I haven't posted on here in a while, but I've been thinking of ways to change it around a bit to make it more accessible to people and make it a little easier for me to think of things to write about. I'm going to eliminate the Tip of the Day aspect and just give tips when I have them.
I've had a lot of time to reflect recently on how the lives of my family and many of our friends differ from the mainstream concept of a fulfilling life. I think it really dawned on me one day when my eldest son and I were out in the field raking up hay to store in our barn to use as bedding for our chickens come winter time. We live on 3 acres of former hay field, so it isn't difficult to get enough hay to store, but it does require a lot of work. Most of what goes on at our house requires a lot of work, and I was explaining to my 3 year old son that summertime was when we worked so that come harvest and winter we could relax and spend our time on more relaxed projects inside. At that point it really struck me that our family lives a very old fashioned life in many respects. My days are generally spent outdoors, planting, weeding, harvesting, tending to the animals, and working the land. Although I do spend time in the evenings with what technology I find useful (Facebook to keep up with family and friends, my two blogs and the occasional movie), I don't spend much time bothering with the latest technology. I have lived in cities and seen the fast paced world of technology, and I've decided that it isn't for me. I don't want to have the newest this or the latest that all the time. I don't need every time saving gadget that comes out. I find peace and relaxation in spending my days working my land and caring for my family and animals. I would rather curl up with a good book on a cold day than attach myself to the internet. I find myself more fulfilled by playing with my children than by watching a movie with them. This isn't to say that the internet is not useful, or that it isn't nice to watch a movie once in a while as a family, but that these aren't the most important aspects of my life. I value a life of simplicity, filled with the use of technology limited to what is truly useful to me.
I don't live a life of voluntary simplicity to the extent that some people do, but I try to practice a simple life in many ways. I find that when my life is free of technological clutter and simplified as much as is practical, I live a life of less stress and I enjoy the quality of my relationships with people more. There is a wealth of information to be gained on the internet, and yet there is so much more to be gained by spending an hour instead talking with my husband or fighting dragons with my son. I value a sunset and a calm evening more than a TV show.
As a society we live very fast paced lives, and often the result of these lives is increased stress, which leads to increased health risks. I encourage anyone interesting in simple living or homesteading to check out the links provided. I think that anyone can find some reward in scaling back, even by a small degree, our typical lives of fast paced technology driven consumerism.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Germs are a good thing!
I will be the first to admit I am definitely not part of the "Lysol generation". I can't remember the last time (if ever...) that I bleached my children's toys. I may sweep my house but I don't mop the floors more than once every few weeks. And I have absolutely no problem with letting my boys play in the mud and the dirt outside.
Now, let me add the disclaimer that I am not nonchalant about health. I make sure that our family has regular doctor's visits, I make sure my children stay out of things like the compost heap, the toilet, and the trash. And everyone ALWAYS washes their hands after they go to the bathroom. I make sure that we are a sanitary family.
This culture's obsession to with being "overclean" has gone beyond impractical - it's become a health issue. Our overuse of antibacterial products has created "superbugs", germs with resistance to antibiotics. Diseases like tuberculosis, once controlled with antibiotics, are becoming deadly again. As one of my cousins, a forensic lab worker, pointed out, we use products which kill 99.99% of germs, but the .01% that survive breed.
One way to stop this alarming trend is cut back or cut out the use of antibacterial products. If you need to clean something like, say, a cutting board used for raw meat, use bleach diluted in water. If you use hand sanitizer (I use it for occasional roadside diaper changes), use it sparingly and wash your hands with soap at the next opportunity. Use regular soap, not antibacterial soap. And avoid the myriad of "anti-virus" products that have come about due to H1N1 (swine flu).
Another way to prevent the development of superbugs is to limit the use of antibiotics. Doctors are partially to blame for this, but so are paranoid patients who think every cough can be cured with antibiotics. Antibiotic use should
be limited to bacterial diseases that will become severe without treatment (strep, sinus infections).
The best defense against germs, then, is resistance. And the only way to build resistance is exposure. I let my six month old play on the (gasp!) unmopped floor. So long as there is nothing he can eat (wood chips) or anything that would make him sick (kitty litter) on it, I don't care. Are there germs? You bet! Am I going to bleach my floor because he might come into contact with them? No, in fact I hope he gets germs on him, so his body will stay healthy. When I had my first son, I was still in college. I attended a university with 30,000+ undergrads and regularly let my son crawl on the floor of the "mother's lounge" in the bathroom. My son never got sick while we were there. Save for the occasional cold, he hardly ever gets sick now. his immune system is hearty because of exposure.
Now here is the exception: of course, there are some children and adults who are immunocompromised in some way. These individuals need to be much more cautious in what they expose themselves to because of the risks to their health. So I say, for the sake of those who cannot expose themselves, all of us who are otherwise healthy, let's brave the occasional bout of flu or cold and stop creating superbugs which threaten all of us.
Tip of the day: A wonderful plant that is purported to help boost your immune system and can clear up colds faster is echinacea. It's a hardy flower that can be grown in a wide variety of climates and can be grown in a home garden for use as a tea (usually the roots and stem are used). Brew a tea of echinacea, peppermint and some honey to help your throat, sinuses and cough feel better.
Now, let me add the disclaimer that I am not nonchalant about health. I make sure that our family has regular doctor's visits, I make sure my children stay out of things like the compost heap, the toilet, and the trash. And everyone ALWAYS washes their hands after they go to the bathroom. I make sure that we are a sanitary family.
This culture's obsession to with being "overclean" has gone beyond impractical - it's become a health issue. Our overuse of antibacterial products has created "superbugs", germs with resistance to antibiotics. Diseases like tuberculosis, once controlled with antibiotics, are becoming deadly again. As one of my cousins, a forensic lab worker, pointed out, we use products which kill 99.99% of germs, but the .01% that survive breed.
