My Way's to Eco-Friendly Diwali | What's Yours ?

Almost every home gets prepared for Diwali in it's own unique and traditional way as the most favorite festive season of all " DIWALI "

The Festival of Lights arrives we all plan in advance the TO-DO list and get ready to clean our homes to the best possible shine; what sweets and snacks to be prepared for family, friends and guests visiting home; how to decorate our home with Diya's, Kandil's, festive Toran's, snack and sweet trays, making rangoli, buying gifts for family and friends, and Gold/Jewellery on Dhanteras day have it's own significance. Apart from the yummy sweets and snacks that every kids eyes for, bursting a variety of crackers is the second most fun it comes with. I remember we used to wait for the sun to set, light diya's and Kandil's and say our evening prayers together with entire family, have dinner together and once all house chores were done, accumulate outside the house to burst crackers big and small, so that everyone could enjoy the festivities together. Bursting crackers together is a family thing to do during the festive days. 

Now i may go on and on talking about the festive part that we do for Diwali, but there are many other things too which i did growing up all these festive years in my family and continuing still, today i would like to share some of those with you.

First - cleaning our home to the brightest. 

Nowadays we have a special section of mops and cleaning supplies, and it's not cheap at all. All new things come at a price. We still use old used cotton hosiery cloths like tees, hand cloths, towels etc to wipe, mop and clean our home not during festivities only but on daily basis too. This helps reuse, economy, less waste going to the dumping pile and a happy pocket, what say ... 

Second - Lending Old clothes to the needy.

My Parents have made us follow a ritual since childhood. You donate or lend your old unfitted festive clothes before buying any new clothes. By these small things we help the ones in need, instead of trashing or throwing stuff away thereby enabling the feeling of sharing and caring for the things we buy and use. So every festive season and on our birthday's and special ocassions we donate, share and help people in whatever way we can to bring a smile on their face and lighten their day too.

Third - leftover excess oil from frying or cooking. 

We cook daily in our home, the tempering / tadka takes 1-2 teaspoon oil to the max but sometimes we crave for some deep fried food, now frying involves a lot of oil. In our home when we use fresh oil for frying then we generally tend to use the oil for 2 to 3 times or until the oil is slightly discolored. Some households use this oil for tempering / tadka too if they are not going to fry anything or reuse it in a few days to come. As people are getting more health conscious due to the ill effects of fried oil reuse, some discard it soon after the first use of frying. Now the decision is left totally to personal discretion whether to reuse it or not. Also throwing oil in trash or drain is not good for environment. It is hazardous waste and easily flammable.

Here is how my Mom does and also i personally do to reuse the oil used in frying. I strain the oil used in frying each time after the oil cools down to room temperature and accumulate it in a clean dry glass / plastic container or bottle. I usually prefer a big container as i accumulate it all together used from different time frying stuff in one. I use this accumulated cooking oil to lit Diya's in Diwali. Apart from Diwali we have many festivals where we lit diya's, so instead of using new oil, i reuse the accumulated oil always during festivals thereby keeping the cost incheck.

- Oil leftover from frying Diwali delicacies.



- Straining the used cooking oil and storing.



- Ready with the lit diya's filled with the used cooking oil.

When I was in India, I used to give the excess oil container to the nearby local Cycle repair shops. They actually reuse it in the best possible way as they need greases to smooth out the cycle parts and instead use this oil wherever possible. Also some poor people lit oil lanterns in their homes at night, so even they can reuse this used cooking oil thereby making it another alternative of reuse. 

There may be many more such ways to reuse and benefit others which you may come across. If you already are doing some do share your tips in the comments, would be happy to read and share in my blog.

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS DIWALI FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS.

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