Our latest edition of annotated eco news.
circling school of fish photo via shutterstock.com
It is now officially beach season – the perfect opportunity to personalize your summer beach rental – or your weekend getaway – with a vintage-looking original sign created by an artist on reclaimed wood. We always support creating home furnishings and new pieces from eco-friendly salvaged wood and materials – saving trees and keeping valuable raw materials out of the local landfill.
These weathered-looking signs come complete with a ‘beachy’ vibe and look like they’re as old as the sea – in reality they have been custom-created from reclaimed lumber to add that touch of character and authenticity every beach shack, or waterfront palace, needs. The distressed character of the graphics blends beautifully with the inherent beat-up quality of the reclaimed wood – the perfect canvas for this kind of thing.
Designer and artist, Christina, of Mango Seed also makes wedding signs, prints and a variety of home decor items in her distinctive vintage distressed style – all on beautifully distressed reclaimed wood.
Each item is handmade in North Carolina and designed to reflect the rustic artistry, old-world craftsmanship and relationship to the environment that went into their creation. The custom signs retail for $35 and up @ Mango Seed.
Building a eco-conscious lifestyle begins at home. While we might invest in organic and whole foods, furniture built from recycled material, and citywide recycling programs, it is important to evaluate the way we operate our homes and our impact on the environment.
By making smarter choices in our household operations we contribute to a greener world. As an added benefit with often increase our personal health and de-clutter our lives. While eco-friendly choices are not always the easiest to make, they are always the right choices to make.
Decrease Meat Consumption
You can eat eco-friendly by decreasing meat consumption. If you already live a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, great! If not, consider going meatless a few days a week or as Mark Bittman suggests: be vegan until 6pm. While animal muscle meats provide necessary proteins and vitamins, animal farming practices often cause major damage to the earth. Pollution from cross country shipping and carbon dioxide produced by farm animals like cows themselves takes its toll on the environment.
By reducing animal consumption, you make not only a healthy choice for the earth but a healthy choice for yourself. Meat in itself contains many healthful benefits, but also contains saturated fats and cholesterol that may impair heart health. Generally the American diet lacks unprocessed vegetables, replacing some of the meat in your diet with green things fills your plate with vital nutrients and fibers.
Clean Up Your Banking
Instead of merely recycling paper statements, request that banks and credit card companies make your accounts paperless. Do all of your banking online. If a card company continues to send you offers through the mail, contact their customer service department to lodge a complaint. While you won’t be released from the mailing list, lodging enough complaints will let the company know that their customers favor eco-friendly practices and they will adapt that methods accordingly.
If you compare credit cards when looking for a new credit card company, consider signing up for a card that participates in an offsets program. The Brighter Planet Visa credit card through Bank of America offers offset purchase as an incentive versus traditional airline miles or cash back rewards. The Sierra Club Visa donates a percentage of purchases to the conservation efforts of the club.
Making smart choices about your finances and the way you receive financial reports helps declutter your home from needless paper waste.
Use Natural Cleansers
The use of everyday household cleaners exposes groundwaters to toxic chemicals. Instead eliminate all noxious chemicals from your home and opt to use less harsh natural solutions for cleaning like white vinegar, baking soda, and salt to clean your home.
A combination of vinegar and baking soda makes and excellent grout cleaner that protects your home and lungs from harsh chemicals.
Consider also using the same combination to clean your body and hair. A solution of baking soda and vinegar cleans hair without stripping the scalp like other shampoos. This stripping process often causes the scalp to overcompensate and produce more natural oils. The baking soda/vinegar solution cleans hair while maintaining the integrity of the scalp.
Living an eco-friendly lifestyle means evaluating your day to day and taking actionable change to reduce your imprint on the environment. Eliminating chemicals, excess paper waste and reducing meat consumption all help lighten your tread. Continuously seek new ways to improve your at home behaviors. Making eco-friendly choices not only helps keep the earth healthy, those choices also keep you and your family healthy.
Our latest roundup of annotated eco news.
Cape Cod beach photo via Shutterstock.com
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