Saturday, March 26, 2011
Renewable Energy World
We all want to do our part to protect the environment, but without a large paycheck, that can be seem difficult, if not impossible. But doing your part doesn’t have to be hard. Small steps add up to a big difference, you just have to know which ones to take.
Use less of water
Saving water is all about small steps, here are a few that will help save big.
1. Shut off the water while you brush your teeth
2. Take showers that are a minute or two shorter
3. Only flush the toilet when you need to
4. Only run full loads of laundry and dishes
5. Buy from sustainable producers. These are farmers, ranchers, and other producers that use techniques that pollute less and use less water. You can do some research online or ask at your local organic market to find these products.
Use less energy
If you don’t have the money to buy a hybrid car or convert your house to solar power, you can make a big difference with small changes.
1. Buy energy efficient appliances. They may be more expensive, but make up for the increased cost in lower energy bills.
2. Unplug chargers when you’re not using them. Cell phone and other chargers use up powers even if there’s nothing attached to them.
3. Put devices with remotes, like T.V.s, VCRs, and stereos, on a power strip and turn it off when you’re not using them. These devices use a lot of power to run the remote receiver even when the device is off.
4. Walk or ride your bike for short trips.
5. Buy local products. It takes energy to transport food and other products across the country. Buying local not only supports your local economy, it helps them use less energy.
You can read other detail information in http://renewableenergyworld.info/
Use less of water
Saving water is all about small steps, here are a few that will help save big.
1. Shut off the water while you brush your teeth
2. Take showers that are a minute or two shorter
3. Only flush the toilet when you need to
4. Only run full loads of laundry and dishes
5. Buy from sustainable producers. These are farmers, ranchers, and other producers that use techniques that pollute less and use less water. You can do some research online or ask at your local organic market to find these products.
Use less energy
If you don’t have the money to buy a hybrid car or convert your house to solar power, you can make a big difference with small changes.
1. Buy energy efficient appliances. They may be more expensive, but make up for the increased cost in lower energy bills.
2. Unplug chargers when you’re not using them. Cell phone and other chargers use up powers even if there’s nothing attached to them.
3. Put devices with remotes, like T.V.s, VCRs, and stereos, on a power strip and turn it off when you’re not using them. These devices use a lot of power to run the remote receiver even when the device is off.
4. Walk or ride your bike for short trips.
5. Buy local products. It takes energy to transport food and other products across the country. Buying local not only supports your local economy, it helps them use less energy.
You can read other detail information in http://renewableenergyworld.info/
Friday, March 25, 2011
Organic Chemical Free Gardening
Every year, thousand of chemicals are poured into the environment and millions of gallons of water are needlessly wasted. How? By growing plants. Sure, most of this is done by large agricultural producers, but some of it is still done in personal gardens. And that means that you can make a difference by changing your gardening practices. There are many agricultural producers who have done it, and you can use the same tricks to help your own garden, and the planet.
Pick appropriate plants. Not all plants are appropriate for the area you live in. While you might be able to control the temperature, humidity, and rain conditions inside your house, you can’t do it out in the garden. If you pick appropriate plants for your area, you may be able to avoid using fertilizers and saving on water too. Research, what plants are native to your surrounding areas and try planting them in your own garden. Wildflowers, are just that, they can pretty much be left alone and will thrive in most areas.
Pick natural repelling plants. You don’t need to rely on poisons to keep away garden ruining pests. Many plants produce chemicals that repel these animals naturally. By putting them in or around you garden, you can keep your garden safe with little effort and no chemicals. Plus, you can pick parts of these plants and use them to make products to keep them away from you too.
If you don’t want to plant natural repellents in your garden, you can use them to spray your plants without harming them or adding artificial chemicals to your garden. Many herbs like hot pepper, vanilla, and lavender can help repel insects from your garden.
Pull weeds. We’re all looking for a quick and easy way to safely get rid of weeds without chemicals, but the good old fashioned way is still very effective. It you take time every day to pull the weeds you can find, you’ll only take a few minutes so it doesn’t seem like a lot of work. You can even get the kids involved, just be sure to do it properly so you don’t spread the seeds around. There are even some common weeds that are edible, just make sure there are no pesticides that could have gotten on them.
Crop rotation. Farmers all over the world use crop rotation to naturally fertilize plants. The concept is to change what crop you’re putting in a certain field each year. Plants use different nutrients and put other nutrients back into the soil. If you rotate crops that replace the nutrients the other plants use, you will have to fertilize the soil less.
You can use this same concept in your garden by planting different plants every year, or just rotating where you put specific plants in the garden.
So, you’ve made all these changes and are using a low-water, chemical free garden? Well, you still haven’t done the most important thing: pass it on! One garden can make a dent, but more can make a bigger difference. Tell your friends, teach your kids, you can even visit their school and teach your kids friends! Every little bit helps make a better world.
Pick appropriate plants. Not all plants are appropriate for the area you live in. While you might be able to control the temperature, humidity, and rain conditions inside your house, you can’t do it out in the garden. If you pick appropriate plants for your area, you may be able to avoid using fertilizers and saving on water too. Research, what plants are native to your surrounding areas and try planting them in your own garden. Wildflowers, are just that, they can pretty much be left alone and will thrive in most areas.
Pick natural repelling plants. You don’t need to rely on poisons to keep away garden ruining pests. Many plants produce chemicals that repel these animals naturally. By putting them in or around you garden, you can keep your garden safe with little effort and no chemicals. Plus, you can pick parts of these plants and use them to make products to keep them away from you too.
If you don’t want to plant natural repellents in your garden, you can use them to spray your plants without harming them or adding artificial chemicals to your garden. Many herbs like hot pepper, vanilla, and lavender can help repel insects from your garden.
Pull weeds. We’re all looking for a quick and easy way to safely get rid of weeds without chemicals, but the good old fashioned way is still very effective. It you take time every day to pull the weeds you can find, you’ll only take a few minutes so it doesn’t seem like a lot of work. You can even get the kids involved, just be sure to do it properly so you don’t spread the seeds around. There are even some common weeds that are edible, just make sure there are no pesticides that could have gotten on them.
Crop rotation. Farmers all over the world use crop rotation to naturally fertilize plants. The concept is to change what crop you’re putting in a certain field each year. Plants use different nutrients and put other nutrients back into the soil. If you rotate crops that replace the nutrients the other plants use, you will have to fertilize the soil less.
You can use this same concept in your garden by planting different plants every year, or just rotating where you put specific plants in the garden.
So, you’ve made all these changes and are using a low-water, chemical free garden? Well, you still haven’t done the most important thing: pass it on! One garden can make a dent, but more can make a bigger difference. Tell your friends, teach your kids, you can even visit their school and teach your kids friends! Every little bit helps make a better world.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Natural homemade beauty recipes
Nature is the newest trend in skin and hair care. For years, we’ve been putting toxic chemicals into our bodies that build up and make us feel tired and sick, regardless of whether we eat them or if they seep though our pores. And people are finally catching on that natural is better.
Most stores now have a line of “natural” beauty products. Unfortunately, they often come with a big price tag attached too. Often times many of these products are not actually “natural” so it does pay to do your homework to ensure you are getting what you pay for.
Fortunately actually making beauty products yourself isn’t too difficult. So if you want beauty products that you know are natural and are also inexpensive, just make them yourself. Here are 5 quick and easy recipes you can make at yourself.
Face Mask
Eating good food helps give you the right nutrients you need to look good. You can get more of these vitamins and minerals by putting the good stuff right on the skin.
Combining a mashed carrot, mashed avocado, and a beaten egg with a half cup a few tablespoons of honey creates a great face mask that provides vitamins, and improves the tone and texture of your skin. Just stir well, apply, let sit for about 15 minutes, and then wash off with cool water.
