The holiday greetings have already started rolling in my mailbox, but I know some folks who are still scrambling to find and send the perfect cards to their friends and family. If you’re one of them, consider this: Over 2.5 billion holiday cards are sold in the U.S. each year—that’s enough to fill a ten-story building the size of a football field! Even worse, the majority of these cards eventually end up in a landfill as part of the 25 million extra tons of garbage Americans produce from Thanksgiving to New Years. Talk about a lot of trash!

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution. Choosing greeting cards made from post-consumer recycled paper (and that don’t contain metallic foil inserts) ensures that said cards are able to be recycled instead of thrown in the garbage. (Think of it as your holiday gift to the planet!) Where to get eco-friendly cards? Here, some of our favorite places:

• Every card—and there’s a huge selection of them—at MyGoodGreetings.com is made from 100% recycled, FSC-certified paper stock.
• Greenfield Paper Company offers cards made from hemp or ones that recipients can plant in the ground.
• Find cute, modern designs made of recycled paper or eco-friendly wood at Night Owl Paper Goods.

And ahat to do with the holiday cards you receive from others that aren’t recyclable? Fold them up into Uncle Bucky’s Gift Boxes! They’re so cute, no one will want to toss them in the trash.

-Marygrace, KIWI staffer

I try to do something eco-friendly every day and add new things to my repertoire.

In addition to my newest eco-additions of a righteous, worm-filled compost pile and a new garden plot, I have tackled some other baddies to try to be better.

I don’t idle my car at the top of the driveway to get my mail. I am now getting into paper mache crafts and using recycled paper insead of heading to the craft store for more supplies.

But the one thing that is eluding me at present is all of the catalogues. I am very careful not to sign up for free contests and offers because, well, nothing is really free. But, if I get one more Oriental Trading catalogue filled with plastic trinkets, I am going to scream.

I signed up for GreenDimes (www.greendimes.com) which I think is a very good organization. The only problem is that I took the time to fill out all the forms, enter all of the catalogue names and customer numbers. I just went on the site to enter a few more and every single entry had an “action required” button.

So, each and every mail order company requires something different, all of which costs me money and more time. It is so frustrating. Some need a letter (which GreenDimes writes for you) but it requires a stamp (there are at least 20 of these on my list). Some require a payment to be removed (ok, it’s a dollar but requires writing a check).

I think these mail-order companies are purposely obtuse when it comes to removing my name, but it is automatic to get on the list.

So, what I thought would be a 15-minute project to up-green myself is taking a couple of hours. I have to be honest, I don’t believe that all of these companies will actually respond appropriately and quickly to my request.

I wonder if there is a way to refuse delivery and have all of the mail returned to them at their expense? Now, that would send a message loud and clear, wouldn’t it?

I’m interested in hearing about your up-greening experiences!

-Edamaddy, I mean Edamommy