Archive for January, 2009
January 30, 2009
· Filed under Environmental Detox, Health Care · Tagged chemicals, cosmetics, eco, green, hair removal, non toxic, products, shaving
I very rarely write posts about specific products and then only if they fit my theme of natural living. But I must admit that I have been looking for hair removal solutions that don’t involve toxic chemicals, offensive smells, disposable plastic razors, metal appliances or expensive doctor visits. In this quest, I have found in the past that waxing has fit this paradigm the best. It is natural, without chemicals, requires no special equipment and does not add to the landfill. But waxing can be time consuming, painful and, worst of all for me, means long periods of waiting in an unnatural position while the wax hardens. I absolutely hate having to lie on my back with my legs up so that the wax won’t end up on anything other than just my legs. And then, of course, I hate the ripping of the wax, too, painful as it is. I am not so sure it’s good for my skin.
Anyways, the virtues and evils of waxing aside, I have found a new product that I think fills the bill. At least to a usable and sustainable extent. It’s called Smooth Away. It’s a little plastic disc thingie that you wear like a glove. You peel and paste on little discs with crystal surfaces and rub them on the hairy skin. I have used it several times, in various places on my body and waited awhile before using them again before I came to my judgment of this product. And I must say that there are many great features that will have me using it again. But there are also a few drawbacks that make it not right for everyone or for every hair spot. I will try to tell you all about it here.
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January 28, 2009
· Filed under Health Care, Herb Recipes, Natural Remedies, diy · Tagged bronchitis, coughing, diy, healing, health, herbs, homemade, how to, lung disease, natural, recipes, remedies, safe, sickness, wellness
It is hard core cold and flu season again this year with so much inclement weather all over the country. Heck, down here in the “sunshine” state we were hit with 3 straight days of hard freeze, which may well be a record or, at least, close to it. I don’t think I recall such a streak in my own lifetime; I was freezing my tush off, if you know what I mean. And being bundled up in crowded rooms with the heater blowing dry air and dust all over the place, many of us come away with coughs, sneezes and sore throats. But the very worst thing that happens, especially to smokers and people with lung problems or asthma, is that the cough advances to bronchitis. And nothing makes life more miserable than bronchial inflammations. The painful truth is that, unless you have a bacterial infection that causes this condition, there is very little modern medicine can do for you. Cough syrups, mucus relief, expectorants, inhalers, all help to some degree but they can also have drug like effects and unpleasant chemicals. How many of you have spent most of the winter with “medicine head”? How fun is that? And how often have you taken some chemical laden cough syrup only to find that you are still coughing?
I will not claim that herbs will fix all of that or even make it go away completely but I can assert that they are just as effective as any over the counter thing you’re consuming and they are far less harmful. No “medicine head” or side effects. No nausea or diarrhea from dyes, syrups or additives. And even if the chosen herb only works for a short while, you can use it over and over again without fear of overdosing or falling asleep at the wheel. The herb recipes I have to help with bronchitis will not cure it, nothing will, but they will help just as much as any OTC combination and I guarantee they are safe. In fact, many of the herbs have other good effects, such as lowering blood pressure, settling the stomach or acting as a gentle diuretic, all of which can be welcome when we’re sick. And then there’s always the bonus of making it yourself, controlling the dosage and the type of ingredients. If you’re a forager, or have skills at growing or identifying weeds, then you’re really gonna save some money, too! How green can you get? So are you ready to try a homemade mix? I’ve got some easy recipes you can work up today.
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January 22, 2009
· Filed under Home and Garden, conservation, recycling · Tagged conservation, eco, green, how to, projects, recycling
Wow. That was like the most exciting thing I’ve ever witnessed. The inauguration of our new President, who seems to be a sincere, level headed man with his feet on the ground. I was not a supporter of his originally and came around later in the race but I was blown away by the numbers of people who are smitten with him, excited about him, all of those who have so much faith in him. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, sort of like when the Beatles landed in 1963. But DO NOT quote me as saying that Obama is like the Beatles. I think he is much more than that. And actually I do believe, at this point in time, that he will be good for our country. One of his first initiatives is to reduce costs in government buildings by simple methods like changing light bulbs and introducing energy reducing methods. This is a great green initiative that will save everybody money. But not all green initiatives are this easy and this immediately rewarding. Some of them will be expensive on the front end, will require some sacrifice on our part and may take years to make a palpable difference. Do you think America is ready for that?