One way to stop this alarming trend is cut back or cut out the use of antibacterial products. If you need to clean something like, say, a cutting board used for raw meat, use bleach diluted in water. If you use hand sanitizer (I use it for occasional roadside diaper changes), use it sparingly and wash your hands with soap at the next opportunity. Use regular soap, not antibacterial soap. And avoid the myriad of "anti-virus" products that have come about due to H1N1 (swine flu).
Another way to prevent the development of superbugs is to limit the use of antibiotics. Doctors are partially to blame for this, but so are paranoid patients who think every cough can be cured with antibiotics. Antibiotic use should
be limited to bacterial diseases that will become severe without treatment (strep, sinus infections).
The best defense against germs, then, is resistance. And the only way to build resistance is exposure. I let my six month old play on the (gasp!) unmopped floor. So long as there is nothing he can eat (wood chips) or anything that would make him sick (kitty litter) on it, I don't care. Are there germs? You bet! Am I going to bleach my floor because he might come into contact with them? No, in fact I hope he gets germs on him, so his body will stay healthy. When I had my first son, I was still in college. I attended a university with 30,000+ undergrads and regularly let my son crawl on the floor of the "mother's lounge" in the bathroom. My son never got sick while we were there. Save for the occasional cold, he hardly ever gets sick now. his immune system is hearty because of exposure.
Now here is the exception: of course, there are some children and adults who are immunocompromised in some way. These individuals need to be much more cautious in what they expose themselves to because of the risks to their health. So I say, for the sake of those who cannot expose themselves, all of us who are otherwise healthy, let's brave the occasional bout of flu or cold and stop creating superbugs which threaten all of us.
Tip of the day: A wonderful plant that is purported to help boost your immune system and can clear up colds faster is echinacea. It's a hardy flower that can be grown in a wide variety of climates and can be grown in a home garden for use as a tea (usually the roots and stem are used). Brew a tea of echinacea, peppermint and some honey to help your throat, sinuses and cough feel better.
Friday, March 5, 2010
The Raw Deal
Tomorrow is raw cat food day, meaning it's one of the two days a month we make raw cat food for our three cats.
Growing up, our cat ate the cheap dry cat food because that's what we could afford. He was an indoor/outdoor cat, and I was very sad when he passed away. At the time of his passing, my mother was making special food for him out of cooked eggs, ground cooked meat and ground eggshells because he suffered a severe UTI that almost killed him due to crystals formed by eating dry cat food.
When my husband and I made the decision to get cats, I assumed we would be going the same route of feeding our cats whatever was cheap. In my line of thinking, a cat was "just a cat", not akin to a human being and certainly not high on the list of things to care about. It was a pet to provide companionship and it was there to serve me, not the other way around.
Then I began reading about the concept of a raw diet for cats. At the time (2006), the idea of a raw diet was still relatively new. It was just beginning to gain popularity and was mostly still confined to the fringes, the "crazy cat ladies" of the world. But it interested me. I began to learn more about how a cat's digestive system worked, and I began to wonder why I had never thought it odd that the number one ingredient in cheap pet foods is corn, yet all wild and feral cats eat nothing but meat.
After thinking about it for some time, I came to the conclusion that if we were going to get cats, we were going to feed them right. But the time commitment of raw food, not to mention the mess, was too much for me. I opted instead to get grain-free dry food and see how that worked.
We adopted two rambunctious kittens, Sam and Io, in the summer of 2006, and began feeding them a grainless dry food. After about a month they developed issues with diarrhea. Our vet advised a "holistic" pet food that included grains, vegetables and meat, but was still a dry food. Instead, we decided to give raw food a wholehearted try. Almost immediately, their diarrhea stopped and they were happy and healthy little kittens again. Not long after that, we were adopted by a pregnant mother cat who we named Hope. We have never gone back to dry food since.
Today, we feed our cats the same raw diet they have eaten for almost four years, one developed by veterinarian Lisa Pierson, found on her website catinfo.org. The recipe is made using only human grade ingredients, something many pet foods lack, and is completely devoid of ash fillers, grains, or difficult to digest vegetables. We use a Tasin meat grinder that we have used since we started without any issues, and buy our supplements at iherb.com.
Since we started this raw diet, our cats have had absolutely no health problems. They are full of energy with soft, healthy coats. Some of the benefits for us, beyond low vet bills, are the advantages of very little waste, and very low smell from the waste they produce. If we didn't clean them, we'd forget their litter boxes were there.
Since we started feeding our cats an all-raw diet, the popularity of raw diets has skyrocketed. You can buy premade raw food from any number of companies, and many pet food stores are beginning to carry raw food as well. Price wise, making your own is infinitely cheaper. Chicken thighs, our meat of choice, are very cheap, especially since you buy thighs with the skin and bones still on them. In terms of a time commitment, set up, grinding and clean up take a grand total of 3 hours with one person doing them all, 2 hours or less with two people, and we make enough cat food to freeze and last for 2 weeks or more.
I cannot say enough about the benefits of raw food. I am so happy that we made the decision, together, to commit to making this food for our cats. Cats are carnivores. Have you ever seen a lion mowing grass like a cow? Do feral cats hunt down carrots? Cats were meant to eat meat. One of the biggest problems we see in cats in obesity. One of the biggest causes of obesity is feeding cats food that is full of fillers and low in nutrients. Think of it this way: you might be able to survive on a diet of nothing but McDonald's fries and burgers, but you would gain a lot of weight eating enough to get the nutrients you need. The solution to an obese cat isn't to feed it less food and therefore even fewer nutrients, it's to feed it a different kind of food that's higher in nutrient content.
If you aren't able or willing to make the time commitment to making raw food (it isn't for everyone, I know), consider buying premade raw food. If that isn't an option, as it can get expensive, then feed your cat a good canned food like Wellness. Dry food is not a good choice for a cat. A cat's teeth are not meant to crunch dry kibble and dry food has a different nutrient profile because of the necessity of a lower protein content to make it into kibble in the first place.
