Our Trash is Killing Us

Small Steps Make A Big Change

7 Ways to make a positive environmental impact

                              Our culture has become a disposable one. When something’s broken, we get a new one. Our food is shipped from across the country wrapped in plastic that’s disposable. The thing about this disposable plastic is that it’s meant to last forever. This plastic is harming our world more than we could fathom. It’s polluting our water ways, killing our fish, leaching chemicals into our soil, and killing birds. Humans have created 900 million tons of plastic waste. This isn’t decomposing. This is a one of the big problems facing our generation. So, what can we do? A lot of things. I have compiled a list of videos that I love, infographics that can help explain what we’re doing to this planet, and my own observations. I hope that it can help someone make a change in their daily lifestyle. 

Plastic Bags are Hurting More The Environment

Flip Flops are Polluting Our Ocean
Plastic free products can be hard to find or expensive, but lots of companies are taking the initiative to package items with less harmful plastics. These are a few of my favorites though.

I live in a small town in Missouri. We have three grocery stores; one ma & pop legacy store, one discount store, and Walmart. This doesn’t leave me with a whole lot of options when it comes to natural or recyclable materials. I was still able to find two options when it comes to garbage bags. Walmart has a line of bags made of recyclable plastic and my discount store sells these wonderful Full Circle brand that decomposes faster than most. 

Good "Plastic" Bags

Reusable products           

                              I am guilty of drinking a fountain soda from a gas station every day. The amount of plastic straws and Styrofoam cups that I have contributed to this planet’s problems, sickens me. This is a solvable problem though. Reusable cups! The Queen of England has realized that this a serious problem and has banned all plastic straws and Styrofoam cups from palace grounds.

                              Reusable shopping bags are a very easy way to assist in limiting the amount of plastic produced. I’ve been regularly using mine for years. I was still irked though by the fact that I had to use plastic bags for my produce. When I stumbled upon these at Target, I was so happy. I have gotten so many compliments on them too. It gets people to think about how they can make an impact as well.

I’m not perfect. Sometimes I forget my trustee totes at home and have to use plastic bags. If you’re trying to make a positive impact, don’t beat yourself up when you have to do this as well. Having some plastic bags around the house is a good thing sometimes. Reusing them gives them another life and keeps them out of the landfill for a little while. I use mine for poop patrol of my two large dogs.

Ok, so you can’t recycle or reuse every single plastic thing in your home. So what can you do to lessen your trash impact on our Earth? I use mine to fill the bottoms of my planters. Styrofoam cups, plastic fruit containers, etc. You can get creative with your uses too. Below are just a few that I found on Pinterest.

Humans Have Made 9 Billion Tons of Plastic

Another huge way our trash is hurting the planet is food waste. Food waste is another huge issue hurting our environment. 1.3 Billion tons of food waste go into landfills each year. The average American wastes 254 pounds of edible food every year. In 2010, Americans threw away enough food to fill the Empire State Building 91 times. That’s 33.79 million tons of food. 40% of landfills are taken up by food that could be decaying in a compost bin. 25% of all water consumed every year, goes to producing food that ends up in the landfill.  

 



Recycling Food Waste at Home

Put Food Waste to Work For You

I didn’t even know what a big problem it was when I first started researching compost. I was living with my parents and sister. So, four adults and one child. We were creating so much food waste that it was making me sick. I researched what you could compost, how it worked, what kind of bin you needed. I had my heart set on a pretty little DIY number. After I realized though, that I’m kind of shit when it comes to building things, I decided to go another route and look at bins you could buy. As a single mother, living at her parent’s house, I thought my parents would think I was crazy. I kept all my research to myself and held onto it for the right moment. About a year later, my mom mentioned in passing that she wished we had a compost bin because of all of our food waste. I sprang into action! “We can mom! And there’s a really good bin at Menards for $50.00. If you’re ok with it, I’ll go get it now.” I was in the car before she said yes. I brought it home, put it together, put a year’s worth of food in there, and let it sit. It has been full for almost a year, so we are expecting to get our first batch of compost this summer. About a year ago, I moved from Chicagoland to Missouri. When I got settled in, I bought the same bin. It is easy to set up, use, and everything. What I do, is keep a paper grocery bag in my fridge and throw in any fruit or veggie scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, yard scraps, etc. When it’s full, I take it out to my bin and throw it in. This bin says it doesn’t need to be mixed due to the air holes all around it. Since I use the bags though, I have a “garden knife” that I stab the bags with every month or so. It’s a really good anger release method. I just stab like crazy to let the air in.
My Favorite Compost bin               

                            

Climate Change and Human Health

The connection between the changing climate and negative health impacts is undeniable. Everyone on the planet will be affected either directly or indirectly. The visuals below will explain what to expect in regards to your health and changes in the climate. However, there are steps we can take in our daily lives that will not only positively affect our health, but result in a positive affect on the environment.

