Greener Home Designs

Make Your ‘Festival of Lights’ Green and Healthy

2008-12-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

Since Hanukkah is only a few days away, I thought it would be a good time to go over some eco-friendly tips to keep in mind. While lighting your menorah can cut back on your electricity for the week, there is still room to add some green to your eight day celebration. This year, why not go green and use candles made from natural and renewable resources instead of paraffin candles? Candles made from palm oil, beeswax, or soy burn clean and are healthy options for the environment and for your family. If you want to stay away from candles, electric menorahs are also wonderful options around the holidays. For an energy-saving option, choose an LED powered menorah. They use 90% less energy than incandescent lights and can last up to 200,000 hours which is approximately 10 times longer than regular lights.

Green Your Holiday with Eco-Friendly Decor

2008-12-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

Nearly every household has their holiday traditions from trimming the tree to baking cookies. I know for me, a wonderful tradition that I have shared with my family for years is opening all of the cardboard boxes labeled 'Christmas' and finding the keepsake ornaments that we enjoy placing throughout our home each year.

When buying new ornaments for your new home or to give as a gift, keep in mind that there is a wonderful selection of eco-friendly holiday decor that can green your holiday this year. 3R Living has a fantastic site filled with a whole list of items to add to your eco-friendly home. I immediately fell in love with the hand-blown recycled glass ornaments and home spun stockings!

An Eco-Friendly eBay Marketplace

2008-12-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

I have to give my parents some credit – they discovered the ins and outs of eBay long before I ever typed in the web address. Each time I come home for a weekend or special holiday, the biggest updates my parents have to give is what they either bought or sold on eBay. I’ve heard of people become obsessed with the site – a marketplace where one can be competitive and the salesperson they’ve always wanted to be.

While researching a few products on eBay, I came across ‘World of Good’, eBay’s eco-friendly marketplace. Along with the product image and description, World of Good includes what they call a ‘goodprint’ which indicates your purchase impact on people, the environment, and animals. Take a look around the site – you’re bound to find a few green holiday gifts for your loved ones!

Green Holiday Gift Guide: Green MacBook

2008-12-08T08:53:00.000-08:00

If you’re looking to start your eco-friendly New Year’s resolution early this year, Apple computers has got you covered. More PC users are switching to Macs at an overwhelming rate and now is definitely the time to go green with the technology we use on a daily basis. What makes this computer so green? First off, the 13” MacBook’s body is made from a solid piece of aluminum, making this the greenest computer on the market. This aluminum body makes the MacBook feel almost as light as a feather and looks sleek and modern. Also, this irresistible gadget comes equipped with an LED backlight display, an energy saving solution that is sure to cut down on your energy bill.

Eco-Friendly Gift Wrapping Paper

2008-12-04T07:51:00.000-08:00

While growing up, I can remember how excited I was to wake up on Christmas morning and see what Santa brought me that particular year. The holidays were all about anticipation and excitement. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the gifts lying under the Christmas tree and see what toy or doll I could play with for the rest of the day. I remember how my brother and I would always roll our eyes at how my Dad would always make a point to open gifts slowly; eliminating any rips or tears in the wrapping paper. I didn’t quite grasp the idea of saving wrapping paper at the time but I’ve learned to appreciate doing so now. In addition to gift wrapping paper, holiday cards are great items to save to reuse for the following year. Since I can remember my Dad has been reusing wrapping paper and my mom has been cutting out Christmas cards for customized gift tags.

Today, I wanted to highlight a wonderful post I found on Eco-Chick which featured some fabulous green gift wrapping options. As mentioned by Stephanie in her post, companies like Whimsy, Amy Butler, and Erin Ruth have vibrant, eco-friendly gift wrapping collections that are perfect for your green holiday season.

Eco-Friendly Interior Design: Leather Belt Floors

2008-12-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

There's nothing more stylish than merging fashion with sustainability. Through my research and experience with eco-friendly design, I have come across a few different green flooring options to use in a home but have never seen something as unique as TING’s leather floor idea. After graduating from the Royal College of Art, founder Inghua Ting began developing a collection of luxurious, unique products for personal and home use that not only looked amazing but were all made from sustainable materials. Within the TING HOME collection, the vintage belt flooring is a must-see. Each floor tile is made up of a number of salvaged leather belts that are trimmed and glued side by side to create a sophisticated and chic design.

