Go Green!

It's not as difficult as you might think! There are many things that we can do to help our environment. Some of us will be able to do more, some of us less and maybe some will only be able to do one or two things. But every little thing counts!! Everyone can do something to make their home a little more eco-friendly. Take a look at the (incomplete) list below. You might find that you're doing some of these things already!!

1. When buying paper products, such as toilet tissue, paper towels, paper plates, etc., look for those with the highest post-consumer waste content. Purchase unbleached or whitened without chlorine.

2. Replace your paraffin candles, which are made from crude oil, with soy or beeswax candles which burn cleaner.

3. Purchase biodegradable garbage bags or those made with at least 65% recycled materials.

4. Replace those incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, CFLs. According to the Department of Energy, if every household in America changed one bulb to a CFL, combined efforts would save 5.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year or $526 million a year in electric expenses. CFLs use 66% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and can last up to 10 times longer! If you have concerns about the mercury content of CFLs, and/or how to clean up a broken CFL, please visit http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm for more information.

5. Recycle everything you can, from the easy stuff like newspapers, aluminum cans and glass to stuff like cell phones, eye glasses and printer ink cartridges. Don't forget about your old electronics such as computers, printers and televisions.

6. Don't throw out that old t-shirt! Recycle it! Cut it into squares, the size you would use for dusting. They can be used for wet or dry dusting and be washed over and over again!

7. You can make your own cleaners using common ingredients, instead of using those commercial brands containing all those chemicals we can't even pronounce!

8. If you can't make your own cleaners, purchase those products that are chlorine and phosphate free. You can also choose vegetable-based soaps for cleaning wood furniture and floors. See below for a few recipes for home made cleaning supplies!

Toilet Bowl Cleaner/Deodorizer: Sprinkle 1/4 cup baking soda into toilet. Pour in 1/4cup white vinegar then scrub with toilet brush.

Glass Cleaner: 4 oz. water, 4 oz. apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon borax, 1 tablespoon orange essential oil, 1 teaspoon lemon essential oil combined in a heavy duty plastic spray bottle will clean your glass and windows!

Kitchen/Bathroom Surface Cleaner: 1-2 tbsp. liquid soap, 20 drops tea tree essential oil and 32 oz. water in a spray bottle. Shake before each use to mix ingredients.

Kitchen Sink Scrub: 1/2 Cup Baking Soda, 1/8 Cup Vinegar, 5 drops Lemon essential oil, 5 drops Orange essentail oil. Combine all ingredients. Use in your sink with a soft sponge or cloth.

Dishwashing Liquid: 10 drops Lemon essential oil, 10 drops Lavender essential oil, 10drops Orange essential oil added to 32 oz. liquid soap will not only clean your dishes, but it will lift your spirits!

Compiled from various Internet and Magazine sources.

Morning Shower Pick-Me-Up

Here's a great little morning shower pick me up.

Place 3-5 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil onto a washcloth and lay it on the floor of your shower.

After a few minutes you will feel refreshed and ready to face the world. Helps relieve congestion too!

Witch Hazel - Hamamelis virginiana

Witch hazel is a leathery-leafed shrub native to the Atlantic seaboard of the US. The upward-facing surface of its leaves are shiny green, but the bottoms of the leaves are dull gray. Witch hazel trees stand out in the forest in the autumn because as other trees are losing their leaves, the witch hazel is covered with golden-yellow, threadlike flowers, thus making it appealing to landscapers as a desirable ornamental plant. Both the bark and the leaves of the plant are used medicinally.

Native Americans introduced witch hazel to early European settlers. The Native Americans applied a strained decoction of the leaves and twigs to small wounds, insect bites, sore muscles and joints. They also sipped witch hazel tea to treat bleeding, inflammation and hemorrhoids. In the nineteenth century, an alcoholic extract of witch hazel was one of the most popular herbs in the US.

Witch hazel is a valuable cooling topical astringent for various ailments, including varicose veins, hemorrhoids, abrasions, bruises, scrapes, burns, insect bites and stings and other skin irritations. It is also good for clearing up the redness produced by eczema and for smoothing wrinkles.

The information contained in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent any illness, injury or ailment. Always consult a medical professional to determine appropriate treatments.

Taken from "Prescription for Herbal Healing" by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC