Fall colors, crisp air, leaves underfoot and seasonal festivities make autumn a favorite time of year for many. However, as it gets colder, energy use increases. While decorating the house is fun, the decor is often plastic or far from green. Here are some ways to live more gently this fall, whether you’re decorating, maintaining your home or engaging in seasonal activities.
Eco-Friendly Habits for Fall Decorating
If you love making your home look beautiful, here are some tips for being environmentally conscious.
1. Power up the Pumpkins
What could possibly be more in keeping with the season than pumpkins? Other gourds and apples are perfect, too. Visit the Ann Arbor Farmers Market — open every Wednesday and Saturday — to buy local. Compost them after use.
2. Use Dried Flowers and Corn Stalks
Dried flowers, strongly associated with fall, have rich and earthy but muted colors that reflect nature’s palette. Their once-living state echoes the season’s transitional nature. Use them in wreaths, arrangements or as table decor.
3. Get Creative
You can create many handmade decorations with a little imagination. Think paper leaf garlands, crochet pumpkins, bead garlands in fall colors or pressed leaf art. Get the kids involved to create eco-friendly habits and decorating techniques you can carry over into other seasons.
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Eco-Conscious Fall Activities
With plenty to do nearby, you can stay local, reduce your mileage and support your community.
4. Visit Apple Orchards and Cider Mills
Get into the seasonal spirit at locations like Wiard’s Orchards, Alber Orchard and Cider Mill or Dexter Cider Mill. Such venues often have pumpkin patches, tractor rides, corn mazes and haunted attractions to keep the family busy for hours.
5. Clean up Your Community
Many areas run cleanup events in the fall to prepare for winter. You could even adopt a storm drain and regularly clear debris from it, as encouraged by the Huron River Watershed Council. This is especially important now, when leaves and other debris can cause backups.
6. Hit the Trails
What a perfect time of year for hiking, biking and walking — it’s great exercise and lets you enjoy the area’s natural beauty. Head to Nichols Arboretum, affectionately known as “The Arb,” for spectacular fall colors along 3.5 miles of trails.
Environmentally Friendly Fall Home Maintenance
As the nights draw in, thoughts turn to hunkering down for winter. Get your home ready the greener way.
7. Switch to Energy-Efficient Lighting
If you’re still using incandescent bulbs, now is the time to upgrade. LED bulbs use only one-quarter of the energy of older bulbs, yet can last up to 25 times longer. Since you’ll be using your lights a lot in the coming months, this will save you money and be the responsible thing to do.
8. Leave Leaves
Avoid raking up leaf litter, even if you love a tidy yard. This fall bounty enriches the soil as it decomposes and is an essential habitat for many insects. Let nature handle it her way.
A Green Halloween
Everyone’s favorite fall event doesn’t have to be full of plastic and debris.
9. Host a Costume Swap
Instead of buying another costume, get together with friends and neighbors for an exchange. This eco-friendly habit is a lot of fun, and it ensures the kids get new outfits without contributing to textile waste. Ann Arbor District Library hosts a costume swap, too — pick out some scary reads at the same time!
10. Trick or Treat Sustainably
Use an old pillowcase or a preloved handbag rather than plastic buckets. Instead of candy with unrecyclable wrappers, consider gifting pencils, popcorn, seed packets or satsumas with scary faces drawn on.
Leaf No Trace in Your Eco-Friendly Fall
These simple, eco-friendly habits and tips for being environmentally conscious will help reduce your impact on the Earth as you celebrate the changing seasons. From decorating with nature’s bounty to supporting local farms to volunteering to greening Halloween, every action contributes to a brighter future.
