living lightly in ireland

Sustainable-ish Hallowe’en – Food & Table Decorations 2026

I love a good party, and to be honest I like the planning as much as the attending. In my time I’ve spent way too much time on Pinterest finding low waste ways to achieve high party impact. So you don’t have to spend hours doing the same, here are some of my favourite sustainable Halloween decorations and treats – like these chocolate dipped Boo-scotti biscuits.

Sustainable-ish Hallowe’en Costumes, Decorations & Treats

Halloween used to be my favourite time of the year. It was the one holiday that didn’t involve buying copious amounts of gifts and seem to involve more fun than preparation. Well I can no longer say that this is the case. I have found that avoiding plastic at Halloween is impossible if you’re going to participate in the celebrations. So avoiding it completely might be impossible but reducing your use of plastic at Halloween is not. Here are some ideas for sustainable costume and decorating ideas that you can enjoy.

Choosing a Reusable Coffee Cup

When I first calculated my carbon footprint with Global Footprint Network in 2017 I was depressed. Despite eating less meat, driving an electric car and working towards zero waste the app estimates that we’d need 3.6 earths if everyone lived like me. Eeek! But 18 months later the same calculator says I’d only need 0.8 earths for my lifestyle, i.e. I’m using less resources than the earth can replenish in a 12 month period. Proof that small changes work, and on that note here’s a guide to one small change you can make; using a reusable cup.

Conker Laundry Liquid; Recipe and Verdict

This is one of the posts most people search for on my website; how to make laundry liquid from conkers, aka horse chestnuts. It’s something I tried out in the early days of my zero waste journey. Apparently conkers contain the same soap-like substance as soap nuts, saponin, and being available locally it seemed like the ideal way to reduce my carbon footprint even further. Read on to find out how I got on with them.

Easy Peasy Homemade Rough Puff Pastry

It’s virtually impossible to find affordable all-butter puff pastry without plastic in Ireland, but that doesn’t mean we have to go without. Anyone who bakes will know that just how complicate true puff pastry is to make but rough puff pastry is a breeze.