If we all strive to feed our pets the best, the closest to what they would eat in nature, we will see lower vet bills and healthier, happier pets.
Tip of the day: If you make your own raw food, a five gallon bucket is a great way to mix it. You can pick one up from any hardware store, and it allows you to mix the liver, meat and bone and supplements with the water without sloshing anything on yourself or your floor. From there you simply scoop it into whatever you want to put it in, freeze it and you're set to go!
Growing up, our cat ate the cheap dry cat food because that's what we could afford. He was an indoor/outdoor cat, and I was very sad when he passed away. At the time of his passing, my mother was making special food for him out of cooked eggs, ground cooked meat and ground eggshells because he suffered a severe UTI that almost killed him due to crystals formed by eating dry cat food.
When my husband and I made the decision to get cats, I assumed we would be going the same route of feeding our cats whatever was cheap. In my line of thinking, a cat was "just a cat", not akin to a human being and certainly not high on the list of things to care about. It was a pet to provide companionship and it was there to serve me, not the other way around.
Then I began reading about the concept of a raw diet for cats. At the time (2006), the idea of a raw diet was still relatively new. It was just beginning to gain popularity and was mostly still confined to the fringes, the "crazy cat ladies" of the world. But it interested me. I began to learn more about how a cat's digestive system worked, and I began to wonder why I had never thought it odd that the number one ingredient in cheap pet foods is corn, yet all wild and feral cats eat nothing but meat.
After thinking about it for some time, I came to the conclusion that if we were going to get cats, we were going to feed them right. But the time commitment of raw food, not to mention the mess, was too much for me. I opted instead to get grain-free dry food and see how that worked.
We adopted two rambunctious kittens, Sam and Io, in the summer of 2006, and began feeding them a grainless dry food. After about a month they developed issues with diarrhea. Our vet advised a "holistic" pet food that included grains, vegetables and meat, but was still a dry food. Instead, we decided to give raw food a wholehearted try. Almost immediately, their diarrhea stopped and they were happy and healthy little kittens again. Not long after that, we were adopted by a pregnant mother cat who we named Hope. We have never gone back to dry food since.
Today, we feed our cats the same raw diet they have eaten for almost four years, one developed by veterinarian Lisa Pierson, found on her website catinfo.org. The recipe is made using only human grade ingredients, something many pet foods lack, and is completely devoid of ash fillers, grains, or difficult to digest vegetables. We use a Tasin meat grinder that we have used since we started without any issues, and buy our supplements at iherb.com.
Since we started this raw diet, our cats have had absolutely no health problems. They are full of energy with soft, healthy coats. Some of the benefits for us, beyond low vet bills, are the advantages of very little waste, and very low smell from the waste they produce. If we didn't clean them, we'd forget their litter boxes were there.
Since we started feeding our cats an all-raw diet, the popularity of raw diets has skyrocketed. You can buy premade raw food from any number of companies, and many pet food stores are beginning to carry raw food as well. Price wise, making your own is infinitely cheaper. Chicken thighs, our meat of choice, are very cheap, especially since you buy thighs with the skin and bones still on them. In terms of a time commitment, set up, grinding and clean up take a grand total of 3 hours with one person doing them all, 2 hours or less with two people, and we make enough cat food to freeze and last for 2 weeks or more.
I cannot say enough about the benefits of raw food. I am so happy that we made the decision, together, to commit to making this food for our cats. Cats are carnivores. Have you ever seen a lion mowing grass like a cow? Do feral cats hunt down carrots? Cats were meant to eat meat. One of the biggest problems we see in cats in obesity. One of the biggest causes of obesity is feeding cats food that is full of fillers and low in nutrients. Think of it this way: you might be able to survive on a diet of nothing but McDonald's fries and burgers, but you would gain a lot of weight eating enough to get the nutrients you need. The solution to an obese cat isn't to feed it less food and therefore even fewer nutrients, it's to feed it a different kind of food that's higher in nutrient content.
If you aren't able or willing to make the time commitment to making raw food (it isn't for everyone, I know), consider buying premade raw food. If that isn't an option, as it can get expensive, then feed your cat a good canned food like Wellness. Dry food is not a good choice for a cat. A cat's teeth are not meant to crunch dry kibble and dry food has a different nutrient profile because of the necessity of a lower protein content to make it into kibble in the first place.
If we all strive to feed our pets the best, the closest to what they would eat in nature, we will see lower vet bills and healthier, happier pets.
Tip of the day: If you make your own raw food, a five gallon bucket is a great way to mix it. You can pick one up from any hardware store, and it allows you to mix the liver, meat and bone and supplements with the water without sloshing anything on yourself or your floor. From there you simply scoop it into whatever you want to put it in, freeze it and you're set to go!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Product Review: Moisturizer
Let me start off by saying I am not being endorsed by any company to advertise their products. Maybe I should be, then I could make some money doing this! No, this is free advertising for products I've found that work especially well and that I would like you to know about.
I have a perpetual problem with dry hands. I always have, since I was a child. I grew up using Johnson and Johnson Baby Lotion but in recent years I've tried to go more organic and natural. One problem I always had with Johnson and Johnson was that when I used it on my chapped knees, they would sting horribly for a while afterwards because of the chemicals in the lotion. But finally, I have found a lotion that not only doesn't make my hands sting if they're chapped, but it works wonderfully in all the ways that make a lotion great.
I use the Aubrey Organics unscented moisturizing lotion to keep my hands from getting chapped and dry, and most importantly, to prevent my most recent problem, onycholysis (the spontaneous detachment of the nail from the nail bed, usually caused by stress to the nail but in my case caused by constant hand washing from having a toddler and a baby with reflux). We originally bought the lotion for my husband as it was unscented and doesn't leave that excessively greasy feeling you get with so many other lotions. But when my fingertips started to split because of the dry winter air and washing my hands all the time, I started using it because it was the only lotion in the house that didn't make my fingertips sting. Since then I've grown to love how soft it leaves my hands without leaving them greasy and unusable. It leaves behind a silky feeling and no scent, so it won't become overwhelming if you use it regularly.
