It’s that time of year, the mosquitoes are out and in full force. How can you protect yourself, your family, and your pets from these pesky creatures without spraying a toxic cocktail all over your body? Make your own bug spray, it is easy and will keep the mosquitoes away.
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Ingredients:
20 drops of organic citronella or organic eucalyptus essential oil
1 cup of organic grape seed oil
1 1/2 cups water
Preparation:
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Add all ingredients to a squirt bottle, mix well, and enjoy a night free of mosquitoes.
If you live with chronic illness or pain, your medical appointments, costs and the control of your everyday symptoms will always be on your mind, so sustainable living may not be your primary concern. You might think that you can’t live sustainably – maybe your prescription medication comes in single-use plastic packaging, or you need certain one-use tools and aids to help
you get through the day. However, none of this means that you can’t leave a more sustainable lifestyle. We have all heard of the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ mantra – this is meant to work as a sort of hierarchy. Ideally, reducing what you buy is the first thing that you should be doing, before then reusuing what you can and only then recycling.
If you are looking to become more sustainable in your life, here are some tips to help you.
Consider alternative forms of pain relief
Obviously, this one won’t work for everyone, but perhaps you could look at alternative forms of pain relief if it is safe to do so. There are lots out there, from acupuncture and deep tissue massage to medical marijuana from a Harvest store – if your health condition allows it, why not give it a go?
Swap to reusable straws
For many people with a chronic illness or pain, straws are a lifesaver. Perhaps you struggle to pick up a full glass of liquid or have a disability that affects your jaw. Straws can be a necessity. However, they also have been demonised by the sustainable living camp. There is a really good reason for that – single plastic straws are a huge danger to wildlife if they are chucked in the ocean. If you do need to use a straw, there are a variety of reusable ones made from bamboo, metal or even glass. Many of these come with their own pouch and cleaning brush. However, if you do need to use a plastic one – don’t feel guilty. Sometimes, when it comes to chronic illness or disability, needs must.
Reusable water bottles
We all should be drinking more water but some people with chronic illness find that they may need to drink more than normal, or need it to be able to take medication. A reusable water bottle is ideal for this – fill it up the night before and leave it in the fridge so you always have cold water. You can even put slices of fruit in the bottle – lemon, lime, cucumber, berries – for homemade fruity water. It’s delicious!
Trying to live a sustainable lifestyle is a challenge. For so long, the world has been one that has relied on disposable, one-use items. It is even more difficult if you have a chronic illness or pain. However, even small steps can make a big difference to the environment, so do what you can, when you can, and it all adds up.
Get Infusions
IV infusion therapy can be a great way to minimize much of the pain and other symptoms of your illness. They’re more effective than taking painkillers, and then there’s the fact that they usually use up less plastic packaging than painkillers and other medications. You’ll be feeling better than you would with meds while being sure you’re not having too large of an environmental impact.
Have you ever stopped to think about how many beverage cups, lids, and straws are used once and simply thrown away? If you think of all of the places that we purchase beverages, the number is astronomical. We purchase drinks at restaurants, cafes, gas stations, convenience stores, amusement parks, grocery stores, movie theaters, fast food restaurants, shopping centers, the list goes on and on.
If everyone purchased and carried their own reusable BPA free bottle to all of these locations, think of how many cups, lids, and straws would be saved from the landfill and would never need to be produced. Another benefit is most places will refill your reusable bottle for a great price because it is considered a refill. Our local gas station will refill our 40-ounce bottles for $0.99. We carry our own BPA free stainless steel reusable bottles with us wherever we go. Most of the restaurants, bagel joints, juice bars, and gas stations that we have visited are happy to have us refill our bottles and we feel good knowing we aren’t going to throw anything away. It’s a small change that would make a huge difference.
Do you save leftovers? What do you do with them? Do they sit in your refrigerator until they are no longer recognizable and then you throw them out? You lose so much money throwing food away and it is wasteful. Plan meals that revolve around your leftovers. For example, if your family has chicken and veggies one night for dinner and you have both leftovers, add them into a stir fry and serve over rice the next night. Whenever the mister cooks a whole organic chicken, he boils down the carcass with onions, carrots, and celery and uses it as a stock for his super yummy chicken matzo ball soup. In fact, that is what we are having for dinner tonight! Yum.
Are you going out of town during the fall months? Have a fabulous road trip or getaway planned? I am so jealous.
Don’t forget to do these simple green things before you leave on vacation.
#1: Adjust the thermostat accordingly and turn down the temperature on your hot water heater. #2: Unplug all appliances that you won’t be using while you are away, such as your coffee maker, microwave, washer, dryer, lamps, TV’s etc; #3: Put your home lights on a timer or have a neighbor stop in and turn the lights on/off, instead of leaving the lights on the entire time you are gone. Burglars are keen on this too, they realize if your porch lights are on all day and night, chances are, you are out of town.
#4: Put a hold on your mail. This will save the post office, UPS and FedEx from having to drive to your home – this is especially effective if you live in a rural area.
YOUR TURN: What are your fall vacation plans? What are your green vacation tips?
