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5 Simple Eco-Friendly Ways to Green Your Bathroom

May 18, 2015 0

If you are just beginning your green journey – a great place to start is your bathroom. It is amazing how many toxic chemicals, harmful personal care ingredients and disposables items can be found there. Not to mention, the insane amounts of water that literally go down the drain. While greening your bathroom may sound like a huge undertaking, when you break it down into 5 simple areas – you will find that your bathroom is eco-friendly in no time, read on to get started.

#1: Ditch the Chemicals
We all know what we eat is super important to our health – the same is true for what you put on your body. After all, our skin is the body’s largest organ and it absorbs everything that is put on it. I suggest slowly removing all of the chemical personal care products from your vanity, if you can’t do it cold turkey. Replace those items with toxic-free products, while they may cost a little more upfront the impact they have on your health and the environment over the long run is worth it.

#2: Ditch the Disposables
It is easy to purchase disposable razors, cotton balls, tissues, and facial wipes – they just seem more convenient. However, the cost to both the environment and your budget are huge. Instead, choose a razor where only the head is disposable, choose reusable (washable) cloths and menstrual products instead of tissues, wipes, pads or cotton balls. Those small changes alone, add up over the course of a year.

#3: Ditch the Air Fresheners
We all want our bathrooms to smell clean and fresh. However, those toxic air fresheners may smell nice, however they poison the air. I would highly recommend making your own all-natural air freshener instead and avoid the chemicals.

#4: Green the Cleaners
Great cleaners are eco-friendly, toxic-free and many work just as well as their chemical counterpart. The best part many are just as affordable as the chemical version and you can make them at home using common household ingredients that are all-natural and super affordable too.

#5: Switch to Low-Flow
Over 2.5 gallons of water goes down the drain each minute – a 15 minute shower easily equals 37.5 gallons of water. Yikes! The simple act of installing a low-flow shower head can save up to 1 gallon a minute, saving up to $900 annually on your water bill. They literally take a minute to install and you’re done. Bonus!

Teaching Your Green Kids to Love Gardening

May 14, 2015 0

Gardening with Children

Gardening has many advantages, and is known to benefit your children’s health and well-being. Teaching the kids to love gardening will get them outdoors, allow you to spend some family time together, and make them more rounded characters. Do some research or search online for gardening guides which will give you more information and tips. Here are five ways to help get the kids involved;

Give Them Garden Space of Their Own
A great way to get the kids out in the garden is to allow them to plan a section for themselves. Giving them the freedom to plan, build and enjoy their own space will not only leave them feeling invested in the garden, but will also allow you to spend time together, helping them create their space.

Create a Wildlife Garden
Building a garden to attract wildlife is a brilliant way to excite the kids. Wildflowers are great for attracting plenty of insects, which will encourage other wildlife such as birds and hedgehogs to your garden. Once the children have their first sighting, they’ll be invested in helping you improve the space to attract more animals! If you have enough space you could even build a pond which will almost certainly increase your sightings.

green kids gardening

Teach Them to Grow Their Own Food
Teaching your children how to grow their own produce will leave them with a skill for life. Let them pick the fruit and vegetables that they like, before helping them to build grow boxes and sow the seeds. The responsibility of nurturing their plants before harvest will teach them a valuable skill, and could be a precursor to a family pet!

Create an Indoor Garden During the Winter
Getting the kids interested in gardening during the winter months, will leave them excited and ready to hit the garden in spring. You can start small with a herb garden, before you start germinating your seeds in anticipation of planting.

Teach Them How to Compost
Although perhaps not the most exciting of topics, teaching your children how to make compost will give them a greater understanding of consumption, waste, and their effect on their natural surroundings. Start by educating them on the importance of recycling, before moving on to composting.

Hopefully the above tips will help you to get the children interested in gardening, not only will they reap the benefits; so will you.

Image via bass_nroll and theloushe used under the Creative Commons license
This post wasn’t written by me, thank you for supporting the businesses that keep Sweet Greens running!

