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7 Simple, Fun Eco-Friendly Ways to Spend Fall with Your Family

September 22, 2022 0

Happy 1st Day of Fall! 

I love fall – it is my favorite season and my favorite time of year! What’s not to love? We are at our mountain home in North Carolina right now and it is fall perfection! The cooler weather, morning hikes, snuggles by the fire, chai tea, cozy sweaters, and pumpkin everything. Looking for some fall inspo?

Here are 7 simple, fun eco-friendly ways to inspire you!

1. Take a Listening Hike
One of my favorite fall activities is hiking! And one of my favorite ways to enjoy a hike is when we take what we like to call “a silent hike.” A silent hike is just that – we hike together as a family in complete silence. It’s amazing how the act of simply being quiet and listening can have a huge impact on your hiking experience. There have been many times that we come upon an animal grazing or fish swimming in a creek – it’s amazing. We also like to stop along the way to listen to the rustling of the trees, the chirping of the birds, or to watch leaves quietly wafting to the ground. It is a great time to reflect within too, while still being with the ones you love.

2. Take It Outside
Fall is the perfect time to take whatever you are doing – outside! The mister and I start every morning by taking the dogs on a hike right out our backdoor. It’s quiet and there are always a ton of deer and turkeys around every corner. I also LOVE to take my tea and blanket and head out to the back porch to snuggle by the fire table while listening to the bubbling of the creek. 

3. Slow It Down
Now that school is back in session, you have to admit that you are much busier than you were all summer. I know that if something isn’t on my schedule, it probably isn’t going to happen. This is why during the fall months, we really take extra consideration to slow things down at our home. We like to schedule extra time in the morning and afternoon, just to be. We usually spend this time snuggled up chatting about our upcoming adventures.

4. Get Centered
Along with slowing down, fall is a great time to get centered. Spend time each day doing whatever it is that makes you feel connected and centered. For the mister, this means yardwork – he loves to get outside in the North Carolina fresh air and work in the yard. For Eben, this means a hot cup of cocoa and a really good book on the back deck (it’s his happy place!) For me, I like to snuggle down with my iPad to pin my favorite eco-friendly things (usually on the back deck with Eben when he’s here with us!) or end the day with a soak in the hot tub! 

5. Plan Ahead
One thing that I have definitely learned along the way is that it is super important to enjoy the moment. To ensure that every moment of fall is enjoyable for my family, I like to plan ahead. I sit down with my journal and jot down things that I really want our family to do together during the fall. I include all of our traditional fall family activities, as well as new ideas that I can run by the guys (when Eben is home from college). The idea is that if I plan these activities ahead of time, we spend the time we have together doing fun things together without much thought – since everything was planned well in advance.

6. Find an Adventure
One of my favorite parts of fall is the cooler weather – which always equals more time outside. We always schedule a trip to our mountain home during the fall season. I HAVE to visit the pumpkin patches! We really enjoy the cooler days spent outside, followed by the crisp nights roasting marshmallows over the fire!

7. Get Cozy
Fall is a great time to reconnect with family and friends. Our best friends are visiting us next week while we’re still here in North Carolina. We have all kinds of fun things planned: bike rides, hikes (of course), visiting our surrounding small town, and peeping all of the leaves (they are already starting to turn colors!)

In what ways do you plan to spend fall with your family?

5 Sustainable Ways to Celebrate the 4th of July

July 1, 2022 0

The 4th of July weekend is here! It’s a weekend of reflection, celebration, and a great excuse for a BBQ!

There are many eco-friendly ways to make the holiday more sustainable. To get you started here are 5 quick tips to make your day of red, white, and blue a little more green.

#1: Think Reusable – Not Disposable

If you will be celebrating the 4th of July at home, choose reusable dinnerware instead of the disposable kind. It will only take a few minutes more to load them into the dishwasher and will save the environment a lot! Consider a great recyclable or compostable alternative if reusable simply isn’t an option.

#2: Get it from the Garden

The 4th of July is the perfect time to share the abundance of goodies from your garden with the neighbors. Instead of letting all of those zucchinis and cucumbers go to waste, invite your family and friends over for a vegetarian BBQ and encourage them to bring a vegetarian dish to share – skip the meat and the environment will smile.

