With the holidays just around the corner, gifts are on just about everybody’s mind. Whether you avoid holiday gifting on principle, embrace the holiday gift giving spirit entirely or find a middle ground between the two, we’re sure you’ve had a discussion about the role of gifts and the holidays. We support any choice that Postconsumers make about how many and what type of gifts they want to give. If you’re planning to give physical gifts this holiday, why not consider a gift alternative that will help the recipient to conserve energy (and money)? We’ve put together our top five gifts for energy conservation. Choose one, make them stocking stuffers or turn the entire bundle into a gift basket.
Door Draft Stoppers: Keep Home Entries Warm and Inviting
One of our favorite gifts to give is a draft catcher for doors into and out of a house. Because older houses in particular tend to have doors that aren’t entirely flush to the floor, cold drafts can make it into the house even when the door is shut. Of course, when a cold draft makes it into the house, the energy you’re using to heat the house (and the money that you’re spending for that energy) needs to increase. Buying new doors is an option, but a better option is to buy a cloth “door snake” to catch and block the cold air drafts. These door snakes can be decorative and attach to the bottom of the door without impeding its ability to open and close. Even better, rather than buy door snake draft stoppers, you can make them.
Related Info: How to Make Door Draft Stoppers from Upcycled Materials
Let There Be Light: Upgrade Their Light Bulbs
No matter how much information is out there, some people will just not let go of their traditional incandescent light bulbs. These days, LED, CFL and even energy-saving versions of incandescent bulbs can save valuable energy and save the user money. In fact, data shows that energy efficient light bulbs use anywhere from 25% to 80% less energy and can last two-to-three times longer than traditional bulbs. Especially in this season of light, a great gift to give is energy saving light bulbs that bring light to your recipient’s life while also helping to preserve the planet’s resources… and the contents of your recipient’s wallet.
Related Info: Compare Traditional and Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
Go Decorative: Give Curtains
If you’ve got great skills when it comes to decorating or design and your gift recipient is, well, let’s just say design challenged, then give them the gift of curtains. Heavy curtains! The kind of curtains that will truly keep cold air and drafts out. You might be surprised how much energy can be saved just by making sure that windows are properly covered in curtains. Of course, if you want to go the extra mile, also buy them a window-insulating kit. Then, be sure to stick around and help them actually insulate their windows. That process can be time-consuming and over-whelming.
Prepare for the Heat with a Ceiling Fan
If you live somewhere where the climate is warm all year long, or if you want to help get your gift recipient ready for the increasing summer heat, then give them a ceiling fan. Circulating air with a ceiling fan is much more eco-friendly and energy conscious than using air conditioning units. Your recipient will use less energy and will also be pleasantly surprised at how cool and comfortable fan circulated air can be.
The Classic Ugly Holiday Sweater is an Energy Efficient Gift
Believe it or not, the much-loved “ugly holiday sweater” is a great way to give an energy-saving gift. After all, what’s a better way to stop from using too much energy to heat a home than to simply wear more or warmer clothing? And what piece of clothing will people be the most excited to wear during the holiday season? Well it’s obviously the classic bad holiday sweater! As a bonus, giving a bad holiday sweater as a gift means that you don’t need to feed into the consumer frenzy. There are plenty of awful (and we mean awful) holiday sweaters at your local thrift store or Goodwill. Give the gift of holiday spirit, bad fashion and a lower heating bill!
Related Info: The Best Bad Holiday Sweaters
Have another idea for an energy saving holiday gift? Tell us about it. Comment below or tell us about it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram.
Photo Credits, Nathaniel Freitas, CERT, rambletamble, Jen Morgan, Stephen Grebinski and Ramsey Mohsen via Flickr
