Nothing bugs me more than Styrofoam. This Frankenstein-style petroleum based product disgusts me. It is both harmful to humans, the environment and is made from a non- sustainable resource. I am sorry but, there is nothing positive I can say about it.
Did you know that when used as a food/drink container, toxic chemicals can leak into your food or drink? It doesn't biodegrade in landfills and when it is made it releases harmful chemicals into the air (57 possible toxic chemicals to be exact).
Instead of using Styrofoam, look for products that either contain biodegradable materials, can be recycled or made from recycled materials.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Chemical-Free Lemon Oil Duster
So I tried this today and it worked beautifully! For a perfect dust cleaner that is better than Pledge without all the Chemicals, just dab a little on a cloth and get to dusting!
Recipe:
10 drops Lemon Oil
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
A few drops Jojoba Oil
Mix, dab on a cloth and dust dust dust!
Recipe:
10 drops Lemon Oil
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
A few drops Jojoba Oil
Mix, dab on a cloth and dust dust dust!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
All Natural Cleaning Recipes!
Here are a few of my favorite eco-friendly/chemical-free household cleaners!
Toilet Bowl Sizzler
Sprinkle Baking soda around the rim of the toilet and in the water.
Pour white distilled Vinegar into the toilet and let sizzle. Use a toilet brush to scrub then flush.
All-purpose Cleaner(perfect for kitchens or bathrooms)
In a spray bottle, combine 2 parts water with 1 part White distilled Vinegar. I add a few drops of lemon essential oil for scent but, it is optional.
Club Soda Window Cleaner
Just add some club soda to a spray bottle. Simple, easy and works like a dream on dirty windows.
Toilet Bowl Sizzler
Sprinkle Baking soda around the rim of the toilet and in the water.
Pour white distilled Vinegar into the toilet and let sizzle. Use a toilet brush to scrub then flush.
All-purpose Cleaner(perfect for kitchens or bathrooms)
In a spray bottle, combine 2 parts water with 1 part White distilled Vinegar. I add a few drops of lemon essential oil for scent but, it is optional.
Club Soda Window Cleaner
Just add some club soda to a spray bottle. Simple, easy and works like a dream on dirty windows.
Monday, January 10, 2011
The hidden secrets of Jojoba Oil
This 100% natural and biodegradable oil is FANTASTIC! It's great when used as a body oil or when added to the ends of your hair (for extra conditioning). I especially love this oil as a eye makeup remover! Just add some to a piece of cotton and eye makeup will come off easily. An added benefit of this is that it will condition your eyelashes, leaving them soft and strong!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Reasons to go Organic
Top 10 Reasons to Support Organic in the 21st Century
Source: Alan Greene, MD (Organic Trade Association), Bob Scowcroft (Organic Farming Research Foundation), Sylvia Tawse (Fresh Ideas Group)
1. Reduce The Toxic Load: Keep Chemicals Out of the Air, Water, Soil and our Bodies
Buying organic food promotes a less toxic environment for all living things. With only 0.5 percent of crop and pasture land in organic, according to USDA that leaves 99.5 percent of farm acres in the U.S. at risk of exposure to noxious agricultural chemicals.
Our bodies are the environment so supporting organic agriculture doesn’t just benefit your family, it helps all families live less toxically.
2. Reduce if Not Eliminate Off Farm Pollution
Industrial agriculture doesn’t singularly pollute farmland and farm workers; it also wreaks havoc on the environment downstream. Pesticide drift affects non-farm communities with odorless and invisible poisons. Synthetic fertilizer drifting downstream is the main culprit for dead zones in delicate ocean environments, such as the Gulf of Mexico, where its dead zone is now larger than 22,000 square kilometers, an area larger than New Jersey, according to Science magazine, August, 2002.
