The season is among us. The streets are crowded, the shops are buzzing, the kids are excited, and the adults are about as overloaded as can be.  It's no wonder that so many of us fall prey to some rather un-eco-friendly habits this time of year.  Who among us hasn't stuffed a few garbage bags to the brim with paper, packaging, ribbons, old decorations, even unwanted gifts; stuck them out on the curb and called it a day?

You may not be aware of this, but according to the Environmental Protection Agency, America's output of waste increases an astounding 25 percent during the weeks between Thanksgiving and early January. This massive spike of garbage hitting landfills through our great land has sadly become our country's worst holiday tradition.

Ultimately, it does not have to be this way. When you think about it, doing the proverbial "our part" really isn't that hard.  All it takes is some knowledge and a little extra effort to get this New Year off to a much greener start.

Fortunately for us, we live in a town and a county where the local officials are already taking the right steps toward reducing our villages' carbon footprints.  Most of the resources we would ever need as an eco-conscious community are already in place, just waiting to be utilized. So how to begin?

First, let's think about what control we have over our own family's waste. We've all heard the buzzwords reduce, recycle and re-use, right? The question is: Do we really know how to make them a part of our holiday clean-up?

Reducing our output of trash

Over the past few weeks your family has probably acquired a whole bunch of new stuff. Now you have to decide where to put it all.  Since making room often means throwing out, here's your first chance to keep unwanted items out of our local landfills:

1) Give away: Gently worn children's clothing, toys, books, movies, games. There will always be a child who can use these things, so they should always be passed on, never thrown out. If you haven't done so already, take the time to establish a few friends who you can give your outgrown items to.

For example: my son's outgrown clothes go to my friend who in return gives me all of her daughter's hand-me-downs. Then, once my daughter outgrows them, I pass them on once again to yet another friend. In my cycle alone three family budgets benefit. When you "pass it on," the earth and your wallet will thank you.

If your cast offs are larger items such as electronics, sports equipment or furniture that aren't so easily placed, schedule an after-holiday swap meet with friends and neighbors who you think can best benefit from your arsenal of give-away goodies.  Have them bring their smaller items and pictures, or a list of larger things that they would like to giveaway, and let the bartering begin!

While you're at it, have them throw in any holiday decorations that they no longer use.  This way, before everything goes back into storage, you will have cleaned out your unneeded items, and perhaps even gained a few new treats for next year's celebration-all at no cost!

2) Consign or sell: If you'd actually like to see a return on your investments this year (who wouldn't at this point?), you can have a hand at either selling or consigning your more special items.

Children's apparel, accessories and furniture can go onto a second life at Vintage Kidz (2124 Boston Post Rd., Larchmont). This is a consignment shop, so expect a 40/60 profit split once the item is sold.

Chatsworth Furniture (151 Mamaroneck Ave., Mamaroneck) may be willing to buy your good quality furniture and antiques right up front. Call them to schedule a look. If they buy, they'll happily send a crew to pick up the items directly from you.

If you'd rather eliminate the middleman all together, you can have a go at placing your things on Craig's List.  A good tip: include specific times at which items can be viewed in your home, and that they are for pick up only. Otherwise, you may be bombarded with out-of-area requests.

3) Donate: Giving your items to be sold or passed on to those in need can be a wonderful way to help support our local non-for-profit organizations. Warm clothing, shoes, grooming items, blankets, pillows and sleeping bags can be donated to a local Midnight Run program, which help provide the area's homeless with the essentials of daily life.

Gently worn children's clothes (no toys, though), along with adult clothing and small house wares can also be donated locally to The Golden Shoestring (149 Larchmont Ave., Larchmont), with proceeds benefiting programs of The Junior League of Westchester On The Sound; or to St. Thomas's Church Thrift Store (168 W. Boston Post Rd., Mamaroneck), with proceeds benefiting their outreach programs.  While you are there, do a little guilt-free shopping yourself. Buying used is always eco-chic.

For other items, including furniture, appliances and electronics, the United Way's "Gifts In Kind" program will help place the items for you.  Simply register the items to be donated online and United Way will find the not-for-profit organization most in need of your donation. You will then be contacted directly by that organization to schedule a pickup of your now tax deductible items. All that's left to do is to simply answer your front door.

Is it becoming pretty clear to you at this point that indeed "one man's trash can become another man's treasure?" Well, a local program run by Westchester County called "Treasure Hunt" is putting this theory to the test.

Through the County's website you can list the items that you would like to give away and, get this, you can even list items that you yourself might need. Your lists are then advertised on the site for one week, free of cost.

The rules of this Westchester county-wide "swap meet" are as follows: no fees can be charged by either party, and the recipient is responsible for picking the item up.  It's kind of like EBay with a local, eco-friendly heart.

Now that's a government "step in" that we can all be happy to hear about.

Keep an eye out for the second part of this article, where I'll be taking a look at more ways to recycle and re-use locally in the New Year.