Sustainable & Creative Living
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.
My fiance and I just got back from our big trip out west. We’re from Florida and we’ve vacationed up and down the east coast, but the farthest west we’ve ever been is Wisconsin and Houston, Texas. This trip was a big deal for us.
The Trip was originally for our friend’s wedding but it turned into a week-long vacation visiting friends in Boulder and then heading to Copper Mountain for the wedding.
Now that summer is in full swing, many of us are spending a lot more time outdoors enjoying picnics, beach days, and just hanging out in the backyard. Unfortunately, outside activities can expose us, and our loved ones, to all kinds of dangerous situations—some minor and some not so minor.
One of those situations that may seem minor, but sometimes isn’t, are Mosquito bites. Mosquitos carry and spread all kinds of diseases such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, West Nile virus, and Zika—to name a few. Over one million people worldwide die from Mosquito-borne diseases. Mosquitos also transmit diseases and parasites to dogs and horses.
About a month ago it was Earth Day and us here at From Under a Palm Tree attended a local Eco-Fest. I have been writing a four-part series about different things we learned from the eco-fest and this is the final part in that series.
One thing I love about going to festivals of this nature is meeting and talking to everyone. I also like to get free stuff! And vendors love to give away free stuff because it helps promote their business or organization. The best part is that a lot of the freebies were things that help the cause and spread the eco-friendly message. [Read more…]
Attention dog-parents everywhere: this is why you must pick up after your pooch!
I have to admit, I have been guilty of not picking up after my two beagles on occasion. And by pick up after, I mean scoop their poop. It’s not pretty, maybe we don’t like to talk about it, but it’s a reality for any dog owner. Dogs go #2 and it’s up to us to clean up after them.
This year on Earth Day, we here at From Under a Palm Tree had an exciting outing at the Tampa Bay Eco-Fest. We were able to speak to all kinds of organizations and vendors with the intent to live more sustainable lives. That’s always our goal here at From Under a Palm Tree. [Read more…]
Everyone likes to save money, right? What if I told you, you can save money by saving energy? There are so many things we can do to save energy in our homes that actually translates into money savings!
This past Earth Day, we here at From Under a Palm Tree attended a local Eco-Fest. We were able to meet with all kinds of organizations and vendors, with the intent to live more sustainable lives. In the second of a 4-part series, I want to share some of the energy-saving, money-saving tips we learned from Eco-Fest!
April is the month of spring and Earth Day! This Earth Day we here at From Under a Palm Tree attended the 8th Annual Eco-fest in Tampa! Just like most local festivals, it had everything from local organizations and companies, food trucks, to vendors selling homemade goods. Everything was geared toward spreading awareness of eco-friendly practices. This was by far my favorite local festival I’ve ever attended.
There were booths specifically about recycling, water treatment and conservation, veganism, and Florida plants; the list goes on and on.
The best part was getting to talk to all of those vendors and learn about the environment. As with anything, it is important to continue to educate ourselves, especially about an ever-changing entity like the environment.
In the first of a 4 part series, I want to share some of the interesting information I learned at Eco-fest this year. This first post is all about eco-friendly landscaping practices courtesy of Southwest Florida Water Management District.
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.
In honor of Spring, it’s time to start planning your next travel adventure! Whether it’s spring break or summer break, or just a weekender trip – travel plans are exciting!
That being said, traveling is also usually costly – not just for you – but for the environment too. Usually when traveling people like to indulge and splurge. But in doing so, it causes more waste, more energy, and more emissions than would have been extended before.
Some of the best ways to travel eco-friendly are to travel as though you never left home. You’ll see what I mean below.
In honor of Earth Day this year, I have compiled a list of tips for eco-friendly pet owners. They’re all simple things we can do to keep our pets and the environment healthy.
Every small action has a ripple effect on the environment so if you have a pet or looking to adopt a pet, here are some tips to reduce some of those effects.
One of my favorite DIY crafts is candle making. I love to burn candles…especially at mealtime. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, there’s nothing like the light from a burning candle to give any meal a special ambiance.
I used to make candles from paraffin wax, but now I only make soy wax candles. Do you ever notice the black around the rim of candles? That’s what you’re [Read more…]
One of my all-time favorite products is Dr. Bronner’s Pure- Castile Soap. It comes in many scents but I use lavender, my favorite, most of the time. Dr. Bronner’s is a company with a mission of environmental and social responsibility. These soaps are certified organic and 100% biodegradable. They’re also made in the U.S.A. Dr. Bronner’s comes in both bar and a concentrated liquid form. The best feature of Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap is that it has SO MANY uses! The label on the bottle says “18 in 1 Hemp Lavender”. It has at least that many uses.
The year 2016 is over, and let’s face it, it was not pretty. Everywhere I turned – Facebook and Twitter – they all were counting down the seconds until 2017, hoping that the New Year would be different.
While we might hope that a new year will bring a new us, we have to recognize that years are just marked days on a calendar. Nothing really changes in those final seconds, nothing instantly transforms us. We still have to make conscious decisions to move forward and change. Entering 2017 does not erase 2016. We still have to remember the choices we made to get to 2017.
Without getting political or anything, it’s time to recognize that the world is changing. It’s time to do our part of working with it or against it. Resolutions don’t have to be about getting fit or quitting smoking. They can be about making a difference in the world. Because whether you believe it or not – one person can make a difference, and when we work together we change the world.