3. Protect Future Generations
Before a mother first nurses her newborn, the toxic risk from pesticides has already begun. Studies show that infants are exposed to hundreds of harmful chemicals in utero. In fact, our nation is now reaping the results of four generations of exposure to agricultural and industrial chemicals, whose safety was deemed on adult tolerance levels, not on children’s. According to the National Academy of Science, “neurologic and behavioral effects may result from low-level exposure to pesticides.” Numerous studies show that pesticides can adversely affect the nervous system, increase the risk of cancer, and decrease fertility.
4. Build Healthy Soil
Mono-cropping and chemical fertilizer dependency has taken a toll with a loss of top soil estimated at a cost of $40 billion per year in the U.S., according to David Pimental of Cornell University. Add to this an equally disturbing loss of micro nutrients and minerals in fruits and vegetables. Feeding the soil with organic matter instead of ammonia and other synthetic fertilizers has proven to increase nutrients in produce, with higher levels of vitamins and minerals found in organic food, according to the 2005 study, “Elevating Antioxidant levels in food through organic farming and food processing,” Organic Center State of Science Review (1.05)
5. Taste Better and Truer Flavor
Scientists now know what we eaters have known all along: organic food often tastes better. It makes sense that strawberries taste yummier when raised in harmony with nature, but researchers at Washington State University just proved this as fact in lab taste trials where the organic berries were consistently judged as sweeter. Plus, new research verifies that some organic produce is often lower in nitrates and higher in antioxidants than conventional food. Let the organic feasting begin!
6. Assist Family Farmers of all Sizes
According to Organic Farming Research Foundation, as of 2006 there are approximately 10,000 certified organic producers in the U.S. compared to 2500 to 3,000 tracked in 1994. Measured against the two million farms estimated in the U.S. today, organic is still tiny. Family farms that are certified organic farms have a double economic benefit: they are profitable and they farm in harmony with their surrounding environment. Whether the farm is a 4-acre orchard or a 4,000-acre wheat farm, organic is a beneficial practice that is genuinely family-friendly.
7. Avoid Hasty and Poor Science in Your Food
Cloned food. GMOs and rBGH. Oh my! Interesting how swiftly these food technologies were rushed to market, when organic fought for 13 years to become federal law. Eleven years ago, genetically modified food was not part of our food supply; today an astounding 30 percent of our cropland is planted in GMOs. Organic is the only de facto seal of reassurance against these and other modern, lab-produced additions to our food supply, and the only food term with built in inspections and federal regulatory teeth.
8. Eating with a Sense of Place
Whether it is local fruit, imported coffee or artisan cheese, organic can demonstrate a reverence for the land and its people. No matter the zip code, organic has proven to use less energy (on average, about 30 percent less), is beneficial to soil, water and local habitat, and is safer for the people who harvest our food. Eat more seasonably by supporting your local farmers market while also supporting a global organic economy year round. It will make your taste buds happy.
9. Promote Biodiversity
Visit an organic farm and you’ll notice something: a buzz of animal, bird and insect activity. These organic oases are thriving, diverse habitats. Native plants, birds and hawks return usually after the first season of organic practices; beneficial insects allow for a greater balance, and indigenous animals find these farms a safe haven. As best said by Aldo Leopold, “A good farm must be one where the native flora and fauna have lost acreage without losing their existence.” An organic farm is the equivalent of reforestation. Industrial farms are the equivalent of clear cutting of native habitat with a focus on high farm yields.
10. Celebrate the Culture of Agriculture
Food is a ‘language’ spoken in every culture. Making this language organic allows for an important cultural revolution whereby diversity and biodiversity are embraced and chemical toxins and environmental harm are radically reduced, if not eliminated. The simple act of saving one heirloom seed from extinction, for example, is an act of biological and cultural conservation. Organic is not necessarily the most efficient farming system in the short run. It is slower, harder, more complex and more labor-intensive. But for the sake of culture everywhere, from permaculture to human culture, organic should be celebrated at every table.
Source: Alan Greene, MD (Organic Trade Association), Bob Scowcroft (Organic Farming Research Foundation), Sylvia Tawse (Fresh Ideas Group)
1. Reduce The Toxic Load: Keep Chemicals Out of the Air, Water, Soil and our Bodies
Buying organic food promotes a less toxic environment for all living things. With only 0.5 percent of crop and pasture land in organic, according to USDA that leaves 99.5 percent of farm acres in the U.S. at risk of exposure to noxious agricultural chemicals.
