Thursday, August 13, 2015

Sustainable Heros- August

Jessica Alba 


In January 2012, Alba and business partner Chris Gavigan launched The Honest Company, which is a collection of toxin-free household goods, diapers, and body care products. Giving birth to her first child in 2008 and dealing with her own childhood illnesses in her past, inspired Alba to build a company with alternative baby products that would rid harmful toxins such as petrochemicals and synthetic fragrances. 




"I founded The Honest Company on this idea: Everything that touches you and your family--everything in your home-- needs to be nontoxic, needs to be effective and beautiful to look at, and needs to be affordable."
 ~Jessica Alba

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

ComPOSTing

Did you know Americans produced 250 Million tons of trash in 2010? This overwhelming number may have been lowered if all Americans used a compost bin. What is a compost bin you ask? A compost bin or pile, is full of decaying organic material that can be used as plant fertilizer or soil supplement. Microorganisms break down organic materials which produces the “compost”. What this means is that probably about half of the “stuff” an average American throws away is compostable. Items that you can compost are fruits, veggies, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, shredded paper/cardboard, dead leaves and many other organic products. Items to stay away from adding to your compost are pet waste/cat litter, meats and bones, dairy products, fats oils grease and lard, coal/charcoal and anything treated with pesticides. Here is an article to help you get started.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Going Green?


  • Going green is a life choice that many make when they realize all people could be doing more to help this planet or they do it for the simple fact that they want to save money. Either way these people who’re making this life choice are taking that extra step and little by little it is helping this Earth. But where do we start? This question can be overwhelming as there are many everyday life choices that can be changed when making the transition to live sustainably. Through my experience, taking small steps to acquire this lifestyle is what works best.
  • Writing down goals is the first step. Start with monthly goals that state a couple of small things you want to successfully change by the end of that month. For example, begin with using cloth shopping bags and metal or glass water bottles.  After the month is over, you can assess how you did and either add some goals for next month or take some off the list that you had trouble accomplishing right away. Once you catch on to this process of assessing yourself each month; before you know it you’ll be a sustainably saved soul passing on your own “green” advice. Here are some additional goals to help you get started.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Sustainable Laundry Detergent!

As the kids participate in various fun (and messy) activities/sports this summer, I got thinking about the extra loads of laundry I’ve been doing and the money I spend on detergent every couple of weeks, which can cost around 14.00$ each time! When browsing on the web, I came across a bunch of different sites showing people how to make their own sustainable laundry detergent and I thought to myself, YES, this will be my next experiment! I found a mix of ingredients that creates an all natural washing powder and figured I would give it a shot. 

Here are my Ingredients, Instructions & Results.

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cups Borax 
  • 1 1/2 cups Washing Soda (sodium carbonate or soda ash, which can be found at most supermarkets) 
  • 1/2 cup Baking Soda 1 bar unscented soap (Castile soap) 
Instructions: 
  • 1st- Grate the bar of soap 
  • 2nd- Mix the Borax, washing soda, baking soda and grated soap together with a wooden spoon 
  • 3rd- Pour into a glass or mason jar 
  • 4th- Use 3 Tablespoons of powder per load of laundry 
  • 5th- You are ready to start your first load! 
Results: 
  • Before testing out the detergent, I was worried about how it would come out (the smell, cleanliness ect.) After the first load, I was really happy with the outcome! My clothes were not only clean but also had a fresh clean smell to go along with it! The part I am most excited about is the money I will be able to save using these ingredients! I am happy I tried this but also a little disappointed in myself for waiting this long to do it.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Places to Travel!

Looking for environmentally sound places to travel? 
Here are two unique vacation spots you may want to visit in your lifetime.

Bella Vista Photo

This is Bella Vista! It is an underground Eco-Friendly Hotel in Bozen, Italy! Sustainable heating and cooling are some of the highlights of these “underground” dwellings.





Xcaret Photo
This is a picture from Xcaret, which is an Eco-friendly park on the outskirts of Cancun Mexico. The owners of the park made sure to work around the existing economy to build attractions including, a butterfly pavilion, underground rivers, swimming with sea turtles, coral reef aquarium, a night show, and various activities also including lagoons and pools.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Sustainable Heros- February

Photo Source
Leonardo DiCaprio is a die-hard environmentalist who is the proud owner of his electric Tesla Roadster, Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid and Toyota Prius. If that doesn’t say enough about how he chooses to support the economy, you may be happy to know that he has taken the step to also install solar panels on his house. In 2010 DiCaprio donated 1$million to the Wildlife Conservation Society at Russia’s tiger summit and joined the Animal legal Defense Fund’s campaign. When he spoke about global warming in 2014, he cited that it was the “number-one environmental challenge in the world today.” More recently, DiCaprio donated 2$ million to Oceans 5 to improve the health of our oceans. He also marched in NYC for action on climate change as well as receiving the Clinton Global Citizen Award last year. Leo does as much as he can to help to ensure a healthy future for humanity and the planet as a sustainable hero!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

ENERGY

Don’t know what to pick for a new years resolution? It’s simple, just pick a word! This resolution technique is about picking a word that will encompass where you would like to see your growth in the upcoming year. This year my word is ENERGY!


There are many reasons I choose this word. This past year was full of great ideas for the direction I wanted to take my life, energy will be my word because this is the year I will put these ideas into action! I plan on getting ahead this year by eating foods that will boost my energy including, kale, blueberries, brown rice, oats, Chia seeds and many others! I believe that having constant energy throughout the week goes hand in hand with getting enough sleep every night. (which is something I will need to work on with my children) But, also I believe it’s about starting every day right, by not hitting the snooze button when it goes off. Eating a healthy breakfast every morning is important as well because if you don’t get that energy in the morning then it will be hard to gain throughout the day. Another thing I will be doing to gain energy is drinking green tea. The benefits of drinking this are huge! These are just some things I’m starting with!

What will your word be and how will you apply it in your life this year?!