Never Use New Paper Products Again: 10 Alternatives

1. Never buy gift wrap again. Instead, use magazine pages, brown paper from grocery bags, newspaper or other discarded paper products. Tie them with a brown string for the classic, understated look. As an even better alternative, give a gift that doesn't require wrapping, like an online certificate or a house plant. 2. Never buy cards or stationary products again. I am biased with this advice because I like doing DIY craft as much as I can. Be creative with your homemade letters and cards made out of discarded paper material. It's all about the message anyway. 3. Never buy a new book or magazine again. Go to the library. Go to a used book sale. Bug your bookish friends who have a lot of books. Be like me in college, where I would go to a bookstore and read the book while I was there and end up finishing the book after the course of several visits. (Sorry, publishers.) 4. Never get bills in the mail again. Go for paperless, online bills as much as possible. 5. Never use paper grocery bags again. Paper or plastic should no longer be an option. The only correct answer in this day and age is a reusable tote. 6. Never use paper cups for your coffee or tea again. This is your perfect excuse to finally invest in a really cute tumbler. 7. Never buy paper towels again. Use old T-shirts, old underwear, and old towels instead. 8. Never buy a journal again. A password-protected online blog will better protect your deepest and darkest secrets anyway. 9. Never buy Post-Its again. Use online Post-It notes on your computer desktop. If you really insist on having paper post-its, cut squares out of discarded paper material and tape them to your walls. 10. Never use wooden chopsticks again. I need to follow this advice because I go to a lot of Asian restaurants and do a lot of Asian take-out. When I start carrying my own chopsticks in a plastic case, I will be saving a lot of wooden chopsticks from being used once and going into the trash. Have other alternatives to paper and wood products? Share them in the comments below! For more green living ideas, read Intent's "30 Days to a Greener You"