Spring is the season to clear out the cobwebs and nurture growth. It’s also the perfect time to check in with your environmental wellness—that is, your health as it relates to your relationship with nature and your environment. Environmental wellness is a holistic approach to maintaining your health, the health of those around you, and the health of our natural world.
Cleaning your bathroom, with all its grout, gunk, and stains need not be a harsh chemical affair. Try these organic cleaners that are gentle on your hands and on the environment too…
Cypress essential oil is distilled mainly from the leaves and twigs of Cupressus sempervirens, the cypress tree. If you’ve seen the pointy evergreen trees in Van Gogh paintings, then you know what cypress looks like. The scent is warm, woody, green, and balsamic with some spiciness and sharpness. The leaves themselves have a wide variety of traditional medicinal uses, from the respiratory tract to the reproductive system.
Once crocuses and hyacinths begin to bloom, I’m itching to scrub my floors, vacuum my carpets, and otherwise shed the layer of dust that winter has brought. It’s spring cleaning time!
The products you use in your home matter. Even if you live a fairly healthy lifestyle (vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, etc.), the products you use can really affect your life. Items we use around the house on the daily (such as cleaning products, hand soap, and plastic) can cause serious health concerns if you're not careful. You might not even be aware they're toxic until it's too late. Prevention is the best medicine though, so here's how to create a non-toxic home you'll be proud of.
If you’ve ever found yourself watching Tiny House Nation with a trace of envy, you may be wondering if tiny house living is right for your family. Although tiny houses may seem like practical dwellings for only singles or couples, there are growing numbers of families living in tiny houses with children. Ours is one of them.
Winding through the mountainous hills of Ooty in south central India by jeep, the scent of eucalyptus fills the air as we drive through groves of this deliciously fragrant tree. My breath gets a little deeper as I inhale the awe of what the locals must surely take for granted, the smell and healing power of eucalyptus hanging ever in the air there. Curved slices of green with the power to open the lungs and move congestion in the body speak to me in the shady breeze.
We love our kids. But in our love, are we showering them with one too many things? And other than possibly encouraging materialism, are we also reducing their attention spans (which can set them up for disappointment down the road)?
Your floor squeaks, your cupboard shelves whirr and when you sit on your couch, it tends to speak out. What are we talking about? A home overladen and overburdened with one too many toys. As parents, we want the best for our children in every way. But is buying them every new toy that hits the shelves a good idea?
I’ve always had a compulsion to rid my closet of excess materials–clothing that has never been worn, books that have never been read, and papers that don’t provide any value – emotional, informational, or otherwise. While friends and family continued to collect clutter, I remained baffled at how they could sleep at night with messy bedrooms, kitchen cupboards so full they couldn't close, and desk drawers stuffed with random gadgets and trinkets that would never be touched again. Over the years, I believed myself to be the odd one out, forever plagued with a compulsion to clean.
What begins as retail therapy may end turning you into a shopaholic with too many things, too little money and a whole lot of stress. To de-stress, start with de-cluttering your life, desk, home, and all things big and small.