You have to admit it, America is addicted. Addicted to our comfortable way of life. It is much easier for us to drive ourselves to work instead of tacking 10 minutes on to our commute by taking public transportation. Or huffing our way there on a bike or by foot. I rode a bike to work for years because of a problem I had with my vehicle situation and I can tell you, it’s not easy. If we have a choice, we choose the easiest and believe me, anything was easier than riding a bike in the rain, in the freezing cold, with a flat tire, against the wind, after a long, hard day at work. Anything. Most especially a car. But even with the use of a car, it is much easier for us to do things on our own schedule, on our own whims, instead of offering to carpool with friends or co-workers, planning this out in advance, being ready at a certain time, etc… We are known for being cranky and mean when being slightly inconvenienced by waiting for five minutes. Believe me, I know this to be true. I worked in customer service for years.
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January 16, 2009
· Filed under Environmental Detox, Home and Garden, diy · Tagged chemicals, cleaning, diy, eco, green, herbs, home, homemade, how to, kitchen, natural, non toxic, washing
Most people don’t think much about dish washing detergents. What matters is if the dishes get clean and then what else could it matter? But there are many things you should be considering about using this stuff and when you realize how greatly it affects you, I think you will start thinking about it when you shop
As a person who was allergic to detergents at a very young age, I have since been forced to find solutions. My mother, who was a nurse and noticed the reaction first, did not cease having me wash dishes or clean house, she simply bought me gloves. But this problem extended well beyond the kitchen and reared it’s ugly head everywhere, from the shower to the laundry room. I was always itching, always red, always stuffed up and sick. There just weren’t any solutions to my problem back in the day
But what does this have to do with me, you say? Well, you don’t have to be allergic to something to have it affect you and, in fact, I have since come to discover that my reactions were not always allergic, but actually SENSITIVE, and this to chemicals and toxins in the products I was forced to use. In my search for solutions to all of these seemingly unsolvable problems, I came across a plethora of facts and solutions that I would like to share with you.
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January 10, 2009
· Filed under Environmental Detox, conservation · Tagged abuse, animals, conservation, cruelty, ecology, farming, fur, fur free, healing, kindness, natural, skinning, wildlife
The theme of this blog is how to live in concert with the natural world. For the most part, this is all of nature, including the environment, the planet and the animals that share all of it with us. Here in America we are working hard, collectively as a people, to heal the broken bonds with the animals around us. These bonds were broken in our history by sanctioned abuses and acts of cruelty that we justified as a fight for survival. But we are way past fighting for mere survival and animals are reduced to only a rare threat, although, on occasion, a deadly one, I admit. A shark attack, bear mauling or snake bite can end it all for any one of us. And we respect that.
But we also realize that we hold the upper hand in any war with animals, possessing weapons and clever minds that outdo even the strongest and wiliest of the wild. Here in America, we realize all of this and we fight cruelty with more zeal than any other country; our homes are populated with every kind of animal from cats and dogs to rabbits and ferrets and even snakes. We punish animal abusers more stringently than any other country in the world, although many civilized countries are also trying hard, including Australia, the Netherlands, Britain and Germany. But equally there are as many other countries, or more, that do not treat their animals kindly and, in fact, tolerate acts of barbarism and cruelty that would make most of you cry out in anguish if you witnessed them. Although, I realize that we cannot do anything about what other countries tolerate or even find justified, I also know that we can, as a people, go farther than we even imagine in mitigating this injustice by simply altering our own actions.
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January 7, 2009
· Filed under Health Care, Hobbies & Crafts, Natural Remedies, diy, herbs · Tagged cats claw, diy, healing, health, herbs, how to, natural, non toxic, plants, recipes, remedies
Cats Claw
Long used in traditional herbalism and throughout history in the practice of paganism and witchcraft, Cats Claw is not generally well known among the populace. It has a kind of witchy name, with cats having a reputation as being familiars and guardians for witches. How witches got such a horrible reputation I’ll never know! All the witches I have ever known like to drink Wine, dance naked and grow herbs. Very few of them care about turning anyone into a toad. But this reputation, deserved or not, has sort of bled over onto the kitty cat, too. It is true that black cats are rare because they were associated with Satanism throughout history and were killed as “evil spirits”. People began breeding black cats with white cats to keep them from being burned, shot or strangled. That’s why there are more black and white cats today than purely black cats. But enough of my historical lore chatfest and on to the subject at hand: Cats Claw. The herb also called Una de gato.