Follow Greener Home Designs!

2008-12-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

Time to take care of a little Greener Home Designs housekeeping. I wanted to let all of my readers aware of the 'Followers' widget that I have added to the right hand column of the blog. This is a great tool to use when you want to organize all of the blogs you visit on a regular basis into one convenient place. Be sure to sign up on the Greener Home Designs 'Follower' widget to get your share of the latest in green designs for your home, family, and lifestyle.

Kick off your green home decorating off with these beautiful recycled glass candle holders from RosannaInc.com. These are a perfect addition for any upcoming holiday party or for when you just want to add a little color and cheer to your home. Once filled with the warmth of a tea light, these glass candle votives truly come to life and fill any room with a colorful ambiance.

NBC’s ‘Green is Universal’ Green Week Campaign

2008-11-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

It’s always refreshing to see that TV networks are becoming more aware of an eco-friendly lifestyle and have started to promote such a life through store merchandise and even in their TV episodes. After watching my DVR’d Lipstick Jungle over the weekend, I was impressed to see how Wendy, one of the co-stars played by Brooke Shields, decided to have a ‘locavore’ Thanksgiving in order to cut down on this year’s Thanksgiving carbon footprint. As described in the show, Wendy’s ‘locavore’ Thanksgiving means that every ingredient from the appetizers to the turkey to the dessert all are locally grown and can be found within a 100 mile radius of New York City. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, I won’t spoil the outcome – whether Wendy pulls off a locally grown Thanksgiving dinner or not – but it’s exciting to see that NBC is kicking their Green Week campaign off to a great start.

As part of their green initiative, NBC Universal has set up an online store where visitors can purchase eco-friendly T-shirts, travel mugs, grocery totes, and more to support their favorite primetime shows and the environment at the same time.

Eco-Friendly Entertaining Around the Holidays

2008-11-20T14:12:00.000-08:00

Before I head home home – yes, that means the home I grew up in – I have a few pre-holiday parties to attend this weekend. As much as I love the December holidays, I would have to say that Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite. Perhaps it’s due to my love for Turkey Day food or it may be the fact that the number of Thanksgivings I attend seem to increase every year. Starting back in college, my friends and I would always put on a pre-Thanksgiving meal that was just like the real thing which is exactly what I’ll be doing a couple of times this weekend.

With holiday gatherings on the brain, I thought it would be appropriate to introduce some eco-friendly serving pieces that look unique and are bound to strike up a conversation at some point in the night. Recycled wine bottles have been flattened and transformed into serving platters for your favorite appetizers! For a more modern, artistic approach, see what New York City’s MoMA has to offer…

Sustainable, Low Impact Housing

2008-11-19T14:09:00.000-08:00

How eco-friendly is your home? I’m willing to bet that it doesn’t compare to Simon’s sustainable woodland home that he developed himself along with his father-in-law, friends, and people passing by the work site. On his website, Simon has a fantastic section that describes how the woodland home was built along with pictures from the beginning when he picked out the best spot for the eco-friendly home to the very end where mud was placed onto the roof and all of the plastering and whitewashing were complete.

When asked why he undertook this incredible project, the quick answer is: “It’s fun. Living your life, in your own way is rewarding. Following your dreams keeps our souls alive.” You can listen to his long answer in the YouTube video below where he discusses the impact our society has on the environment. With everyone relying heavily on the depleting energy sources we use today, there isn’t much room to sit back, relax, and live life normally. As Simon mentions, our world needs to begin to reduce our energy consumption as we currently don’t have an alternative energy source to turn to in the near future. A low impact development such as Simon’s woodland home is a great example of how to cut down on energy use while living a simple lifestyle that is more connected to Earth.

Eco-Chic Thanksgiving Tabletop

2008-11-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

For any style and eco-conscious person, the look of their dining room tableware is just as important as how their Thanksgiving feast tastes. If you’re looking to add an eco-friendly element to your special turkey day, Sprig.com has a wonderful collection of tabletop décor and dinnerware that is made from organic or sustainable materials and makes any dining room table look its best.

