The important ritual of the Diwali celebration is cleaning and adorning your home to entice the Goddess Lakshmi – who brings prosperity into your home. Diwali cleaning is about throwing away anything you haven’t used in over a year or you probably won’t need those items again, or won’t need them again at all which results in tons of waste that goes to the landfill.

The environmental costs associated with Diwali cleaning can be reduced by simple awareness and some pre-planning. You need THREE baskets defined for these three purposes:

Recycle- This bin is for items that need to be recycled, such as paper, plastic or glass, electronics.

Mend-  Wait! Before you discard something into the trash, consider extending its use.  Fix up any cracks, tears, and stains from accidental spills and reuse it. Stains on your leather handbag can be treated with white vinegar.

Donate- Assign one bin for items that you can donate to a charitable organization or another person. These should be items you can imagine another person wanting or needing. Like books, toys, stationery, jackets, or accessories.

Buying new clothes is like an age-old tradition and is an integral part of Diwali shopping. Hindus believed that buying gold or a household appliance symbolizes the blessing that Goddess Lakshmi shower on you. Diwali shopping is incomplete without buying new clothes.

Prefer clothing brands that focus on craftsmanship, natural design, and materials that are designed to last, and are not trend-driven. Opt for fabrics such as pure handloom cotton, handspun khadi, and even machine-made cotton.

Exchanging gifts on Diwali is an excellent way to strengthen relationships, it also reflects the warm feelings and the spirit of the festivity. Diwali gifts should be packed with practical needs and need to be bought new. You must think of gifts with gestures of thoughtfulness. 

The following are important things that you need to consider before buying your Diwali gifts.

Seek For Locally Made Gifts

Buying gifts from local craft or artisan shops they are a good source for gifts that come without the added costs of transportation and support the local community. While gifts made locally often have a story that goes with the gift, since the artisan and the origin of the gift are known.

 Re-gifting Is Perfectly Acceptable

If you receive something you really don’t need, it’s perfectly fine if you can pass it to someone who would appreciate or could use it. Re-gifting needs to be done with care and don’t do anything that embarrasses you or the person who gave it to you. Consider the re-gifting of unopened perfume, candles. bath products, gourmet foods (remember to check the expiration date), or books in excellent condition.

Diyas are an integral part of Diwali and the festival of lights means a row of lamps. Today Diwali diyas are available in different forms of electric lamps. Prefer the Traditional Handmade Earthen Clay Diya that is dipped in vegetable oil and emits the least harmful fumes. You can opt for diyas with dough, orange peel coconut shells, conch shells. Next, just add some oil and a wick.

The diwali decoration is the main part of the festival & starts with cleaning and decorating houses weeks before. Diwali Home decoration includes Rangoli making which are considered auspicious and a sign of welcoming Goddess Lakshmi to your home. Most of the time Diwali decoration includes plastic leaf torans or artificial flowers and rangoli with harmful chemicals.

To make Diwali eco-friendly consider using Natural/Organic Wood Dust Rangoli Colour for Rangoli and fresh flowers and leaves for Rangoli over plastic flowers. Decorate home with fresh bright and colorful flowers instead of a plastic ribbon. Use organic incense sticks instead of synthetic room fresheners. or you can fill water in the bowl and put some flowers with floating candles.

Although burning firecrackers has been a Diwali trend, Most of us grew up celebrating Diwali bursting firecrackers However, the pollution caused by firecrackers is not good for the environment and it bothers your furry friends too. If you cannot skip this part, buy varieties that release as little fumes as possible and make very little noise. Prefer Eco-friendly crackers claim to reduce particulate matter by 30%. 

Traditional Indian food is the first thing that comes to anyone’s mind when talking about Diwali, and it is one of the best ways to connect with a person of a different culture or background. For most of us, Diwali can disturb your diet but it all depends on how much you engage in feasting, whether you buy highly processed food that’s ready-made from a shop or you make it at home yourself and always prefer healthy and organic foods, you not only make yourself fit and fine during the festival but also contribute to reducing food wastage.

Once the festival is over, begin the cleanup with the removal of decorations like Dried flowers hanging from doors and windows, as well as ribbons and decorative materials made out of paper that can be easily removed from the house. Diyas and rangoli are also on the list of items to be removed once the festival has ended. Collect all the firecracker remnants and segregate them as biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste and dispose of them responsibly. Wash the place thoroughly with water and use a liquid cleaner to ensure that no hazardous remnants remain.

These are a few simple ways for you to celebrate Diwali in an eco-friendly way. It doesn’t take much except for switching to eco-friendly options and going back to basics. If you liked these eco-friendly options for the Diwali celebration, don’t forget to hit our comment section. We are very much open to more ideas and would love it if you can share some from your side as well.