DIY Zero Waste Gift Ideas

It's November and time to start thinking about holiday gift ideas.

For the past few years, we've given handmade gifts, food gifts, and 'donated in your honor' gifts. This year, I'm caught by the zero waste bug & even though we're no where near living a zero waste lifestyle, I'd like to move us in that direction.

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As such, I took it upon myself to do a zero waste gifting theme this year. Part of that is attempting to buy materials / ingredients that live up to the zero waste ideal. That means bulk (or no) packaging when possible, and avoiding plastic packaging all together. No easy feat.

Ideas include:

1. Homemade soap

Ingredients:

• Lye
• Coconut oil
• Water

We'll call this one *mostly* zero waste. The lye only comes in plastic containers. That said, it's usually a 2 lb. container, and at 2 teaspoons per 6 bars of soap, it'll last you quite some time. Coconut oil can be gotten in glass containers that can be recycled or re-used. Of course, I bought my jug-o-coconut oil a year ago at CostCo (which came in a plastic container)—like the lye, it's lasting for ages. Next time, though, I'll be more mindful and go for the glass jar.

2. Cotton make up removal pads

Materials:

• Cotton flannel fabric
• Scissors
• Sewing machine & thread (or just a plain old needle & thread)

This is a super easy project. Simply cut out circles from your flannel, layer 2 pieces together, and baste or blanket stitch around the edges.

There's a simple tutorial over at Litterless.

3. Lemon balm lip balm

Ingredients:

• 1 part Shea butter
• 1 part Beeswax
• 1 part infused oil (almond, grapeseed, olive)
• Essential oils (optional)

Well that's a mouthful. I have a patch of lemon balm growing in my garden that I'll make an infused oil with, but you can also use mint or lavender or just keep it plain. Lemon balm is good for cold sores—which seem to pop up more in the winter in our family.

To make an infused oil:
Harvest your herbs, wash and pat dry. In a double boiler heat a carrier oil (like grapeseed, almond, or olive) and put your herbs in. You'll want to simmer it (at a low temp) for 4-8 hours. Allow to cool, then strain out the herbs, decant (pour the oil into a jar), and seal.

To make your lip balm:

1. Fill a small saucepan with water over medium heat.
2. In a wide-mouth half pint mason jar, add beeswax, shea butter and oil.
3. Place jar in water and let beeswax pellets slowly melt.
4. This will take about 20 minutes.
5. Stir a few times during the melting process.
6. Remove from heat and let cool about 10 minutes or until it starts to just solidify.
7. Stir in essential oil and then spoon into lip balm container and let completely harden.

Shea butter, beeswax, and carrier oils all potentially come in plastic containers, so just be aware when you buy the ingredients.

Wash and reuse old glass (or plastic) lip balm containers, or buy 1 oz. glass containers in bulk to package your lip balm. You can also pour the lip balm into tins or other small containers, just be aware that the lip balm might get melty if carried around in a pocket—so you just want to make sure it's sealed tightly.

4. Body butter

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shea butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup almond oil
• 10-20 drops of essential oil

1. Melt shea butter and coconut oil in the top of a double boiler (you can use the mason jar-in-a-pan-of-water method if you don't have a dedicated double boiler). Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes.
2. Stir in almond oil and essential oils of your choosing.
3. Place oil mixture in freezer or outside to chill.
4. Wait until oils start to partially solidify then using beaters, whip until a butter-like consistency is achieved.
5. Place in clean, glass jar. A little goes a long way, so if gifting, you can use smaller 4 oz mason jars.

This uses some of the same ingredients as the lip balm. I use glass containers (small mason jars work beautifully) to package them up for gifting.

5. Homemade bees wax food wraps

Ingredients / Materials:

• Cotton cloth, cut to 12", 10", or 8" squares (or any combination)
• 1 c. Beeswax pellets
• 1/4 c. Pine rosin (optional, but this helps it hold its shape longer)
• 2 Tbs. Jojoba oil

1. In double boiler fashion, fill a mason jar with beeswax, pine rosin, and jojoba oil. Set the mason jar in a pot partially filled with water. Heat on medium low until ingredients have melted.
2. Line a large cookie tray with parchment paper. Lay your fabric on the lined tray and brush or drizzle the melted mixture into the cloth.
3. Heat your oven to 300 degrees. Place the cookie sheet in the oven for several minutes to allow the wax mixture to more thoroughly melt and saturate into the cloth. Keep an eye on your fabric. You don't want to step away.
4. Remove from the oven, and hold each cloth by two corners to allow the excess wax to drip back onto the cookie sheet (if you're really on it, you can place the next batch of cloths on the sheet to soak up the excess wax).
5. Once it begins to cool, it will stop dripping and you can hang them without fear of wax dripping on your floors or counters.
6. Place the next cloth or set of cloths on the cookie sheet and repeat steps 3 through 5.

Again, the ingredients have the potential to come in plastic containers or bags. But this is another instance of the ingredients lasting a long time.

You can fold your larger cloths into snack or sandwich bags. Sew a button and a loop (or two buttons) on opposite folded sides to keep it from opening up.