Pledge to give non-bought gifts

The endless cycle of gift-buying is generally bad for the environment, as well as for your bank account. It can also be mentally taxing; I mean, what can you possibly give a 95-year-old woman that she hasn't seen in various iterations dozens of times before? You might end up buying something you suspect she'll neither want nor need, just for the sake of buying something. Well, if it's the thought that counts, put it to the test. Ask your loved ones if they'll agree to stop exchanging purchased gifts for the next holiday or the next year. This should result in an upswing in homemade gifts/gift experiences (cookies, drawings, sweaters for pets, free babysitting, a get-out-of-jail-free card for an argument, etc.). It should also result in a downswing in waste, stress and unnecessary parting with money.

Effort involved: well, you don't have the leave the house to enter a store. For those wiseacres who immediately think of online shopping - well, you don't have to dig out your credit card.


Image from: http://vegansaurus.com/.