Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Gardening for the earth & your health!
Everyday chemicals are released into the environment and millions of gallons of water are wasted. How you might ask? Would you believe growing plants. The majority of this is done by large agricultural producers, but are you guilty of this in growing your own personal gardens? If so, then you can make a difference by changing your gardening practices. Many agricultural producers have already done so and others are starting. You can use the same tricks to help your own garden, and care for the planet.
Not all plants are appropriate for the area you live in. If you pick appropriate plants for your area, you can avoid using chemical fertilizers and save on water. Research plants native to your surrounding areas and plant them in your garden. Wildflowers, can pretty much be left alone and will thrive in most areas.
Pick natural repelling plants. You don’t need to rely on poisons to keep away garden ruining pests. Many plants produce chemicals that repel insects naturally. By putting them in or around your garden, you can keep your garden safe with less effort and no chemicals which is key here.
If you don’t want to plant natural repellents in your garden, you can use them to spray your plants without harming them or adding artificial chemicals to your garden. Many herbs like hot pepper, vanilla, and lavender can help repel insects from your garden. Buy ladybugs and let nature do it's magic.
If your looking for a safe way to get rid of weeds without chemicals the good old fashion pulling of weeds is still best. If you take a little time each week to pull the weeds you cut the growing of weeds in half and ya know it's good for you to work in your garden. We were made to take care for the earth. Get the kids involved too. I was reading where "Researchers discovered that growing your own food (however little work it takes)is better for your health than anyone ever realized," says Psychology Today. The research showed when "certain strains of soil-borne mycobacteria" were ingested, they "stimulated the human immune system." The magazine also says, "it looks increasingly like ingesting components of the soil itself might be as critical to human health as the very finest fruits and veggies grown in it." I had an organic garden and my youngest loved planting things and watching them grow, but we moved to a little lake community and I had not bothered to start another garden. I've changed my mind. I guess we should all have a garden and get our kid's involved. Who knew it was that healthy!*
Crop rotation. Farmers all over the world use crop rotation to naturally fertilize plants. The concept is to change what crop you’re putting in a certain field each year. Plants use different nutrients and put other nutrients back into the soil. If you rotate crops that replace the nutrients the other plants use, you will have to fertilize the soil less.
You can use this same concept in your garden by planting different plants every year, or just rotating where you put specific plants in the garden.
So, you’ve made all these changes and are using a low-water, chemical free garden? Well, you still haven’t done the most important thing: Pass it on! Tell your friends, teach your children. Every little bit helps and shows appreciation in caring for our beautiful home, planet earth.
Not all plants are appropriate for the area you live in. If you pick appropriate plants for your area, you can avoid using chemical fertilizers and save on water. Research plants native to your surrounding areas and plant them in your garden. Wildflowers, can pretty much be left alone and will thrive in most areas.
Pick natural repelling plants. You don’t need to rely on poisons to keep away garden ruining pests. Many plants produce chemicals that repel insects naturally. By putting them in or around your garden, you can keep your garden safe with less effort and no chemicals which is key here.
If you don’t want to plant natural repellents in your garden, you can use them to spray your plants without harming them or adding artificial chemicals to your garden. Many herbs like hot pepper, vanilla, and lavender can help repel insects from your garden. Buy ladybugs and let nature do it's magic.
If your looking for a safe way to get rid of weeds without chemicals the good old fashion pulling of weeds is still best. If you take a little time each week to pull the weeds you cut the growing of weeds in half and ya know it's good for you to work in your garden. We were made to take care for the earth. Get the kids involved too. I was reading where "Researchers discovered that growing your own food (however little work it takes)is better for your health than anyone ever realized," says Psychology Today. The research showed when "certain strains of soil-borne mycobacteria" were ingested, they "stimulated the human immune system." The magazine also says, "it looks increasingly like ingesting components of the soil itself might be as critical to human health as the very finest fruits and veggies grown in it." I had an organic garden and my youngest loved planting things and watching them grow, but we moved to a little lake community and I had not bothered to start another garden. I've changed my mind. I guess we should all have a garden and get our kid's involved. Who knew it was that healthy!*
Crop rotation. Farmers all over the world use crop rotation to naturally fertilize plants. The concept is to change what crop you’re putting in a certain field each year. Plants use different nutrients and put other nutrients back into the soil. If you rotate crops that replace the nutrients the other plants use, you will have to fertilize the soil less.
You can use this same concept in your garden by planting different plants every year, or just rotating where you put specific plants in the garden.
So, you’ve made all these changes and are using a low-water, chemical free garden? Well, you still haven’t done the most important thing: Pass it on! Tell your friends, teach your children. Every little bit helps and shows appreciation in caring for our beautiful home, planet earth.
