Sunday, September 20, 2009

The Eco Friendly Way Of Obtaining "The Mother Load Of Envelopes!"


I woke up a little early today due to a nuisance of a cat meowing at the top of his lungs to be let out. There he was at 5am sitting at the window and again shortly after 6. We do not let our cat out of the house but he does try and can be very sneaky at times. He is a beautiful all black Siamese mix and well, that makes his meow quite loud. Any how, after sending him down to the basement and finally falling back asleep, my daughter's alarm went off at 7:00! Can I catch a break today at all? So, I'm up! I'm up I say!

I made myself some much needed coffee and sat down to read the threads in many of the on-line groups that I belong to. I came to one thread in particular in my Eco Etsy group that made me smile from ear to ear! I loved the ideas that my fellow Eco friends were posting that I thought I would share them here as well. Who would have thought about recycling envelopes in these ways?!

Idea No. 1:
"Recently, I've come to be the owner of a huge amount of used envelopes and bubble mailers and wanted to share how I got them, in case any of you also have this opportunity."

"My husband went to a local indie type of radio station here in town to do an interview last week. I told him to ask them for bubble mailers while he was there, because I've seen them post on freecycle that they save all envelopes they receive demo CD's in, which get mailed to them every day."

"Sure enough, they showed him boxes full of envelopes. All sizes, shapes, types, you name it. They gave him a garbage bag and told him to have at it. And like a good husband, he took them all and brought them home to me."

"Call your local radio station and ask them if they save their envelopes, and if you can come pick them up! Or better yet, tell your husband to do it for you! Who needs flowers and chocolate when you can have a garbage bag full of bubble mailers instead, right!?"

Jennifer
iwunder.etsy.com


Idea No. 2:

"We've been dumpster diving for a couple of years now at Home Goods. I spoke to the manager about bubble wrap because they throw out bag fulls each day. She said - anytime you want some - just go around to the back and have fun!
Joel and I have brought home SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much of it which we use to wrap all our clipboards, etc that go out.
But wow......... a radio station for bubblewrappers is such an awesome tip!
Thanks a million!"

Debby
Dinner Time Chimes
Buffalo Gal's Soap

Idea No.3:
"<> I also dumpster dive at the post office. I totally go to the trash can by the PO boxes and sift through the trash, people dump their junk mail (usually unopened) all the time. You know all those things you get in the mail asking you for money? They all have a return envelope inside. Yes, I take those. I cover the writing with stickers and whatnot and use them for mailing. And I give them to my husband to use to make his daily bank deposits. Why not, right?"

"And I sometimes find manila envelopes in that trash can as well, or boxes sitting beside the trash can. I try not to be too obvious about it but I am such an envelope fiend it is not even funny. I haven't bought envelopes of any sort in years."

Jennifer
iwunder.etsy.com

...And, ask at your local library! They get lots
of books in bubble mailers.

Eco Etsy is a wonderful group of artists and eco consciouse men and women who are full of awesome tips and merchanidise for sale with the intent on being eco friendly! Check out our Eco Etsy Blog here!

12 comments:

alexkeller said...

fantastic! i'm off to the library!

janssen designs said...

Thanks for the ideas! Yesterday at an estate sale, I bought a box of 50 big Tyvek envelopes and a package of 60 card envelopes for $2! So estate sales (& thrift stores) are a good place to find envelopes too!

Nicole's Homemade Treats...The Blog said...

Great ideas! I am off to the local hardware store!

Tracy Yarkoni said...

Love this!!! Thanks for the tips ;)

Unknown said...

I have a box where I keep all the packing materials I receive: Tissue paper, bubble mailers, envelopes, peanuts, etc. When I need to ship something, I slap a big label over the old stuff and tape it shut.

Stockannette said...

Great tips - I like to use envelopes from my Etsy purchases as padding for my Etsy sales!

Anonymous said...

Gosh great to know this info. Thanks for sharing.

Aquarian Bath said...

I reuse everything too! I will talk to the library.

I get Titleist golf ball boxes from the local golf course. They are perfect for shipping 2 soaps and multiple lip balms. They are also very light weight yet sturdy.

Cory
http://aquarianbath.blogspot.com

Colorado Knitter said...

I work at a garden center in the summer and I scored a garbage bag full of boxes and pretty shredded paper that small ceramic and resin wall pieces came in. Thanks for reminding me about them! the bag was so big I put them out in the garage and forgot about them. It seems so silly to buy expensive packaging! I know I smile when I receive something in reused materials~

novella said...

what wonderful ideas! thank you, thank you!! off to check it out.

Kathleen Marie Kelly said...

That's so fabulous! I always try to recycle things in my artwork but then always feel guilty with all the new shipping amenities! Thanks for all the wonderful ideas!!!

blackmustard said...

What a great idea! I'm going to check out the library and local radio station. Thanks for posting these tips :)