Sweet Greens
Your Earth Friendly Guide to All Things Green | Green Parenting | Eco Kids | Green Families
Recycled Sweet Greens! This is a post about something fun that was happening 10 years ago at Sweet Greens.
Now that school is back in session, it can be very easy to over-schedule our children’s lives. Some people may feel that in order for your child to have an enriching life, they need to be exposed to as many different activities as possible. I do think that it is important to be involved in activities as a child, to be a part of a group, practice, and try to reach personal goals and learn something new. I think that many activities can have a profound effect on the person that a child will become. Eben is currently enrolled in a gardening program that meets once every other week and then we have our Mom and Son guitar lessons that occur once weekly. Eben has also been telling me that he wants to take a photography class!
Do you think that parents that over schedule and micromanage every moment of a child’s life can be detrimental to the person that they will become? Some people think that it isn’t a busy child that stays out of trouble, but a connected child and that one of the best things that you can do for your children is to really connect with them, to listen, to be there. What do you think? I know that I want Eben’s childhood to be full of memories of times spent with us, his parents, doing fun things together as a family. I want him to grow up and think, my parents were always there. and that he had time to play and be a kid.
What type of activities are your children enrolled in?
What is your feeling on this subject?
Is your workout at the local gym environmentally friendly? There are a lot of things about the gym that are not Eco friendly. For instance, there is the drive to the gym, the plastic water bottles sold at the gym cafe. The energy that is used to light and cool the facility, not to mention the energy used to run the treadmills and televisions. There are also gyms that are open 24/7, this entire time the lights and air conditioning are left on.
Now, whoever thought that going TO the gym would make you feel guilty. Shouldn’t it be, NOT going to the gym? This is one of the reasons that I prefer to workout at home. I can do my workout anytime that I prefer, I don’t have to drive anywhere and I don’t have to pay the money for the gym membership. I like to do my workout in private, where I can really concentrate and feel comfortable. I also love to do my sun salutations in well, the morning sun, in my own backyard. It is so quiet and peaceful next to the garden in the early morning. It is very refreshing and feels great to connect with the Earth.
Cut flowers may look fabulous on your dining room table but most cut flowers sold in the U.S. are flow overseas, traveling thousands of miles. Fresh cut flowers live for such a short period of time before they wilt and die and in a lot of cases find their way into the landfill. How can you make your centerpieces fab without harming the environment?
Next time you want to purchase fresh-cut flowers for the centerpiece, consider a potted plant instead. Choose a plant that blooms throughout the year and put it in a decorative pot that will look just as fab as a vase of fresh-cut flowers. Not only will you save the flowers from an untimely death, so to speak, but you will save a ton of money. There will be no need for flowers in your weekly budget if you purchase a plant that will bloom over and over again.
My favorites are Kalanchoe, small tropical trees, and succulents. We have a jade plant on our dining room table, a large basil centerpiece on our kitchen island, and several other tropical trees and succulents throughout the home. Not only do potted plants beautify our home but they also help to clean the air.
Do you have potted plant centerpieces in your home? Which kind?
Would you consider a potted planted centerpiece?
Taking care of your health and appearance is an important part of many peopleâs lives. After all, you want to look and feel your best, as well as feeling good about yourself and how you present to the world. Yet as many of us become more conscious of the need to be eco-friendly, itâs time to take a good hard look at the environmental impact of your beauty and health routines. Thereâs no use looking and feeling great if youâre damaging the planet at the same time. Luckily, there are simple ways you can transform your routines to be a little kinder to the world, whilst remaining kind to yourself.
The beauty industry is a global market worth billions of dollars, and yet itâs incredibly damaging. One of the worst culprits is the plastic packaging used to ship your favorite beauty products to you, not to mention the evils of tiny plastic âexfoliating beadsâ and all the other chemicals used to make popular brands. In fact, many people have discovered that simple kitchen recipes can be just as effective. For an eco-friendly approach, use ingredients like coconut oil, almonds, honey, lemon juice, and various herbal additions to create incredibly effective scrubs and moisturizers. Remember that advertising is a powerful tool, and it may have convinced you that you canât replicate the effects of major products at home – but you can!
Generally speaking, the fewer products you can consume, the better. Many people spend large amounts of money (plus potential packaging and shipping) to avail themselves of bottles of oral vitamin supplements and once-a-day medicines to help them keep feeling in top shape. This is unnecessary! IV therapy is a great way to minimize this impact by reducing all these needs to one simple treatment that you can purchase less frequently – meaning less bother for you as well! IV therapy costs are simple and not prohibitive, especially when set against the costs of subscriptions and reorders for multiple vitamins.
If you do have a product that you absolutely love and donât feel like you can replicate by yourself, thatâs okay! Just make sure you research the brands youâre buying from, as they are not all created equal. Some beauty and health brands are really doing their best to be eco-conscious and protect the planet, whilst others are more concerned with making a profit at any cost. Simple research online can tell you which is which, and then itâs up to you to put your money where your mouth is. The industry is diverse, and you will almost certainly be able to find a replica product by a more eco-friendly brand, so make sure to support companies who are also playing their part.
Taking care of your health and beauty, and taking care of the planet, do not need to be incompatible goals. With just a few simple steps, you can help to reduce the impact youâre making on our environment, preserving its own beauty for years to come.