Mindful Momma

The Secret's Out!!

It's about time I explained why I have not been blogging very often over the last 6 months or so.  It is not for lack of desire or ideas for new posts.  In fact, I've been writing voraciously about green and healthy living just about every second of the day I can manage, this whole time.  I've been a little shy about letting the cat out of the bag, but I can't keep it in any longer... 

I'm writing a book!!! 

It will be called Practically Green and it's due out in October of this year!  It's about creating a green and healthy home life for yourself and your family - with an emphasis on simplicity and creativity.  Using my own experiences as a starting point, I talk about how to lessen your impact on the planet and strengthen the health of your family while taking care of the primary tasks of day-to-day life. 

Now I know there are a ton of great books about green living already out there.  My hope is that the creative, do-it-yourself aspect of my book is what will make it stand out as unique.  I've always been a DIY'er at heart and in the book I've got everything from making your own beauty products and cleaning supplies to sewing crafts out of old sweaters and refashioning thrift store clothes into unique designs! 

The book is designed to be super easy to read - with lots of bullet points and charts instead of loads of heavy text that might put you to sleep.  My goal was to provide lots of helpful information but in a fun and interesting format.  It's been loads of fun to write and create and I can't wait to share more with you! 

That said, I'm not supposed to give away much more about it quite yet.  I'm still in the editing stage and the book is far from complete.  But I've been told the book will be available for preorder on Amazon in the next few months!  I'll believe it when I see it - a dream come true!

Minnesota Minutes

Have you been to the new Seward Co-op?  Get your butt over there if you haven't.  I visited with child in tow so I didn't get to browse as thoroughly as I wanted to but my first impression was a good one.  The large size of the store gives it the feel of a Whole Foods but thankfully it still has that down-to-earth co-opy feel to it.  It wouldn't feel right if the Seward Co-op was a carbon copy of a Whole Foods now would it?  

They've got a nice big body care selection, a great bulk area and an awesome deli/prepared foods section filled with temptations (and a nice big seating area to eat your treats!)  My only complaint is that the produce area seemed cramped and a bit uninspiring. 

My favorite find?  The homemade Moroccan lamb sausages in the meat department.  Filled with pine nuts, raisins and amazing spices. My husband made a soup with them and the flavors that came out where amazing!

Seward Co-op:  Open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily | 612-338-2465 | 2823 East Franklin Avenue Minneapolis

The PVC-Free Bathroom Remodel

Your big bathroom remodel may have to wait in these rough economic times.  But that doesn't mean you can't give your bath some sprucing up.  A little PVC-free redecorating will brighten your bath and be good for your health as well. 

PVC, the "poison plastic" tends to sneak it's way into our bathrooms without our permission.  To avoid subjecting your family to those nasty fumes, check the label before you buy bathroom accessories that just might be made with PVC. 

Shower curtains and liners- PVC is ubiquitous in the shower curtain department.  Your best defense is to buy a shower curtain made from a natural material instead of plastic.  If you must use a plastic shower curtain, consider picking one up at Ikea.  They have a great selection of shower curtains made from PEVA - a chlorine-free plastic that is a safer alternative to PVC.   If you're up for ordering on-line, VitaFutura has some fun graphic designs.

I've got a machine washable cotton shower curtain but there's no avoiding plastic when it comes to the liner.  I picked up my liner from Ikea but Target sells PVC-free shower liners made from EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) as well.    

Bath rugs - Many bath rugs have a non-stick backing made of PVC.  Look for rugs with a natural latex backing instead like this one from Target.   Or pick up an organic cotton rug without a non-stick backing at all - like these from West Elm.

Bath toys - I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here.  The Soft Landing did a great review of PVC-free bath toys.  Click on over to their site for more!

Kiddie Valentines

I wanted to make homemade Valentine's Day cards for my son's preschool friends but I knew that I would never get my high-energy 4 year old to spend a lot of time making them.  So I took a piece of his previously painted artwork (a typical preschool paint dump!) and used a cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes.

 

Liam insisted on using bags because he wanted to tuck a mini lollipop inside - so I taped the artwork hearts to the bags.  Then Liam signed each one.  Pretty darn cute, huh?

     

Gimme 5

   

Woo hoo!  Finally a place to recycle plastic yogurt tubs!!  Whole Foods has started a program for recycling #5 plastics by partnering with Preserve (best known for their recycled plastic toothbrushes),Organic Valley and Stonyfield Organic.  

The program is called Gimme 5 and it is still in the pilot stage but I just discovered that it is up and running here in the Twin Cities!  Check here for a list of all participating locations! 

Bring in your yogurt tubs, cottage cheese containers, medicine bottles and even Brita water filters  - just look for the #5 on the bottom.

FYI - One of my blogging friends, Beth of Fake Plastic Fish was influential in getting Brita filters included in the program through her Take Back the Filter campaign!  Rock on Beth!!

My Eco-Crafty Valentine

I looked to Etsy for some Valentine's Day inspiration.  Here's what caught my eye...   

A heart-shaped pin-cushion made with a collage of reclaimed fabrics by things SHE carried:

  

A garland of love notes made from old sheet music at Elizabeth Wren:

 

Handmade envelopes for your Valentines made from recycled magazine pages at BetternBefore: 

Mindful Momma Book Giveaway: The Green Year by Jodi Helmer

Are you the type who wants to live a greener, more sustainable life but you're not quite ready to move to a farm and start living off the grid?  Perhaps you already recycle but you're looking to do a little bit more?  Maybe you donate money to GreenPeace or similar environmental organizations but you would like to take some concrete action to help the planet yourself.

The book The Green Year by Jodi Helmer may be just the ticket!  365 small things you can do to make a big difference is the subtitle of the book and that's exactly what it offers.  The book is set up like a daily calendar with an intriguing, totally do-able action tip for each day.  Many of the tips are really simple like take your own mug to the coffee shop or use an old sock to dust your house but there are also things that take a little more commitment like schedule a home energy audit or start a home compost pile.

I've got a copy of this nifty little book to give away.  For a chance to win, just leave a comment on this post with one of your favorite green living tips.  The contest will run through midnight, central time on Thursday, February 12th (only one entry per person please and you must have a U.S. shipping address.)  The winner will be posted on PrizeyWinners and I will email them directly as well.

Good luck and thanks for reading Mindful Momma! 

And the lucky winner is....Heidi who said:

"This sounds like an awesome book! A few things that my husband and I have been doing to "green" ourselves: using phosphate free laundry detergent, changing all of the lightbulbs in our house to CFLs, switching to natural cleaners, reusable shopping bags at the grocery store, and buying more things at the local co-op!"

Sounds like you are already doing lots of great things for the environment Heidi!  I hope you enjoy the book - I'll be sending it out soon!