Green Options

I’ve written about Oakland, California-based architect Michelle Kaufmann before, but I just have to mention her here again, as she’s proven to be one of my muses for my Zero Dollar Christmas challenge.

That’s because Kaufmann’s not only an eco-minded building designer, but a savvy recycler and crafter as well. And in researching ideas for creating hand-made Christmas gifts with materials found around the house, I keep coming across links to some of her wonderful projects.

Among the great ideas Kaufmann’s come up with (and provides easy-to-follow instructional videos for):

There are plenty of reasons to cut back on your holiday shopping this year: the lousy economy, needless waste, insane (and sometimes deadly) crowds and the heavy cost it all imposes on the environment as well as on our wallets. So I’m engaging upon a personal challenge: the Zero Dollar Christmas.

OK, I’ll probably end up spending a little bit on Christmas gifts this year — with a five-year-old in the house, it’s hard not to meet at least a few of the wishes on his list. Even so, though, I’ll aim to keep most of those purchases in the used/recycled/eBay/Craigslist categories.