Gardening for your health and the planet

Gardening is one of the biggest ways to impact your health and the environment in a positive way.

Gardening can be a huge boost for both of these things. Planting a vegetable garden, using native landscaping, or simply planting a few trees can have a huge impact. Gardening can address the three problems listed in the infographic above.

Food -

Growing your own food will provide your family with healthy options, as well as cut down on the cost of groceries. Even non-edible plants are beneficial because they are utilized by pollinators to help other plants grow.

Air -

Trees and plants contribute to helping reduce pollution, purifying the air we breath, preventing some natural disasters, and contributing to soil health. Gardening also helps reduce waste, which helps reduce greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere. 

Water - 

Different native plant groupings can be arranged to deal with runoff or water areas that are flood-prone. Using rain barrels in your garden is another great way to help the planet and save you money. I have two rain barrels. I don't have them hooked up to downspouts, but they collect rain water and are attached to drip hoses to water the garden. 

Honoring Earth Day

Terrestrial Podcast

Listening to the podcast Terrestrial is the first time I heard the term ecoanxiety. What I was hearing was like a revelation though. For months and months, I have had this feeling about the world in general that I couldn’t put my finger on. Like when I’d be at a BBQ and see the host not even making an attempt to recycle beer cans and bottles. I’d see something like that and it would bother me because it felt like all my small actions to reduce my environmental footprint would constantly be cancelled out. It also made me more vigilant too. It made me realize I was not insane for feeling this hard to describe feeling. Every summer I go to a music festival with my sister and our friends. It is five days of beer, camping, and good friends. In years past, I had seen a disturbing amount of recyclable material being thrown in the trash. This past year, when describing where our campsite was, all we had to say was, “it’s the one with big blue recycle bin on the road/path.” I put it in the perfect spot. Not only did my campsites use it, but so did our neighbors and people walking by who finished a beer. It was an awesome feeling to know that I had saved a full bin of cans from the trash every day. I also exchanged my cans for $$$$ and put the $5 I usually get in my son’s piggy bank. That month, I was able to take us out to dinner with the amount of cans that I turned in. Another bonus!

Anyways, I do not want to scare any of you. I just wanted to let people know that if they are feeling similar feelings, they are not alone. In honor of Earth Day this month, I thought this would be a good time to explore some of the things I’m most scared of, the steps we can take to protect the Earth, and how the Earth’s health impacts us. So, what scares me? Well, besides everything, the biggest thing is that people don’t realize how much of an impact humans are having on the environment and they don’t realize the small changes we could make in our every day lives to help. That’s what I’m hoping to change with these blog post. I’m hoping that at least one person will be inspired to make one little change to their lives to do something that has a positive impact on the Earth we live in.

Week 2: Healthy Earth = Healthy Humans

Week 3: Small Steps to Big Change

Week 4: Resources

Natural Balance

Social media is a rough place. The internet plays games with our minds. We see the tiniest aspects of peoples lives and feel that we should compare ourselves to them. We read blog posts and articles about how we should best be living our lives. Then we feel like failures when we can't measure up. I decided, in the spirit of transparency, I thought I would air out all the ways that I am a walking hypocrite.

Diet: I eat a diet full of fruits, veggies, and whole grains. I also have drink a Pepsi a day. I don't like coffee, but my caffeine addiction is real.

Parenting: I make sure my son gets 30 hours a day outside, rain or shine, BUT he also has his own tablet and spends an equal amount of time a day on that.

Skincare: I make most of my lotions, and if I don't, I buy ones with good ingredients from companies that I trust. This applies to the sunscreen I buy to apply to my son and I's face. BUT, the sunscreen that gets applied to the rest of our body, is the highest spf "sport" version I can find. I go through much sunblock, and we sweat so much, during the summer in Missouri, that I would go broke if I purchased sunblock with all the natural ingredients and no toxins. Plus, we get sun-burned very easily, so I like to be protected.

Household: I use mostly natural cleaning products in the home and I love how well they work. that being said, once every two months, my floors get a good mopping with bleach. I have two large dogs, a messy five year old, there is always dirt on my floor, and bleach gives me the assurance that any outside germs are dead. Lord know what gets dragged in on our shoes and boots after a hike or afternoon at the dog park.