After you’re washed and nourished your skin, you can use grated cucumber or diluted lemon juice as a toner to help tighten your skin and close up your pores to close your pores and keep your skin looking great.
Hair Conditioner
Many people pay a lot of money for a conditioner that actually makes your hair look and feel good. Here’s a great natural recipe to save you money and help your hair.
Just mix an egg yolk with a tablespoon of castor oil and apply to hair. Let sit for about ten minutes and rinse out. You can use this every so often as a conditioning treatment for healthy shiny hair. If you like being experimental, you can try mixing other kitchen items, herbs, and natural items with eggs for healthy, shiny hair.
Hand and Foot Cream
A quick face mask will help make you look great in not a lot of time, but hands and feet require extra care.
Use ½ cup of olive oil mixed with natural sea salt and massage into your hands and feet. Leave a few minutes to soak and then rinse off with warm water.
When it comes to natural beauty products, these recipes are just the start. You can find hundreds of different combinations in natural beauty books, magazines, and on the internet. Or you can go to your kitchen cabinet and make your own special creations.
Most stores now have a line of “natural” beauty products. Unfortunately, they often come with a big price tag attached too. Often times many of these products are not actually “natural” so it does pay to do your homework to ensure you are getting what you pay for.
Fortunately actually making beauty products yourself isn’t too difficult. So if you want beauty products that you know are natural and are also inexpensive, just make them yourself. Here are 5 quick and easy recipes you can make at yourself.
Face Mask
Eating good food helps give you the right nutrients you need to look good. You can get more of these vitamins and minerals by putting the good stuff right on the skin.
Combining a mashed carrot, mashed avocado, and a beaten egg with a half cup a few tablespoons of honey creates a great face mask that provides vitamins, and improves the tone and texture of your skin. Just stir well, apply, let sit for about 15 minutes, and then wash off with cool water.
After you’re washed and nourished your skin, you can use grated cucumber or diluted lemon juice as a toner to help tighten your skin and close up your pores to close your pores and keep your skin looking great.
Hair Conditioner
Many people pay a lot of money for a conditioner that actually makes your hair look and feel good. Here’s a great natural recipe to save you money and help your hair.
Just mix an egg yolk with a tablespoon of castor oil and apply to hair. Let sit for about ten minutes and rinse out. You can use this every so often as a conditioning treatment for healthy shiny hair. If you like being experimental, you can try mixing other kitchen items, herbs, and natural items with eggs for healthy, shiny hair.
Hand and Foot Cream
A quick face mask will help make you look great in not a lot of time, but hands and feet require extra care.
Use ½ cup of olive oil mixed with natural sea salt and massage into your hands and feet. Leave a few minutes to soak and then rinse off with warm water.
When it comes to natural beauty products, these recipes are just the start. You can find hundreds of different combinations in natural beauty books, magazines, and on the internet. Or you can go to your kitchen cabinet and make your own special creations.
Kids Clear Detoxifying Clay Bath
Clay baths help facilitate the removal of pollutants, heavy metals and chemicals (e.g. mercury and lead) from the body, which can be a big factor in neurological and behaviour issues in children.
The Kids Clear Detoxifying Clay Bath is made from Bentonite Clay, which disperses easily in water. It can be flushed down the drain and is not clumpy or messy. Bentonite Clay is hypoallergenic. It has a very high negative ionic surface charge which draws out and absorbs the positively charged chemicals, toxins and heavy metals through the skin.
Kids Clear Detoxifying Clay Bath is a pure natural product and safe to use for children. After using clay baths for a period of time, parents of autistic children have noticed immense improvement in their behavior, speech and interaction, such as eye contact.
The Kids Clear Detoxifying Clay Bath is an easy to use detoxifier to help improve your childrenÆsÆ health.
For more information on this product, go to www.evenbetternow.com.
Please note that it is always advisable to speak to your doctor or paediatrician before using any supplements or medication.
