Tag: eco-friendly
Have an Eco-Friendly Halloween
Like many holidays, Halloween can generate unnecessary waste as well as merriment. From pumpkin carving to party throwing, there are opportunities to make the amount of waste less frightful. With these eco-friendly Halloween ideas, October 31 doesn’t have to be scary for the Earth.
Hand out zero waste, ethical chocolate
Individually wrapped candy creates a lot of waste, but some options are better than others. A personal favorite is the Alter-Eco brand of chocolate truffles that come in a compostable wrapper. Pro tip: you’ll want to buy extra for yourself! The brand gets an “A” grade on Green America’s chocolate scorecard.
A growing concern for consumers this Halloween season is chocolate that’s farmed with child labor. Slave Free Chocolate has a list of child labor free brands.
In response to the concern over slave labor, many people are handing out toys and trinkets instead. These are often plastic items that will end up as trash. If you go this route, consider usable items such as pencils or erasers or other plastic-free offerings.
Make toasted pumpkin seeds
The slop that’s left over from pumpkin carving is edible when the seeds are separated and toasted to crunchy perfection. Methods for this vary, but the main idea is to rinse off the scooped-out pumpkin “guts” in a sieve and then place them in a single layer on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Season with salt, soy sauce, or your choice of spices and bake until crispy. It’s a packaging-free snack that’s right at home with the fall season.
Repurpose an old costume
The temptation to buy a brand new costume each year is real, but there are alternatives that are more eco-friendly—and unique. Consider shopping at thrift shops and vintage stores for one-of-a-kind costume pieces. If you prefer to buy new, support a small business by buying a custom piece from Etsy.
(Check out easy DIY costumes here.)
Be party savvy
When hosting a party, consider reusable plates and silverware in lieu of plastic. If single use is more your thing, bamboo ware is eco-friendly as well as aesthetically pleasing. And remember that bamboo ware, paper plates and napkins can all be composted for easy cleanup.
Compost your pumpkin
When the Jack-o’-lantern has seen better days, remember to chuck it in the green bin or compost pile instead of the trash. Another cleanup tip: if you don’t plan to store your decorations from year to year, thrift shops will be happy to divert your decorations from the landfill right into their store.
5 Eco-Friendly Wrapping Paper Ideas
5 Ways to Make Recyclable Gift Wrap
This holiday season, you may be wondering: is wrapping paper recyclable? Before you wishcycle it, you should know that no, most gift wrap is NOT recyclable. But if you do want recyclable gift wrap, or to wrap gifts in something that’s reusable or reused, look at these five ideas.
Brown paper bags
Reuse parcel paper or paper shopping bags by wrapping your gifts in them. Add a sprig of greenery and scraps of ribbon if you’re craving something decorative. Here’s a closer look at how you can wrap packages with recycled paper.
Old maps
Reuse old maps by turning them into gift wrap. Yours will be the most unique one under the tree, guaranteed. I added scraps of yarn and sprigs of greenery for an extra touch. And just like brown paper bags, this gift wrap is recyclable and compostable.
Fabric bags
Reusable cloth bags are a gift unto themselves. I know some people sew their own to use as gift bags. I didn’t have the time or patience to fight with a sewing machine so bought a few at a craft fair. This is the most popular zero-waste way to wrap presents this season!
Newsprint and old books
Ok so you know how I found a source for free antique books, right? Well I got a few that were totally falling apart beyond repair. I thought the pictures might be good for collages, and it turned out that for small gifts the pages could be used for gift wrap! I absolutely love the look of these. If you don’t have any books beyond repair, try the pages of a newspaper or magazine for a similar look. Again, this gift wrap is recyclable.
Old wallpaper scraps
This one is at the end of the list because who even has old wallpaper scraps? But I did find some at the local ReUse center, so I guess I do. All the ribbon in the picture below came from the there too. Design studios donate all their old fabric and trims to keep it out of the landfill, and people like me can use it!
What are you doing this holiday season to live more sustainably? Check out ways to decorate with books to see my New Year’s Resolution!
4 Simple Ways to Decorate with Squash and Gourds
Eco holiday decorating
Every year I seem to have a few more squash from the garden than I know what to do with! They end up inside as decorations, which is okay with me. After all, nothing says fall like a bowl of heirloom squash and petite gourds on the counter. It’s an eco-friendly and incredibly easy way to bring a little autumn to any house.
An easy to make fall centerpiece
One thing I love doing with squash is making a centerpiece, as seen above! You can add votive candles and pinecones if you wish, or just use the pretty fruit itself. Decorating, done.
A variation of that, below, is to set the fruit on some pine branches, eucalyptus or other greenery.
Painted pumpkins
This was a fun, easy DIY. Just add metallic paint and glitter to a small gourd for a little shine around the holidays. This will render it inedible though, so save your best pie pumpkins for glitter-free decorating.
Put a bow on it
I had this beautiful black watch plaid ribbon, which totally seemed like fall! So I tied it on the stem of a squash and a little decoration was born.
Outdoor fall decorating
Spruce up the front step with a little display of your squash crop. It’s seasonal, decorative, and totally eco-friendly.