Monday, July 13, 2009
The Ultimate Playground for Kids
Today parents spend thousands of dollars on toys and activities for their kids. While many of these things are great for keeping young minds active, most of them are unnecessary and unhealthy. Sure kids need structured play, but they also need “free” play and this is easy to do when the world’s largest playground is right outside your back door.
Nature is entertaining and stimulating to the imagination, and educational. Nature teaches children the basics of science, economics, and creativity.
It’s cheap too! Depending on where you live, exploring nature is usually pretty inexpensive, if not free. It may mean going to a local park, beach, lake, river or perhaps the local nature center or state park, growing a garden or just going outside into your own backyard. You don’t need to pay for expensive toys, jungle gyms, or memberships to expensive entertainment centers, for your children to the benefit of stimulating and educational play.
There’s been a trend in education towards inquiry based learning. Researchers have found that if students explore and experiment to figure out answers on their own, they’re going to learn better, and retain more information. It also helps them develop skills to be able to learn things on their own later. What better learning environment is there than out in nature? There are countless lessons for kids of all ages to discover about the world around them.
These days many people are trying to be more green and more environmentally conscious. One important way is to teach your children about their own planet. This way they will learn to appreciate these things as they examine the wisdom of God. Start when they are young and when they grow up they will not turn aside from the things they have been taught.
It’s fun too. There is so much to learn and explore that you could not do it all in a lifetime. Remember there is a time for everything and childhood isn’t just for learning about how to be an adult, it’s also about having fun. Nature gives kids a chance to use their imagination and be free to skip about and just be kids.
You can also find places offering structured classes and learning sessions for kids that focus on the natural world. Check your local park, zoo, or museum. There’s a good chance they have classes you can sign up for, and since many of these are nonprofit, they’re usually affordable as well as informative.
Spending time playing outside and exploring is so important for developing minds. It's great for parents too!
Nature is entertaining and stimulating to the imagination, and educational. Nature teaches children the basics of science, economics, and creativity.
It’s cheap too! Depending on where you live, exploring nature is usually pretty inexpensive, if not free. It may mean going to a local park, beach, lake, river or perhaps the local nature center or state park, growing a garden or just going outside into your own backyard. You don’t need to pay for expensive toys, jungle gyms, or memberships to expensive entertainment centers, for your children to the benefit of stimulating and educational play.
There’s been a trend in education towards inquiry based learning. Researchers have found that if students explore and experiment to figure out answers on their own, they’re going to learn better, and retain more information. It also helps them develop skills to be able to learn things on their own later. What better learning environment is there than out in nature? There are countless lessons for kids of all ages to discover about the world around them.
These days many people are trying to be more green and more environmentally conscious. One important way is to teach your children about their own planet. This way they will learn to appreciate these things as they examine the wisdom of God. Start when they are young and when they grow up they will not turn aside from the things they have been taught.
It’s fun too. There is so much to learn and explore that you could not do it all in a lifetime. Remember there is a time for everything and childhood isn’t just for learning about how to be an adult, it’s also about having fun. Nature gives kids a chance to use their imagination and be free to skip about and just be kids.
You can also find places offering structured classes and learning sessions for kids that focus on the natural world. Check your local park, zoo, or museum. There’s a good chance they have classes you can sign up for, and since many of these are nonprofit, they’re usually affordable as well as informative.
Spending time playing outside and exploring is so important for developing minds. It's great for parents too!
Safe Homemade Beauty
Organic's is the hot trend in todays skin and hair care products. For years, we’ve been putting toxic chemicals into our bodies making us tired and sick. We eat toxic chemicals and then rub them deep into our pores. People are finally making the needed changes convinced that 100% organic and 100% natural products are the only way to go nowadays if you care anything about your health. Unfortunately it took cancer to make this a reality.
Most stores now have a line of “natural” beauty products, unfortunately, they come with a big price tag. A product only has to be is 10% natural /organic to be called so. Meaning READ! I personally buy everything I possibly can 100% organic and i buy from local farmers. A good rule of thumb I use is to never buy anything with more than five ingredients or with words I can't understand.
Making your own beauty products can be fun and beneficial.
Eating healthy organic foods of course is the first way to get the nutrients you need to look and feel your best. After you wash your face hopefully using one of the many different organic soaps without 'Sodium lauryl sulfate' (SLS) or sodium dodecyl sulfate it is an anionic surfactant used in cleaning and hygiene products. It's in every soap and shampoo you can imagine, it's even in baby shampoo! Anyway you can use mashed cucumber w/juices in tiny amount of filtered water, diluted lemon juice or my favorite Bragg's organic vinegar as a toner to help tighten your skin and close up pores. You can even use all three mixed together.