Healthcare: I use natural remedies at home to deal with common colds and ailments. I believe that our diet is directly connected to our health and we can treat many ailments through nutrition. I believe that a good balance between natural practices at home, and the healthcare system is necessary. I could write a whole separate post about this, and maybe I will, but not today. I see a therapist, which I firmly believe everyone should be forced to do just to talk for an hour a week. I also treat my ADHD with medication. I have read articles about other ways to treat it, but medicine is the only thing that works and makes me function like a normal person.

I could probably add a million more things to this list.

My house is a mess.

I have two baskets of folded laundry that haven't been put away since they were cleaned two days ago.

Sometimes I forget my grocery totes and have to use plastic bags.

My kid and I eat at McDonald's once a month.

According to my mom, it looks like my house hasn't been dusted in ages. Turns out, it hasn't. I am five foot two. If it's over my head, I don't see it. Top of my six foot china cabinet? Nope. The top shelf in the cabinets that I literally have nothing on them cause I can't reach them? Never.

When I was putting up curtains in my living window, I put them up wrong. I was doing it by myself and the window is nine feet long. The curtain panels were two different colors and were supposed to alternate. I laid them out [ white - tan - white - tan - white ] How did they go up? [ white - white - tan - white - tan - white ] Have I switched them? No. Even with my step stool, I can barely reach them and it hurts.

None of us are perfect. Our houses are rarely spotless. Our nutrition is perfect 100% of the time. Sometime we use technology to keep our kids busy. Stop beating yourself up if you're not perfect either. None of us are. This is called balance. Balance is natural and necessary to keep us all sane.

14 Hikes in 14 Days

14 hikes in 14 days

I'm a lucky girl, and get a spring break at my work. Unfortunately, it's never the same as my sons school, so it's more like a productive staycation.

The Sunday my spring break started was daylight savings. I'm probably the only person who rejoices this day because it means it gets dark later. So much more time for activities! That day, the whole gang (me, son, 2 dogs) was on a hike and it was so beautiful that i would challenge myself to walk EVERY SINGLE DAY that week.

The day i went back to work was beautiful and I didn't want it to end, so I brought my gear to work and relished the fact that aftef work, I could quickly get the dogs, the kid, and head out for the trail.

Since J was in school, it was just the dogs and I for the first week. I'm not going to lie, we repeated a lot of trails, but I think thay was a good thing. So much changed in just two weeks. The color and birds started coming back to the forest. It was like we were watching the forest come back to life.

There was one day where it poured the whole day, but I worked on my greenhouses & seedlings before I went and bought myself rain suit and ventured out anyways

 My soul feels so refreshed, my body feels good, my son and I bonded, the dogs got exercise, and I saved money because the dogs didn't go to daycare on their normal day. I encourage everyone to challenge themselves. 1 hour outside is 4% of your day, but it makes your day at least 75% more enjoyable.

Herbal Skin Care

Today I'm going to be sharing with you two of my absolute favorite herbal concoctions. I ALWAYS have a tub of each in my medicine cabinet, my purse, my car, and my hiking gear. What makes both so great is that they have so many uses!

Beauty balm

This is an absolute must to have on hand, especially during winter. This balm is made with coconut oil, shea butter, and beeswax  and is a perfect for dry skin. The soothing, herbal oils absorbs quickly along with all the nourishing properties of the herbs. There are so many uses for this; lotion, dry skin, cold sores, cuticles, irritated skin, lip balm & more. The coconut oil in this one makes it a little more prone to melting, so during summer months, I remove the one in my car.

Healing Balm

• This is my other go to. It is in my bag year round. Bug bites, cuts, scrapes, it helps it all. How? A list off all the herbs used is below.

• Lavendar - antibacterial, antimicrobial antifungal, anti swelling, skin regeneration 
• Basil - anti inflammatory, antibacterial, pain relieving 
• Chamomile - anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiseptic, good for irritated skin
• Dandelion - pain relieving, healing for painful chapped skin
• Lemon balm- antiviral
• Rosemary - increases circulation for healing 
• Thyme - potent disinfectant 
• Mint - cooling, anti-itch
• Rose - astringent, soothing, anti-inflammatory 
• Calendula - antibacterial anti-inflammatory, helps skin regenerate

To purchase either of these, please visit my etsy shop  J J L B Natural Products etsy

We All Start Somewhere: my gardening successes

So i frequently get asked for garden tips from self described, "beginner gardners". I feel weird giving tips to them cause I still feel like a beginner too. So, I figured I'd try to organize thoughts. What follows is what I've succeeded with, failed with, and practices in my gardens. If you want any more info on a certain topic, drop a comment or check out my pinterest. Pinterest

The Beginning

is 

I started gardening because my therapist told me to. I was a new mom, school full time, and work full time. When she  asked me what I did for fun, I said, "school, work, homework, mommying." She told me to pick a hobby. Gardening was first on her list, so I chose that. The fact that it was November in missouri when she told me to start this hobby, shows that I had no idea what I was doing. I learned very important things though. For example, how important drainage is and that peppers love me.

