-
Garden for Free Part II – Papaya
Consider growing papaya right in your back yard and spend nothing more than the cost of a single fruit. In my original blog, gardening for free (part 1), I covered the basics of gardening from kitchen scraps, propagating and harvesting seeds from season to season. Papaya are beautiful tropical plants that can produce fruit when grown in containers, which will then be moved indoors before the first freeze. How to Grow Papaya from Seed To grow papaya, you will need to buy one whole papaya fruit that has not been refrigerated. Refrigeration will stop the seed from being able to sprout. When you are ready to plant, and only when…
-
Green Laundry – make your own detergent
It’s Friday (a plastic free Friday..hopefully) and I’m cutting one more plastic container from my home, the laundry detergent jug. I did a little research on making your own and it turns out this is a great way to reduce toxins that feed back into our water supply, save money and I even prefer it over commercial products. I found this recipe on pinterest and had to make some slight adjustments – noted below. Mom’s Super Laundry Sauce 1 bar Fels Naptha (Yes, the ENTIRE Bar!) 1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax 1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (NOT BAKING SODA!!) 4 cups of hot water Step 1: Put 4 cups of water in a…
-
Plastic Free Friday
Plastic free Fridays, an environmental movement similar to Meatless Mondays, encourages people to live plastic free for one day a week. While it’s probably not feasible to get rid of any and all plastic in your home for a day, it is totally doable to eliminate plastic “consumables” for a day. Here are a few things to consider if you are going to try this, who knows, maybe something will become part of your daily routine. Beverages Say NO to plastic lids, straws and those silly plastic stoppers that Starbucks adds to their cups. Take a reusable BPA free cup if you must have your coffee to go. Wean yourself from…
-
Conservation at the Consumer Level – Part I
Living a more mindful life has everything to do with conservation at the consumer level. In my journey to simplify my suburban life of excess (yes, I am as guilty as anyone), I have come up with some strategies that are easier than you think to slip into your daily life. We have noticed some unexpected benefits. when you use less you spend less when you focus on core needs versus wants you end up focusing on what’s ultimately important to you when you consider what you put into or on your body, you end up putting less trash on the curb and into the ground In this…
