Autumn is my favorite season. I love the crisp clean air, cool nights, and beautiful soft quality of the changing light. We are particularly lucky living in a region unique for its extreme foliage show of vibrant reds, intense oranges, yummy browns, and bright yellows. Few other places in the world match the brilliance of the Great Northeast. We change our wardrobes to reflect the season and hopefully our home environment also. As the weather gets colder we will spend more time indoors, where creating a healthy home environment is even more important.

Bring nature indoors with displays of natural seasonal offerings such as apples, pumpkins and gourds (which also help support local farmers). Plastic decorations, although abundant and inexpensive, sabotage our efforts to connect with the season – and poison our environment in many ways. Plastic negatively affects air quality and contributes to the ever -growing toxic waste stream. What’s really frightening is to think that new studies are showing the chemical BPA (found in many plastics) in most of our bloodstreams!  

Great alternatives to the cheap ready-made Halloween costumes (which usually gets cast off into a landfill) are home made costumes of reused and recycled materials. As cute as that plastic goblin may appear, the real scare is the effect on your (and our planets) health.

Let the falling leaves inspire you to release those toxic items (thoughts, ideas, and people) that no longer serve your highest and greatest good.

Nurture yourself with Mother Nature, She always knows best.

Warm Home Blessings, ~ Cheryl Terrace

In the deep fall
don’t you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless
freshets of wind.  Song for autumn. Mary Oliver