Garden

So I planted my garden last weekend. This is my second year trying my hand at gardening. Last year was a moderate success. My son got to eat a lot of tomatoes and we had lettuce and carrots a plenty. My pumpkins never grew last year and my sunflowers just got tall and skinny and fell over!

I never fertilized last year, which I think was part of my problem. This year I fertilized when I planted and plan to again throughout the growing season. My brother in law works for a landscape supply company and hooked me up with some organic fertilizer. Its basically chicken poop and to try and make it not smell so bad then added some sort of orange scent....so basically it smells like oranges and chicken poop!

Anyone out there plant their gardens yet? Any organic tips, advice, etc? Would love to see some comments!

Over use of "Going Green"

So here is what annoys me.....corporations (mainly banks) who say "Go green and stop receiving paper statements!" They aren't really doing it for the environment.....they are doing it for their bottom line. Sure, it is a good idea to stop receiving paper statements, especially since most of us probably don't even look at them....but geez....must you use the environment as an excuse?!

Organic Baby Items

I've learned about many organic baby items through the help of the Celebrity Baby Blog

I wrote about the blog in my posting about the organic cloth diapers I saw. I also learned about The Little Seed, an organic/natural baby store in Los Angeles. I would LOVE to open something like that here in Seattle, but alas, lack the funding to do so!

If you have a baby or small kid, definitely check out the Celebrity Baby Blog to get ideas for organic and natural gear for kids (plus you can satisfy your need for some celebrity gossip at the same time!).

Spring and Gardening

So I bought my seeds for my garden and I have my organic fertilizer stinking up the garage and now I just need to weather to cooperate so I can get out and plant my garden. This is my second year with an organic garden (or a garden in general for that matter) and while I would say that last year was an overall success, I want this year to be even better! Anyone have any good organic tips (how to keep slugs and bugs away for example!) that they would like to share?

Nothing is better than knowing exactly where your veggies came from....thats why I started a garden! Now I just wish my husband would give in on me wanting a chicken in the backyard for fresh eggs!

Earth Hour 2008

So tell me how you spent Earth Hour 2008? Did you just turn off lights you weren't using and unplug the toaster or did you turn off all the lights, the tv, unplug all your appliance and sit in candlelight playing board games? I want to hear about different peoples experiences and what Earth Hour meant to them.

Did you think the whole idea was stupid and boycott completely? Is this the first you've heard of it? Did you fully embrace it and are already looking forward to next year?

Let's hear from all of you!!!

Flowers

Here is an environmental thought for the day:

Why do we always insist on giving cut flowers instead of potted plants for gifts? I would much prefer to get a potted plant then a bouquet of cut flowers. The potted plant will last much longer (assuming you remember to water it!) and can brings weeks, months, or years of joy to someone, rather than 5 or 6 days worth. Think of Valentines Day and how many roses are cut to be sold and never end up in anyones house. Was that worth it? I don't think so. Those are just my thoughts on flowers! Let me know if you don't agree!!!

Cute Tooshies

I read about Cute Tooshies bamboo diapers on the Celebrity Baby Blog and they sound great! If you're looking for eco-friendly cloth diapers....check them out here. They are an Australian company and look to have some great products.

Here is the Celebrity Baby Blog link where they are having a contest to win some of the diapers!

ADHD

There is a lot of conflicting news about whether or not pesticides and preservatives have an effect on ADD and ADHD. Some say that an organic diet helps lessen ADD and ADHD and some say that the pesticides and preservatives have nothing to do with it. Anyone have a good article or know of any good research on this topic? One of my reasons (but definitely not the only one) for going organic with my son is a family history of ADHD. I'd love to hear from different sides on this subject! Leave me some comments and let me know your opinions!

St. Patricks Day and Exercise?

Here is an article I came across about making your exercise "green" in honor of St. Patricks Day. I'm not sure what exactly the two have to do with each other other than the whole "green" thing...but whatever!

Check it out!

Maybe for St. Patricks Day you should dye some organic beer green with some organic food coloring! (do they make organic food coloring?!)

Some good books...

Here are a couple of books that I think look really interesting and have gotten some great reviews.

To Buy or Not to Buy Organic: What You Need to Know to Choose the Healthiest, Safest, Most Earth-Friendly Food

Organic Body Care Recipes

Anyone have their own reviews they can provide about these books? Let's hear them!

More about organic beer

I've stumbled across yet another article about organic beer. Organics truly are starting to pop up everywhere in life. I suppose if you want to be truly healthy then you would avoid beer all together...but frankly, everyone needs to be "bad" once in a while! At least while you're drinking our beer you're not drinking pesticides!

Organic.org

Here are a couple of interesting articles from Organic.org

Top ten reasons to support organic living:

http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-206

An article about organic cotton and why it is a good idea to buy and wear organics:

http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-224

Thinking outside the box

I love how growing organically has forced people to think in new ways. They need to come up with new solutions to old problems. The following is an article about an organic apple grower from MSNBC that I think used nature perfectly as a solution to his problems!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23479970/

Also, here is a link to his farm website:

http://www.almarorchards.com/

People's reactions

People's reactions to organic food and organic living is really very extreme. You seem to either have people who think its great to eat organically (whether they actually do or not) and are supportive of you doing so and then you have the people who thinks its stupid and a waste of money. Not many people seem to fall in the middle. When telling someone that I try to eat and feed my family only organic produce they actually say to me that I am completely wasting my money and none of the stuff I am buying is actually grown organically and the producers are just lying. Sure, there are going to be scammers in any industry, but I would like to think that a vast majority of people selling organic foods and doing so in a responsible manner. Proof that not everyone is honest is the new lawsuit against the suppliers of organic milk to Safeway and Costco. I, however, am going to continue living as if most people out there are honest! Anyone else have extreme reactions about organic food and living? Let me here from you!

