Earth Day! Things You Can Do To Change the World

I love nature, and I am pretty green. I reuse, I recycle, I try to buy green products. In honor of Earth Day, I have compiled a list of things that I personally use and love in my house. I know that this doesn't have anything to do with Tarot readings, but I do love nature, so I thought I would share! While not everything is 100% organic, I do try to choose cleaners and other things that are a better alternative. Choose one and start small, or kick off this Earth Day by making some major changes!

Baking Soda and Vinegar

I am seriously a recovering Pine-Sol user who loves the smell of fresh pine. I found out that the ingredients in commercial cleaners can actually lower your consciousness (!) so I stopped buying them and haven't looked back since. I don't even remember the last time I bought chlorine bleach or used any commercial cleaner in my home that wasn't plant based or made using essential oils, vinegar, baking soda or other natural ingredients.

Baking soda is abrasive enough to scrub even the toughest dirt and grime, add a drop of vinegar and you can loosen burned on bits in cookware and remove soap scum from the bathtub. If I need scrubbing power, I sprinkle baking soda on the surface, then add a splash of vinegar. Watch out, because the vinegar and baking soda will start foaming instantly, but this is a totally safe reaction. Once the foaming has stopped, wash the surface as usual. Also...no, your house won't smell like vinegar, the scent disappears very quickly. Vinegar can be used for general cleaning and on windows.

Soaps

Alright, so I usually use either A) Seventh Generation or B) Ms Meyers laundry soap and dish liquid. Ms Meyers smells so delicious, and although it is fairly new, it is made from plant-based ingredients. I love the lavender scent. I also use Seventh Generation spray cleaners on occasion, but I don't like buying a new spray bottle every time I need to clean so I usually reuse the bottle and make my own cleaners from essential oils.
Essential Oils

I love essential oils. I use them for nearly everything. If I am sick (or someone in my home is sick) I add a few drops of Four Thieves oil to a pot of boiling water to kill germs in the air. I also use Four Thieves to clean and in chest rubs when someone is sick in the home.

For cleaning, I have found the best choice is a combination of Tea Tree Oil and Lavender EOs. You just need to add a few drops of each oil to a cup of water in a spray bottle and you can kill bacteria, viruses, fungus and odor. Tea Tree is a wonderful oil to have in the home for cleaning.

Baby Care

My baby is three now, but in the past I used mostly eco-friendly products for his care. Cloth diapers, cute, soft little bamboo socks and natural wooden toys are some of my all time favorites. I'll talk about cloth diapers here since it is a big change that you can make. One thing is want to say is that when cloth diapers are used properly your baby won't have a diaper rash AT ALL. No redness, and no odor in the diapers after they are washed.

An economical choice for cloth diapering your baby is prefolds and Snappis. Prefolds are very forgiving in the wash as long as you use a good detergent and will fit baby from birth through potty learning. Snappis are small elastics that grab onto the edges of the prefold that are used in place of the traditional diaper pin. Prefold diapers need covers. I loved wool because it is so cute. Wash your wool with a handmade lanolin soap (I loved Ewe Need It's Patchouli Lanolin Spray and wool wash. Ewe Need It is found on HyenaCart.com) to retain its waterproof qualities.

You do need to change your baby more often with cloth diapers, so expect to need about two to three dozen prefolds if you wash every other day. You can also buy regular waterproof covers in dozens of cute styles. My favorite diaper covers are Gen-Y. We still use our size XL Gen-Y diaper covers for swimming! Super cute patterns, easy to care for. To wash cloth diapers, you need the right soap. My go-to laundry soap was Rockin' Green. Grab a few samples to find your favorite scent and you are ready to cloth diaper your baby.

Mommy Care

I realize this is a taboo subject, but it really doesn't embarrass me. Cloth menstrual pads, called mama cloth, are reusable pads. You wash them, reuse them, save tons of money and keep trash out of landfills. If that doesn't suit you, think about trying a Diva Cup. The Diva Cup is a reusable menstrual cup that you dump and rinse every twelve hours. One big bonus is that the Diva Cup, when used properly, has no risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome that is found among women using tampons. I love cloth pads from Mother Moon Pads. Check her out on Hyena Cart! As a note, you do have to be comfortable with your own body to use this option. I have found that it is much easier and more economical than buying products at the store, so I am kind of biased and can only advocate here. :)

Share the Knowledge

I'm not an expert in green living, but I do try to make changes that I believe will make a change in how much waste my family produces, especially since I have a large family. For Earth Day this year, try sharing some tips and ideas that you find with friends and neighbors to reduce the carbon footprint of your neighborhood. It's too late to order now, but Healthy Home, Healthy World offers party kits that come with tons of information about products that you can use to make your home, and community, a little healthier for the next generation.