A real garden

When I first moved back to Chicago, my dad wouldn't give up any space in his bed, so my garden was relegated to the side of the garage. That first year is when I learned how awesome cinder blocks are as planters. The next year, dad gave me his bed as well. I still kept up my cinder blocks though.

Still growing, still learning 

 This is what my yard looks like now. I'll do a blog later, after i clean up my beds, to show y'all what it really looks like.

So...here we go.....any of these topics i could do a whole seperate post on. If you wamt to know more, leave me a comment.

Garden beds
 I don't know what kind of space you have, or how handy you are, but I stick to the least amount of effort and money with these. I'm a big fan of cinder blocks and baby pools to make my beds. I started with cinder blocks cause i had to, but when i moved here, i made a rectangular one. I planted herbs in the bricks and strawberry, tomatoes, and zuchinni in the middle. I did have trouble with pests though, so i think this year ill do pest repelling plants. In my pool, i did peppers. I cut holes in the bottom dor drainage, put rocks in the bottom, then planted. It was so much cheaper than anything else  Im adding another one this year. Im also turning old tires into planters for along my driveway. I have about 12 planters all over the rest of my yard with fruit and herbs.

Companion planting
Companion planting in my beds is key. I always try to arrange plants that are beneficial to each other, next to each other.

 

Native plants
I use plants that are native to my area in any way I can. I joke that I can only grow plants with a purpose, just pretty flower beds cant survive me. This is just how it's been. Until i learned how awesome native plants are.

They're meant to grow in your area, so they're maintenance free and attract all sorts of good things to your garden. Check out this link. Native plants rock!

Soil

As i mentioned before, i have an addiction to buying gardening stuff, as well as good deals. To get my "fix" during the winter, i buy soil. For context, in rural Missouri, its kind of a "food desert". If you've never heard that term, look it up. We're not as hard up as inner city residents who rely on the corner store, but we are limited to walmart. I hate it, but it works out well for my soil plans. I found a brand I love at walmart, Ecoscraps. I've seen bags of their stuff go for $8-11. They don't remove bags at the end of the season though. From October - February, I bought a bag a week and stored them up in my garage. I paid  $4/bag in October and $2.25 on January 31st. Its so much easier carrying a bag a week then all at once. 

In my garden beds, i use a mixture of Ecoscraps garden & top soil. In my containers, I use a mixture of the two above, as well as Ecoscraps potting soil.

I don't add anything else to my soil. Once in a while, if i have a little left amd wamt to recycle the container, ill sprinkle epsom salt or baking soda on the plants. 

I also don't weed. I'll take out big ones that are hindering my plants, but other than that, I let them be. You could argue that this might hinder my garden productivity, and I'd say you could be right, but I hate weeding. 

Composting
I love the barrels I've bought from Menards. They're easy, cheap, and perfect. Compost bin link I have bought 2 of these. Its not the fastest way, but it works. My first bin is still in my parents yard in chicago. I started it two summers ago. They'll probably get the first batch of compost this summer. I keep a brown paper bag on my counter and throw in any egg shells, egg cartons, and vegetable & fruit parts, that havent been cooked with oil. Ive read that you can compost bread and cheeses, but that takes more effort and ive read that any food that wouldn't exsist without humans making it, should be avoided.

Seeds/plants 
I am buying seeds year round. If i see an herb on sale, or an heirloom seed set somewhere randomly, i buy it. However, i buy zuchinni, tomato, beans, cucumbers, and peppers already started. I will also grab random onion sets or something at walmart throughout the season, cause i have an addiction. I would love to order all heirloom seeds online, but again, i have a seed or plant addiction and would still buy some. I like doing a lot of herbs in containers cause they can be moved inside. It also helps control invasive mint.  I also do not have any trees in my yard, so i have to get mostly all sun plants. This hasnt worked out well for my love of spinach, but I hope to fix that this year.

