Tempted to buy extra stuff today? The pressure is on, the ads are running, and it’s hard to avoid all of the sales. Here are a few ideas to manage the shopping frenzy:
Buy nothing.
Step outside and get some fresh air.
Visit your favorite green space.
Call or visit a loved one.
Spend time with yourself or a pet, with your favorite seasonal drink.
Really need an item? Consider buying just essential items that need to be purchased anyway.
Support a local and sustainable small business, instead of big-boxed stores.
Instead of purchasing something new, see if you can buy it second-hand, borrow it from a friend, or rent it.
Feel free to take the pressure off today (if you can), and buy nothing.
Halloween is a day that is looked forward and cherished by many.
It is also a day that brings lots of extra waste- extra plastic and waste through costumes and decorations. What if we try to reduce so much waste and use what we have?
Instead of buying so much plastic waste maybe make ghosts out of old sheets or make a scarecrow out of old clothes and save money, too
Embrace Halloween as a day to be creative.
Halloween can be a creative time to decorate and create a costume. I look forward to the creative thinking that come to my door. Being creative is more fun!
The hardest part of a plastic-free holiday is finding plastic-free candy, How about apples or tangerines?
Here are some good candy tips tips from Beyond Plastic: Pick plastic-free packages. If you need to stick to packaged candies, there are some options that come wrapped in foil or small thin cardboard boxes. Candies like Dots, Milk Duds, and Junior Mints come in small cardboard boxes, Tootsie Rolls and other fruit chews and Dubble Bubble come wrapped in paper, and there are many small Halloween-themed chocolates that come wrapped in foil that, at least in theory, could be collected and recycled.
Instead of buying a new costume, consider setting up a costume swap party with friends (see some tips here) or creating a homemade costume where face paint replaces a plastic mask. Perhaps there is even the option to rent a costume for the night.
For decorations, look around your home and in nature to see what can be upcycled to help set the scene for Halloween. Cardboard boxes could easily be made into tombstone decorations. String or rope can create thick spider webs. If you are wanting to purchase decor, consider looking for items that will last for several Halloweens.
What about choosing real pumpkins over plastic versions? Not only can you carve how you want, you can roast the seeds. And when done, the pumpkin can be turned into soup or cut into pieces to decompose in a garden or composted.
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