Our bodies are the environment so supporting organic agriculture doesn’t just benefit your family, it helps all families live less toxically.
2. Reduce if Not Eliminate Off Farm Pollution
Industrial agriculture doesn’t singularly pollute farmland and farm workers; it also wreaks havoc on the environment downstream. Pesticide drift affects non-farm communities with odorless and invisible poisons. Synthetic fertilizer drifting downstream is the main culprit for dead zones in delicate ocean environments, such as the Gulf of Mexico, where its dead zone is now larger than 22,000 square kilometers, an area larger than New Jersey, according to Science magazine, August, 2002.
3. Protect Future Generations
Before a mother first nurses her newborn, the toxic risk from pesticides has already begun. Studies show that infants are exposed to hundreds of harmful chemicals in utero. In fact, our nation is now reaping the results of four generations of exposure to agricultural and industrial chemicals, whose safety was deemed on adult tolerance levels, not on children’s. According to the National Academy of Science, “neurologic and behavioral effects may result from low-level exposure to pesticides.” Numerous studies show that pesticides can adversely affect the nervous system, increase the risk of cancer, and decrease fertility.
4. Build Healthy Soil
Mono-cropping and chemical fertilizer dependency has taken a toll with a loss of top soil estimated at a cost of $40 billion per year in the U.S., according to David Pimental of Cornell University. Add to this an equally disturbing loss of micro nutrients and minerals in fruits and vegetables. Feeding the soil with organic matter instead of ammonia and other synthetic fertilizers has proven to increase nutrients in produce, with higher levels of vitamins and minerals found in organic food, according to the 2005 study, “Elevating Antioxidant levels in food through organic farming and food processing,” Organic Center State of Science Review (1.05)
5. Taste Better and Truer Flavor
Scientists now know what we eaters have known all along: organic food often tastes better. It makes sense that strawberries taste yummier when raised in harmony with nature, but researchers at Washington State University just proved this as fact in lab taste trials where the organic berries were consistently judged as sweeter. Plus, new research verifies that some organic produce is often lower in nitrates and higher in antioxidants than conventional food. Let the organic feasting begin!
6. Assist Family Farmers of all Sizes
According to Organic Farming Research Foundation, as of 2006 there are approximately 10,000 certified organic producers in the U.S. compared to 2500 to 3,000 tracked in 1994. Measured against the two million farms estimated in the U.S. today, organic is still tiny. Family farms that are certified organic farms have a double economic benefit: they are profitable and they farm in harmony with their surrounding environment. Whether the farm is a 4-acre orchard or a 4,000-acre wheat farm, organic is a beneficial practice that is genuinely family-friendly.
7. Avoid Hasty and Poor Science in Your Food
Cloned food. GMOs and rBGH. Oh my! Interesting how swiftly these food technologies were rushed to market, when organic fought for 13 years to become federal law. Eleven years ago, genetically modified food was not part of our food supply; today an astounding 30 percent of our cropland is planted in GMOs. Organic is the only de facto seal of reassurance against these and other modern, lab-produced additions to our food supply, and the only food term with built in inspections and federal regulatory teeth.
8. Eating with a Sense of Place
Whether it is local fruit, imported coffee or artisan cheese, organic can demonstrate a reverence for the land and its people. No matter the zip code, organic has proven to use less energy (on average, about 30 percent less), is beneficial to soil, water and local habitat, and is safer for the people who harvest our food. Eat more seasonably by supporting your local farmers market while also supporting a global organic economy year round. It will make your taste buds happy.
