Make Easter sustainable!

It is the time when the Easter celebration is just at the corner. You can make it more sustainable and almost zero waste. Here are a few life hacks on how to leave less carbon footprint and still enjoy the Easter.

Buy organic eggs and Easter chocolates from local producers

To begin with, what kind of Easter is possible without eggs? Yes, none. We usually buy many of them for further dyeing and sharing with all the family members and “beating” each other with them as a part of tradition. For more assurance that you buy organic eggs, try to purchase them from your local producer. This way you are helping your community bysupporting the circulationof the money in your area.Also, those single egg chocolates or chocolate bunnies that are spread in the stores – usually are of the bad quality and they are a proof of enormous plastic usage for each foil. Buy the chocolates also from your neighborhood or even bake a cake or cookies for your children and their friends. Gives you more space for creativity and sustainability.

Use natural dye for eggs

Every store is filled up with many types of dyes before the Easter. They can become one of many causes of pollution due to plastic and cardboard contained in these dyeing kits. You do not have to worry – our ancestors would manage with natural dye ingredients to make eggs colorful. Of course, the naturally dyed eggs’ shades may differ from ingredient to ingredient but overall you can expect the following colors. For example, paprika and white vinegar mixed in boiling water can give you a faint red-orange color. Mustard-yellow is a result of adding a turmeric, lavender color is a mix of grape juice and vinegar, red cabbage, you will not believe, would give the eggs the blue color! There are a lot of ingredients and ways to get a desired color palette for the eggs, you can find a lot of them on Pinterest, any websites related to house and kitchen life hacks.

Avoid wasting the food

Another kind rule and an advice – to plan thoroughly the meals to be served for Easter celebration in advance. Make sure to buy only needed groceries that will be used 100% or do not go bad in the several days. Prepare a list of what to buy before going to the supermarket. Besides, even if there are the leftovers – try to share with the neighbors or to mix with other ingredients to make a proper meal for next time (or even conserve if possible).

Compost eggshells

If you have a garden or a summer house to use a compost in – do not throw away the egg shells. They are really good in adding calcium to the making up of your final compost. This nutrient helps plants build cell walls. However, you do not need to crash the eggshells for the compost, doing so will speed up the process of breaking down of the eggshells in it. Also, make sure to wash them in order to eliminate the risk of diseases which raw eggs may contain and also to reduce the possibility of any animals to be attracted. Besides, eggshells can be used in the garden to fight off pests such as slugs, snails and cutworms.

Gift an experience instead of material things

Usually Easter baskets are full of newly bought toys, candy and chocolate. Rather than spending money on useless later material objects and set an example of materialism and consumerism – gift your children an experience. It will be much more memorable and can become one of those times you spend together as a family in a different surrounding and environment. There is no limit to creativity – it can be visiting a park where you can spend time appreciating seasons changing or a cooking class where you can use fresh and natural ingredients.

Reusable Easter basket for each year

Instead of purchasing a new plastic Easter basket – better find one at your local second-hand store or spend some time and creativity on creating a good quality one that you can use for years ahead. It can a basket from wood but nicely and brightly decorated with some felt, or you can turn an unexpected material into it. For example, you can even use umbrellas and rain boots!

“Greener” grass in the Easter basket

When saying you can switch for a “greener” grass in your basket – it does not necessarily mean you have to use real grass. But utilizing, again, non-biodegradable plastic grass is nothing good, especially when setting example of traditions and celebrations ideas to your children. There are lots of options on what to fill the basket with – starting from shredded recycled paper, some scarf, a piece of fabric and ending simply dried leaves from your garden.

Autor: Anastasiia Zhmankova

Photo source:
Pinterest / https://www.bhg.com/holidays/easter/eggs/natural-easter-egg-dyes/

25 Zero Waste Easter Basket Ideas

a clutter-free easter basket.

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