If you're interested in checking out the unique ingredients that Aubrey Organics using you can find them here in the product description. I buy my lotion at our local natural goods store, but you can buy Aubrey Organics at most stores that carry natural healthy products or online at sites like Amazon.
Tip of the day: If you suffer from dry hands like I do, one trick that works well is to cover your hands in almond or apricot oil before bed. Then put on light cotton gloves to keep the oil from getting on your sheets and to help hold in the moisture. In the morning your hands should be in much better shape!
I have a perpetual problem with dry hands. I always have, since I was a child. I grew up using Johnson and Johnson Baby Lotion but in recent years I've tried to go more organic and natural. One problem I always had with Johnson and Johnson was that when I used it on my chapped knees, they would sting horribly for a while afterwards because of the chemicals in the lotion. But finally, I have found a lotion that not only doesn't make my hands sting if they're chapped, but it works wonderfully in all the ways that make a lotion great.
I use the Aubrey Organics unscented moisturizing lotion to keep my hands from getting chapped and dry, and most importantly, to prevent my most recent problem, onycholysis (the spontaneous detachment of the nail from the nail bed, usually caused by stress to the nail but in my case caused by constant hand washing from having a toddler and a baby with reflux). We originally bought the lotion for my husband as it was unscented and doesn't leave that excessively greasy feeling you get with so many other lotions. But when my fingertips started to split because of the dry winter air and washing my hands all the time, I started using it because it was the only lotion in the house that didn't make my fingertips sting. Since then I've grown to love how soft it leaves my hands without leaving them greasy and unusable. It leaves behind a silky feeling and no scent, so it won't become overwhelming if you use it regularly.
If you're interested in checking out the unique ingredients that Aubrey Organics using you can find them here in the product description. I buy my lotion at our local natural goods store, but you can buy Aubrey Organics at most stores that carry natural healthy products or online at sites like Amazon.
Tip of the day: If you suffer from dry hands like I do, one trick that works well is to cover your hands in almond or apricot oil before bed. Then put on light cotton gloves to keep the oil from getting on your sheets and to help hold in the moisture. In the morning your hands should be in much better shape!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Quick tip!
We've been without power for about a day and a half and my husband is off at a fencing tournament, so I'm just going to have time for a quick tip so I can go get all the chores done that were put off because of the lack of electricity!
Tip of the day: A quick, nutritious and natural meal is the Italian caprese. If you eat dairy products, you take a roll of soft, fresh mozzarella cheese, and one or two nice ripe tomatoes. Slice the tomatoes and the mozzarella into 1/4" slices and alternate in a circle around a plate. Pour some extra virgin light tasting olive oil on top, then add some fresh basil leaves (or ground dried basil if you don't have fresh), cracked pepper and sea salt. You can eat it as is or dip it in balsamic vinegar. Enjoy with a fresh loaf of homemade bread! Yum!
Tip of the day: A quick, nutritious and natural meal is the Italian caprese. If you eat dairy products, you take a roll of soft, fresh mozzarella cheese, and one or two nice ripe tomatoes. Slice the tomatoes and the mozzarella into 1/4" slices and alternate in a circle around a plate. Pour some extra virgin light tasting olive oil on top, then add some fresh basil leaves (or ground dried basil if you don't have fresh), cracked pepper and sea salt. You can eat it as is or dip it in balsamic vinegar. Enjoy with a fresh loaf of homemade bread! Yum!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Use it up, wear it out.
There's an old saying that goes "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" that can be applied to living a natural life. It goes hand in hand with the concept of reduce, reuse and recycle. In order to live a life closer to nature, we must learn to use more of what nature has given us and less of the artificial objects we have created.
In our family, we believe in the concept of fixing what is broken and using what we have until it falls apart, then recycling what is left. Old clothing can be made into blankets or batting for draft dodgers. Old shoes can be resoled, and things that break can be mended. All this contributes to reducing our interference with nature by reducing our consumption of new items. If we need a new item that we do not have already, we can either find a way to make it or buy it used from a thrift shop or yard sale. An excellent activity in the summer is to go yard saling on the weekends, looking for used goods so that we can avoid buying new ones. If we must buy a new item, we should research thoroughly to find one that will last a long time, even if it means a larger initial investment.
I take inspiration from junkyard artists who create unique works of art out of what most people would consider trash. One creation that now, more than ever, is worth taking a look at is the oil drum art of Haiti. Using recycled oil drums, these artists create beautiful and durable works of art without adding more waste to the world.
Tip of the day: A wood stove can be more than just a heat source. By purchasing some cast iron cookware, you can use the heat of your stove to cook your food as well, saving energy and resources. Cast iron cookware also adds beneficial iron to your food which can be used by your body, and is especially helpful for people who are anemic like myself! Lodge Logic produces a line of cast iron, preseasoned cookware that is available at local stores such as Target. If your cast iron cookware rusts, just scrape off the rust and reseason it without any problem!
In our family, we believe in the concept of fixing what is broken and using what we have until it falls apart, then recycling what is left. Old clothing can be made into blankets or batting for draft dodgers. Old shoes can be resoled, and things that break can be mended. All this contributes to reducing our interference with nature by reducing our consumption of new items. If we need a new item that we do not have already, we can either find a way to make it or buy it used from a thrift shop or yard sale. An excellent activity in the summer is to go yard saling on the weekends, looking for used goods so that we can avoid buying new ones. If we must buy a new item, we should research thoroughly to find one that will last a long time, even if it means a larger initial investment.
I take inspiration from junkyard artists who create unique works of art out of what most people would consider trash. One creation that now, more than ever, is worth taking a look at is the oil drum art of Haiti. Using recycled oil drums, these artists create beautiful and durable works of art without adding more waste to the world.
Tip of the day: A wood stove can be more than just a heat source. By purchasing some cast iron cookware, you can use the heat of your stove to cook your food as well, saving energy and resources. Cast iron cookware also adds beneficial iron to your food which can be used by your body, and is especially helpful for people who are anemic like myself! Lodge Logic produces a line of cast iron, preseasoned cookware that is available at local stores such as Target. If your cast iron cookware rusts, just scrape off the rust and reseason it without any problem!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Child's play
One thing I've found difficult as I raise my boys is getting toys for them that are child safe and natural without costing an arm and a leg. Although one of my favorite sites to get toys from is Palumba, their toys tend to run on the expensive side, so I'm sometimes at a loss as to how to find good toys for less. I'd like to share some tips on finding sturdy, natural and most of all, fun toys for boys and girls.
Cloth: One way to avoid the dangers of lead or many other chemicals is to stick to cloth toys. A lot of major manufacturers make organic stuffed animals that cost more than standard stuffed animals but not as much as specialty ones. Stuffed animals from thrift stores are good from two perspectives: because they aren't new, the chemicals from processing the animal to make it look pretty have all been washed/worn out, and they don't use up new resources that contribute to consumerism and waste. Cloth is especially good for babies because it's soft and can be chewed on, grasped and carried without difficulty. My youngest loves his tag blanket in particular.
Wood: Make sure to get unfinished wood toys, especially if you're buying toys for a child young enough to chew on them. Natural wood blocks are easy to find online and are great for children of all ages. WalMart sells small wooden trucks and cars in its craft area, which are great for older toddlers. If you get painted toys, get them from a trusted manufacturer who does not use lead paint in their toys. Melissa and Doug have a commitment to offer toys free of lead and other harmful chemicals in their paint.
Handmade: If you're on the crafty side, you can make your own toys out of unfinished wood pieces, scraps of cloth, yarn, or other items. The great thing about handmade is that 9 times out of 10, the item is cheaper than it would be to buy, and you know exactly what you made it out of. Items from the recycling can be handy toys too. My older son loves to play with old paper towel rolls or wrapping paper rolls, and I found that the plastic tops from yogurt containers and plastic water bottles (both made with BPA free plastic) make great chew and chase toys for my youngest.
Nature: Of course the best natural toys are toys that nature makes herself! Rocks, sticks, leaves, grass, all of them make wonderful playthings for children of all ages. Just make sure to keep an eye on babies who are putting things in their mouth, and keep anything dangerous out of their reach.
Tip of the day: Desperate for a little bit of color indoors during a long winter? Christmas cactuses make great indoor houseplants that require little water and care to produce gorgeous pink blossoms two or three times a year. I have one still in the same pot it's been in for almost 20 years, which has survived being almost completely eaten by cats and travelling cross country in a van twice.
Cloth: One way to avoid the dangers of lead or many other chemicals is to stick to cloth toys. A lot of major manufacturers make organic stuffed animals that cost more than standard stuffed animals but not as much as specialty ones. Stuffed animals from thrift stores are good from two perspectives: because they aren't new, the chemicals from processing the animal to make it look pretty have all been washed/worn out, and they don't use up new resources that contribute to consumerism and waste. Cloth is especially good for babies because it's soft and can be chewed on, grasped and carried without difficulty. My youngest loves his tag blanket in particular.
Wood: Make sure to get unfinished wood toys, especially if you're buying toys for a child young enough to chew on them. Natural wood blocks are easy to find online and are great for children of all ages. WalMart sells small wooden trucks and cars in its craft area, which are great for older toddlers. If you get painted toys, get them from a trusted manufacturer who does not use lead paint in their toys. Melissa and Doug have a commitment to offer toys free of lead and other harmful chemicals in their paint.
Handmade: If you're on the crafty side, you can make your own toys out of unfinished wood pieces, scraps of cloth, yarn, or other items. The great thing about handmade is that 9 times out of 10, the item is cheaper than it would be to buy, and you know exactly what you made it out of. Items from the recycling can be handy toys too. My older son loves to play with old paper towel rolls or wrapping paper rolls, and I found that the plastic tops from yogurt containers and plastic water bottles (both made with BPA free plastic) make great chew and chase toys for my youngest.
Nature: Of course the best natural toys are toys that nature makes herself! Rocks, sticks, leaves, grass, all of them make wonderful playthings for children of all ages. Just make sure to keep an eye on babies who are putting things in their mouth, and keep anything dangerous out of their reach.
Tip of the day: Desperate for a little bit of color indoors during a long winter? Christmas cactuses make great indoor houseplants that require little water and care to produce gorgeous pink blossoms two or three times a year. I have one still in the same pot it's been in for almost 20 years, which has survived being almost completely eaten by cats and travelling cross country in a van twice.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Homegrown goodness.
Growing your own produce at home is not only nutritious, but it tastes far better than produce found in grocery stores.
When produce is grown commercially and shipped to grocery stores, it is generally picked while still unripe and artificially ripened or shipped green. This leads to produce that is technically ripe, but lacking most of the good taste and consistency of vine ripened fruit. Hence the radically different taste between a homegrown tomato and a store bought one.
Growing produce at home is easy, fun, and almost anyone can do it, even if you don't have a single outdoor spot of land to call your own! I have grown vegetables in an apartment, in the lawn of a duplex we were renting and of course, now in my own garden at home. All you need is to know which seeds do well in what circumstances.
If you don't have any spot in the ground to put plants, you'll need to tailor your circumstances to container gardening. Most importantly, you need to make sure you purchase seeds meant to be grown in containers. Most bush varieties of plants can be grown in containers. Tomatoes do particularly well in less than ideal conditions, and nothing beats the taste of a homegrown tomato. Bush beans are another plant that does well in a container, along with most varieties of medicinal and cooking herbs. If you're really ambitious and you have a big enough pot, you can try growing plants like pumpkins (bush varieties) in containers. Make sure to keep your plants well watered and make sure they have good drainage! A layer of sandy loam underneath the potting soil can help the plants drain better while not letting out too much water like gravel. If you don't have a patio or porch to put your pots on, find the sunniest southern facing window in your house and stick the pots there.
If you are unable to keep plants in your apartment or condo for whatever reason, check out the American Community Garden Association's website. There you can find information on community gardens near you, or if you're particularly ambitious, you can start a community garden of your own! Community gardens are not only a great way to make your own food, they are an opportunity to meet new people and a chance to add greenery and plant life to a community.
If you're lucky enough to have your own land to garden, consider heirloom varieties. Many companies such as Seeds of Change and Johnny's have all or some heirloom varieties of plants. Heirlooms preserve natural diversity and often have unique flavors or looks. Most importantly, they save money for the home gardener by allowing you to collect the seeds at the end of the year to save for next years garden!
Tip of the day: If you're a yogurt eater, save the cups! Yogurt cups can be easily recycled into tiny plant pots for seedlings, and are large enough to hold the seedlings until they get big enough to go in the garden. The cups can be reused year after year. It's a great way to hold healthy food in that yogurt cup two times!
When produce is grown commercially and shipped to grocery stores, it is generally picked while still unripe and artificially ripened or shipped green. This leads to produce that is technically ripe, but lacking most of the good taste and consistency of vine ripened fruit. Hence the radically different taste between a homegrown tomato and a store bought one.
Growing produce at home is easy, fun, and almost anyone can do it, even if you don't have a single outdoor spot of land to call your own! I have grown vegetables in an apartment, in the lawn of a duplex we were renting and of course, now in my own garden at home. All you need is to know which seeds do well in what circumstances.
If you don't have any spot in the ground to put plants, you'll need to tailor your circumstances to container gardening. Most importantly, you need to make sure you purchase seeds meant to be grown in containers. Most bush varieties of plants can be grown in containers. Tomatoes do particularly well in less than ideal conditions, and nothing beats the taste of a homegrown tomato. Bush beans are another plant that does well in a container, along with most varieties of medicinal and cooking herbs. If you're really ambitious and you have a big enough pot, you can try growing plants like pumpkins (bush varieties) in containers. Make sure to keep your plants well watered and make sure they have good drainage! A layer of sandy loam underneath the potting soil can help the plants drain better while not letting out too much water like gravel. If you don't have a patio or porch to put your pots on, find the sunniest southern facing window in your house and stick the pots there.
If you are unable to keep plants in your apartment or condo for whatever reason, check out the American Community Garden Association's website. There you can find information on community gardens near you, or if you're particularly ambitious, you can start a community garden of your own! Community gardens are not only a great way to make your own food, they are an opportunity to meet new people and a chance to add greenery and plant life to a community.
If you're lucky enough to have your own land to garden, consider heirloom varieties. Many companies such as Seeds of Change and Johnny's have all or some heirloom varieties of plants. Heirlooms preserve natural diversity and often have unique flavors or looks. Most importantly, they save money for the home gardener by allowing you to collect the seeds at the end of the year to save for next years garden!
Tip of the day: If you're a yogurt eater, save the cups! Yogurt cups can be easily recycled into tiny plant pots for seedlings, and are large enough to hold the seedlings until they get big enough to go in the garden. The cups can be reused year after year. It's a great way to hold healthy food in that yogurt cup two times!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Whole and unspotted.
One of the essential aspects of natural living, in my opinion, is maintaining things in a whole and untainted state. This applies of course to the beautiful natural terrain and wildlife we find in the world, but also to the things we put in our body, namely food.
As a society, we have moved more and more away from using things in their whole state. Food has become more refined, more processed, and as a result, less nutritious. Think of 100% juice that has a message on the side telling consumers that there may be color variations from one bottle to another. Grocery stores don't label their apples or pears telling you there may be color variations from one fruit to another, yet we have become so accustomed to juices made from overly refined, artificially colored fruit (or worse, fruit "flavoring") that we are not used to the natural variations in color in juice made without all these "extras". We eat white bread, skinned potatoes, apple juice, without once considering that these things were all once whole, and that we are only consuming one tiny part of that whole.
Food was, by and large, meant to be kept in its whole state. More and more we are realizing this as a society, but we must make a push to include it in our way of life. Consider a potato. In an effort to make the potato "better", we skin it, cook it, cut it up, run it through a food processor and make it into fries. Yet in doing so, we strip the potato of its vital nutrients. The potato was meant to be kept whole. All the most important vitamins and minerals are contained in the skin of the potato, and we benefit from eating it as a whole entity and not refining it into an unrecognizable strip of fried starch.
I encourage everyone moving towards a more natural life to include more whole foods in their diet. Fruit is more beneficial to the body than fruit juice because fewer of the vitamins have degraded and it still has its beneficial fiber. Contrary to popular commercials, we should be encouraging everyone to find ways to include whole vegetables in their diet, rather than encouraging them to drink a juice substitute. Nature was meant to be whole, the way we are, the way we were meant to be.
Tip of the day: Get whole grain into your diet by grinding your own wheat to make whole wheat bread. If you don't have the time to grind and bake (who does these days?) then make sure to look carefully for real 100% whole wheat bread. Good bread will have a short ingredient list with no high fructose corn syrup. Watch out for breads that are labelled "wheat" but really made of white flour and colored with molasses. The first ingredient on the list should be 100% whole wheat flour, and ideally there should be no white flour at all. The fewer ingredients, the better!
As a society, we have moved more and more away from using things in their whole state. Food has become more refined, more processed, and as a result, less nutritious. Think of 100% juice that has a message on the side telling consumers that there may be color variations from one bottle to another. Grocery stores don't label their apples or pears telling you there may be color variations from one fruit to another, yet we have become so accustomed to juices made from overly refined, artificially colored fruit (or worse, fruit "flavoring") that we are not used to the natural variations in color in juice made without all these "extras". We eat white bread, skinned potatoes, apple juice, without once considering that these things were all once whole, and that we are only consuming one tiny part of that whole.
Food was, by and large, meant to be kept in its whole state. More and more we are realizing this as a society, but we must make a push to include it in our way of life. Consider a potato. In an effort to make the potato "better", we skin it, cook it, cut it up, run it through a food processor and make it into fries. Yet in doing so, we strip the potato of its vital nutrients. The potato was meant to be kept whole. All the most important vitamins and minerals are contained in the skin of the potato, and we benefit from eating it as a whole entity and not refining it into an unrecognizable strip of fried starch.
I encourage everyone moving towards a more natural life to include more whole foods in their diet. Fruit is more beneficial to the body than fruit juice because fewer of the vitamins have degraded and it still has its beneficial fiber. Contrary to popular commercials, we should be encouraging everyone to find ways to include whole vegetables in their diet, rather than encouraging them to drink a juice substitute. Nature was meant to be whole, the way we are, the way we were meant to be.
Tip of the day: Get whole grain into your diet by grinding your own wheat to make whole wheat bread. If you don't have the time to grind and bake (who does these days?) then make sure to look carefully for real 100% whole wheat bread. Good bread will have a short ingredient list with no high fructose corn syrup. Watch out for breads that are labelled "wheat" but really made of white flour and colored with molasses. The first ingredient on the list should be 100% whole wheat flour, and ideally there should be no white flour at all. The fewer ingredients, the better!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Warming up to wood heat.
A big concern of many people trying to live a more natural lifestyle is the environmental impact of home heating. When I say environmental impact, I'm not talking about whether carbon emissions are raising the global temperature or not. I'm talking about the here and now effects of smog from power plants to produce electricity, or oil, propane and natural gas burning furnaces.
My husband and I live in a relatively small (1000 square feet) home which we heat primarily with wood, with propane as a back up heat source. Natural gas isn't an option because there are no natural gas lines and our house isn't set up for natural gas. Although propane is one of the cleaner fuels, for both cost and renewability we prefer wood.
So how do we make our stove as efficient as possible, and why do we prefer wood? In terms of heating ability, our wood stove, one of the smaller models, can easily heat our entire house to 75F+ while using about 2-2.5 cords of wood a year. Our propane furnace, forced hot air, struggles to keep the house at 62F without being on constantly during the colder months. We burn hardwood, which is in abundant supply out here in the east, and burns longer and hotter than pine. Hotter is better because the hotter the fire (within safety limits, of course) the fewer emissions it produces. How can you tell if your stove is burning hot enough? If you look out your window at your chimney flue, you should see little to no smoke coming out of it. So that classic image of a chimney puffing smoke is charming, but polluting. A proper fire should be hot enough to produce primarily water vapor and hot air. We also prefer wood because wood is a renewable resource. Tree farms can be planted to provide wood, and forests can be sustainably harvested to continuously produce a source of heat. Propane, oil, coal and natural gas are non-renewable resources and I have to say that I trust burning wood, which burns in nature, more than burning oil, which resides below the ground where it doesn't catch on fire in its natural state.
Shop around for a wood stove, as there are a lot of different models available. The newer models are becoming more and more environmentally friendly and are designed to reduce the emissions of a stove even more than before. Consider combining a wood stove with other methods of renewable heat, such as passive solar heating and, most important of all, good insulation!
Tip of the day: To get a really good fire going in your wood stove, even on a busy day after you get home from work, you need to layer the kindling well. I use three sheets of newspaper folded in half and rolled up into newspaper "logs" for the base. Then I put little pieces of tinder and bark on top of the newspaper, thin pieces of kindling and large strips of bark on top of that, and finally I finish off with two or three logs about 1.5-2" across, placed crisscross on each other. Light the fire in a few places, shut the door and you should have a fire going in about 2-3 minutes without any extra effort!
My husband and I live in a relatively small (1000 square feet) home which we heat primarily with wood, with propane as a back up heat source. Natural gas isn't an option because there are no natural gas lines and our house isn't set up for natural gas. Although propane is one of the cleaner fuels, for both cost and renewability we prefer wood.
So how do we make our stove as efficient as possible, and why do we prefer wood? In terms of heating ability, our wood stove, one of the smaller models, can easily heat our entire house to 75F+ while using about 2-2.5 cords of wood a year. Our propane furnace, forced hot air, struggles to keep the house at 62F without being on constantly during the colder months. We burn hardwood, which is in abundant supply out here in the east, and burns longer and hotter than pine. Hotter is better because the hotter the fire (within safety limits, of course) the fewer emissions it produces. How can you tell if your stove is burning hot enough? If you look out your window at your chimney flue, you should see little to no smoke coming out of it. So that classic image of a chimney puffing smoke is charming, but polluting. A proper fire should be hot enough to produce primarily water vapor and hot air. We also prefer wood because wood is a renewable resource. Tree farms can be planted to provide wood, and forests can be sustainably harvested to continuously produce a source of heat. Propane, oil, coal and natural gas are non-renewable resources and I have to say that I trust burning wood, which burns in nature, more than burning oil, which resides below the ground where it doesn't catch on fire in its natural state.
Shop around for a wood stove, as there are a lot of different models available. The newer models are becoming more and more environmentally friendly and are designed to reduce the emissions of a stove even more than before. Consider combining a wood stove with other methods of renewable heat, such as passive solar heating and, most important of all, good insulation!
Tip of the day: To get a really good fire going in your wood stove, even on a busy day after you get home from work, you need to layer the kindling well. I use three sheets of newspaper folded in half and rolled up into newspaper "logs" for the base. Then I put little pieces of tinder and bark on top of the newspaper, thin pieces of kindling and large strips of bark on top of that, and finally I finish off with two or three logs about 1.5-2" across, placed crisscross on each other. Light the fire in a few places, shut the door and you should have a fire going in about 2-3 minutes without any extra effort!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Moving away from the "green" hype.
The ongoing debate about catastrophic climate change and "green" technologies fires up a lot of strong emotions in people on both sides of the argument. But no matter what side you fight on, we should all agree on one thing: pollution is not a good thing. Smog, poisoned lakes, trash and deforestation affect all of us in an equally negative way. Returning to a more natural lifestyle should be the goal of all of us, political and religious affiliations aside.
So I'd like to move away from the hype and popularity of the green movement and distinguish natural from "green".
When I think of the concept of green living, I associate it with commercialism and hype. Green is a company producing a more environmentally friendly plastic bag when we should be trying to stop using so many plastic bags in the first place. Green encourages us to be just as focused on consuming as before, only shift our thought patterns slightly to the left. Green does not invite real change, it draws in the hip and trendy and when it goes out of style, nothing is any different.
Natural living encourages an entire lifestyle change. Natural living is about reducing our consumption, even if it means stepping out of our comfort zone to do so. It's about learning to live in harmony with nature, which means fewer products, not greener ones. To be natural is to be the way that you were meant to be, living the way your body was meant to live, the way nature intended.
This isn't to say that there are no virtues to the green movement. Making environmentally friendly things more trendy and popular might help to encourage people who would otherwise shun the natural life as too "hippie" or "earthy crunchy" to make a real lifestyle change. And I don't think anyone is complaining about places like LA reducing carbon emissions. But we need to focus on a real life change, not just a trendy grocery bag that gets stuck in the closet next month.
I encourage all of us to take the steps to move towards a more natural life that will last a lifetime.
Tip of the day: Starting seedlings indoors this time of year? Try using egg cartons until the seedlings have 2 or more true leaves. The egg carton can be torn apart and transplanted without disturbing the roots of the seedlings and it is naturally biodegradable.
So I'd like to move away from the hype and popularity of the green movement and distinguish natural from "green".
When I think of the concept of green living, I associate it with commercialism and hype. Green is a company producing a more environmentally friendly plastic bag when we should be trying to stop using so many plastic bags in the first place. Green encourages us to be just as focused on consuming as before, only shift our thought patterns slightly to the left. Green does not invite real change, it draws in the hip and trendy and when it goes out of style, nothing is any different.
Natural living encourages an entire lifestyle change. Natural living is about reducing our consumption, even if it means stepping out of our comfort zone to do so. It's about learning to live in harmony with nature, which means fewer products, not greener ones. To be natural is to be the way that you were meant to be, living the way your body was meant to live, the way nature intended.
This isn't to say that there are no virtues to the green movement. Making environmentally friendly things more trendy and popular might help to encourage people who would otherwise shun the natural life as too "hippie" or "earthy crunchy" to make a real lifestyle change. And I don't think anyone is complaining about places like LA reducing carbon emissions. But we need to focus on a real life change, not just a trendy grocery bag that gets stuck in the closet next month.
I encourage all of us to take the steps to move towards a more natural life that will last a lifetime.
Tip of the day: Starting seedlings indoors this time of year? Try using egg cartons until the seedlings have 2 or more true leaves. The egg carton can be torn apart and transplanted without disturbing the roots of the seedlings and it is naturally biodegradable.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
New to blogging, yet not.
Well, welcome to all those who are visiting my blog for the first time. Although I'm new to the official blogosphere, I've written in an online diary since 2000, so the concept of splashing my life all over a screen for others to peruse really isn't anything new to me.
I grew up in a very suburban and consumerist environment and only recently began attempting to live in a way closer to the way nature intended. My husband and I have moved into a house with enough acres to start a sizable garden and hopefully begin raising some livestock. We already compost and recycle, and are trying to learn how to better reduce our consumption and reuse what we already own. We feed our cats an all raw diet of chicken, chicken and more chicken (and some supplements).
The biggest challenge for me blogging right now is learning more HTML than the basics I already knew. The biggest challenge for me with natural living is finding the happy equilibrium between natural and within my price range. As a stay at home mom, we live off of my husband's income alone, plus whatever I can bring in through my freelance nature photography and whatever I'm able to sell during the growing season (produce, herbal teas, flowers). So sometimes organic isn't the easiest thing to do. I hope to share tips and tactics I've found for doing natural cheaper as I blog about life living in Maine, renovating a house and living a more natural and healthy life. I will feature these tips in the "tip of the day" at the end of each post.
I hope you enjoy this blog, and if you do, tell everyone you know! I firmly believe a more natural life is a healthier life.
Tip of the day: Spider plants are a virtually indestructible houseplant that can thrive even if neglected, will produce baby plants if well cared for, and will filter toxins out of your air. Find someone who has one already and see if it has babies to get a free starter plant. They can live indefinitely if well cared for.
I grew up in a very suburban and consumerist environment and only recently began attempting to live in a way closer to the way nature intended. My husband and I have moved into a house with enough acres to start a sizable garden and hopefully begin raising some livestock. We already compost and recycle, and are trying to learn how to better reduce our consumption and reuse what we already own. We feed our cats an all raw diet of chicken, chicken and more chicken (and some supplements).
The biggest challenge for me blogging right now is learning more HTML than the basics I already knew. The biggest challenge for me with natural living is finding the happy equilibrium between natural and within my price range. As a stay at home mom, we live off of my husband's income alone, plus whatever I can bring in through my freelance nature photography and whatever I'm able to sell during the growing season (produce, herbal teas, flowers). So sometimes organic isn't the easiest thing to do. I hope to share tips and tactics I've found for doing natural cheaper as I blog about life living in Maine, renovating a house and living a more natural and healthy life. I will feature these tips in the "tip of the day" at the end of each post.
I hope you enjoy this blog, and if you do, tell everyone you know! I firmly believe a more natural life is a healthier life.
Tip of the day: Spider plants are a virtually indestructible houseplant that can thrive even if neglected, will produce baby plants if well cared for, and will filter toxins out of your air. Find someone who has one already and see if it has babies to get a free starter plant. They can live indefinitely if well cared for.
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