It’s no surprise that when you try to green your Halloween, you’ll likely save some money, too.

Here are 3 quick ways you can make this Halloween a bit more eco-friendly; these tips are courtesy of my friend Jodi Helmer, author of the awesome book The Green Year (Alpha Books, 2008), which provides 365 simple and inexpensive green ideas for each day of the year.

1. Green the goodies: Think of all the candy wrappers that one little goblin throws in the trash – then multiply that number by the millions of trick-or-treaters who are happily gobbling up their stash. You can still satisfy a sweet tooth but save cash and on the resulting trash by buying treats in bulk to minimize packaging waste.

2. Come up with a new costume: Skip the racks of colorful costumes at the mall (most of them are made of non-renewable materials like plastic) and come up with a creative idea for a homemade costume. Add a bandana to a pair of jeans and a denim shirt for an instant cowboy costume or put on your wedding dress and go as the Bride of Frankenstein. Or, host a costume swap with the neighbors. The costumes their kids have outgrown might be the perfect fit for your little one. (You can do what I did one year and go vintage: I took my daughter to a thrift store so she could buy real 1970s clothing when she decided she wanted to be a 1970s hipster for Halloween; she’s next to “Dorothy” in the picture above.)

3. Choose natural decorations: Bails of straw, colorful mums and a handful of gourds are great seasonal decorations that can be composted on November 1st. If scary witches hanging from the oak tree and plastic pumpkins on the front step are a must-have, scour secondhand stores. (I was in my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore store last week, and it had tons of Halloween decorations for about a quarter a piece. Note: the Christmas decorations were already out, too, so if you want to stock up on the cheap, now’s the time to head out to thrift stores for those decorations before they get totally picked over.)

Of course, it goes without saying that you ought to go out trick or treating with a reusable bag to hold your stash–whether it be the reusable tote you bring to the store with you or that old standby from years gone by, the pillowcase.