The leaves are starting to fall and pile up in your yard. Hopefully you remember to use a rake and not a leaf blower to control the leaves. You have raked them all into lovely piles and the kids have finished playing in them, now what? Don’t bag the leaves for the garbage man to tote off to the landfill. Leaves can take a long time to break down at the landfill, since they are wrapped in plastic. Instead use the leaves to your advantage. Leaves make an excellent ground cover and mulch for your flower beds and gardens all year long. They protect and nourish your garden throughout the long winter, all you have to do is cover your flower beds and garden with a layer of leaves, then pile a small amount of dirt on top. Leaves are also fabulous protection for beneficial bugs and birds love to use them when making their homes. So leaf the leaves alone.
What do you do with your leaves?
*Update:: Thank you to Fig+Sage for reminding me that burning your leaves is not Eco friendly either.
It’s no secret that healthy teeth are important. But did you know the appearance of your teeth affects how people see you?
Approximately 90% of American adults believe that “bad” teeth can impact a person’s personal and professional life. That goes to show why 25% of the people wearing braces in the U.S. are over the age of 18.
While you do need the professional help of an orthodontist to repair misaligned teeth, there are a few tips and tricks you can use to improve the overall appearance of your teeth naturally.
Take care after chowing down
The reason why your teeth stain and become yellow is that the top layer of your teeth, called the enamel, is porous. This means your enamel acts like a sponge and soaks up the dark-colored liquids you drink including coffee, tea, soda, wine, juice, and more.
The good news is it’s surprisingly easy to avoid staining your teeth. After you’ve had your morning coffee or tea, brush your teeth or rinse your mouth with water afterward.
At the end of the day, be sure to brush, floss, and use an antibacterial mouthwash. This will help with stains and your overall health considering 40% of kids have cavities by the time they reach kindergarten and 90% of adults have at least one cavity.
Avoid or quit smoking
Tobacco stains your teeth whether you’re chewing or smoking it. Just like drinking dark liquids or eating things like blueberries, soy sauce, and beets, your enamel soaks up the tobacco periodically.
Smoking is also a problem for your health in general and is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths. But quitting smoking can be difficult due to nicotine withdrawal.
Nicotine withdrawal symptoms typically peak within one to three days and then gradually decrease over three to four weeks. That’s about the same amount of time it takes to recover from a total hip replacement, which takes four to six weeks. Ask your doctor for advice on how you can quit smoking while managing your nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
Eat the right food
While some foods like cranberries and blueberries can stain your teeth, other foods can naturally brighten your teeth. These foods include cauliflower, strawberries, cheese, apples, and celery.
But how do these foods help naturally whiten your teeth? It’s a mix of chewing, nutrients, and acids.
Cauliflower, celery, and apples are nutrient-rich foods that take longer to chew and create a scrubbing motion in your mouth when you eat them. The longer you chew, the more saliva your mouth produces. Saliva not only helps to break down food but is also a natural cleanser for your teeth.
Strawberries contain an enzyme known as malic acid, which naturally whitens your teeth. And cheese, like other dairy products, contains lactic acid and the enamel-fortifying mineral calcium. This means cheese not only whitens your teeth but strengthens them at the same time.
Be sure to inspect and wash your produce before you eat it. According to the CDC, one in six Americans gets sick every year from consuming contaminated food. That said, give your produce a quick scrub before you eat it, even if the produce has a peel.
Get Some Advice From An Expert
Your dentist or orthodontist is always on-hand for advice on natural dental care; just give them a call to arrange an appointment. Orthodontic Practice Consultants are your best source of advice on cosmetic dentistry, and they are always willing to help. Orthodontists can also advise you on straighter teeth, which are easier to keep clean.
An orthodontist is a great place to go for advice on your natural dental care concerns, and they can help you find the best dental hygiene routine for you.
It’s normal to want your teeth to look their very best. By following the tips above, you can reduce your risk of staining your teeth while improving your dental health and your overall health at the same time.
Summer is almost here which means BBQ’s, baby showers, and engagement parties are right around the corner. Since these events are often filled with flowers, decorations, catered food, and disposable cutlery and plates, their carbon footprint is often bigger than you’d expect. Don’t worry, there are tips you can take to make your summer party more eco-friendly. Read on for my five great tips for greening your summer parties.