#3: Entertain the Kids with Nature Crafts

You don’t have to purchase anything new to entertain the kiddos on the 4th of July, instead, encourage them to create their own to make their own recycled lava lamps, succulent gardens with paint-dipped dinosaurs, or organic pine cone bird feeders. These activities will keep them busy all day long! Other fun options include encouraging them to have a bicycle parade around the neighborhood or a watermelon eating contest.

#4: Use a Natural Bug Repellent

Nothing kills a fun time outside like the toxic smell of bug spray. Check out these natural ways to repel bugs and make your own natural bug spray. These options won’t make you, the environment, or your guests gag.

#5: Skip the Store-Bought Fireworks

Instead of purchasing fireworks that only last a few seconds and create pounds of toxic garbage – visit your local park or beach for the community firework show. They are going to shoot the fireworks off anyways, you may as well enjoy the show.

How will you add a little green to your 4th of July celebration? 

Teaching Your Little One About Sustainability Through Fun Projects

November 12, 2021 0

Taking care of our environment has become a top concern around the world. If you have children at home, it’s time to start teaching them about sustainability so they can grow up with knowledge on how to make the world a better, greener place.

Here are a few fun projects you can do as a family that’ll give your children a solid foundation for sustainable living.

Learn How to Care for Indoor Plants

If starting a vegetable garden in your backyard isn’t a task you’re up for just yet, you can teach your children how to care for plants in an easier fashion by adding indoor plants to common living spaces in your home. With over 28 million small businesses throughout the country, you can surely find a greenhouse or two in your area that sells an assortment of plants to choose from.

Start with plants that don’t require a ton of upkeep. Aloe vera plants, snake plants, cacti, spider plants, baby’s tears, and prayer plants are a few easy types of plants your kids can handle. Go over how to pot, repot, water, and care for the plants on a daily and weekly basis. You may have your kids write down which days they need to water the plants on their personal calendars so they can own the responsibility of caring for them on a regular basis. Once they’ve mastered the easy plants, you can move to plants that require more care.

Turn Cardboard Into Art

Between cereal, pasta, and other snacks in your pantry, you likely have a lot of cardboard boxes filling up your recycling can. While recycling is the best way to dispose of these boxes, you can also turn this “trash” into art.

Your kids can turn flat pieces of cardboard into their own board games, create a painting for their playroom, and even create themed pieces of art during the holidays. For example, you can create cardboard turkeys for Thanksgiving festivities and snowmen and reindeer for the December holiday season. By creating art with cardboard, your kids will learn how to make a product useful for something other than holding food.

Create Nature-Themed Picture Books

If your children attend one of the 87% of private schools that have fewer than 300 students, they likely have an excellent selection of kids’ books to choose from on a daily basis. Your children probably spend a good amount of time reading and writing at school, but how can they bring these skills home and learn about the environment at the same time? Creating handmade nature-themed picture books is a unique idea you can get started on right away.

All you need is your cell phone or another type of camera, a printer, empty scrapbooks from a craft store, glue or tape, and colorful writing utensils. Take your kids outside in your backyard, around your neighborhood, and to local parks. Have them take a bunch of pictures of the nature that surrounds them. Then, get their photos printed. Create a crafting station at your dining room table and let your kids get to work gluing or taping their photos in the scrapbooks. Encourage them to a write caption for each picture. Not only will your kids love their handmade books outlining their naturesque adventures, but they’ll get in some writing practice, too!

Encourage Your Kids to Become Leak Investigators

Did you know that fixing easy-to-fix leaks can save you about 10% on your water bill? Dripping faucets and worn toilet flappers are among the easy-to-fix leaks everyone in your family should be aware of. To help avoid water waste in your home, encourage your children to become leak “investigators.”

Show your children the signs to look for in a bathroom, the kitchen, and the laundry room that indicate there’s a leak. For example, if your children notice damp or damaged flooring, strange noises when the water is on, reduced water pressure, or water stains, there may be a water leak in your home that requires some further investigation.

Teaching your children about sustainability and how to better take care of the earth around them is a responsible parenting move. Consider these fun projects as you teach your kids the best ways to take care of our environment and reduce waste at home.