Browse through each creative, green spread and you will find festive placemats with built in napkin holders, vintage salad plates that resemble elegant doilies, and colorful bamboo dinner plates perfect for children. The key to many of these Thanksgiving tabletop motifs is that a large portion of them were found at flea markets and thrift stores. When preparing your Thanksgiving table for the big feast, don’t forget to look for some recyclable products – they just might add the perfect eco-chic accent you’re looking for!

Bamboo Kitchenware: The Perfect Blend of Modern and Green Design

2008-11-17T12:54:00.000-08:00

With the holiday season quickly approaching, you have probably already started to think of celebrations, gifts, and delicious food. As happy as this eventful season is, there is one scary thought associated with the holidays: waste. Between the food scraps left over from a holiday party or the collection of plastic and paper dinnerware thrown in the trash, the amount of waste can really add up from home to home.

A great way to cut back on the trash piling up after a party is to use sustainable dinnerware made from bamboo. This eco-friendly and stylish material is the perfect solution to incorporating a little extra ‘green’ around the holidays! Each bowl collection is made from organically grown bamboo and finished with a food safe oil to give it a chic, polished look. Enjoy these eco-friendly collections at your next party and spread the word about the benefits of bamboo tableware to your friends!

Getting the Facts on Fair Trade Coffee Beans

2008-11-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

More often than not, you’ll find that millions of Americans start, continue, or end their day with a cup of coffee. We are living in a country that consumes an astounding one-fifth of the world’s coffee, making the United States one of the largest coffee consumers in the world. Rather than focusing on the double espresso latte we’ll be enjoying the next morning, we should shift our attention to the question of whether our routine cup of coffee is fair trade or not. After all, going green wouldn’t be complete without taking into consideration the fair or unfair production of the food and beverages that we regularly consume.

Before putting coffee beans into our coffee machine in the morning, be sure to take a look at the packaging and check out if it is fair trade certified. According to the Transfair USA website, “The Fair Trade Certified™ label guarantees consumers that strict economic, social and environmental criteria were met in the production and trade of an agricultural product.” Detailed criteria for Fair Trade products can be found on the website and are featured below:

Fair prices: Democratically organized farmer groups receive a guaranteed minimum floor price and an additional premium for certified organic products. Farmer organizations are also eligible for pre-harvest credit.
Fair labor conditions: Workers on Fair Trade farms enjoy freedom of association, safe working conditions, and living wages. Forced child labor is strictly prohibited.
Direct trade: With Fair Trade, importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible, eliminating unnecessary middlemen and empowering farmers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace.
Democratic and transparent organizations: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade revenues.
Community development: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarship programs, quality improvement trainings, and organic certification.
Environmental sustainability: Harmful agrochemicals and GMOs are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers' health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations.

Building a Compost Pile 101

2008-11-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

As we’re coming up to mid-November in New England, it’s hard not to notice the abundance of fallen leaves strewn across sidewalks and front lawns. As beautiful as they are on the trees in their vibrant shades of oranges, reds, and yellows, it usually ends up being a pain if you’re left tripping over slippery leaves all day. A great way to motivate yourself to clean up your lawn’s leaves is by preparing your collection for a compost pile.

First, start by collecting all of the fallen leaves in your area, soggy leaves and all, and stockpile them in an outdoor storage bin. Another important element to a nutritious compost pile is grass clippings from the spring before or after. You may have already started collecting your clippings from a few seasons prior to fall or you can always wait for the next time your lawn is in need of a cut. A compost pile can always be added to – even around the upcoming holiday season. Vegetable scraps from Thanksgiving and December holiday meals can add a great element to your autumn leaf compost pile. Keep on recycling your kitchen scraps and build your compost pile so that you can add this nutrient-rich substance to your springtime soil.

Greener Home Designs Giveaway from Kiwi Magazine!

2008-11-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, I featured a few eco-friendly kids’ arts & crafts projects that were perfect for keeping your little ones busy around the Halloween season. As mentioned in my blog post, I found these adorably crafted Halloween decorations on Kiwi Magazine, a great resource for learning how to encourage a green lifestyle in your home.

