In today’s day and age with an overflow of convenient items for every little thing, I sometimes stop and try to imagine how did our ancestors make do without plastic?

People of various cultures adopted diverse methods of storing and handling everyday things that surrounded them. In Japan, they seem to make use of this single, versatile piece of cloth called Furoshiki. They used it for pretty much anything:

• To wrap bath goods to take to the bathhouse
• To wrap wedding gifts for their newlyweds
• To wrap and protect precious items
• To wrap and store kimono
• To wrap commercial goods about to be delivered to customers…

Different items were wrapped with appropriately sized cloths depending on each occasion.

Each cloth was being treated preciously, often passed down from parents to their children.

Today, there's a bag or box for everything:

• Business bags are used for business
• Fashionable bags are used for social gatherings
• Eco-bags are used for grocery shopping
• Storage cases and bags are used to store seasonal clothes
• Wrapping paper and boxes are used for gifts

When these items get damaged or become dirty, they are often thrown away and replaced with a new one. With this becoming the norm, it's no wondering wastelands are increasingly a problem in so many countries. So what can we learn from the wisdom of our predecessors?

To take care of each item responsibly, and with gratitude. Even if that item is just a personal possession. Caring and being grateful for what we already have will make us feel richer, more accomplished, and will bring more joy!

When gifting, we can apply the same principle. How can we make this gift and its wrapping go further? How can we add value and inspire more thoughtfulness through our gift-giving?

Can a piece of cloth be the answer? Let's discover together!