9. Promote Biodiversity
Visit an organic farm and you’ll notice something: a buzz of animal, bird and insect activity. These organic oases are thriving, diverse habitats. Native plants, birds and hawks return usually after the first season of organic practices; beneficial insects allow for a greater balance, and indigenous animals find these farms a safe haven. As best said by Aldo Leopold, “A good farm must be one where the native flora and fauna have lost acreage without losing their existence.” An organic farm is the equivalent of reforestation. Industrial farms are the equivalent of clear cutting of native habitat with a focus on high farm yields.
10. Celebrate the Culture of Agriculture
Food is a ‘language’ spoken in every culture. Making this language organic allows for an important cultural revolution whereby diversity and biodiversity are embraced and chemical toxins and environmental harm are radically reduced, if not eliminated. The simple act of saving one heirloom seed from extinction, for example, is an act of biological and cultural conservation. Organic is not necessarily the most efficient farming system in the short run. It is slower, harder, more complex and more labor-intensive. But for the sake of culture everywhere, from permaculture to human culture, organic should be celebrated at every table.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Eco-Friendly Laundry Tips
Okay so here are a few earth friendly tips for when you do laundry. I've tried them all and recommend them highly!
1. Dryer Sachets- I was stunned when I learned that most dryer sheets are made from Animal Fat aka. Tallow! Apparently, that is what makes your laundry soft. Another reason why most people buy them is for the "fresh/clean" scent. Well, I have discovered an easy way to leave your laundry smelling great without the animal by-products.
Just cut an old washcloth into a square and add 5 drops of the essential oil of your choice and throw them in the dryer with your wet clothes. I LOVE lavender. Your clothes come out smelling fresh, clean and lightly scented.
2. Static Cling-an easy way to get rid of static cling is to ball up a piece of aluminum foil and throw it in the dryer! Its easy and won't catch fire! I've used it several times and never had a problem.
3. Fabric Softener-an easy way to soften clothes is to add a quarter cup of baking soda during the wash cycle. I personally like having a store bought fabric softener. I looked for a biodegradable brand. I discovered a brand at my local grocery store (Bi-lo) called Full Circle. I am so pleased that more and more grocery chains are getting into the Organic movement.
Just remember: when choosing laundry products, try to use biodegradable products whenever possible. All of that soap you use everyday has to go somewhere so be kind to the Earth! Also recycle the bottle when you are done!
1. Dryer Sachets- I was stunned when I learned that most dryer sheets are made from Animal Fat aka. Tallow! Apparently, that is what makes your laundry soft. Another reason why most people buy them is for the "fresh/clean" scent. Well, I have discovered an easy way to leave your laundry smelling great without the animal by-products.
Just cut an old washcloth into a square and add 5 drops of the essential oil of your choice and throw them in the dryer with your wet clothes. I LOVE lavender. Your clothes come out smelling fresh, clean and lightly scented.
2. Static Cling-an easy way to get rid of static cling is to ball up a piece of aluminum foil and throw it in the dryer! Its easy and won't catch fire! I've used it several times and never had a problem.
3. Fabric Softener-an easy way to soften clothes is to add a quarter cup of baking soda during the wash cycle. I personally like having a store bought fabric softener. I looked for a biodegradable brand. I discovered a brand at my local grocery store (Bi-lo) called Full Circle. I am so pleased that more and more grocery chains are getting into the Organic movement.
Just remember: when choosing laundry products, try to use biodegradable products whenever possible. All of that soap you use everyday has to go somewhere so be kind to the Earth! Also recycle the bottle when you are done!
Monday, January 3, 2011
"The Dirty Dozen"
The following list of fruits and vegetables were included in a several random samplings taken by the USDA's Pesticide Data Program. They were labeled the "dirtiest" due to their high levels of pesticide residues. Along with pesticides, these fruits and veggies are notorious for being carriers of harmful bacterias (ex. when produce pickers don't wash their hands). If you are going to buy Organic produce, I would advise buying Organic from this list.
Peaches
Apples
Sweet Bell Peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Pears
Imported Grapes
Spinach
Lettuce
Potatoes
Peaches
Apples
Sweet Bell Peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Pears
Imported Grapes
Spinach
Lettuce
Potatoes
Sunday, January 2, 2011
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