If you would like to learn more about the ways in which you and your family can live a greener life, Kiwi Magazine is for you. Magazine issues are filled with healthy, organic recipes, eco-friendly crafts for kids, and a number of different parenting guides that encourage the idea of raising a green family.

Enter the Greener Home Designs Giveaway to win a free 1-year subscription to Kiwi Magazine by sending me an email with 'Greener Home Designs' in the subject box to express your interest. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on Monday, November 24th. Good luck to everyone!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Your Thanksgiving

2008-11-07T06:55:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, it can be difficult to convince people to go green after they’ve heard a myth or two about an eco-friendly life. Many people believe that going green can be too expensive or too difficult of a lifestyle to uphold. The idea of checking labels, researching ingredients, picking up organic fruits and vegetables, and installing sustainable materials in homes can feel like an overwhelming list of tasks and it’s easy to get frustrated without having a little green living guidance.

The best way to start your green life is to think of the small things you can do and work your way up. You may be surprised to find that there are some eco-friendly components in your life already. For example, look at the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving. This has to be one of the best times of year to practice our recycling skills as we reuse all of our leftovers in the kitchen from that fantastic feast of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, squash, rolls, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and much more. Ecologue, one of my favorite green reads, stresses the importance of using all of your Thanksgiving leftovers for future meals with a few amazing recipes. I’ve included one below for 'Next Day Turkey Soup' to get your mind thinking of the delicious, eco-friendly feast that lies ahead.

Ingredients:

2 quarts chicken broth
1 turkey carcass, all meat removed
1 onion, halved, plus 1 onion, minced
1 carrot, halved lengthwise, plus 1 carrot, minced
1 whole stalk celery, plus 1 more stalk, minced
2 bay leaves
3 cups dark turkey meat
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 carrot, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
3 cups leftover cooked Thanksgiving side vegetables (Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, green beans)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves

Directions:

1. Put chicken broth, turkey, onion halves, carrot halves, 1 celery stalk, and 1 bay leaf in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer about 1 1/2 hours. Finely dice the remaining onion, carrot and celery and reserve.

2. Dice the turkey meat. Make sure meat pieces are no larger than the size of a soup spoon. (If preparing soup the next day, be sure to store leftover turkey meat in an airtight container before placing it in the refrigerator, top with 1 or 2 ladles full of broth to keep meat moist.)

3. Before straining broth, remove large bones and carcass with tongs. Strain the broth through a sieve, covered with wet cheese cloth. Discard the solids. Transfer broth to a bowl set in a bath of ice water, which will cool the broth quickly and help keep it fresher longer. This can be done the night before and stored in the refrigerator until the next day.

4. In a large soup pot, heat garlic cloves in the olive oil. Allow to brown slightly and add minced carrots, celery, and onion. Sweat over medium-low heat until softened, about 7 or 8 minutes.

5. Dice the leftover vegetables (here Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and green beans). Add the chopped sage to the soup pot along with the turkey broth and the remaining bay leaf. Bring to a simmer. When simmering, add Brussels sprouts, green beans and diced turkey meat to the soup. Bring it back up to a simmer. Finally, add the sweet potatoes to the center, and gently push them down. Turn the heat off and cover. Allow to sit and steam for 5 to 7 minutes.

6. Let simmer for 5 more minutes and serve.

Featured Green Blog: Re-Nest

2008-11-06T13:34:00.001-08:00

For some, green design has a negative connotation. Eco-friendly seems to translate to this awful idea of old, recycled, and reused products that fail to bring anything special to the table when it comes to designing a home. If you’ve heard any of these negative ideas, let’s just clear the air now and declare that this is not true! Green design is actually a popular trend that lies within fashion, furniture design, home building, and even among the oh-so-fabulous lives of celebrities.

In case we need a constant reminder that green design is in fact chic and sophisticated or if we’re just in need of a dose of design, take a look at Re-Nest, Apartment Therapy’s guide to creating a green home. Here you will learn additional tips on how to combine both eco-friendly and modern designs so that you won’t have to sacrifice personal style when it comes to greening up your home. You’ll quickly learn that green design works with you, not against you, and that if you can live in a home that looks great while supporting the environment, it’s a win-win situation all around!

