It is getting very close to graduation time! There will be lots of young adults about to go off to college or get there own apartment. We have a great idea for an eco friendly graduation gift that is practical and affordable.

First, you need a container. In this case we look for something practical that will not get thrown out. I would choose a nice laundry basket. Then find products that are practical for the graduate. There is a new line of cleaning products that have no harsh chemicals from Clorox. These Green products are absolutely perfect. By up 1 of each green product.

Another great item to add to the gift would be energy saving light bulbs. Not only do they last longer, but they save money which the graduate will definitely need. Get a pack or two and add that to the gift. Energy saving light bulbs use about 75% less energy than standard light bulbs but produce about the same light output. They also last 6 - 10x longer than the standard light bulb. By purchasing these for the gift you will help the graduate by doing their part to save the planet and helping save them big bucks on their energy bills.

You can also get ecoballs to add to the basket. Ecoballs are environmentally friendly and a great alternative to the traditional laundry detergent/fabric softner combo. One set of eco balls will save you about 85% compared to purchasing laundry soap and fabric softner seperately. One set of eco balls will last approximately 1,000 washes. Another great thing…. they are hypoallergenic, so they are great for someone with sensitive skin! Check them out at: Ecoballs Direct

Another great thing you can add to this green gift would be organic cotton towels. To theme it up a bit I would stick with white or green towels. Get towels, wash cloths, and hand towels to match. According to CNNMoney.com ,the $300-billion global cotton industry uses more pesticides and synthetic fertilizers than any other crop.

Take the towels and add to the laundry basket putting some in the bottom, but one hanging over the edge. Then add all of your products. You can also use recycled paper or recycled tissue paper as a filler, but less paper means more eco friendly! Once you have the products in place add a recycled paper card and a bow made of recycled material. This will be a great gift to give that not only saves the graduate money, but is also a fantastic way to teach them that being eco friendly can be affordable too!

If you really want to add something special to the mix, you can also find photo albums made of eco friendly or recycled material. Add some personal photos to it and make it a centerpiece in the basket! What a great gift for the graduate or even to a new neighbor

First of all, you need to decide on what kind of gift you want to give. Do you want to make a traditional Easter gift basket with all the essentials? Or are you making gifts for older family members and a small gift would be more likely to suit your needs?

Let’s start with a traditional Easter gift basket.

First of all, you need to gather the supplies you will need. Get a nice, colorful basket (you can get these at a department store *tip* some gift baskets can get costly, if you are wanting a wicker gift basket for the look instead of a cheaper bucket style, you can find colorful baskets in other sections of the store. They are not considered Easter baskets which means they are not priced like Easter baskets). If you opt for the cheaper basket, you can make it look more decorative with stickers or decorative cellophane later.

Once you have chosen your basket, get some Easter grass. If your basket is one color get some grass of 2 different colors to add flavor and color. Don’t get green grass with a green basket. It will look much better if you pair blue and green grass with a white basket or something like that.

Now you need contents. Traditionally, some sort of bunny, whether it be stuffed or chocolate, is included. Start there and decide what comes next. I like to choose candy that is big enough to hold it’s own and isn’t lost in the basket. Also, if you decide to get a bag of candy, it presents much better if you can just add the bag instead of opening it and letting bits of candy fall into the bottom.

Choose items with lots of Easter colors. This will all come together better. When you have all your contents (make sure to get enough), find some decorative cellophane, curling ribbon, satin ribbon, and newsprint (newspaper), and you will also need packing tape.

The assembly goes like this:

Add wadded up newsprint in the bottom of the basket, make sure it gives your items a place to stand. Next, (and you might need some help here) you need to put the items in the places you want. You can use tape to secure some items. When it is ready, wrap in cellophane and tie off with a curling ribbon. Lastly, tie a beautiful bow with a matching satin ribbon. Tape all edges of cello that are sticking out and trim any necessary spots and you’re done!

If you are looking more for a gift for adults:

You can make candy carrots to give to adults. Go to a department store and purchase some plastic frosting decorator bags. These are bags in a triangle shape. Then you can purchase some reece pieces and some green easter grass or green M&Ms if you can afford them. You will also need green curling ribbon.

All you have to do is fill the triangle with orange reece pieces about 2/3 the way up, add some green M&Ms or easter grass on top. Twist the bag to tie curling ribbon around the top. Tie it off and curl the ribbon. You can tie multiple times around too to add more ribbon curls.

You could also do a mix in a jar. Pick a brownie or cookie mix you like, gather all the dry ingredients, some mason jars, curling ribbon, a hold punch, and index cards. Layer the dry ingredients in the jar to look nice. Fasten the lid tight. Write directions on the index card with ingredients and what they need to add. punch a hole in one top corner, slip a piece of curling ribbon in the hole and tie it around the top of the jar. It’s that easy.

Thank you for joining us! This is our first blog post, but we hope to have many more soon. Here we plan to discuss a variety of gift ideas, gift tips, tricks, and new gift designs that we will be coming out with soon. We are also planning to supply you with any useful information that we may find about different things. I hope you decide to stick around and check out our site and let me know how we can improve it for you.