April 17, 2012

10 Easy Natural Household Switches (That Anyone Can Make)

cleaning products

This month we've been talking all about ridding your home of toxins.  That can get overwhelming, fast, as you look at all the things in your home that contain toxins.  Where do you start?! Today I have 10 very easy switches for you.  These are common and frequently-used household items that you can simply switch for a purchased or homemade alternative, depending on where you are in your journey or how brave you're feeling. :) Personal Care Facial cleanser Rather than using a standard product that's [...]

Filed Under: Going green, Living healthy, Spring Clean the Toxins Tagged With: , , , , , , , 53 Comments
April 12, 2012

Toxins in Candles: Sad, But True

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There's nothing like the gentle flicker of a candle flame, and a warm, sweet scent filling your home to evoke feelings of peace and wellness. Except when that candle is actually filling your home with toxic chemicals and contributing to indoor air pollution.  I know. I hear that sigh, and have sighed myself many times. It can be discouraging. We work so hard to eat healthy, stay fit, and rid our homes and bodies of toxins, only to find that something as simple and innocent [...]

Filed Under: Living healthy, Spring Clean the Toxins Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 97 Comments
April 11, 2012

Spring Clean the Toxins: How to Get Started

Not only is spring a perfect time to freshen up your house when it comes to scrubbing baseboards and washing blinds and all those "cleanliness" tasks, but it's also an idea time to think about the unseen invaders lurking in your home... That's right-- dangerous toxins! It's beginning to be common knowledge that many of the beauty and skincare products, cleaning supplies, foods, kitchen items, and even furniture, decor and clothing in our homes contain harmful chemicals that make their way into our body through our skin, [...]

Filed Under: Baby Steps, Living healthy, Natural living, Spring Clean the Toxins Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , 21 Comments
April 6, 2012

How to Protect Your Family from the Dangers of Formaldehyde

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Written by Stacy K, Contributing Writer Formaldehyde is one of the most common toxic substances found in indoor air. It was only recently that I discovered just how pervasive formaldehyde is. No longer limited to mortuaries and medical laboratories (where it is used as a preservative), formaldehyde is now in many personal care products, furniture, and building supplies. Formaldehyde is listed as a a probable human carcinogen (cancer causing agent) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 2011, the National Toxicology Program named formaldehyde as [...]

Filed Under: Living healthy, Natural living, Spring Clean the Toxins Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 22 Comments
November 28, 2011

When Less Really is More

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Last week, we turned our house upside down. Almost literally. In a matter of one morning, we uprooted everything in our family room (which housed all of our children's toys, DVDs, some books and random other things), our entire downstairs storage (boxes upon boxes, whose contents we had long forgotten), and our "messy" room (an office-like room that was a catch-all for things without a proper home). A week or two earlier, I had also dramatically cleared out our family closet, main bathroom, and kitchen [...]

Filed Under: Getting organized, Living Simply Tagged With: , , , , , 64 Comments
November 21, 2011

21 Ideas for Celebrating a Simple, Natural Thanksgiving: Eats, Decor, Gratitude

I have to confess something... I will not be celebrating Thanksgiving this week. That's because as a Canadian, that day came and went back in October! But I know that for most of you, Thanksgiving is your focus this week and so I wanted to share some ideas and inspiration with you. I had far too much fun putting together this selection of tasty-looking real food holiday recipes, frugal and nature-inspired decor ideas, and gratitude printables and activities for you. This is only a small [...]

Filed Under: Frugality, Holidays, Homemaking Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 9 Comments
November 8, 2011

Homemade Herbal Vapor Rub to Relieve Coughs and Congestion

herbal vapor salve ingredients

Written by Courtney, Contributing Writer Seeing our children suffer from a cough is no fun at all. However, coughs have their place in healing and should usually not be suppressed. If we prevent a cough from doing its part in recovery, we can set our child up for a much more serious illness. What starts out as a simple cold could quickly turn into bronchitis or pnemonia if mucous is allowed to settle in the chest. At times, a cough can interfere with recovery when it [...]

Filed Under: Children, Healthy kids, Herbs, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , 60 Comments
October 25, 2011

11 Ways to Teach Your Children to Be Diligent Workers

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As 2011 comes to an end, we’re sharing helpful lists to help you save money, stay healthy, get organized, creatively repurpose, frugally gift-give, intentionally celebrate and more in our “11 Things for 2011” series throughout these holiday months. Written by Beth Corcoran, Contributing Writer About a year ago, I was exhausted by the amount of work I had to do to keep everything running smoothly with my ever growing family. (We’re at six kids now!)  And I was feeling burdened that my kids needed to [...]

Filed Under: Children, Family life, Getting organized, Homemaking Tagged With: , , , , , , , 38 Comments