Do you ever think about what is in your deodorant? I did, and thinking about it changed my life. A little over four years ago I began a journey to find a deodorant that did not have aluminum as an ingredient. Finding one without aluminum was not too difficult but finding one without aluminum that worked was. Should be simple right? No! Why the journey? Cancer had stricken my sister at 46 years old and claimed her life at 50 years old. Cancer had stricken my mother at 46 years old and claimed her life the very same year. When my sister passed I was in my early forties with 4 children.  It was …

I think it is hard for my teenage daughter to have a Mom who is so aware of chemicals and toxins in products. I do my best not to choke when she puts on the body sprays from the smelly stores at the mall. I try not to get insulted when she chooses a make-up that is not organic.  When she says no to my green smoothie while her friends beg for them when they come over, I try to let it go. She has taught me to allow the process of being green to happen, not to force it.  In middle school she was influenced by my likes and dislikes and only used organic products. Her skin was just beautiful. As …

I am a huge popcorn lover. I have passed the love of popcorn down to my children. One day I walked into the kitchen to find my son licking the inside of the microwave popcorn bag. At first I told him how disgusting that was, and then I thought of all of the chemicals in the store bought microwave popcorn products. It was time for this son of a popcorn lover to kick his bag licking habit forever! To “green” your popcorn and save a boat load of money, do as follows: Purchase paper lunch bags at your grocery store. In the snack isle you will find bags of loose popcorn. It is very inexpensive. …

A farm share is a great way to get fresh local veggies put aside for you to pick up weekly. We are so lucky to live in an area in which we have a choice of farms to pick from. As promised, this week I will focus on Farmer Dave’s offerings. For two years I was signed up to get my vegetable and fruit share from Farmer Dave. Farmer Dave was raised in Dracut and grew up working on the Brox Farm in Dracut. He has been leasing the Brox Farm, growing a wider and wider array of fruits, vegetables and flowers. In 2003, he began leasing the East Street Farm in Tewksbury and, in 2006, he finally …

Believe it or not, it is time to sign up for your local farm share. For the past three years or maybe more, I have purchased a farm share. A farm share is when you pay a localfarmer in May to receive veggies each week from mid-June to mid-October. Here’s how it works. A local farmer sends out advertisements that he is selling farm shares right about now. He gets a certain number of people usually to purchase the farmshares. When he reaches his magic number, you are shut out for the year. Once you are signed up, you are notified of what date you will begin to receive your vegetables. Once a …

All of these snow days have me running out of ideas to keep the kids entertained at home. It has made think back to the days when the kids were smaller and we made playdough and played with it for hours.   Just the act of making it together meant so much to the kids and also engaged them away from modern technology. My favorite play dough recipe is as follows: Playdough Recipe Ingredients: 1 cup flour 1/2 cup salt 1 cup water 1 tablespoon oil 2 teaspoons cream of tartar Food coloring by drops Directions: 1. Combine all ingredients in a pan and stir. Cook over low heat, stirring until a ball …

Greening the inside of your body is easier than you think and can be very delicious!  For a few years now I have been a green smoothie convert. I wanted to have more greens in my diet but was unsure what to do. I came upon a green smoothie site on the internet and have been making them ever since. My favorite recipe is as follows: In the blender place One tablespoon flax seed. One tablespoon Hemp Protein (vanilla flavored from Trader Joe’s). One teaspoon probiotic.  These ingredients are great for your body.  The flax seed and hemp protein are valuable oils and the probiotic is important for …

I must admit, I am a bit of a fanatic about recycling. When it comes to Christmas morning clean-up, I start to go crazy about getting every little piece of gift wrap or plastic into a recycling bin. I am never successful in doing this. Eventually I realize that one day a year I can let go and do what I can do. Maybe someday I will put a recycling bin by each persons gift pile and tell them to put it all in after they open the present; great idea, but would never happen! I definitely save the tissue paper from gifts for wrapping your ornaments when you are ready to put them away. This tip was …

We spend so much money at the holidays. One way we can cut down on the expense is bringing the outdoors inside for decoration. It is a great time to hike Weir Hill and load your car up with pinecones and greens. One of my favorite decorations is pinecones and twine garland. This is also a wonderful decoration to make with your children.  Simple enough all you need is twine and pinecones. Tie one pinecone by wrapping the twine around it 4 inches or so from the end of a piece of twine and then space out 4 or so inches and tie another pinecone to the twine and continue for as long as you want …

One of the best things I have done is to change over my laundry room. It has saved a lot of money and has actually helped relieve my daughter's migraines. I used to use common household laundry detergents with scents, and then I switched to Sun and Earth Laundry detergent. Not only is it less expensive than what I was using, it cleans my family's clothes better than any other laundry soap I have used. One unusual thing I noticed with this switch was when you leave your clothes in the wash for a few hours or sometimes you forget and leave it overnight (I know I am not the only one who has done…

As a mother of four children, it seems like everything I do is on a budget. Sometimes this can be very frustrating but I have found that being green has actually saved me a lot of money. Just small changes can affect your family's budget and health and the earth's future. For one, I never walk down the cleaning aisle in the supermarket anymore.  I predominantly clean my house with vinegar and water.  I purchase a large vinegar bottle from the store which cost under $2 and mix it with some water placed in a spray bottle.  Each bathroom has its own spray bottle.  This tip has saved me a lot of …