Sustainable & Creative Living
These days more products than ever are being recycled. Many of these items are things a lot of us never
considered to be recyclable. These 5 Items You Should Be Recycling are just a very few of those
products. I don’t know about you, but I find myself feeling more and more guilty when I throw something in the trash without trying to first figure out a way to repurpose or recycle it. At any given time I have 2 or 3, [Read more…]
I recently attended a Young Living workshop in my community with my mom and sister. I didn’t really know what to expect other than a sales pitch about essential oils. We were pleasantly surprised to not only thoroughly enjoy the woman delivering the Young Living “sales pitch” but to also be so drawn in by the way this woman spoke about her journey through discovering the Young Living Essential Oils brand. [Read more…]
DIY Toilet Cleaning Pods are the latest cleaning pod I’ve started making. I absolutely love using DIY pods for other home cleaning tasks (see my post here for DIY laundry pods and DIY dishwashing pods), but using them for toilet cleaning is especially satisfying because this is one of my least favorite chores.
All of my DIY pods are easy, quick, and cost-efficient, but with only 3 ingredients these DIY Toilet Cleaning Pods are the simplest and most economical of all.
Having raised three kids and cared for multiple family pets, medication disposal has always been an issue. In the past, I either flushed old medications down the toilet or threw them in the trash. Then I read that our water supply is becoming contaminated with human and veterinary pharmaceuticals.
Admittedly, I procrastinated finding somewhere to take my unused prescription and over the counter medications until I recently found a designated place to dispose of them.
Last week I wrote a post about all kinds of eco-friendly products that are great replacements for single-use/disposable plastics – check it out here.
As I was writing that post and seeing all these great products, I couldn’t help but wonder – what makes these products eco-friendly?
My thought process has always been that if you can use it more than once, it’s automatically better for the environment. After all, you’re not throwing something away after you use it one time – i.e. a straw or plastic cup. If you can get more than one use out of it, it’s already a step in the right direction.
While this is a step in the right direction, it’s not the whole truth.
As a parent, keeping my children safe is always a priority. We think about external factors but what about the toxins in our own homes? Most of the time we have control over the products we use so why are we using cleaners full of toxins? Our homes should be a safe haven from toxins!
Over the past couple of years, I’ve given up using almost all synthetic and toxic household cleaners and detergents in favor of more eco-friendly and natural products. One of the products I use a lot of these days is vinegar. It’s all natural and extremely versatile.
This weekend is Earth Day! I’m always excited about Earth Day because it brings out everyone’s inner Lorax! I wish that every day was Earth Day (my friends used to call me the Lorax in high school). The fact is that keeping our earth healthy by living a green lifestyle, no matter how small or large scale, is important.
Last year, we went to an Earth Day Festival in Tampa and we got to see how local communities are really trying to improve their environmental impact. It’s inspiring because it shows how individuals working together towards a common goal can make a difference. Even if it’s just doing something simply at home, we’re all working towards the goal of minimizing our environmental footprint.
Spend Valentine’s Day (or any gift-giving holiday) with the one you love waste-free!
Here are 5 zero-waste gifts that still express love and thoughtfulness as well as care for the environment. Your gift doesn’t have to be an eco-friendly “thing.” It can be a digital gift or even the gift of your time and attention (those are my favorite). [Read more…]
When I first imagined my wedding I had dreams of buying vintage china and using recyclable paper for my eco-friendly wedding. In reality, there are some things that are just not always feasible. I definitely had the environment in mind when planning my wedding but I also had my budget in mind. But being frugal and eco-friendly aren’t mutually exclusive – they can work together. And it can be easy! You just can’t be afraid to break the mold a little bit. Once you get past the traditional or more commonplace wedding “essentials” you can move into the creative and eco-friendly zone.
The holidays can be a crazy time of year. There’s so much going on – decorating, holiday parties, buying gifts, trying not to buy gifts for ourselves… it’s just a lot all at once. But it’s important to remember the bigger picture this holiday season. We are always trying to be our best selves especially with our sustainability practices and that shouldn’t take a back seat during the holidays.
So I have compiled a short list, that doesn’t end here, of eco-friendly brands and potential gifts for this holiday season!
Meagan, Christina, and I decided to take the Plastic Free July Challenge. The goal of the Plastic Free July Challenge is to encourage people to stop single-use plastic product consumption and reduce plastic packaging (at least for the month of July). It’s also to help people become more aware of issues surrounding plastic use in our lives and to encourage new consumption habits moving forward.
Taking a trip to Colorado was definitely one of the best experiences of my life for so many reasons. We got to visit several different parts of the state, I crossed an item off my bucket list, and got to see amazing friends get married!
In part one of this series, I talked about my two days in Boulder, CO. The next part of the adventure took place in Copper Mountain. Copper Mountain is a ski resort in the Rocky Mountains.
In honor of spring and Earth Day, now is a time to reflect on the patterns we’ve created in our lives and how they affect our environmental footprint.
This week I’m taking a closer look at shopping, something we all do. Whether you’re school shopping, clothes shopping, or just grocery shopping – at some point you will find yourself in a store.
