I first got interested in food swaps from my sisters in Portland, OR.  They are active participants in the food swap by them and sent me the most wonderful picture of stacked goodies that they scored.  I didn’t know much about it at the time, only that it was some sort of bartering of homemade… Read more »

I’m not sure about you, but I can’t tell you how many times, at the end of a busy week, I look back and realize that I have completely neglected exercise.   That Gillian Michaels DVD from 2010? Untouched in the DVD player.  The gym membership I *meant* to get and *meant* to use…yeah…I’m still meaning… Read more »

What is toothpaste anyway and why is it so ubiquitous? For thousands of years, humans have scrubbed their teeth with various abrasive materials, most commonly in a powder. What we see in the toothpaste aisle today is a wide array of hard-to-pronounce ingredients, artificial colors and flavors (even sparkles!) and marketing schemes capitalizing on our collective cultural… Read more »

Low Cost, Low Effort Ways to Save Energy and Money Have you ever wondered if there’s truly a way to save money on your energy bills without putting forth a lot of effort? After all, buying all new, energy-efficient appliances and replacing your windows at $750 a pop may not exactly be in your budget… Read more »

Starting your own garden seed starts indoors is a great way to save money and get a head start on the growing season. It just takes a bit of equipment, space, electricity and time, but once you have your set up, you’ll be ready for many years of seed starts. Not all plants need to… Read more »

Essential Oils and How They Can Help You Essential oils are highly concentrated, organic compounds that are extracted from plants, providing the absolute essence of these plants in liquid form. Though the doses seem very small, they pack a huge punch to provide a variety of health and environmental benefits due to how concentrated the… Read more »

There is nothing I love more than cooking. The days of pouring over InStyle magazine or a good piece of fiction have been replaced with books full of delicious pictures and pages upon pages of recipes.   Cooking isn’t just about satisfying one’s taste buds, or even an expression of creativity.  Rather, it can be an incredibly… Read more »

Last Christmas, I was trying to think of a DIY present I could make for my 14-month daughter. I wanted to create something that both my husband and I could help make, and that would incorporate materials we already had at home. It was also really important to us to make something that would allow for… Read more »

If you are looking for some natural and effective methods by which you can keep your face in the best of shape then you have reasons to find out something more about apple cider vinegar. It is known to be a good source of natural avenues by which you can remove wrinkles from your face… Read more »

Sewing Cloth Wipes for Babies When I was pregnant a good friend made me an amazing big pile of handmade, sewing cloth wipes for babies that we still use now, ten years later, and not because we’re still in diapers, but because they make great little hankies or cleanup cloths for around the house. She… Read more »