Most of us compare items for price, quality, color, and function before we select one to buy.  Add another comparison factor to the list – packaging.  Packaging, which is all of the cardboard, plastic, and metal surrounding the item you actually want, requires resources and energy to produce and transport.  Some of the packaging gets recycled but most of it ends up in the landfill.  Buying items with less packaging conserves resources and energy.  Many times, it’s not easy to avoid excess packaging, but worth considering.  Things to consider when comparing packaging:

• Is the item double-packaged (vitamins in a bottle packaged inside a cardboard box)?
• Is the packaging more elaborate than is necessary?
• Is the packaging a lot larger than the item inside?
• Is the packaging recyclable?
• Does it have “hidden packaging”?  Hidden packaging is the packaging the shippers use and retailers remove before they put the item on the shelf.  Some of the hidden packaging is reused, such as plastic bins for clothing, and cardboard boxes are generally recycled.  Pastries might be individually wrapped for shipping before they are unwrapped and put into display cases for purchase if they are not baked onsite. 
• Online shipping boxes and bags for individual customers are a large part of the packaging these days.  Recycle as much as you can, and try to place orders so that several items come in one package.  If you can, try to find retailers that use recycled packaging or packaging that is easily recycled.  

​I found a book at the library that I want to tell you about: Saving Nature One Yard at a Time by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth.  “We live in a complex web of life where every living being – human, bee, frog, butterfly, tree, and wildflower – contributes to the health of the whole system.”  This book provides good information on how you can help nature, even if your yard is on your balcony.  Unfortunately, it only covers the United States, but perhaps you can find a similar book for your part of the world.  The book is divided into regions of the US, so you can determine which plants and critters are native to your area.  A healthy habitat that nourishes all inhabitants works best if it is composed of natives.  The book tells you how to create areas, large or small, that nourish the plants and critters you want to help.  It covers birds, amphibians, insects, mammals, and plants and includes stories that describe the life cycle of a few critters and plants.  Just as important as the information in the book are the lists of where to find additional information to augment what’s in the book.  Several international organizations are listed in the book, including (to name just a few) Bat Conservation International, Amphibian Survival Alliance, and Xerces Society (invertebrates including bees).  Other sources of information could include your local university extension service (mine has lots of good information on native plants), a national wildlife area near you, or a botanical garden organization.  And sometimes nurturing nature can be as simple as placing bird-alerting decals on a window that tends to get hit by flying birds.