The Kids Clear Detoxifying Clay Bath is made from Bentonite Clay, which disperses easily in water. It can be flushed down the drain and is not clumpy or messy. Bentonite Clay is hypoallergenic. It has a very high negative ionic surface charge which draws out and absorbs the positively charged chemicals, toxins and heavy metals through the skin.
Kids Clear Detoxifying Clay Bath is a pure natural product and safe to use for children. After using clay baths for a period of time, parents of autistic children have noticed immense improvement in their behavior, speech and interaction, such as eye contact.
The Kids Clear Detoxifying Clay Bath is an easy to use detoxifier to help improve your childrenÆsÆ health.
For more information on this product, go to www.evenbetternow.com.
Please note that it is always advisable to speak to your doctor or paediatrician before using any supplements or medication.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Hanging Solar Food Dehydrator
The Hanging Solar Food Dehydrator is a great way to use up overripe fruit and vegetables. It can also be used as a sprouter.
Drying food, from fruit to vegetables, is easy, especially in the Hanging Solar Food Dehydrator. Dried food tastes delicious, is very nutritious and allows you to use up surplus food, even if it is overripe, thus minimising wastage.
The Hanging Solar Food Dehydrator is made from stainless steel and comes with dishwasher-safe polypropylene trays. It can be hung in any warm corner of your home, such as your kitchen.
The surrounding mesh keeps the bugs out and allows the fruit or sprouts to dry and sprout naturally. The dehydrator is eco-friendly as no electricity is used to create delicious snacks, such as fruit leathers, dried banana slices and other delicacies.
The dehydrator has 3cubic feet of drying space. It weighs approximately 6lbs and folds to 3”H x 16”sq.
Drying food, from fruit to vegetables, is easy, especially in the Hanging Solar Food Dehydrator. Dried food tastes delicious, is very nutritious and allows you to use up surplus food, even if it is overripe, thus minimising wastage.
The Hanging Solar Food Dehydrator is made from stainless steel and comes with dishwasher-safe polypropylene trays. It can be hung in any warm corner of your home, such as your kitchen.
The surrounding mesh keeps the bugs out and allows the fruit or sprouts to dry and sprout naturally. The dehydrator is eco-friendly as no electricity is used to create delicious snacks, such as fruit leathers, dried banana slices and other delicacies.
The dehydrator has 3cubic feet of drying space. It weighs approximately 6lbs and folds to 3”H x 16”sq.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Clean House Clean Planet
Clean House Clean Planet is an essential book on how to clean your house frugally whilst being environmentally friendly. The author, Karen Logan, talks about commercial cleaners and the dangers they pose to the environment and our health.
Green cleaning is a straight-forward book in which the author passes on many homemade cleaning recipes. The recipes are easy to make, inexpensive and bring a sparkle and beautiful scent to your home. The author discusses the recipe’s effectiveness and cost in comparison to commercial cleaners.
Learn how to clean the oven with eco-friendly products; unclog the sink, use baking soda for a sparkling result or clean your bathroom with vinegar and water. Read up on how to make your own laundry detergents, toilet bowl cleaners, metal polishers and how and why to use essential oils.
Clean House, Clean Planet is a book that every eco-conscious person should own. It makes a fun read, offers easy to make cleaning recipes and gets a sparkling result.
Green cleaning is a straight-forward book in which the author passes on many homemade cleaning recipes. The recipes are easy to make, inexpensive and bring a sparkle and beautiful scent to your home. The author discusses the recipe’s effectiveness and cost in comparison to commercial cleaners.
Learn how to clean the oven with eco-friendly products; unclog the sink, use baking soda for a sparkling result or clean your bathroom with vinegar and water. Read up on how to make your own laundry detergents, toilet bowl cleaners, metal polishers and how and why to use essential oils.
Clean House, Clean Planet is a book that every eco-conscious person should own. It makes a fun read, offers easy to make cleaning recipes and gets a sparkling result.
