10 Cool Uses for Fall Leaves

Let’s be honest, raking and bagging leaves stinks.  Actually, for me, it’s the bagging them that I am not a fan of–so here’s 10 cool ways to put those leaves to use other than bagging them for the garbage man:

1. Compost them.  Leaves are a perfect addition to the compost pile, plus they won’t take up room in the landfill.
2. Cover your garden beds with them as a winter mulch.  {Make sure the leaves come from healthy trees though–no reason to introduce disease into your garden soil.}
3. Mow them.  Take an ashes to ashes, dust to dust approach, and allow your lawn to benefit from the nutrients left the leaves.
4. Make a leaf mold to enrich your garden.  Place leaves in a garbage bag, moisten them and tie the bag shut.  {You’ll want to find a place out of sight to leave the garbage bag so it won’t be an eyesore.}  Different leaves breakdown at different rates, but you could have a batch of nutrient rich leaf mold in as little as 6 months.
5. Make a scarecrow and use dried leaves as the stuffing, instead of straw.
6. Get two glass vases, one smaller than the other so that it will nest in the larger vase.  Place gathered leaves in the outer jar and a candle in the inner jar for an easy Autumn centerpiece on your table.
7. Press the leaves {before they become brittle} in a heavy book.  Then, using spray glue, glue them to festive paper and frame them for easy fall decor.
8. Use pine cones and leaves to make a fall wreath.
9. Attach them to a long ribbon, using hot glue or spray glue to create a fall garland.
10. Modge podge them to a pumpkin for a cool addition to your front porch.

How about you, do YOU have any cool ways to use up those fall leaves?

~Mavis

See more Cool Uses for other common items.