Cats Claw is mostly found in South American rain forests and must be wild harvested and cannot be grown successfully on an ordinary farm. Most of the wild harvesting is being done in Peru and Brazil. It is prominently used in South American folk medicine and is often associated with Santeria… another dark religion that people mostly scorn. The herb has absolutely no use in cooking or in any form of edibles, for that matter. It is only used in medicine. But Cats Claw is not commonly used in witchcraft or pagan rituals and for those who think it’s used only by witches, I must point out that you are probably thinking of Cats Eye, Cats Foot and Cats Milk, which are indeed herbs only used by witches and no one else. Witches also use Catnip, Costmary and Basil just like you do but the Cats Eye, Foot and Milk herbs are used only by witches in their herbal healing practices.
Now that we have all of that straight and we now know what herb is what, I want to give you a wonderful pharmacopoeia of uses for this lovely herb. It has a long history in herbal healing, dating back to the middle ages, and the uses are proven safe and effective for most of us. However, here are the warnings I must issue: DO NOT USE if you have an Autoimmune Disorder (Lupus, MS, HIV, Tuberculosis, etc..) or are immune compromised. Safety is not assured for women who are pregnant or nursing. In many countries it is illegal to mix Cats Claw with hormones, insulin, blood plasma or vaccines. I would suggest you avoid doing this anyways. As always, consult a doctor before treating yourself with any herb. And with that said, here are the recipes for some great remedies using Cats Claw.
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January 7, 2009
· Filed under Health Care, Natural Remedies, diy, herbs · Tagged healing, health, herbs, how to, natural, non toxic, recipes, remedies, safe, sickness, wellness
When I think of detox I often think of alcoholics and drug addicts going through withdrawals and then detox to clean their bodies. But it’s a fact that detox is useful for all sorts of ailments and to maintain an already healthy system. We are exposed on a daily basis to chemicals, pollutants, foods and medicines which introduce toxins into our bodies. Just living a normal life, even without drinking, using drugs or smoking cigarettes, you can still get big diseases like Cancer and Heart or Liver disease. It’s true that you reduce your susceptibility by living a clean life but I just bet there isn’t anyone on this planet who can live a day without exposure.
So this brings to mind the idea of detoxifying the body. You can buy ready made detox products in the health food stores and these are good formulas. However, this is a hit and miss method for many of us. We don’t all need the same herbs and compounds while there are herbs or vitamins that are left out that could be preventative for others. And if you look at the formulas for these products you will most often see Dandelion or Burdock Root. Why on earth would you buy these herbs when they are growing in many yards as weeds? I want to give you some guidelines and list of herbs and weeds you can use for various detox programs and show you how you can either get them for free or for cheap. So here is the list.
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January 3, 2009
· Filed under Home and Garden, conservation, recycling · Tagged conservation, eco, ecology, government, green, home, improvements, projects, refurbishing, save, saving, upgrades
If you haven’t been motivated so far to get up and “go green”, then perhaps this might do it. They are now offering cash incentives for choosing green energy. Right now, in this economic pit we’re all sliding into, who can’t use a buck or two? Now, I’m not implying that anybody is going to PAY you to go green, like a job or as a freebie. But you are already paying an awful lot for utilities and other resources that could be converted to green ones with a little effort. So Government agencies and utilities are now starting to offer a variety of financial incentives to homeowners and businesses that are willing to switch to renewable energy and energy-efficient features when building, remodeling or buying appliances.
To see what’s available, visit the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency , a website produced by the North Carolina Solar Center. But it’s not just NC that can take advantage of this nationwide program. In fact, to find incentives in California, for instance, just go to the website (above) and select the state from the map on the home page. Subsequent pages outline tax credits, grants, loans, rebates, bond programs, property tax exemptions and other rewards.
Users can also search for incentives by type of technology, incentive type and eligible sector (residential, commercial, governmental, nonprofit). Also on the site are contractor license requirements and other state and local regulations. It’s an all around informative and useful site that enables you to take advantage of programs that are offered but that you may not be aware of. It will be in many more states in the near future as state and local governments find the rewards to be more beneficial to them than the status quo.
Technorati Tags: conservation, eco, ecology, government, green, home, improvements, projects, refurbishing, save, saving, upgrades
