Going Green

Transforming Your Bedroom Into A More Peaceful Place….The Way It Should Be. Here Are 10 Ways How!

1. SOFTEN THE COLORS: Bedrooms are meant to be “yin rooms”, which facilitate passive, feminine spirit rather than generate active masculine yang energy. Yin rooms should be clam so you can walk into them and relax.

2. CLEAR THE CLUTTER: You need not sleep in a Zen den, but a clean, open space allows you to rest better at night. Throw out, or put away items you haven’t read, worn, or looked at in a few years. If you don’t love it and you haven’t used it in several years, get rid of it. Reducing clutter is modern day alchemy. Anything you don’t love only drags you down more.

3. PURIFY YOUR PILLOWS: One of the best ways to purify your sleeping space is also the cheapest. Replace your current pillow with an organic cotton or wool pillow or cushion. Your nose is right there breathing in fumes from the foam. For less than $60, you can make a significant change in your health.

4. TAME THE DECOR: Displaying photos of loved ones brings positive energy into a bedroom, as long as the wall décor is kept simple. Don’t put up too many pictures. One per wall is plenty, and avoid art with violent or chaotic imagery. In feng shui, the first thing you see when you wake up is very important. If it’s a great piece of modern art, but the imagery is jagged, that’s not great for your energy upon waking.

5. DIM THE LIGHTS: Streetlamps and other outdoor lighting can wreak havoc on your sleep cycle because melatonin, the hormone that helps govern sleep, responds to light and darkness. For the soundest snoozing, din your bedroom at night with a think, dark cotton canvas, and let in the morning sun when it’s time to wake; this will help you stay synchronized with your own body rhythms.

6. SEND IN THE SCENT: Filling the air with a luscious yet subtle fragrance makes your bedroon nearly spa-like. Add a few drops of calming essentail oil like neroli, rose, and/or jasmine to an aromatherapy diffuser. Or try a combination of chamomile, lavender, or clary sage.

7. CLEAR THE AIR: Keeping your windows open works wonders toward purifying indoor air and dust, mold, pet dander, and chemicals from household cleaners. Fresh outdoor air is essential for good health.

8. POWER DOWN: Television pictures tubes, wireless Internet connections, electrical wiring, and cell phones emit electromagnetic fields that may contribute to frequent waking, aches and pains, and muscle spasms. To reduce your EMF load, remove electric cords and devices from the bedroom or at least from within 8 to 10 feet of the bed. And disconnect Wi-Fi and multihandset cordless phones.

9. MODIFY THE MATTRESS: The bed is where your go to spend your key rejuvenating time, it’s where your wipe the slate clean. But you do know what’s underneath you. A typical foam matress is made from petrochemical derivatives with fire retardants and other chemicals added, all of which can be absorbed through the skin. A matress made of organic cotton, pure grown wool and natural rubber is prefered for a better nights sleep.

10. REMAKE YOUR BED: When shopping for new bedding, look for 100 percent natural fibers, ideally organic cotton or organic hemp. To avoid chemically treated linens, make sure your purchases aren’t labeled “permanant press”.

*Green Living Tip: Grow your own herbs inside your home. The plants will add happiness and harmony to your kitchen or bedroom and will also provide you with an abundance of natural, pesticide-free addings to your cooking.

A renewable building material from Asia, kirei (pronounced “kee-ray”) is made from stalks of the sorghum plant, a tall cereal grass used to make molasses and animal feed. The stalks, a waste material, are woven and pressed into panels using a formaldehyde-free, low-VOC adhesive, producing a lovely bamboolike pattern resembling a cross section of plant cells. As a lightweight substitute for wood, kirei board can be made into paneling, partitions, wall coverings, furniture, tabletops, countertops, cabinet doors, and flooring. Raw kirei boards, which take a standard wood finish, start at about $8 a square foot.

*Going Green Tip: Donating oul fur type garments and coats to a wildlife rehabilitation center is the best way to give back to nature. Wildlife rehabilitators will in turn use them for nesting material fro injured and orpahned animals. Fur is one of the leading materials used in human made clothing that causes the greatest controversy, so instead of being a named participant in wearing animal fur, be a named participant in helping wildlife by visitingThe Humane Society Of the United States and find out how you can help with your old furs.

Have a gift to wrap? Why not try earth-friendly materials?

Earth-friendly materials are not only good for the environment, but they give originality to your gifts as well.

Americans spend as estimated $2.7 billion dollars anually on ribbons, paper, and bows and almost all those goods end up in the trash, then into a landfill.

There are a lot of 2nd hand threft stores such as Good Will, Salvation Army, and even a local below market stores in your area that have excellent alternatives to ribbons and bows, such as:

PAPER PRODUCTS- Brown paper sacks, old newpaper, maps, even wallpaper.

CLOTH PRODUCTS- Scarfs, shirts, tea-towels, as well as old potato bags or rice bags.

NATURAL PRODUCTS- Bamboo leaves, birch bark, banana leaves, hemp wire and even feathers.

FILLER PRODUCTS- Shredded newspaper or wrapping paper, unsalted peanuts (in the shell), popcorn (air-popped), green pine bough.

Wrapping gifts the eco-friendly way is a great way to give your gifts that added touch and you help the Earth by cutting back on paper waste.

*Going Green Tip: Always eat organic whenever you can. The effects of chemically altered fruits and vegetables in the United States alone is scary enough to want to change your eating habits for the better. And organic food only cost a few cents more then the non-organic foods.

1.  Wood Lanterns:  ($39-$49) These lanterns have hardwood frames around a metal bas and with glass side.  Hold s all sorts of size of candles to help brighten your living space.  They can even be used outside to brighten and set the mood on your outdoor dinner gatherings.

2.  Solid Wood Console:  ($329)  This console table is made from solid wood with a sungkai wood veneer over the entire table.  Comes in brown, and natural wood tones. 

3.  Wood Stump Side Table:  ($199)  This piece of furniture is a great conversation piece and would look just grand in any room of your home.  It’s made from fallen wood so no trees where freshly cut to make the side table. 

You can decorate almost every corner of your house with a greener creative mind. 1.  Decorate with rosemary trees: You can purchase rosemary trees in any nursery. The posts they come in are perfect shaped for covering with scrape fabric that can match whatever decor you are looking to match it with. Placing it near your kitchen will also encourage you to use more rosemary during cooking.

2. Pressing whole cloves into oranges: Looking for a quick and easy way to scent your home while still looking creative? Purchase whole cloves and whole oranges and combine the two. Press the cloves into the orange peel in creative designs and place them in a bowl on your kitchen table or coffee table.

3. Use cuttings from evergreens to spruce up a room: Using old milk glasses and evergreen cuttings you can make a great conversation piece in a rush to decorate and also bring forth a green approach. Just use a clean milk glass jar or larger and place a fresh cutting of every green such as pine or cedar into the jar and place throughout your home.