Halloween is just around the corner and that means fun treats, festive gatherings with you and your friends, and fun decorations and costumes! However, it can be a time where we forget or simply don’t know ways we can be sustainable during this holiday. Which is why I am going be giving you a few tips and advice on easy ways to keep sustainable for Halloween!

 

Decorating your Space 

A fun way to get into the Halloween spirit is decorating your space! However, this doesn’t mean you have to buy everything new, but instead repurpose some old products. Here are some sustainable decoration tips:

1. Repurpose old glass jars! You can turn these jars into some festive and creepy candles by melting wax on the outside of the jar. You can also add colored liquids and labels on the jars to make them look like Witches Brew or Potions.
2. You can buy locally grown pumpkins and can also add other seasonal gourds and even cinnamon sticks to bring an aroma to our space! These decorations can also be reused for after Halloween and going into the Thanksgiving holiday. Here are some Local Austin area pumpkin patches to get your pumpkins and gourds: Sweet Berry Farms, and  The Jersey Farm Pumpkin Patch.
3. Easy spider webs can be created buy using black yarn or string and creating the design on your walls or doors.

 

Creating your Costumes

Store bought costumes can be an easy way to get a costume if you are in a time crunch, but they typically are used only once, and can be expensive, and can be considered fast fashion. However, making them at home could be a more sustainable and less expensive option! Here are some costume tips and tricks:

1. Repurpose old clothing! Whatever you find in your closet you can try and use it to dress up as one of your favorite characters. Have a yellow sweater, khaki or tan pants, and a white collared shirt? You can be the classic 90’s tb show character Arthur! 
2. Make your own accessories! Making your own cat ears is an easy addition to a costume, with using just a headband and felt! Take a look at this super easy, low cost bumble bee costume you can make with duct tape!

 

Jack-O-Lanterns 

Pumpkin carvings are a Halloween staple! If this is your call tradition, here are a few things you can do with these cute pumpkins that would make this Halloween more sustainable.

1. Don’t let the insides of the pumpkin go to waste! When you are carving out your pumpkin before finishing your crazy creation, separate the seeds from the insides to use for a healthy and already available snack. You can roast and toast those seeds instead of throwing them away and you can follow this recipe on how to do that!
2. Compost your pumpkins! While you may think to throw your pumpkins or carvings into the trash, you can easily compost them to give back to your soil, plants or even our planet!

 

While Halloween quickly approaches take things tips and trick into consideration to make your Halloween more sustainable. Another thing to remember is that you don’t have to be doing all of these things perfectly or all at once, sustainability is about making the changes intentional and at your own pace! And who knows maybe this is the year you will keep these useful tips and make them tradition!