The twelve days of Christmas are over. I am slowly (and oh, I do mean slowly!) making sense of all the remnants of the holidays and starting to put everything away.
So, the gift bags are folded and flattened. The trees are coming down. The stockings are being “un-hung”. The wreaths and candles are being packed away. And a big stack of cards is mocking me… again.
I’ve never been good at getting rid of the cards. It seems so cold to toss out the “wishes” others send to us, so I’ve stockpiled quite a mass of them from years (and years) gone by. I’ve used them by cutting out bits and pieces of the art and turning them into gift tags but, seriously, I will never give enough gifts to use them all! I’ve even thought about using the fronts as postcards (maybe a good idea for a ‘thank you’ postcard) or turning a strip from the front into bookmarks for next year’s gifts.
And although most cards are recyclable, I’ve discovered a great way to recycle Christmas cards that doesn’t include dumping them in a recycling can… St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. SJRC is a non-profit organization that cares for abused, abandoned and/or neglected children. They accept used greeting cards an
d the children remove the fronts, attach them to a recycled paper back, and turn them into new greeting cards… and then sell them!
I think this is an amazing option to traditional paper recycling and a great cause to support. Your cards will be accepted until February 28, 2009. Just bundle them up and mail them off to:
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
Card Recycling Program
100 St. Jude’s Street
Boulder City, NV 89005
Learn more about the program, and even how you can buy the “new” recycled cards!
Now, if I could just find a place to mail my entire HOUSE for a thorough, post-holiday overhaul, I would be one happy mama!
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what a great idea! i’ve always felt odd about trashing holidays cards. as usual, your blog is inspiring me to green up
Wow that’s a really great idea! I’ve got quite a few I’ve been deciding what to do with- from multiple holidays past. I’ll send mine out to them too!
jenn – thanks, sugar! I knew you would appreciate this one!
MLDina – great! I know they will be appreciated and recycled in the greatest way possible. For while (last year, I believe), they had to shut down the program because of overflow, but they are streamlined now and back to their great project!
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