Upcycle Your Flowers After Puja | Hoovu Fresh

Every day tons of fresh flowers dedicated to deities in homes and temples go either into the waste bin or some waterbody at the end of the day. These pooja flowers along with its pesticides and insecticides adds up to 8 Lakhs tonnes of waste every single year, thus adding to the issue of global warming. 

Everyone knows the importance of pooja flowers but not everyone knows what to do with them  after they are used. With a lot of awareness being spread these days, many organisations have taken matters into their own hands to bring control to this issue of this kind disposal of daily puja flowers. 

What if we could start to control the issue of disposal right at our homes? We give you five ways to upcycle your puja flowers so that you don't need to dispose them,

5 ways to upcycle your puja flowers:-

• Make Potpourri

You would have seen potpourri being sold at several stores around you. Now you can make your own potpourri at home, with your used puja flowers. Just dry the flowers until they are crispy. Transfer these flowers to an airtight container, add your favourite fragrant spices like cloves or cinnamon, and essential oils of your choice. Allow these ingredients to mature for 10 days. Your homemade potpourri is now ready!

• Make Floral Stationery

Dry or press the used puja flowers for a few days. Once the flowers have become stiff, use them to create floral patterns on diary covers or inner pages, bookmarks, note cards, wrapping papers, etc. Real flower stationeries make the best aesthetic gifts on several occasions.

• Make Natural Soap

In a mixing bowl, add your used flower petals, 100% sodium hydroxide, your favourite soap colours, essential oils and herbs. Stir everything well and add it to a silicone soap mould. Allow the soap to sit for at least 2 days until the soap turns cold and firm. Your homemade soap is now ready! Store the soap in an airtight container and use away.

• Make Surface Cleaner

Used flowers can make your home fragrant. Add 1/4th cup of flowers to 1 cup baking soda and 1 tsp of salt. Use this combination to flagrantly clean your surfaces like table top, kitchen counter, etc. 

• Make Compost

Since most of us don’t want to mix the puja flowers with regular trash, we can turn it into compost easily. To the compost bin, add layers of flowers and dry leaves alternatively. Spray each layer with water to begin the process of maturing. Mix the pile once a week until all the leaves and flowers have turned into compost. This process usually takes 3-6 months. Once the compost is ready add it to your plants!

We at Hoovu Fresh, have also started our own composting unit. We do this through the Waste Composter Bin from Soil and Health Composting Solutions. This waste composter let’s our flower waste convert into a very fertile compost for our garden!

Tell us which of the above techniques will you use to upcycle your used puja flowers. Buy farm fresh pooja flowers from Hoovu Fresh and upcycle them your way!