Many people pay a lot of money for a conditioner that last 2-4 weeks, to makes their hair look and feel good. You can use organic coconut oil for both your hair and skin. It's the most fabulous skin moisturizer you will ever find and it's the best hair conditioner there is. It's healthy you can even eat it i cook with it too. You will be saving yourself a bundle. Just don't put too much coconut oil on you face use sparingly then splash cool filtered water on your face and pat dry. Put your organic make right over it! One 10oz. jar will last you about 5 months or longer. Rub coconut oil into both hands and then sparingly through your hair before bed. Shower as usual the next morning. Your hair will be full, soft and feel amazing. Believe it or not sea salt with filtered water makes your hair very soft too. It's really good for your skin as well. We swim in the ocean's God gave us so it makes since to me! Buy 100% Dead Sea Salts and soak in them twice a month it helps detox, and sauna's are a must for sweating out impurities. Make sure you drink enough filtered water for your size before and after a sauna. If you like being experimental, you can try mixing other kitchen items, herbs, and natural items with eggs for healthy, shiny hair. I never liked using eggs it's just gross to me! But it does work but I'd rather eat them.
Use 1/8 cup of olive, coconut oil or filtered water or all three mix with sea salt and massage onto your face, hands and feet. Leave a few minutes to soak and then rinse off with luke warm filtered water.
These are my own recipes however, you can find hundreds of different combinations in natural beauty books, magazines, and on the internet. Or you can go to your kitchen cabinet and make your own special creations. Be in Control.
Most stores now have a line of “natural” beauty products, unfortunately, they come with a big price tag. A product only has to be is 10% natural /organic to be called so. Meaning READ! I personally buy everything I possibly can 100% organic and i buy from local farmers. A good rule of thumb I use is to never buy anything with more than five ingredients or with words I can't understand.
Making your own beauty products can be fun and beneficial.
Eating healthy organic foods of course is the first way to get the nutrients you need to look and feel your best. After you wash your face hopefully using one of the many different organic soaps without 'Sodium lauryl sulfate' (SLS) or sodium dodecyl sulfate it is an anionic surfactant used in cleaning and hygiene products. It's in every soap and shampoo you can imagine, it's even in baby shampoo! Anyway you can use mashed cucumber w/juices in tiny amount of filtered water, diluted lemon juice or my favorite Bragg's organic vinegar as a toner to help tighten your skin and close up pores. You can even use all three mixed together.
Many people pay a lot of money for a conditioner that last 2-4 weeks, to makes their hair look and feel good. You can use organic coconut oil for both your hair and skin. It's the most fabulous skin moisturizer you will ever find and it's the best hair conditioner there is. It's healthy you can even eat it i cook with it too. You will be saving yourself a bundle. Just don't put too much coconut oil on you face use sparingly then splash cool filtered water on your face and pat dry. Put your organic make right over it! One 10oz. jar will last you about 5 months or longer. Rub coconut oil into both hands and then sparingly through your hair before bed. Shower as usual the next morning. Your hair will be full, soft and feel amazing. Believe it or not sea salt with filtered water makes your hair very soft too. It's really good for your skin as well. We swim in the ocean's God gave us so it makes since to me! Buy 100% Dead Sea Salts and soak in them twice a month it helps detox, and sauna's are a must for sweating out impurities. Make sure you drink enough filtered water for your size before and after a sauna. If you like being experimental, you can try mixing other kitchen items, herbs, and natural items with eggs for healthy, shiny hair. I never liked using eggs it's just gross to me! But it does work but I'd rather eat them.
Use 1/8 cup of olive, coconut oil or filtered water or all three mix with sea salt and massage onto your face, hands and feet. Leave a few minutes to soak and then rinse off with luke warm filtered water.
These are my own recipes however, you can find hundreds of different combinations in natural beauty books, magazines, and on the internet. Or you can go to your kitchen cabinet and make your own special creations. Be in Control.
Make your Home More Eco-Friendly
Would it not be a wonderful thing if every person who lives on this beautiful earth showed respect for it and cared for the environment? Man's tragic history proves that greed, apathy, ignorance, vested interests, fight for wealth throughout the world and the business-asusual philosophy of millions who insist on maintaining a high-energy-consuming lifestyle is the real problem and fight today. But you should not give up in doing your part even if it seems a small share. Small steps add up to a big difference, you just have to know which ones to take.
Use less water for instance.
Saving water can help tremendously if millions of people take these small steps. Here are a few that will help save big.
