The Gift That Stops Taking

Welcome to the holiday gift guide from the sustainable line. Rather than soap boxing about how you should stop buying more stuff (want less) or to start giving your money to well-deserving charities, I thought that this holiday season we could celebrate by buying more that uses less. First, of course, don't buy gifts that are cheap crap. A lot of it is on sale and most of it plugs in and wastes a lot of energy before the recipient has to throw it away. Think savings for the gift's lifetime.

For your romantic friends and loved ones, dimmable compact florescent bulbs are a perfect fit Dimmable CFL's have gotten both pretty good at dimming and are now a great bargain, many can be had for less than $5. Electronics are still a big hit so the new LED Bulbs (not the cheap ones, but those with the big heat sink) are now at your local big box hardware store and will make you look like you are up on the new trends. They work best as spot lights. Make sure to compare the lumens, not the "watt equivalent" on the box. Shell out at least $30 for one of these lifetime investments. Test some out by getting a string of LED Holiday Lights. By the way, the CFLs are electronic too, and really outlast incandescents by a long stretch, so toss those old grandpa bulbs in the trash (it's ok, really, right into the waste basket). Electronics are always a big hit, saving electrons should be too.

Avoid not only a lump of coal in the stocking but also a lot of coal at your power plant by giving a Kill-A-Watt meter >  Kill-A-Watt meter. At less than $25 this has got to be the best bargain out there and hours of fun when your recipient finds out how much energy those cheap-crap-that-plugs-in gifts they received use from the house plug.

To show you really care the hot item this year is the T.E.D. 5000 Energy Meter linked with Google's PowerMeter software >T.E.D. 5000 Energy Meter linked with Google's PowerMeter software. It is flying off the shelves at $230 because now anyone can measure their home's energy usage and cost, trends and other data from anywhere, including their mobile phone. You better get it soon before they all disappear. Something an entire family can enjoy.

The Smart Power Strip > Smart Power Strip gives your office mate an easy way to control that wasted electricity. The strip allows them to plug in devices that should never turn off alongside devices that should turn off automatically when they shut down their computer (or other central technology), and start up when they turn it on. This makes energy saving effortless for only $30. Laptops that replace desktop computers are an easy decision to make when you are thinking about that special someone. They don't even have to know you bought it just to help them save a lot of energy.

The $110 eco-fan >eco-fan is a nifty gadget that uses the heat from a wood stove to spin its blades and distribute that hot air throughout the house. The hotter it gets the more air it moves (I do use a wood stove a lot, hint).

One of the best ways to make someone take notice of you is in the shower, so why not give them a super efficient showerhead > super efficient showerhead that actually works better than that old wasteful one they use now. The line of Oxygenics shower heads turn the water drops into little bubbles that feel like a lot more water is coming out. These showerheads use only 1.5 gallons a minute and start at $25 for the basic model. You also just saved them a big chunk of change from all that heating of water.

If you are the kind of person who likes to give the most attention getting gifts in your circle then the dual flush toilet convertion kit > dual flush toilet conversion kitwill fit the bill. This kit is under $30 and will save from 30-65% of a home's toilet water. The manufacturer claims that it works on all toilets and the conversion is very do-it-yourself. Of course you can spring for a new super low duel flush toilet that uses less than a gallon per flush on average. They run at about $200 before installation.

For those with kids or allergies a thoughtful gift of a home air test > home air test will be well received. By setting up a $120 testing unit in the home and sending it to a lab they can get a report on the VOC levels, mold, and other contaminants in the home. Winter indoor air quality can be really bad but you can show that you care with a test like this. Room air filters are mostly pseudo science, so fix the problem with a whole house heat recovery ventilator. A HRV is $850 before installation but asthma is a lot more expensive.

Here are a few other ideas that are not necessarily about the home but are really environmentally aware. Now that gift cards are so useful, don't get one from the same old retailer, see if your independent shop has one too. What about a gift card for the local used book store, a shop like Recycled Cycles >Recycled Cycles for a reconditioned bike, or your local building material reuse center like ReSource >ReSource? These independents are following the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) with your support and have what the big box stores don't, a promising future for all of us. 

Generosity is the virtue that produces peace,

Andrew Michler, LEED AP, MIGP

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