Little Green Living Corner by Tracy Neely

Enjoy these little tips to make your home and your life a little more healthy for you and the environment. **hint: these tips will save you money too!**

* When loading a dishwasher, skip the pre-rinse, it can waste 20 gallons of water per load. Skip the dry cycle as well and allow dishes to dry by leaving the door open after washing.

*Fix toilet and faucet leaks immediately. A single slow leaky faucet, dripping 30 drops per minute, wastes 3 gallons per day, or the equivalent of 27 baths per year.

*Encourage friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to support and buy from companies that promote and sell eco-friendly products. Support companies that are upfront with their ethics and their practices. Responsible eco-friendly companies go an extra step to minimize their use of resources and recycle, whenever possible, on the job.

*Use personal care products that contain the safest ingredients possible. Only 11 percent of the 10,500 ingredients the FDA has documented in personal care products like hair spray, deodorants, fragrances, and nail polish have been assessed for safety by the cosmetics industry. Many personal care products contain phthalates; chemicals that can damage the liver, kidneys, lungs, and the reproductive system.

*Install dimmer switches in rooms where it is practical for ambient lighting. Any light bulb dimmed by 25 percent (including incandescent) will use roughly 20 percent less energy. Dimming one 75 watt incandescent by 25 percent for only 4 hours a day will save you 30 pounds of carbon over the course of the year.

Countertop Surface Deodorizer
Recipe
4 drops of one of the following essential oils (Eucalyptus, Lavender, Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Rosemary, Sage)
1 Pint of distilled water
Spray bottle
Add 4 drops of oil to each pint of water. Pour into a spray bottle and store in cool dark place. Use after cleaning kitchen surfaces.
Enjoy!

Little present from Tera:
As part of our clutter busting/spring cleaning program with the Body Enlightenment System, I have finally confronted something that I’ve been putting off for a long time. I’ve trained quite extensively in aromatherapy and a few years ago, I started a company called, Shizen Aromatics. This little company actually did very well, won entrepreneurial awards, and received subvention from the government to help us build it, but being a pregnant, single mother with a home day care full-time meant there just weren’t enough hours in the day to make it work.

My commitment to being home and available to my children has always been greater than my commitment to making a thriving business.

Long story short, we chose to shut down the company, but I still have a whole bunch of gorgeous organic, wildcrafted essential oils kicking around, and even some diffusers and INCREDIBLE aromatherapy manuals.

For the big stuff, I guess I’ll come up with an online garage sale, or something, but because in this article Tracy mentions counter sprays, I thought I’d offer up some gorgeous antibacterial essential oil blends for anyone who would like to make a commitment to using greener eco-products in their home.

Replacing conventional cleaners is easy. There are so many natural solutions available, and it’s fun to spice them up with a bit of zest and the natural anti-bacterial power of essential oils. Basil and Lime are wonderful for kitchen counters! Peppermint and a touch of Eucalyptus, with Lemon is gorgeous on a dust cloth and spread throughout the home.

I will not charge you for this (though each bottle is worth about $15), but if you are willing to send me money for the postage and bubble envelope (about $8-10 in the US and Canada) then I will happily send you some eco-treats to help your home smell more beautiful and put a smile on your face while you clean and de-clutter!