sign up your school or business to be a drop site for others. It's free and RAM picks them up at the end of the collection. Their special program runs through Jan. 10, 2010.
Days of our green lives: Community events and resources
Learn how to reduce your holiday electricity use at Natural Built Home's December class, Phantom Loads and Holiday Lights, presented by Rebecca Lundberg of Powerfully Green, December 8, 6-7 p.m., Natural Built Home Showroom (Minneapolis).
The Bell Museum's Cafe Scientifique is a happy hour exchange of ideas about science, environment, and popular culture. Join them in December as Jason Hill addresses the question: Can Agriculture Deliver Food, Fiber and Fuel? December 15, 7 p.m., Bryant Lake Bowl (Minneapolis).
With fewer community events happening this month, you may also have time to check out The New American Dream's guide on how to Simplify the Holidays.
Do you have opinions about water quality and use in Minnesota? You can share your opinions by filling out a short online survey. This information will be used by the University of Minnesota's Water Resources Center to design a framework on how and when to make investments that will ensure the purity and abundance of Minnesota's water for generations to come.
Look for more events on the SEEK and NextStep calendars.
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Are catalogs pouring out of your mailbox every day? You can slow the flow of unwanted mail coming to your mailbox. 
