Around the holidays it’s always fun to add some festive additions to your home!  I think Halloween is especially exciting to decorate for because you can really let your imagination run wild.  Most store bought Halloween decorations are made of harmful substances like plastic but there are many ways to adorn your home with Halloween goodies in an eco-friendly manner!  

“In North America, we spend more than six and a half billion dollars on this spooky holiday every year, five billion of which is spent in the US.  Choosing to direct our money toward more ecologically friendly solutions could make a big difference in how much Halloween affects the environment.  After all, in the past several decades, there’s been a big move from hand made costumes and treats to mass produced commercial types.”


Using materials in your home:
Cover a pillow with white t-shirt, tying off the bottom. You can draw a face on the t-shirt and voila, it’s a ghost!  You can easily create a scarecrow by stuffing a pair of jeans and a tucked in shirt; prop it up on a chair outside for a higher scare factor. You can drape white bedsheets in corners as fake spiderwebs, with or without some black spiders drawn on. 

Visit the Farmer’s Market:
Pumpkins and gourds make for great Halloween decorations!  Use the little ones as tea light holders but cutting out the stem and hollowing it out so that you can place the candle inside. For a different look, try white pumpkins instead of the popular orange ones. Hay and corn stalks work very well as decorations and can be used in your garden after the holiday is over. Chrysanthemums, dried leaves and pinecones are great for decorating any table top. After Halloween, instead of throwing out your pumpkin, put it in the compost or leave it out with some seeds for the animals. When too many of them sit in a landfill, they produce a lot of greenhouse gases.

If you do buy at the store:
Use rechargeable batters, buy soy based candles and purchase your pumpkin from a local farmer (or someone who doesn’t use harmful chemicals).
Try L.E.D. lights or a felt garland, they will last much longer.
This doormat is made of natural fibers and will last you many Halloweens.

Better Homes and Gardens has lots of great craft ideas. Learn how to make a spooky sign for your food, bat-shaped chair decorations and gourd ghouls.


Credit: