Gardening 101: Companion Planting

by on March 31, 2010
in home & garden · 37 Comments

Mother Nature is awfully ingenious; she has come up with quite a few methods to keep bugs away and plants healthy and thriving.  It turns out that plants, like people, prefer certain company.  You can help keep your vegetables happy and pest-free by planting them near their buddies!

This simple method maximizes certain plants’ natural strengths and minimizes their weaknesses, giving you a beautiful garden and abundant crops!  Some of the combinations make sense, like tomatoes and basil; others might surprise you… [Read more...]

Using Cloth in the Home

by on March 29, 2010
in home & garden · 82 Comments

A couple of years ago, we were primarily using disposable products at home.  Lots of paper towels, one-time-use “sweeper” cloths for sweeping floors and dusting, sponges for scrubbing, tissues for nose-wiping, and paper napkins at mealtime. This is probably common for many households, and while it sure is convenient, it definitely contributes to all sorts of environmental problems.

Whether you’re talking about deforestation, filling up landfills, toxic waste in our water systems from the bleaching process, or even the energy needed to create all these products, disposables are a problem.  Fortunately,  it is easy to make changes in this area, and every little change can actually help make a great difference.

We still use some disposable products, but we’ve transitioned away from many of them, and are getting to ready to say good-bye to a few more.  Here are a few simple ideas for switching to cloth around your house, and making the transition easy.
[Read more...]

Sunday Links: Out Like a Lamb

by on March 28, 2010
in links · 2 Comments

March is already coming to an end?!?  Where does the time go?  Yesterday, I spent the morning at a huge children’s consignment sale here in Austin (pictured above); it’s a bi-annual event, each spring and fall, and I never miss it.  I am usually able to buy about 99% of my daughter’s clothing for the season in one fell swoop.

This time, in addition to some great play clothes, I scored a beautiful little Easter dress, some sandals, a few books and games, and the entire Chronicles of Narnia recorded on audio cassette – unopened!  I am pretty excited about that one.

Buying used is one of my favorite ways to recycle and save some money.

Here are some more great ideas for saving money, as well as some other interesting and fun tidbits.  Happy Sunday!

• From Keeper of the Home: 29 Ways to Reduce Waste in Your Home (And Save Money!)
• From Green Your Decor: Boudoir Glam: Upholstered, Tufted Headboard Tutorial
• From Chicken Counting: Sunday Seedlings Update #3
• From Progressive Pioneer: Wheatgrass
• From Clean: Home Remedies for Earaches
• From Nature Moms: Innobaby Din Din Smart Stainless Divided Platter
• From Simple Mom: The Beauty of Living…Slowly

Craft An Eco-Friendly Easter

by on March 26, 2010
in living mindfully · 31 Comments

Easter is one of my favorite holidays, not only because of the religious aspect, but because it is a celebration of new life and reconnecting with the natural world awakening from its winter sleep.

Children dress in sweet Easter clothes and enjoy Easter egg hunts for chocolate and other sweet treats.  Bunnies, chicks and ducklings abound.  What’s not to love?

Unfortunately, Easter baskets have been traditionally filled with non-recyclable plastic eggs made in China, fake plastic Easter grass, and sugary candy made full of preservatives. The Easter baskets themselves are often made of un-recyclable plastic, and assembled in countries that have terrible records when it comes to human rights.

And there is just nothing natural about that.

But don’t hang the Easter bunny out to dry yet!

Here are a few ideas to make your Easter a little more eco-friendly.
[Read more...]

How to Make and Use Cloth Wipes

by on March 24, 2010
in natural parenting · 49 Comments

I switched from disposable diapers to cloth when my oldest child (now five) was ten months old.  My primary reason for switching to cloth was to cut one more expense out of an already very tight budget.

Almost immediately, I fell in love with cloth diapers – the feel of soft cotton against my baby’s skin instead of plastic and tape just made my heart feel so good.  It was such a nice bonus that they were  cute, too!

As much as I loved our new cloth diapers, there was one aspect of switching to cloth that I hesitated to embrace – cloth wipes.

[Read more...]

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