#1. Serve Locally Grown Food Unless you know where the restaurant or grocery store catering your event sources its food, chances are it’s traveled a long distance to make it to your doorstep, using manpower, gasoline, and a lot of packaging. And while a catered meal is impressive and beautiful, most hosts find themselves throwing away 30-50% of the food after the party is over. These two factors amount to a lot of unnecessary waste. Instead of ordering an elaborate meal that won’t get eaten, why not shop for produce, cheese, and pastries at your local organic farmer’s market? For starters, you could grill seasonal veggies, make fruit-infused water with local citrus and cucumbers, or even pick up a few growlers of a local micro-brew. Some farms even sell locally raised meats! You’ll be supporting local farms and serving seasonal, organic food so it’s guaranteed to be a healthy, delicious spread.
#2. Go Compostable If you’ve ever hosted a party you know that the used plates, napkins, utensils, and platters from your event make trash day quite the spectacle. Instead of adding to the enormous amount of garbage already filling our landfills and oceans, spend an extra few bucks on compostables. Specialty stores, and an increasing number of mainstream supermarkets, carry everything from compostable cups and forks to straws. And you don’t necessarily have to compromise design; sites like SustyParty.com sell biodegradable party supplies that are fun and colorful. If you’re planning a big event, many eco-product sites offer discounts for bulk orders of compostable party supplies.
#3. Let Nature Do the Decorating Instead of hosting your party inside where you’ll need to decorate (and air condition your guests!), take it out back or to a local park and let nature’s beauty do the work! You’ll be saving money, trips to the store, and the waste created by cheap decorations that only offer a single use, and won’t be filling the house with cut flowers that will only last a week.
#4. Email Invitations Paper invitations and RSVP cards are becoming a thing of the past. With the speed and convenience of electronic invites, there’s no reason not to go green! Sites like Evite offer dozens of designs for all kinds of holidays and events, and personalizing is encouraged. Creating and emailing invitations or sending guests a message about updates takes mere minutes. Plus, your guest list and RSVP’s will all be in one handy place!
#5. Green the Gifts If the event you’re hosting is for you or you have a say in the gifts, offer guests the option to give money or gift certificates. Even items purchased from a registry can end up being duplicates, or the recipient may change her mind if the list was made before she had enough information. If the guest of honor is also eco-conscious, she may accept a hand-me-down like used baby clothes or a beloved heirloom, with as much excitement as a store-bought gift.
YOUR TURN: How do you minimize waste at your gatherings? Do you have tips we didn’t think of? Let us know—and get creative!
Summer is in full swing and I hope your family is taking advantage of the warm weather and break from school to take a trip together! With all of the travel, eating away from home, and sightseeing, vacations can leave quite the carbon footprint. Here are 6 tips to help you make green choices on your summer trip.
Travel locally
Traveling closer to home (or taking a staycation) cuts down on fuel and emissions—not to mention the expense involved with longer car trips and flights. Who knows, you might just discover your new favorite getaway a few towns over!
Rent a Hybrid
Many car rental companies now offer the option to rent a Prius or other compact hybrid. Even if you don’t see a hybrid option when booking online, many companies have one or two on hand that you can ask for when you go to pick up your rental. Hybrids are quiet and cut down on fuel cost and waste immensely and are a great choice if you’re taking a sight-seeing road trip.
Stay at a Green Hotel
There is a growing number smaller hotels and B&B’s choosing to become Green Certified. The Green Certification process evaluates the hotel’s overall carbon footprint and what choices they are making to positively impact the environment as well as to minimize their otherwise negative impact. Areas evaluated include energy and water conservation, solid waste management, indoor air quality, building infrastructure, and community outreach, to name a few. Most green hotels that offer meals also buy organic and local.
Eat Locally
Isn’t it wonderful that you can travel to almost any city in the US and find a farmer’s market—or at least a local fruit stand? Since I live in the high desert of Colorado I love sampling local fruits and vegetables when I travel to states at lower elevation or with a more humid climate. I’ll never forget eating dozens of peaches in one sitting on a visit to Mississippi or a crate of strawberries in California! Put your money towards local business and sustainable living by picking up a few meals or snacks at the farmer’s market or small, local grocer on your next vacation.
Explore the Local Environment
One of my favorite things about vacation is the variety of trees, flowers, and animals native to the state I’m visiting. Exploring new environments is especially valuable when traveling with kids, who can learn about different species and ecosystems and by doing so appreciate and protect them better. States with protected open space or forests sometimes offer tours of wildlife sanctuaries—a fun, educational choice for families.
