sustainable

12 Simple Steps to Cleaner Eating

Many New Year’s resolutions involve eating better. But with such a lofty goal, it can be hard to know where to start. Fortunately, just a few simple changes make stepping in the right direction easy. This list, organized starting with the easiest steps to implement, makes cleaner eating accessible no matter what.

5 Survival Skills You Should Really Learn

Ever notice all the new schools and workshops popping up, offering to teach primitive or old, ancient survival techniques? In a world of convenience and technology, it can be easy to disregard the very skills we once needed long ago to meet our most basic, essential needs. However, some survival skills are still extremely valuable to know, and learning them can leave you with a feeling of self-confidence in a world of uncertainty. Read on to find out what 5 ancient skills you should really learn.

Skill Number 1:  Growing Your Own Food

5 Neat Uses for Cedar

Cedar trees are viewed as being very sacred by Northwest indigenous cultures, and are often harvested for many different purposes. Pretty much all the parts of a cedar tree can be utilized for something. The roots, bark, wood, and withes have been used for practical as well as ceremonial uses. Curious to know some of these neat uses of cedar? Read on to discover 5 of them!

Use # 1: Baskets

Living Off The Grid: Catching Rain

Making use of the rainwater that falls freely from the sky provides an arsenal of benefits in and around the home. You can purchase a rainwater barrel and system or you can do-it-yourself. It is far less expensive to create it and set it up yourself than it is to buy a kit. It isn’t hard to do, either, as long as you have the right materials and tools. Come learn how you can save money and become one step closer to self-sustainability – I promise you’ll learn something useful.

Supplies List

30-50 Gallon Barrel

The Supermarket Gardener: Part 4 - Herbs

Herbs, Herbs and More Herbs:

Celery:

Average Cost Per Pound In U.S. and Midwest Region

$1.37

Time to Reach Maturity

130-140 days

Scraps To Garden:

The Good Gardener: Organic Pesticides & Fertilizers

To reduce your garden’s carbon footprint, try organic pesticides… Be safe, be sure!

How To Get The Most Green Into Your Urban Space

If you’re someone living in an urban setting, yet still trying to live as close to the earth as possible while doing so, then you may have considered urban gardening in the past.

My backyard is a paved-over pocket in the city that I call “the oasis.” It’s just enough room for a few reclining lawn chairs, a grill, and six potted plants. It’s not much, but it’s just enough to feel like I have a little nature right out my back door.

Living in an urban area, you have to make the most of all your spaces, especially if you have any outdoor room. A well-planned

5 Ways To Help Protect Bees From Extinction

Due to the recent Zika spraying, massive use of neonicotinoid pesticides,  and other environmental factors, bees are now on the endangered species list, effective October 31, 2016. If bees go extinct, honey won't be the only thing we'll be missing: A third of the food humans eat would disappear with the bees. To put things in perspective, that means no more blueberries, apples, pumpkins, or almonds – all those plants (among others) need bees. Worried yet?

5 Big Reasons to Buy Fair Trade Products

When you buy Fair Trade, you are not only supporting a social movement with the objective to help producers in developing countries achieve better trade conditions, but also promoting sustainability. The Fair Trade movement calls for manufacturing done with respect to human rights and environmental integrity. In order to do this, members of this movement take the necessary steps to advocate higher prices to exporters. Fair Trade focuses on the improvement of both social and environmental standards. If you want to know more, here are 5 big reasons to buy Fair Trade products.

5 Smudging Plants & Their Spiritual Purposes

The sacred action of smudging has been used for centuries by  various cultures, and today it is still being used for clearing, purifying, and adjusting surrounding energies. A great way to look at smudging is like a kind of spiritual bath, with the smoke cleansing away undesired dirty-spiritual vibrations.

To smudge, most people tie certain herbs and plants together with a thread, and burn them. Nowadays, there are many different kinds of plants that can be used for smudging. Here are 5 plants used for smudging as well as some of their spiritual purposes.