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Fresh Squeezed 🍊

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Who doesn’t love fresh squeezed orange juice!!! I add mango, carrot, apple, celery, really whatever I have in the kitchen! It is such a great way to use up fruits and vegetables that may otherwise go bad, so healthy, and also prevents so much plastic waste from buying bottle after bottle of orange juice at the store! Don’t get me wrong, my journey to reducing my waste and overall impact on the environment is far from perfect, but each little step helps! I may still resort to buying the fresh squeezed orange juice in plastic bottle at the store on occasion, but I try to make my own whenever possible, reuse the waste I create and recycle everything else.

I don’t stop there!! Once I juice, I compost the the pulp and save the orange peels for a vinegar all purpose cleaner. This all natural cleaner is strong enough to clean bathrooms and disinfect the kitchen. I make most of my own cleaning products and this is my favorite! It is so simple, press orange peels into a mason jar, fill with natural plant based vinegar and seal tightly. Leave in a dark cool place for about 6 weeks. Dilute this concentrated cleaner with 2 parts water in a glass spray bottle(or any repurposed container you have at home) and enjoy a fresh squeezed clean throughout the entire home! 💛

Winter Virtual Yoga

Winter Restorative yoga is back!! My next virtual session will resume on 1/11/21 and residents and non-residents alike can sign up for this relaxing, healing and inspirational class. Learn how to breath and deeply stretch the body to promote healing, relaxation and mindfulness 🧘🏻‍♀️💕

Click on the link below to check out Monday night Restorative yoga and lots of other great programs at the Wheaton Park District!!

Restorative Yoga 123159-01 💕

Thank you for your ongoing support, it means the world to me!! 💕

Namaste,

Carlene

How Lovely are your Branches 🌲

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The Holidays are still going strong over at the Haavig household!! Trying my best to be mindful each moment and working towards creating less waste and junk and clutter and business each year. I am known to keep my Christmas tree up weeks (months…) after Christmas!! Don’t judge!! Everyone else puts theirs up in October when I am still celebrating Autumn, and where I live we get more snow in January than December!!! Anyways, before you toss out your tree I wanted to throw out a few ideas of what to do with that precious pine than simply throwing it out like trash!!

*Make that tree last by watering daily!! Once it dries the needles drop!!

*Make New Year’s Wreaths for family, neighbors and friends. Simply weave pine branches into wire, shape and add ribbons, cinnamon sticks, pine cones!!

*Cut and dry pine branches and use for smudge sticks and simmer pots!! Make your house smell amazing all season long!!! Dry and simmer on the stovetop or crockpot with dried cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise and dried citrus rounds. Makes for amazing homemade gifts for neighbors and friends!!

*Let the remainder of your tree dry in your backyard for a great habitat for birds and other wildlife all season. I use remainders of needles and small branches for compost and my husband eventually chops and burns the trunk and larger branches in small pieces in the backyard.

If a live tree feels like a lot of responsibility, a great eco (and low maintenance) option is adopting a live indoor fir that can live in a pot and you can enjoy it all year round!! Come the holidays, add some fairy lights and dried oranges and ohhhh so beautiful!!

Being mindful, especially during the holidays, have become part of my sacred ritual and working towards being less wasteful and more connected has made my holiday memories more magical. Finding simplicity at home and practicing gratitude for the people that I love is my seasonal intention. Live your yoga, even during the holidays!!

Reuse, Repurpose, Don’t Recycle ♻️

When I was a kid we learned about recycling and how great it is for the environment. We now know that, while it is important to recycle necessary materials, recycling should not be a go to or a fix for the environment but a very absolute last resort for materials that we absolutely cannot reuse or repurpose!! Recycling is not as affective as we think as most materials can only be broken down a couple of times and the process of recycling itself emits pollution and recycling trucks create pollution!! As we are learning, not the most effecting solution!

As we live our day to day lives it is important to think about our personal footprint on our planet and how our decisions affect our environment. While you may not feel you can make a difference, as a consumer your biggest personal power is the choices you make with your money. Supporting eco and fair trade inspires more companies to supply eco and fair trade. While using reusable bags and water bottles and composting and eating less meat and cooking at home does individually add up to a lot at the end of the year, the biggest power behind our eco choices is influence. The influence you have on friends, family, and community. The, influence, as a result, on companies and suppliers to choose products with eco packaging or fair trade labels.

Our choices really are important!! However, if you are like me, you have been doing more online shopping this year and starting to feel guilty about excess waste!! First if all, be easy on yourself, this has been a rough year for all of us!! We will come out stronger and do better next year!! For those of you with kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, neighbors, etc I found this awesome book from Lonely Planet to reuse hardboard boxes and turn them into forts, aquariums, cars, pizza ovens, so much more!! You honestly do not need a book though if you have an imagination!! The possibilities are endless! 🍕 ⛺️ 🚗 I am so exited to work on this with the kids over winter break!! I will let you know how they turn out and post some pics!! So before you recycle your boxes, maybe think first if there is something awesome you can do with them first and let’s start making recycling a last resort!! 📦 And hold off tossing that Christmas Tree… we will talk about that next 🎄❤️♻️