- Shut off the water while you brush your teeth- Take showers that are a minute or two shorter- Only flush the toilet when you need to- Only run full loads of laundry and dishes- Buy from sustainable producers. These are farmers, ranchers, and other producers that use techniques that pollute less and use less water. You can do some research online or ask at your local organic market to find these products.
Use less energy.
If you don’t have the money to buy a hybrid car or convert your house to solar power, you can make a big difference with small changes.
- Buy energy efficient appliances. They may be more expensive, but make up for the increased cost in lower energy bills.- Unplug chargers when you’re not using them. Cell phone and other chargers use up powers even if there’s nothing attached to them.- Put devices with remotes, like T.V.s, VCRs, and stereos, on a power strip and turn it off when you go to bed at night. These devices use a lot of power to run the remote receiver even when the device is off.- Walk or ride your bike for short trips. - Buy as many local products as possible. Buy produce from local farmers. It takes energy to transport food and other products across the country. Buying local not only supports your local economy, it helps them use less energy.
When it comes to saving energy and water, it’s a great idea to get the kids involved. You can even make it a game. Have them track how much water and electricity everyone is using. You can compete to see who uses the least water. You can often count on your kids to help keep you on track when given the task. Reuse.
Most of us know the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle, but when we work on conserving, we often leave reuse out of the picture. While you can often find tips on how to reuse common products from other people, what you need most is creativity. With a little thought there are many items around your home that can be reused. Old food jars can be refilled with homemade foods.
Use environmentally friendly products. When you go to the grocery store, you probably see “natural” or “eco friendly” products . Thats good but be selective and read, just because they say natural doesn’t mean they’re entirely natural and their costly.
If you want inexpensive, natural, safe products, why not just make them yourself. Vinegar is a great way to clean and disinfect glass and other surfaces. Need to remove stubborn stains? Just add some baking soda or salt to your vinegar cleaner. Some quick searching online will lead you to hundreds of other natural safe home-made cleaning products.
We know going green is better for the environment, but it’s also better for you. Conserving resources helps us take care of our beautiful earth and it also saves us money! If you would read in your bible Revelation 11:18 you will see the bible accurately foretold that humans would reach the point where they would be "ruining the earth."
But earths furture is in good hands and it will never be destroyed as man says. Isaiah 45:18 - Pslams 37:29
Use less water for instance.
Saving water can help tremendously if millions of people take these small steps. Here are a few that will help save big.
- Shut off the water while you brush your teeth- Take showers that are a minute or two shorter- Only flush the toilet when you need to- Only run full loads of laundry and dishes- Buy from sustainable producers. These are farmers, ranchers, and other producers that use techniques that pollute less and use less water. You can do some research online or ask at your local organic market to find these products.
Use less energy.
If you don’t have the money to buy a hybrid car or convert your house to solar power, you can make a big difference with small changes.
- Buy energy efficient appliances. They may be more expensive, but make up for the increased cost in lower energy bills.- Unplug chargers when you’re not using them. Cell phone and other chargers use up powers even if there’s nothing attached to them.- Put devices with remotes, like T.V.s, VCRs, and stereos, on a power strip and turn it off when you go to bed at night. These devices use a lot of power to run the remote receiver even when the device is off.- Walk or ride your bike for short trips. - Buy as many local products as possible. Buy produce from local farmers. It takes energy to transport food and other products across the country. Buying local not only supports your local economy, it helps them use less energy.
When it comes to saving energy and water, it’s a great idea to get the kids involved. You can even make it a game. Have them track how much water and electricity everyone is using. You can compete to see who uses the least water. You can often count on your kids to help keep you on track when given the task. Reuse.
Most of us know the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle, but when we work on conserving, we often leave reuse out of the picture. While you can often find tips on how to reuse common products from other people, what you need most is creativity. With a little thought there are many items around your home that can be reused. Old food jars can be refilled with homemade foods.
Use environmentally friendly products. When you go to the grocery store, you probably see “natural” or “eco friendly” products . Thats good but be selective and read, just because they say natural doesn’t mean they’re entirely natural and their costly.
If you want inexpensive, natural, safe products, why not just make them yourself. Vinegar is a great way to clean and disinfect glass and other surfaces. Need to remove stubborn stains? Just add some baking soda or salt to your vinegar cleaner. Some quick searching online will lead you to hundreds of other natural safe home-made cleaning products.
We know going green is better for the environment, but it’s also better for you. Conserving resources helps us take care of our beautiful earth and it also saves us money! If you would read in your bible Revelation 11:18 you will see the bible accurately foretold that humans would reach the point where they would be "ruining the earth."
But earths furture is in good hands and it will never be destroyed as man says. Isaiah 45:18 - Pslams 37:29
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