How to Have a Low-Energy Thanksgiving Day Feast

2008-11-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

Preparing a Thanksgiving dinner takes a lot of energy out of our bodies and our home. Throughout the day, ovens are blazing for hours, stovetops are filled with simmering vegetables, and microwaves are warming up the rich gravy that will top the feast off. As much as leftover turkey sandwiches with all the fixings are a great treat, no one wants cold turkey on Thanksgiving Day so how can we cut down on the energy we use to heat our food?

While researching ways to turn my lifestyle into a greener one, I often stumble upon Planet Green’s site. Since I’ve been looking forward to going home for Thanksgiving for some time, I thought it would be interesting to come up with a few ways to make the fall holiday more eco-friendly. Planet Green has come up with five ways to make our Thanksgiving as low-energy as possible:

1. Keep Your Oven Door Shut – Resist the temptation to get a sneak peek at how your bird is looking and smelling. Turn on the oven light to see the progress as it cooks throughout the day.
2. Stuff the Oven – Since there are a number of Thanksgiving Day items that need to be baked, such as the turkey, pies, potatoes, and vegetables, try to fit as many dishes in the oven as you can.
3. Use Your Microwave – Side dishes can be cooked or heated up easily and with less energy in the microwave. As long as the meal is hot, your guests won’t know the difference!
4. Choose Your Stove Burners Wisely – Match large stovetop burners with larger pots and pans and smaller burners for saucepans and small veggie steamers. Energy can be wasted when you place small pots on large burners.
5. Load Your Dishwasher Up – Once you have all of your dirty dishes scraped and rinsed, it’s more energy-efficient to have them cleaned in your dishwasher on energy-saving settings rather than running the faucet.

How to Make Your Election Day Green

2008-11-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

The commute to work is bad enough but when you add Election Day, forget about making it to work on time! The 2008 Presidential Election is surely the most legendary race our country has experienced and everyone wants a piece of it. Thankfully, I sent in an absentee ballot a few weeks ago to cast my vote and didn’t have to worry about the lines of cars and crowds of people early this morning. For those that plan on voting today, a great way to cut down on the swarms of cars that are polluting the air is to set up a carpool with friends or people in your community.

Planet Green discusses how two companies, Live Earth and Zimride, have created a Facebook application that allows people to organize carpools to local voting booths in an effort to promote a green Election Day. A great way to continue this green commute is to find coworkers that would be interested in riding into work together. Going green can save you a little green – money that is! Be sure to vote today!

Going Green in Your Kitchen

2008-11-03T18:43:00.000-08:00

When you are looking to add a little more green to your kitchen, two of the best places to consider are the countertops and cabinets. According to HGTV’s Green Dream Home designer, Linda Woodrum, it’s best to look for natural materials to put into your kitchen countertops. Popular choices include natural stone counters such as granite and marble. Not only are these eco-friendly additions but they will make your kitchen look updated and beautiful. If you are sold on tile, research to see if the material was used or leftover from a previous installation or made from recyclable materials.

Kitchen cabinets can come in a variety of materials, but choosing the green option is always the best way to go. Linda Woodrum suggests picking cabinets made from sustainable woods such as eucalyptus and bamboo. Hardware can always be found at a bargain price at flea markets, thrift stores, and garage sales – not only do you get a great deal but you are reducing the demand for newly manufactured cabinet hardware. Check out Linda’s guide for more great green tips!

Eco-Friendly School Year

2008-10-31T14:02:00.000-07:00

Kids have been in school for approximately two months now and it’s important to make sure that their school supplies are still in good condition. Often times when it’s back to school shopping time, many shoppers believe a great way to save money is by buying the cheaper binders, notebooks, and folders when it can actually cost them a lot more down the road when they have to replace fairly new materials. Investing in quality school supplies from the beginning gives you a bigger chance that the materials will last a lot longer than flimsy construction and cheap materials.

Green Living Ideas gives a few tips on how to prepare your children for the upcoming school year the green way. On top of buying high quality materials to pack in your kids’ backpacks, they suggest using recycled school supplies that neighbors or school districts may have left over from past years. Thirdly, it’s a good idea to check out your local library for used textbooks, calculators, or other school materials that would come in handy.