Intersting Videos

Just some interesting stuff to watch.

Make your own organic baby food

I made a lot of my son's baby food myself. It is quite simple really. I bought the organic fruit or veggies (if you can't find the right stuff in season, use frozen...it works just as well). All you need is a steamer, some ice cube trays, and something to blend with. I used my Magic Bullet...it worked really well! I just cut whatever I was making into small pieces (less than an inch big) and then put it in the steamer until it was really soft. Obviously not all foods need to be steamed (berries for example). Then you blend it up and make sure their are no chunks left. If you need more liquid to make it blend then add the water from the steamer. This will give you back any lost vitamins. Next just pour the mix into the ice cube trays and freeze. Once they are frozen I took them out of the trays and put them in freezer bags to store them. These little cubes of food stay good in the freezer for about a month. I found that 3 cubes was about the same as a jar of food. Try mixing 2 or 3 different kinds together for variety. My son's favorite was apples and blueberries. I found it to be fun making his food, plus I knew exactly what he was eating!

Grocery Outlet

Have a Grocery Outlet by your house? Check out their organic food selection. I often times find organic granola bars and cereal as well as tomato sauce and soups.

Produce Sticker

What to know what the little sticker on your produce means?

A four digit code means its conventionally grown with pesticides. (3456)

A five digit code starting with a "9" means it is organically grown. (93456)

A five digit code starting with an "8" means it is genetically engineered. (83456)

Look before you buy!

Book Suggestion

I'm currently reading The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. It was suggested to me by several different people when I talked to them about organic eating. It isn't a book about organic eating or living, but rather the evolution of different plants, the apple, the tulip, cannibus, and the potato. It is a very interesting book so far. The reason it was brought up when talking about organic eating is that I've been told that after reading the section on potatoes that I will never want to eat a non-organic potato again. I will keep you posted as to whether or not this is true....although I'm sure it probably is! Anyway, I'm really enjoying the book and learning a lot, so check it out!

Natural Cleaners

Do you ever get tired of having to reach for chemicals to clean your countertops or to clean spills on the carpets? Often times the "natural" cleaning products in the store are either incredibly expensive or not as natural as they'd like you to think once you read the ingredients. Well I came across an article online about how to make your own natural cleaners. I've heard before that a lot of "make it yourself" cleaners work just as well if not better than the chemicals. Maybe try it for yourself!

http://lifestyle.msn.com/green/articlebhg.aspx?cp-documentid=247980

Have you tried any of these? Give me a review!

Beer!!!

Like beer and want to stay organic? Is you live in the Northwest this is the event for you! An organic beer festival in Portland, OR on June 27-29, 2008.

http://www.naobf.org/

Looks like fun and it's for a good cause!

Baby Bottles

I read about the following after my son was already done drinking out of bottles....but you can bet I will not be using the same bottles with my next baby...

http://www.chej.org/BPA_Website.htm

Oregon Tilth

Every been shopping for Organic foods and wondered what it meant to be certified organic by Oregon Tilth. Well, check out their website and find out for yourself!

http://www.tilth.org/

Top 5 List

Here are my top five ways to go organic on a budget:

1. Shop the ads.
I usually buy the produce that is on sale for the week at the store. If I have time and extra gas sometimes I will go to a second store to see if different produce is on sale there.

2. Shop Costco.
Every time I go to Costco there are more organic items there. My families favorites are the Kirkland brand oatmeal, the Amy's Soups, and the Organic Tree Top applesauce.

3. Use Coupons.
When my son started eating solid foods my favorite baby food to buy him was the Earths Best baby food. Often times shopping sales and using coupons I was able to get it for cheaper than the non-organic jars. Try www.earthsbest.com for coupons.

4. Buy Store Brand.
The new trend among the large chain grocery stores is to carry a store brand organic line. I do most of my shopping at Safeway and they have a large selection of store brand organic items.

5. Grow your own food.
Last year was my first year with my organic garden and I loved it. I definately plan on doing it again. Grow all the vegetables you like and you'll be eating fresh organic produce all summer long!

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog about organic living. In the past year, mostly because of the birth of my son, I have become very interested in learning how I can live life more naturally and organically. It is very important to me that I give my son the best start I can in life and that includes feeding him as many organic foods as possible, using organic and natural products in our day to day life, and recycling. I'm quite new to this and am learning as I go. I plan to post on here about new things I learn. I know that if I had endless amounts of money that my life would be 100% organic, but unfortunately, like most people, our family is on a budget. I work hard to find affordable organic foods and products and do the little things like keep an organic garden in the backyard and bring reusable bags to the grocery store. I hope that if you are reading my blog you find out some new and useful information about how to change your life!