It’s the time of year when many of us pack up gifts to ship to friends and family all over the world.

Styrofoam peanuts are not exactly the most environmentally friendly packing options.

You just want something to soften the blows that will most likely occur during shipping, and you probably have plenty of cushiony packing materials right around your home!

Here are some ideas:

• You can pop some popcorn (without all the salt) to use as a cushion for gifts.
• Ball up some old newspapers or fliers and use those as a barrier. I have even torn apart one of the many huge phone books we receive each year and used that paper to protect our breakables.
• Use any extra brown paper bags as a barrier.
• You can also cut down your cardboard box to make sure it is the exact fit for your present (if the present isn’t breakable) and not bother with fillers.
• Obviously, if you recently received a package with nerdles or bubble wrap, then re-use them!

The deadline for shipping packages Parcel Post with the post office is December 16th. The deadline for First Class and Priority Mail is December 20th, and you have to have your packages in by December 23rd for Express Mail.

Do you have any other environmentally friendly suggestions for shipping packages?

If you are relatively new to the idea of going green, it can be daunting. But there are several easy ways that you can help the environment.

I get mail everyday, and most of it goes right into the recycle pile or trash can, because it’s junk. This huge waste of resources irks me, especially when we are trying to really cut down on waste.

After doing a little research, I found that it’s not hard to stop delivery of most junk mail.

1. You can visit DirectMail.com’s Mail Preference Registry to have your address removed from many different registries.
2. You can get rid of credit card and insurance solicitations by calling the Consumer Credit Reporting Industry’s Opt Out hotline — 1-888-5OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688)– or filling out a form online. This service is good for at least 5 years, although you can also request to be permanently removed.
3. If you get catalogs that you do not want, you can call the sender and ask to be removed from the mailing list.
4. If you don’t feel like visiting or calling all of these places individually, you can visit How to Get Rid of Junk Mail, Spam and Telemarketers. This site provides information on how to cut down on all sorts of annoyances.

All of these suggestions are free. If you find a site that offers to take your name off of mailing lists for a fee, or tries to sell you a kit, do not waste your money.

Want to keep your name off of those registries in the future? WikiHow has some great tips on ways to do that.

Any suggestions for Green Secrets? Please leave a comment and let me know!