Let me know in the comments if you have a favorite way to display fall’s garden harvest.
I originally published these photos on Midwest Living.
Check that site out for more fall decorating ideas and see what my fellow bloggers have planned for holiday decor, including:
Here’s how to have a minimalist Christmas
Make a holiday sign with scrap wood
How to swap plastic beauty products for bamboo
I switched to bamboo beauty products. Here’s what happened.
Why use bamboo beauty products?
So why bamboo? It’s a sustainable resource that grows easily in poor soil-no need for fertilizers or pesticides. At the end of its life I can compost it, keeping it out of the landfill completely. Plus bamboo just feels luxurious. It’s fun to use these high-quality products knowing that I’m doing something good for the Earth.
Four Eco-friendly products to switch to right now
This year I discovered that many everyday products we all use that can be found in bamboo instead of plastic! So I switched to a bamboo comb, bamboo hair brush, even bamboo toothbrushes (and more!). Here’s what I used and what changes they resulted in for me.
I’ve linked to the products I use below, using affiliate links. There are tons of other brands that are probably just as good, these just happen to be the ones I used and liked.
1. Bamboo Comb
This comb is super affordable online (I paid twice as much for it at my local food store). Unlike plastic, bamboo combs have less pulling and no static. That makes it better for your hair, especially if you comb while it’s wet. I honestly can’t go back to using plastic combs anymore! They just don’t feel as sturdy when I comb through my thick, knotty hair.
2. Bamboo Toothbrush
From a friend who runs a Facebook group about zero waste living, I learned there is such a thing as bamboo toothbrushes! I’d never thought much about it before, but if you use 3-4 toothbrushes in a year, that amount of plastic adds up. So I decided to try a bamboo handled brush.
I ordered this 12 pack linked below for $10.50, which is easily the cheapest toothbrush option out there. I was a little concerned that the description said they were for “orcal care,” since I don’t have whales. But despite the sketchy copy editing, it seems like a decent product and you can’t beat the price. I will definitely order these again. The bristles are gentle and my teeth feel as clean as using any other toothbrush. No better or worse, just a good solid alternative to a plastic handled brush.
3. Bamboo Hairbrush
Also cost-effective, a bamboo bristle hairbrush should last you a long time! Like the bamboo comb, it’s anti-static and feels great on your scalp. If your hair is hard to brush through, thick or tangly, a brush like this is a must have. It’s supposedly gentler on hair and leads to less hair loss. It helps keep hair shiny and manageable, two things for which I will take all the help I can get! The only downside is that it’s a little more difficult to remove hair from the bristles of the brush.
4. Bamboo Straws
Refusing plastic straws is the way to go these days, since growing concerns about them littering oceans have made major media outlets. Once you’ve seen the video of what plastic straws can do to sea turtles, there’s no going back. Luckily, there are these reusable, sustainable alternatives to plastic straws. You may have heard that drinking tea and coffee through a straw helps prevent tooth staining. Bamboo straws are ideal for this because you don’t have to worry about the straw melting!
After each switch to a bamboo product, I can honestly say I can’t imagine going back! I personally think the products are well made as well as sustainable, and work just as well if not better than their plastic counterparts. What do you think? Is using bamboo beauty products weird or inspirational?
Floral Arranging with Wildflowers
Using wildflowers as wedding florals
When my dear little cousin got married last year, she did a DIY farm wedding. Her florals were almost all made of wildflowers picked from the property. It was genius, and it looked so good! She saved $$$, and it fit the style of the wedding exactly. Here’s a photo recap of the wildflower wedding floral arrangements, taken by me and first published in Midwest Living.
How to make your own rustic chic wildflower wedding bouquets
Think about storage and how to keep the flowers fresh! The day before the wedding, a group of friends and family scoured the farm for the best wild blooms. After putting the cuttings in big 5-gallon buckets of water, we made bouquets and then stored them in a walk in refrigerator in the barn. Here’s what it looked like behind the scenes.
Rules of floral design
If you’re doing a DIY floral arrangement, don’t forget this rule of flower design. No matter which type of flowers you’re choosing, use a big, unique bloom as a thriller, one to create mass as a filler, and a drapey one to hang down as a spiller. Getting the style right for wildflower weddings is pretty easy if you keep this in mind.
Mix it up
In addition to farm wildflowers, the bride bought roses, lavender, eucalyptus and baby’s breath to mix into the decor. Putting them into re-used glass containers of various sizes added depth and variety to each table. This approach was thrifty and Eco-friendly but so rustic and beautiful!
Here you can see the simplicity of the idea behind the floral arrangements. The wildflowers are a seamless complement to the lavender and baby’s breath, don’t you think?
Wildflowers in floral arrangements are perfect for outdoor events. How flawless does this look on the outdoor bar?
Do it yourself floral design
This event totally changed any preconceived ideas I had about do-it-yourself flowers and wildflowers for weddings. It just looked good, and that’s all there is to it! Here’s the bride’s professional bouquet along with the bridesmaids’ wildflower bouquets.
Get a peek at the organic farm where the wedding was held, Trillium Wood Farm.
