In life, as in a garden, you reap what you sow.
~Nancilee Wydra- Feng Shui in the Garden

Nothing makes me feel better than being outside on a warm, sunny day working in my garden. I relax and have time to think. The stress melts away as I pull weeds and dig my hands into the soil. I feel a great sense of accomplishment when the flowers bloom and the fruits and vegetables bear fruit.

When harvest time comes I enjoy sharing my bounty with friends and family.

Gardening is a wonderful way to relax, enjoy nature, live green and save money. Growing your own fruit or vegetables can dramatically slash your grocery bill.

Just a few plants can keep you stocked for months. (continue reading…)

©iStockphoto.com - Patryk Galka

The biggest thing right now is being green, everybody’s doing it from celebrities to your neighbor on the corner. You may be wondering though, what can you really do to live a greener life that doesn’t cost a fortune or have you munching on granola.

Trying to wade through all the green information floating around out there can be difficult. Everyone’s popping up with green tag lines and green products, but is throwing out all your old stuff and buying new eco-friendly products going to solve anything? No, it just leads more stuff in the landfill which defeats the purpose of going green.

Here are simple ways you can go green without going broke or changing your lifestyle very much. These simple things can even save you money. (continue reading…)

©iStockphoto.com - BeckyRockwood

The snow is falling in much of the country and its cold outside. People have been stranded for hours in their vehicles because of winter storms. If you haven’t got an emergency kit in your car already it’s time to put one together. You can buy one that is already assembled or you can make your own and ensure that you have included some
Eco-friendly products too. Here is what experts suggest including in kits for winter emergencies.

First you will need a bag to pack all of your winter emergency goodies. Then go shopping, get packing and you’ll be more confident in case of a road side emergency in this cold winter weather until you are home safely.

Items for you and your family:

You should include blankets, gloves, hats, scarves, socks, and clothes for all members of your family who will be riding in the car and even some extra sweaters, sweat pants and warm gear. You can also think about things at home you may have that would be great to include: a space blanket for runners will do more than just keep them warm after a race it would be a great addition to the kit. You can even include items like hand warmers, and feet warmers. You will want to pack a bag with high calorie non perishable foods and bottles of water. Foods like energy bars, crackers with peanut butter, anything that will keep you going if you get stranded and keep your energy up. You can find some healthy organic options available, so stock up when they are on sale in your store or in the clearance section. You might even want to think about including items to keep the family busy while you wait for help like games, books or art supplies. (continue reading…)

ⓒ iStockPhoto - cstar55

With the economy in such a mess your gift budget may be tight this year. Perhaps it’s time to dig out those gifts you’ve received in the past but never took out of the box.

It happens to all of us at some point. We end up receiving a less than desirable gift.

Maybe it’s the second or third crock-pot you received as a wedding gift or the fourth toaster for your house warming. Maybe it’s another holiday coffee mug that found its way to your stocking, but most of us all have a few things tucked away in cupboards or closets that we have never used. Things still in the brand new unopened box. Just because you don’t want them doesn’t mean the items couldn’t make someone else very happy. (continue reading…)

Dear GreenDivaMom Readers,

Moms are sending a clear message to Congress: Do what’s right for American families and protect families from toxic chemicals by updating the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)!

Can you chip in $5 today to help MomsRising amplify our voices so that we better protect our kids from toxic chemicals?

Time is tight. With the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act, an important update to the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA), being considered by Congress, now’s the time to urge Congress to protect their littlest constituents from toxic chemicals, like hormone disrupters, neurotoxins and carcinogens! We need Congress to know that the Safe Chemicals Act (H 5820/ S 3209) should be a top priority once Congress comes back from elections. (continue reading…)

Photo of wolf by Janet Harriett

Good sense would dictate one ought to stay in the vehicle when a wild predator is around, but when I saw a wolf emerge from the shrubbery in the park’s Native Northwest Plant garden during an outing with my sister and her two children, my author’s instinct to jump on unique life experiences overrode whatever fear I should have absorbed from fairy tales. Just looking at the animal, it was clearly a wolf, not a wolf-dog, though it was wearing a dog collar.

I did wait to get out of the car until I’d figured out that, first, the wolf was in the company of a keeper and, second, I couldn’t get a decent picture from inside the car. The garden was fenced, but not with anything that would have deterred a determined predatory carnivore. Fortunately, this wolf was far more interested in playing fetch. (continue reading…)

ⓒ iStockPhoto - kristijahn

Egg recalls have made people more concerned when purchasing eggs. From the packaging, you would never guess hens are mistreated with pictures of peaceful roaming chickens. Egg companies print wording like: cage free, certified humane, certified organic, fertile, free range, free roaming, natural, omega-3 enriched, united egg producers certified, vegetarian-fed and more.

What do all these labels mean? Some of the labeling isn’t verified through a third party. According to Mercy for Animals, 90% of egg laying hens spend life on factory farms in tiny wire cages where they can’t perch, walk, spread their wings or do any of the natural behaviors for their entire lives.

The life of a factory hen is a disturbing one. First the females and males are separated and then the males are disposed of: thrown away, gassed, or ground up and processed into chicken feed, and then fed to the hens. (continue reading…)