Bean Pots – A Healthy Way to Cook Beans
A bean pot is a variation on the crock pot or slow cooker, but it is not electric. It is usually a ceramic pot intended for slow cooking, and is particularly suited for bean cookery. Bean pots are really nothing new. In fact, colonial women would bring crockery pots of beans to the local baker's to be baked slowly in his oven. You can cook beans by this old-fashioned, money-saving method using a modern bean pot.
How Does It Work?
Using a bean pot is very simple. For beans for dinner on Friday night, begin on Thursday evening by putting dried beans into your pot and covering them with water, at least 2 inches above the beans. In the morning, pour off this soaking water, cover the beans with fresh water (again about 2 inches above the beans), and add any flavorings you like (onion, garlic, herbs, ham hock, etc.). Don't add salt or anything acidic - these ingredients will prevent the beans from becoming tender. Cover the bean pot and place it in a cold oven, turn the oven to 300 degrees, and leave the beans all day. The design of the pot prevents burning, but you may need to add more water. Check on the beans periodically to be sure they are not drying out.
Another option is to bring the soaked, flavored beans to a boil on the stovetop, then pour the hot mixture into the bean pot, cover, and place in a preheated oven.
You can cook canned beans in your bean pot, too - more on that below.
What Are the Advantages of Using a Bean Pot?
1. Beans are very healthy, full of fiber and nutrients such as protein, folate, and magnesium. Having a bean pot will encourage and enable you to prepare more of this healthful food.
2. Dried beans are much cheaper than canned beans.
3. Dried beans are generally healthier than canned beans. Canned beans often contain large amounts of sodium, and consumers are concerned about chemicals in canned foods, particularly BPA. BPA is a synthetic estrogen that can disrupt hormonal balance, and is often used in the lining of food cans. BPA has even been implicated in contributing to obesity. As noted above, you can cook canned beans in your bean pot, and if you prefer to do this, consider BPA-free canned beans such as those made by Eden Foods. There are also low-sodium canned beans available.
4. Slow-cooking beans at a low temperature makes them more digestible, breaking down the starches and sugars thoroughly.
Bean pots are an old idea that is quite applicable to today. Beans are inexpensive, readily available, and versatile. A bean pot can help you to take advantage of this little nutritional treasure.
How Does It Work?
Using a bean pot is very simple. For beans for dinner on Friday night, begin on Thursday evening by putting dried beans into your pot and covering them with water, at least 2 inches above the beans. In the morning, pour off this soaking water, cover the beans with fresh water (again about 2 inches above the beans), and add any flavorings you like (onion, garlic, herbs, ham hock, etc.). Don't add salt or anything acidic - these ingredients will prevent the beans from becoming tender. Cover the bean pot and place it in a cold oven, turn the oven to 300 degrees, and leave the beans all day. The design of the pot prevents burning, but you may need to add more water. Check on the beans periodically to be sure they are not drying out.
Another option is to bring the soaked, flavored beans to a boil on the stovetop, then pour the hot mixture into the bean pot, cover, and place in a preheated oven.
You can cook canned beans in your bean pot, too - more on that below.
What Are the Advantages of Using a Bean Pot?
1. Beans are very healthy, full of fiber and nutrients such as protein, folate, and magnesium. Having a bean pot will encourage and enable you to prepare more of this healthful food.
2. Dried beans are much cheaper than canned beans.
3. Dried beans are generally healthier than canned beans. Canned beans often contain large amounts of sodium, and consumers are concerned about chemicals in canned foods, particularly BPA. BPA is a synthetic estrogen that can disrupt hormonal balance, and is often used in the lining of food cans. BPA has even been implicated in contributing to obesity. As noted above, you can cook canned beans in your bean pot, and if you prefer to do this, consider BPA-free canned beans such as those made by Eden Foods. There are also low-sodium canned beans available.
4. Slow-cooking beans at a low temperature makes them more digestible, breaking down the starches and sugars thoroughly.
Bean pots are an old idea that is quite applicable to today. Beans are inexpensive, readily available, and versatile. A bean pot can help you to take advantage of this little nutritional treasure.
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