Leave No Trace
Whether you’re roughing it back country camping or staying in an upscale hotel on your vacation, the 7 principles of Leave No Trace are helpful guidelines to bring and follow. Don’t forget to educate kids about their impact on the places you visit!
YOUR TURN: What green tips does your family have for vacationing this summer?
Many families have embraced an eco-conscious lifestyle. But when throwing a party, sometimes convenience takes precedence over preserving the planet. It’s so easy to go out to the store and purchase processed foods, plastic cutlery, and packaged paper plates that considering the alternative doesn’t always seem all that alluring. However, it might actually be easier — and more fun — than you’d think to throw a green get-together. Here are some of our favorite tips for making sure your next summer soiree, backyard barbecue, or birthday party will be as eco-friendly as possible.
Choose the Right Location
One of the most energy-efficient ways to host a get-together is to take advantage of natural lighting. That means heading into the great outdoors. Whether you choose your backyard or a local park, you can keep your energy usage low and be surrounded by the beauty of nature all at once. Remember that by choosing a local location and encouraging guests to carpool (or use greener forms of transportation), you’ll create a more eco-friendly environment from the start.
Opt for Digital Invitations
In the digital age, it’s become a lot more commonplace to skip paper invitations and send invites via email or Facebook. While some traditionalists may scoff, the truth is that this is a lot less wasteful and is now a generally accepted practice. If you want something a bit more special than a Facebook event, there are specific sites that will send invitations of your choice and even track RSVPs for you. And if you feel you really can’t do without paper invitations, make sure to construct them out of recycled materials and encourage recipients to recycle them once they’ve told you whether they can attend.
Be Thoughtful With Your Decorations
When you’re decorating for a party, the decorations tend to be pretty standard across the board: tablecloths and toppers, streamers, banners, flowers, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of those items tend to be thrown away after the party’s over. But by using reusable decorations and natural elements, you can be a lot less wasteful and make your party place look incredible. Use linen tablecloths and napkins that can be washed and used year after year or opt for recyclable brown paper that the kids can decorate with crayons. Use fresh flowers, branches, shells, and stones from your own garden to decorate the table. Instead of balloons, get some reusable bunting, make banners and chains from construction paper, or create pom-poms out of tissue paper or yarn that you can reuse. If you can, forgo electric lighting in favor of candles in mason jars or other glass containers.
Reuse Your Tableware
Plastic cutlery and plates are a ubiquitous sight at many a get-together, but they don’t have to be. By using real dishes instead of plastic ones, you’ll be able to wash and reuse over and over. If you’re worried about breakable plates and glasses, you do have some alternatives to disposable plastic or melamine. Sterling silver tableware (which is an alloy that usually consists of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper) can be a good option, as can recyclable paper products or disposable wooden cutlery. Some hosts might even consider asking guests to BYOP or BYOC (bring your own plates or cups) to cut down on waste. If you need to use straws, get some reusable crazy straws (or invest in metal or biodegradable ones) instead of plastic. For any items that do need to be thrown away, get some eco-friendly garbage bags to make clean-up a bit easier. And be sure to set up a recycling bin or a tub for reusable items.
Get Creative With Party Favors
If you want to send your guests home with some party favors, don’t go for plastic goody bags or junky toys. The typical American home already has 300,000 items inside, so you don’t want to add to the unnecessary clutter or have your gifts end up in the garbage. Get your hands on paper or cloth bags and fill them with useful gifts like chalk, pens, puzzles, books, plant seeds, small notebooks, wooden toys, or even some homemade or local treats. Make sure to wrap any leftover food in recyclable materials!
Pick the Right Food and Drink
In general, cooking outside is usually a good way to go, particularly if you use a gas grill (which uses less energy and gives off fewer pollutants than charcoal versions). Whenever possible, choose homemade foods over processed ones. Buy fresh, local foods from your local farmer’s market to ensure the highest level of eco-friendliness. Typically, the more veggies the better — they come with a reduced environmental impact and are a bit easier to incorporate into meals when there’s a lot left over. Instead of bottled water, opt for refillable pitchers or serve juice in old jam jars. Try to think mobile whenever you can; the fewer plates and forks that have to be used, the less clean-up you’ll have to do (and therefore, the less water you’ll need to waste).
Throwing an eco-friendly party may not be the easiest endeavor, but it’ll end up being a lot more fun than you think. Plus, you’ll encourage your friends and neighbors to think twice about their environmental impact, too.
