It’s that time of year again… the nights are beginning to cool, the days are getting a little shorter, and you’re likely feeling like you want to curl up in your little home nest and read a good book. And the one thing that makes that seasonal pull inward all the more nostalgic and enjoyable is accenting our homes with festive fall decor.
When I was a kid, we had this trunk in our living room that housed all of our seasonal decor. Every year we would start our season of decorating the house with halloween, and we used the same pieces every year. Pulling out each item from the trunk brought us so much joy and nostalgia, even the silly handmade construction paper pumpkins or napkin ghosts were saved and reused each year.
But these days it seems like most seasonal decorations have lost their soul. You see big box stores with a whole aisle of seasonal JUNK being sold as cheap as possible, made as cheap as possible, likely by unfair foreign labor.. and it’s usually plastic. What’s worse is that it’s intended to be so cheap that you throw it out after each holiday and buy all new stuff the following year. Not only do those cheap items not spark joy, they create SO much waste! And if I may say, they look really tacky. There’s nothing more beautiful than using natural elements to decorate your home (like flowers!)
So I’m rounding up a whole bunch of eco friendly and zero waste fall decor ideas that are friendly to the environment AND your wallet.
1. Fall flowers! Whether they’re fresh or dried, seasonal flowers are the perfect earth friendly decor to brighten up any space.
2. Succulent or flower filled pumpkins
Try this tutorial by Momtastic.

3. hang Fresh autumn leaves
Dip them in melted bees wax to preserve them and make their colors pop. Check out these two DIY’s from Martha Stewart and Small Things.


4. Use fresh leaves to make compostable table confetti

Find a maple leaf hole punch on Etsy to make it extra Autumn 🙂

5. Get creative with painting pumpkins
Please remember that most paint is not biodegradable and will pollute your compost (and the planet) with toxins. I highly recommend Milk Paints which are made of all natural biodegradable ingredients and have a high quality finish. Compost friendly!


6. Make a witch’s broom with yard waste and twine

7. Pretty obvious here but just pumpkins!! They’re so beautiful and diverse.

8. Create some beautiful autumn votives using real leaves and a little mod podge.
Check out this sweet DIY by SPARK AND CHEMISTRY.

Or repurpose jars with tissue paper and glue, happy halloween!
Cute DIY by Skip to My Lou.

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