As I was collecting up boxes yesterday, on Boxing Day, I got to thinking about the origins of this British holiday. For years I thought that British Commonwealth countries referred to this December 26th holiday because of all of the residual boxes from Christmas the day before. But I’ve come to learn that the holiday has nothing to do with modern day boxes–unless you own a big-box store. Many retailers in countries like Canada rely on Boxing Day the way American retailers rely on Black Friday–and that’s to put their finances into the black. No wonder Boxing Day is such a huge shopping event for Canadians, Aussies and Brits alike.

Back in the U.S.A. I actually hit the stores today (the day after Boxing Day), because I had a number of gift cards burning a hole in my pocket. That’s no wonder since Americans spent more than $26 million this year on gift cards, inspiring gift recipients like me not only to hit after-Christmas sales but also to shop on someone else’s dime. (In my case today, that would be my mother-in-law’s dime, since she gave me a Gap gift card.)

Sadly, I forgot to take my reusable shopping bags with me to the mall (Doh!), but I did combine my three-store purchases into one bag, thus creating less waste. (I’m rationalizing here, I realize.)

Anyway, with regards to Boxing Day. I really was collecting up boxes yesterday so that I could bring them to the UPS Store today since, as I’ve written so many times before, my trash collection company does not take cardboard for recycling. (FYI, my contract with this company comes due for renewal this spring, and you can bet I will be switching to a company that does take cardboard.) Tomorrow is recycling day, so to avoid contributing to the 25 million extra tons of trash people produce during the holidays, I’ll be putting out two large bins of cans and bottles from all of our Christmas cooking (my husband made sauce), along with bags and bags of recyclable newspaper.

Speaking of cooking once again I became aware of how much composting food scraps cuts down on our garbage output. Despite hosting a full dinner and having extra house guests this week, we have emptied the trash once only since last Friday’s trash pick up. Maybe, if you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution for 2008, perhaps you could consider trying composting? It’s an easy change to make in your daily life, and it’s something where you really can make a difference in how much trash goes to the landfill.

Now what about some of the extra holiday trash that might not belong in landfills? I’m thinking about electronics and Christmas trees. What are you planning to do with them?

For starters, you can take your has-been electronics to a local Verizon Wireless store, which is collecting them to be recycled. Also, as I’d blogged earlier, there are organizations that will recycle electronics like cell phones for you.

As far as your Christmas tree goes, you can use it in your own backyard as ground cover for now. Then, when it gets warmer, you can cut it up for mulch. Or you can see if your town will do that mulching for you. Many towns set up Christmas tree recycling collection times between now and the first week of January. Check your local newspaper for such times and days, or log onto Earth 911′s Treecycle page to local Christmas tree recycling programs near you.

If you’ve got a fake tree you’re looking to replace, don’t toss it in the trash. If it’s still in good working condition, take it to a local nursing home or hospital to see if they could use it as decoration, or see if a thrift shop would like to add it to its inventory.

Next on my list is taking down all of the holiday greeting cards we’d received this year–I’d taped them up around the entrance to our living room. My plan is to cut out any festive images on those cards and use them as gift tags next year. Then I’ll put the rest of the card in the recycling.

What are some creative ways that you’re keeping holiday items out of the trash this year?