Green Tip: 4 Things to do Before You Leave on Vacation

September 15, 2020 8

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?

5 Non-Toxic Ingredients for DIY Cleaners and How to Use Them

July 25, 2020 2

Many people with pets or kids have noticed that many of the ingredients in commercial cleaning products are not only harmful to people and animals but can be fatal. So, it’s no surprise that people are looking to remove these harsh chemicals from their homes and replace them with great, green, healthy alternatives. Fortunately, there are some great, green, affordable substitutes that can be used pretty much anywhere in your home and that you likely already have sitting in the pantry. Read on for my 5 favorite, non-toxic ingredients for DIY cleaners and how to use them in your home.

1. Vinegar
Vinegar is my all-time favorite non-toxic cleaner. It removes odors, stains, and grease and can effectively prevent mildew and mold when applied regularly to shower walls, sinks, and toilet bowls. Vinegar neutralizes pet odors like cat urine and will help keep colors from bleeding from a new pair of jeans or a red shirt if you soak the clothing item in vinegar for 30 minutes before washing or dump a cup or so into the washer with the detergent. To remove corrosion and chemical buildup from showerheads, soak the showerhead in vinegar overnight. Plain white vinegar should be used but if the smell offends you, you can add 10-15 drops of essential oil to your cleaning mixture. My favorite all-purpose cleaner, for bathroom, kitchen, and glass, is simply 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water mixed in a spray bottle. That’s it!

Vinegar is a fantastic non-toxic cleaner; removing odors, stains, and grease!
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2. Baking Soda
Baking soda has virus-killing abilities and makes for an effective but gentle scrub for bathtubs, toilets, tile, and porcelain or stainless steel sinks. When I run out of Bon Ami, I pour baking soda in the sink, squeeze in half a lemon or pour in about ¼ cup vinegar, and scrub with a sponge or bristle brush. For a great toilet scrub, pour ½ cup baking soda into the toilet bowl and add 10 drops of tea tree essential oil and ¼ cup vinegar. The mixture will fizz while you scrub and cut through mold and grime while the tea tree oil disinfects. Tea tree oil and thyme oil are both great non-toxic disinfectants to be used in place of bleach. That said, just because they’re non-toxic doesn’t mean that you, your kids, or your pets should consume these products!

3. Castile Soap
Castile soaps are made from 100% plant oils so they’re safe and gentle but effective. While traditionally it’s recommended that wood floors be cleaned with pure water, I’ve added a few drops of peppermint or eucalyptus castile soap to a warm bucket of water and mopped our wood floors with the mixture to clean and freshen up the room. Our floors aren’t wax-treated, so please ask a pro if yours are before using anything but water on your wood floors. Castile soaps are great all-purpose cleaners, too. Simply mix a tablespoon to a ¼ cup with warm water for washing down counters, tile, windows, or a sink full of dishes. The term “all-purpose” really applies to castile soap!

4. Lemon
Lemon juice kills mold and mildew, shines harder surfaces, cuts grease, and deodorizes. A cut lemon can be scrubbed over the surface of a cutting board to sanitize it. Simply rub a halved lemon over the surface, let sit for 10 minutes, and rinse. Lemon juice can be added to vinegar cleaning mixtures to add a fresh scent and aid in cutting grease. Lemon juice is a great bleach substitute for washing laundry, too; just add lemon juice to the rinse cycle.

Lemons are great for DIY cleaners – and a great substitute for bleach!
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5. Essential Oils
Peppermint, tea tree and thyme oils are my favorite for use in home cleaning products. Peppermint oil eliminates offensive odors and is a natural pest deterrent. I have successfully used peppermint oil to eliminate mice in one of our sheds by placing cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil around the entrances to the shed and places where the mice frequented. Tea tree oil eliminates mold and mildew; a few drops can simply be mixed with water and sprayed onto shower walls (don’t rinse it off) and left to kill mildew and mold. Thyme oil is a powerful, natural disinfectant that has been said to kill and prevent botulism, e. Coli, listeria, and salmonella. Add a few drops to your vinegar all-purpose spray or use in the same way as tea tree oil in the formula above.

YOUR TURN: What are your favorite DIY, green home cleaning products?

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