Greening Your Life: Small changes that have big impact

Normally, when we want to make improvements in our lives, it ends up costing us MORE money. Rarely do we have an opportunity to beautify our homes, protect our environment, and add to our health and wellbeing, while actually SAVING a few dollars along the way.

In this article, I will share simple, but potentially life-altering, changes that will enhance your quality of life without breaking the bank.

Composting: 

Organic materials are naturally recycled into a rich soil. Backyard composting is basically an acceleration of the same process that nature uses. The great news: Composting does not need to be complicated, and you don’t need to overthink it to make it work for you.

Composting will save you money, reduce pollution, and give you healthier plants.

Clean Green:

Switch to eco-friendly cleaning products for your home. These products are safer for the person cleaning, family members, guests, and the environment.

Common items found in your home (like lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil) can do the same job at a fraction of the cost of traditional cleaning items.

Choose Organic:

You don’t want to stop at greening your home. Go green in your body, as well. When you eat organic, you aren’t just putting healthy food into your body. You are supporting a healthy ecosystem: the farmers and workers who are safer by avoiding chemicals; the land, water, and air that is being protected; and the wildlife that is being allowed to thrive. Everyone wins!

Aromatherapy:

Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of aromatic plant extracts and essential oils. These oils impact us emotionally and physically. 

When inhaled, aromatic oils support us on an emotional level by sending chemical messages to our brains. Our physical bodies can benefit from this emotional boost.

Essential oils also sustain our physical wellbeing by protecting us from diseases. Add some anti-microbial oils – like lemon, orange, or peppermint – to your cleaning routine. They won’t damage your health like chemical cleaners will.

See? By just making a few small changes in our lives, we can enhance our wellbeing, beautify our surroundings, and contribute to saving the planet. So what are you waiting for? Go green today!

by Anjie Cho

Everyday Uses for Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is a delicious addition to many salads, and it makes a great, refreshing twist on water, but as it turns out, food and drinks aren't the only places lemon juice shines. Check out these awesome ways to use lemon juice in your home and everyday life. Score some holistic living points just by using lemons creatively! 

Refresh Your Kitchen

Lemon juice is actually very useful in refreshing various parts of your kitchen, from your smelly refrigerator to that worn-in cutting board. After removing anything moldy, unusable or just super smelly from your refrigerator, squirt some lemon juice on a cotton ball and let it camp out for a few hours inside. Then enjoy a fresher smell when you open the door. 

This trick works for cutting boards too. If you cook at all (and even if you're raw), you probably use your cutting board for a variety of fruits and veggies, ranging from onions to peppers to ginger to tomatoes...the list goes on. Chances are, no matter how clean your cutting board is, it doesn't smell too good. Lemon juice to the rescue! Just rub a clean cutting board down with half a lemon, or wash it in lemon juice for a kitchen tool that smells like new! An extra perk to this is that lemon juice disinfects as well! No salmonella in this kitchen!

Refresh Your Skin

Lemon juice, with water, can work wonders on your skin. It works like this: lemon water reduces the body's production of free-radicals, the bodily critters responsible for all sorts of age-tattlers, including wrinkles and sunspots. Simply put, reduce these substances in the body, and you reduce your skin's tendency to succumb to fine lines and sun damage. It's as easy as adding a little lemon to your daily agua intake.

Heal Yourself

This one is especially important, since we're heading into fall and winter, the season for colds, sore throats and every other life-hindering ailment one can think of. When you start to see symptoms of bacterial infection (sore throat, cough, etc.) take a few hits of lemon water for quick results. Lemons have a certain anti-bacterial characteristic which makes them super helpful in these situations! Much cheaper than a doctor visit!

Lemon juice is exceptional for detoxification as well. Most of us want to eat a better diet, but many of us don't. And even if we do, there are still a number of toxins that make their way into our bloodstreams on a regular basis. Not a fan of toxic blood? Up your daily lemon water intake to combat this naturally. While you're at it, take note that drinking lemon water also helps keep the digestive system on track, strengthens the immune system, balances out our body's pH balance and so much more! 

Did you have any idea you could do so much with a lemon? And they're some of the most affordable fruits available! Load up on these goodies and keep a collection on hand for staying healthy and keeping a fresh home year round. 

by Anjie Cho

Perks of Apple Cider Vinegar

I'm a huge fan of white vinegar. I use it in almost every non-toxic cleaner I make and also use it to clean my shoes and furniture. It's a very helpful item to have in your holistic home toolbox. But white vinegar isn't the only kind that can be used for various purposes around the home. Check out these holistic hats for apple cider vinegar!

Dandruff Cure

I've yet to meet the person who is a fan of dandruff, but store-bought shampoos, like many popular hygiene products, can include a huge number of chemicals that, while effective on dandruff, may not be so great for the rest of your body. Instead of bringing more toxicity into your home, try mixing equal parts apple cider vinegar and water together in a spray bottle. After shampooing, spray the mixture on your hair, then rinse after about 15 minutes. Twice a week with this all-natural cure is all is takes!

Sunburn Soother

Though we're getting ready to say goodbye to the sun for a while, at least in New York, it will be back, and it will bring its old friend, Sunburn, with it. There may not be anything worse than enduring the pain after spending a little too much time in the sun and not re-applying sunscreen often enough. Trouble putting on clothing? Check. Trouble turning over at night? Check. Excruciating pain at the lightest touch? Check. Using apple cider vinegar at bath time can effectively reduce sunburn symptoms and actually restore the body's pH balance. Just a cup or two is all you need!

Laundry Buddy

Most of us wash our clothing on a regular basis, but sometimes soap and water alone are no match for smelly clothes. Ever pulled your gym clothes from the dryer to find they still smell like yesterday's squats? Have animals who consistently mark "their" territory? Apple cider vinegar to the rescue! Combine one part apple cider vinegar with four parts water for a natural laundry deodorizer. For an average load, 1/2 cup of this mix is enough. 

Vinegar of All Trades

You can even substitute apple cider vinegar for white vinegar in some cases. It works just the same. Try apple cider vinegar as a multi-purpose cleaner, mold-removing agent or coffee-pot scrub. The uses are almost endless! 

Are you already an apple cider vinegar user? What's your favorite non-kitchen use for this miracle substance? If you haven't already tried it out, get to the kitchen, grab a bottle and see what good can come! 

by Anjie Cho