Festive Fall Wreaths

2008-10-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

Fall foliage in New England is one of the most beautiful things to see during the month of October. Each year, many people drive up and down the Eastern coast just to catch a glimpse of the colorful decorations that Mother Nature has put on display while they snap pictures of each tree that passes by. A great way to put a little green design in your fall decorations this year is by constructing a natural seasonal wreath made from recycled materials from your own backyard. Follow the steps below to make a natural leaf and pinecone wreath of your own!

1. Use fresh vine to construct the foundation of your fall wreath by wrapping the length of vine into a circular formation. Once you have determined the diameter of your wreath, wrap and wind excess vine behind the wreath in order to help hold the circular shape in place. Repeat this 3-4 times with fresh vine for a steady wreath base.

2. Dry your vine wreath anywhere from 2-3 weeks in a dry area whether outside in the sun or indoors.

3. Walk around your backyard to gather fallen leaves, pinecones, and dried berries. Choose colorful leaves to bring vibrant, autumn color to your front door decoration.

4. Attach natural décor to the dried vine base with floral wire or hot glue and enjoy your recycled, handmade wreath!

Three Ways to Go Green This Halloween

2008-10-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

If you’re anything like me, you’re still scrambling for the last few items on your Halloween To-Do List. With only two days away until the main event, the mayhem has definitely started to kick in and no one wants to be caught in the middle of it. If you must insist on getting your last minute terrorific items, keep in mind to throw in a few eco-friendly “to-dos” as well. Below is a short list to get you started:

1. Going green for Halloween can save the planet and your wallet at the same time. Before heading to the store, make sure to go through your home to see if you already have containers that can hold goodies for your trick-or-treaters. Dressing up a kitchen bowl with orange and black tissue paper, Halloween stickers, or recycled paper confetti will turn a regular dish into a candy treasure chest.

2. Ask around for Halloween costumes and accessories before stressing out about high store prices and long lines at the register. Your friends and family have been around for many Halloweens and are bound to have a few fantastic outfits lying around waiting to be reused. Trade with a friend each year and you’ll have a new costume every October 31st.

3. Keep it spooky at home during Halloween night by lighting candles. ‘Tis the season to keep your home scary and mysterious and what better excuse do you need to conserve energy? When lighting candles inside your home or for outdoor luminaries, use candles made from 100% beeswax or soy.

Eco Friendly Home Décor by Inhabit Living

2008-10-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

Mike and Jennifer Tuttle, Inhabit Living’s fantastic designing duo, have created a unique line of green design décor for every room in your home. Not only is each item eco-friendly, but the handmade sketches that grace the surfaces of accent pillows, wall decals, bedding, interior lamps, and more are organic and beautiful.

The chic neutral palette Inhabit Living uses for their collection reflects one of the hottest trends in interior design today. Pairing natural colors with bold accent colored décor will bring life to any dreary room that’s looking for a makeover. Designing your room around organic, eco-friendly home décor brings about a natural and earthy feel to any room. You’ll feel so comfortable and calm in your new green design room, you won’t want to leave!

Eco Crafts & Green Design Tips for Halloween

2008-10-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

One of the first things that kids think of when they hear the word ‘Halloween’ is candy. When I was younger, my Dad would give my friends and me a ride on the hay-filled trailer around the neighborhood while we spotted the houses we wanted to visit to get the biggest and best candy. After a fun night of trick-or-treating, I knew the night was a success when my pillowcase of Halloween treats weighed close to my body weight. My brother and I would dump out our treasures and trade/fight over our favorite candies over the kitchen table and compare the number of king-size chocolate bars we each were able to snag.

As great as those childhood memories are for me, Halloween doesn’t always have to be about the candy. There are plenty of other things we can associate the holiday with whether it is handing out fruit, change for UNICEF collection boxes, or creating a fall leaf collection. During the fall season, think of the ways we can implement green design into our festive holiday: decorate your home with pumpkins and gourds instead of yards of plastic bats and spiders, carve pumpkins for outdoor décor, and bake homemade apple and pumpkin pies! Kids can even dress up for the delicious bake-off!