Build an Organic Bathroom Giveaway with Coyuchi + Zabada

April 22, 2015 198

Sweet-Greens-Giveaway

Air Weight Towels

Happy Earth Day 2015! Yay! Today I have a giveaway for you that I have been super excited to share, I know you will love it. It’s sponsored by Coyuchi and Zabada. The prize is a very generous collection of goodies to help you build an organic bathroom. One reader will receive a white Bath Towel ($48) from Coyuchi Air Weight Bath Towel Collection, a Zabada Bathroom Handy ($30) and Bathroom Marvel ($30) valued at over $100. Hooray for Earth Day Giveaways!

coyuchiWe reviewed these items in our home and have to tell you that they are perfect for building the perfect organic bathroom. Coyuchi is the first company to bring organic cotton bedding to the United States. Coyuchi towels are loomed from pure organic cotton, in colors drawn from earth, water and sky. Soft and thirsty, they’re designed to dry quickly on the towel bar and in the dryer.  A rolled self-hem helps them hold their shape wash after wash. The towels are free of the toxic dyes, bleaches and finishes used in conventional textiles.Our biggest challenge living in Florida is that it seems like it takes our bath towels forever to dry – it’s just so humid here. With Coyuchi’s Air Weight Bath Towel Collection not only do you get the first-ever Fair Trade Certification for towels in North America, but these towels dry very quickly. Bonus!

Here are some key features:

  • Coyuchi’s Air Weight Towel Collection has achieved Fair Trade Certification under the strict requirements set by Fair Trade USA
  • These organic cotton towels mark the first-ever Fair Trade Certification for towels in North America
  • Fair Trade certification for Apparel & Home Goods is the first social, economic and environmental standard that directly benefits the workers who sew the items
  • For every Fair Trade Certified™ product sold, a percentage is paid directly to a special workers’ fund
  • Workers then decide collectively how to spend these funds, based on the community’s greatest needs, including bonuses, scholarships and disaster relief funds, medical care and transportation
  • Coyuchi Bath Towels retail for $48.00 each, Hand Towels retail for $18.00 each and Coyuchi Wash Cloths retail for $8.00.

zabada bathroomhandy_hr_rgbWe also tried out the Zabada chemical-free cleaning products including the Zabada Bathroom Handy and Bathroom Marvel. Zabada’s mission is to rid American homes of harmful, chemical cleaning products. Using fiber clean technology, Zabada products remove 99.9% of bacteria using only water. The Bathroom Handy features a two-sided and fibered cleaning solution. The speckled side of the Bathroom Handy is the soft side, this is used to clean smooth surfaces such as mirrors, vanities and shower screens. The non-soft side of the Bathroom Handy is used to remove calcium, lime, mold and soap scum from wet areas in the bathroom. I love Zabada products because they remove 99.9% of bacteria just using water. Which makes cleaning the bathroom a breeze and there is never any worries about what is our cleaners because you don’t have to use any! The Bathroom Marvel is highly absorbent and perfect for streak-free drying of bathroom surfaces. The Marvel is durable enough for daily use in keeping lustrous surfaces like bathroom fixtures, shower doors and mirrors crystal clear.

Here are some key features:

  • Cleans surfaces in the bathroom, laundry and toilet
  • Removes calcium, soap, toothpaste with just using water
  • No need for yucky chemical sprays and bleach
  • Replaces store-bought cloths, sponges and grime products
  • Lasts 2 to 3 years, saving you money from buying chemicals

Want to build an organic bathroom of your own – leave a comment. For extra entries follow Coyuchi and Zabada on each of their social media channels and leave a separate comment for each!

Coyuchi Social Media Channels:

Facebook: @Coyuchi
Twitter: @Coyuchi
Pinterest: @Coyuchi
Instagram: @Coyuchi

Zabada Social Media Channels:

Facebook: @ZabadaClean
Twitter: @ZabadaClean
Pinterest: @ZabadaClean
Instagram: @ZabadaClean

Good Luck! Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only – and will end on May 1st.

Composting to Reduce Waste

April 15, 2015 0

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Springtime is in the air, and many of us are planning summer gardens and planting rows of colorful flowers. At this time of year, gardeners often turn to nutrient-rich compost to improve their soil and increase their yields. In fact, compost is the successful gardener’s secret weapon. Fortunately, virtually anyone can create compost. Whether you choose to purchase a ready-made compost bin or create a pile in a corner of your yard, you can create compost ready for the garden in no time. Not only is it good for your garden, it is also good for the environment. As 67% of the waste thrown away in this country is actually organic waste, composting is a great way to recycle.

