DIY: Ways to reuse leftover flower
Flowers have long played an important role in our Indian culture. Be it for decoration, as an offering to deities, or maybe as a gift, flowers have always been the preferred choice. But did you know that every year in India, 8 million metric tonnes of floral waste is dumped into rivers? This chokes the rivers and pollutes them, causing environmental degradation.
Flowers are biodegradable and can be repurposed in many ways. So, the next time you have a dry garland or flowers, don’t throw them away; instead, repurpose them.
Whenever you feel confused about what to do with dried flowers, opt out of these ways to reuse leftover flowers.
1. Make scented candles
Candle making is fun and helps with your home décor as well. To make a candle at home, you need- Soy wax, flowers, a wick with a wick holder, and a glass jar.
To prepare the scented candle, you need to melt the soy wax using the double boiler technique or in the microwave. Let it cool for 1 minute, then mix in the dried flowers of your choice.
Place the wick in the glass jar, then add the mixture and freeze it.Your scented candle is ready.
2. Compost
Composting is the perfect escape when you are short on time and also wondering what to do with these biodegradable items. You can easily compost flowers in your home compost to make fertiliser for your garden.
Read here to know how you can prepare home compost.
3. Potpourri
Potpourri was introduced by the French people, who used to hang dried flowers in bowls in their homes. Basically, it is a mixture of flowers, herbs, and spices that is usually kept in a jar and used to fill your house with a nice, fresh aroma.
And to make potpourri at home, you need dried flowers, an essential oil of your choice, your favourite fragrant spice, and a bowl to display it in.
Method: Take a jar, add dried flowers, 6-7 drops of essential oil, and your preferred spice (you can use cloves, cinnamon, or thyme). Close the lid of the jar and let it sit for 10 days. After this time, transfer the mixture to a bowl and place it in your preferred location in the house.
4. Home cleaner
You need not invest in a home cleaner; this can easily be made at home. Look here for methods to make a natural home cleaner.
These home cleaners are self-sufficient, but if you are looking to add fragrance to them, then replace normal water with scented flower water. All you need to do is boil the flower petals in the water until the petals become colorless, and then use this scented water in place of normal water.
Alternatives to trimmed flowers
If you really like gifting flowers, then prefer to gift a vase with flowers or maybe indoor plants that come in pots. This will not only stay as a memory forever, but it will also stop creating more waste.
Aesthetically pleasing vases are available and can be gifted instead of just the flowers, which will be lifeless in a few days.
Other ways to use flowers
You can also extract essential oil from the petals, use them as a dye, or make incense sticks for your home. But doing this requires processes or ingredients that are not easily available at home. Hence, detailed procedures have not been listed here. Let us know if you need this covered in detail.
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