Mistakes ive made
- a lot of herbs are perenial if they arent trimmed the first year
- ‎pay attention to spacing
-make sure pots have proper drainage

Things that have worked out without me trying:
-my grandma, who owned my house previously, planted an amazing native plant/butterfly garden. I put my veggies right next to it. There were also bumble bees over there. I think it helped.
-‎out in the yard, away from my patio, i put a section of strictly bee friendly, native, perrenial plants like rasberries, blackberries, and bee balm. It was like an agreement, i made them an area, they left me alone. Same with the birds. Once i put birdhouses out back, they stopped pooping on my car.

Herbalism & new adventures

It is no secret that I am absolutely nuts about gardening. One little thing that I've never shared is that I don't have much luck with flowers that are supposed to just be pretty. I can grow plants that can be used for something else, but I will never have just a beautiful flower garden. I have lomg accepted this fact and done tons of research on plants that can be used in the home. This has led me down a long path of research that culminated in me becoming a master herbalist. I have used herbs for homeopathic remedies, household cleaners, lotions, salves, and lip balms.

I have been doing this for years for myself. This Christmas, I gave everyone a basket of goods and they loved it. So, I decided to master my craft and sell some of my tried and true favorites.

J J L B Natural Products 

Quality:

The selection will increase as I test new recipes. Every product I offer will be something I use in my everyday life, so you can trust them.

Safe ingredients:

Every product starts with herbs/plants that I grow, pick, dry, infuse, etc., myself. They come from my organic garden.

Every ingredient after that comes from an organic, sustainable source. 

Rose mint lip balm

This is my everyday go to. 

Not only is this balm soft and nourishing, but the scent of rose is truly uplifing, while the mint soothes and cools. 

 Herbal, citrus multipurpose cleaner
This is one of my proudest. Below is a direct quote of my mom's review, "sometimes I think your hippy-dippy concoctions are weird and take too much effort, but this is amazing! It cleans everything!" She's right too. I've used it on wood, tile, stovetop, everything.
So what's in it?
Vinegar That is infused with herbs and citrus rinds

• Lemon, grapefruit, blood orange, and Clementine rinds disinfect and have a great scent
• Sage: antimicrobial 
• Thyme: potent disinfectant 
• Lemon balm: antiviral
• Oregano: fights bacteria and fungus 

Lemon lavendar lip oil 

This lip balm has a beeswax and coconut oil base, so it's more oily than a balm. It is so nourishing though. I love putting it on at night and waking up with soft, smooth lips. My mom also loves it for when she feels a canker sore coming on. The lemon balm in this treats it when she first feels one coming on. 

• Lemon balm: antiviral
• Lavendar: regenerates skin, antibacterial
• Coconut oil: great for dry skin.

Ifyou are interested in learning more about these products, please don't hesitate to email me. They can also be purchased by clicking on the link below. 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/JJLBnaturals?ele=shop_open

Does your kid have Nature Deficit Disorder?

N-D-D is not a medical diagnosis, but the effects of it can be disastrous to ones health. Richard Louv coined the phrase and has written many books that examine N-D-D, its causes and how to reverse it. These books have provided insight for me in all of my research of shinrin-yoku, hiking, and forest bathing. Since reading his books, and seeing how letting my son roam around the woods has been good for him, Richard Louv has become my absolute favorite author.

Nature Deficit Disorder is caused by a disconnection with the natural world. Children these days spend more time connected to electronic devices than ever. When my mom was younger, her and her best friend would ride their bikes for up to sixteen miles unsupervised. My mom allowed my best friend and I to walk or ride about five miles when I was growing up. If we continue down this pattern, my son's generation will get even less. This isn't just about stranger danger not letting us ride our bikes as children. This is about the deeper connection to nature that is missing and what it is doing to us and our children.

So, what is N-D-D doing to our children?

These stats above SHOULD SCARE YOU.

OUR habits are affecting our children's health in negative ways. 

The changes WE HAVE MADE are causing problems for our children that they will not know how correct. 

What are the benefits of reconnecting with nature?

Luckily, people are starting to realize what is happening here and many groups are working to reverse these trends. Would you be reading this if you didn't understand that something like this might be going on? I understood the underlying principles before reading any of Richard Louv's books. If you want to know more, I highly suggest reading these books. If you want to correct it, I encourage you to get out there, explore, but more importantly, let your kids explore. Let them climb, let them get dirty. It will be one of the greatest lessons you'll ever teach them.

Sources: Richard Louv's writings and the presentations below