Compost transforms household organic waste into something beneficial. Rather than throwing away table scraps, outdated produce, eggshells, moldy bread, and coffee grounds, why not add them to a compost pile in your own backyard? In addition to food waste, you can also add leaves, yard clippings, and even some types of paper to the compost pile. As you start your compost pile, keep a few things in mind. First, alternate layers of brown materials, like dried grass clippings and leaves, with green materials like food scraps. Next, water down your pile periodically. Finally, stir or mix the pile occasionally and then watch it turn from discarded waste into rich compost. To learn more about organic waste and what you can do about it, check out this infographic.

Recyclebank_Impact_of_Organic_Waste

 This post wasn’t written by me, thank you for supporting the businesses that keep Sweet Greens running!

5 Steps to Green Spring Cleaning and Refreshing Your Home

April 2, 2015 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring is in the air – everything smells fresh and seeing nature wake-up from wintertime is fascinating. With spring, comes spring cleaning – there is just something inside of us that wants our home to feel and smell fresh and new, just like nature in springtime. The last thing you want to do while freshening your home is to introduce toxic chemicals by using commercial cleaners or creating a lot of waste by purchasing new things that you don’t necessarily need. Read on to learn my 5 favorite ways to get your home clean while adding a refreshing “new” element, while saving the environment and your family’s health too.

1. Open Those Windows
First things first, now that it is warm and sunny outside, it’s time to let mother nature’s fresh breeze do her magic. You will be amazed at how much fresher and cleaner your home will feel and smell if you simply let the fresh and clean air in!

2. Declutter It
For some reason clutter seems to build up over the winter months and springtime is the perfect time to go through it all. Make it simple, by using my simple sorting tip, go through everything and separate it into five bins; Keep, Donate, Sell, Recycle, and Trash. This makes things so much easier in the long run, you make a quick decision and roll with it. I always make a promise to myself that I will never look back into any of the bins, if I initially thought that I should donate or recycle it, then that is exactly what happens. The decluttering stage is also when I have Eben try on ALL of his clothing and we immediately donate or sell anything that no longer fits – this goes for Mr. Sweet Greens’ closet and my own as well.

3. Organize It
Make your spring cleaning work last all year long by getting truly organized. This means only keeping items that you absolutely love and use and finding an exact place for everything in your home. I know that may sound a little harsh, but if you have an exact spot that you keep all of your crafting supplies for example, then when you have a few minutes to steal away to scrapbook – you won’t waste that time looking for your scissors or glue. This goes for everything in your home – if it belongs in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom etc; that is where it should always stay.

4. Make Your Cleaners
Spring is the perfect time to make fresh batches of all of your favorite natural household cleaners. You can find some of my favorite household cleaner recipes here and my favorite laundry cleaners here. Green cleaners are amazing because you aren’t poisoning the environment or your family and you save a bundle of cash making your own cleaners too!

5. Utilize the 6 R’s for Refreshing Your Home
You can freshen up your home and give it a whole new look without spending a lot of money or making a huge impact on the environment. To give your home a “new” look and feel, utilize my 6 r’s for re-freshening your home

  • Recover: if your sofa or chair has seen better days but has great bones, give it a make-over by recovering it with a slipcover.
  • Reorganize: Give your rooms a new look by switching around your furniture!
  • Revamp: Touch up walls with a fresh coat of no-VOC, eco-friendly paint, replace broken knobs, handles and hardware on cabinets and furniture.
  • Refresh: Switch out your regular towels and linens with a new eco-friendly version, add potted plants and soy candles to your home.
  • Repurpose: If you have a dresser that isn’t being used, repurpose it into a buffet in your dining room or as a gift-wrapping station in your office.
  • Reconsider: The next time you are considering purchasing something new, ask yourself whether the purchase is absolutely necessary – could  you borrow the item, rent it or could you repurpose something that you already have.

Do you have special spring cleaning tips that you utilize every year? 

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