Eco Travel - Choosing a Green Hotel
The idea of greener vacations is becoming more and more possible these days and thanks to growing awareness and concern for the environment, it is also becoming very popular. Hotel visits are one of the easier more obvious ways to “green” your vacation. Here are several simple things you might want to consider to help make your hotel stay a little more earth friendly. More »
Shop Green
Shopping for eco-friendly items? Visit our directory of green online retailers. More »
Our Story and Why We Eat to Fight Cancer- Part 1: Berries
This is the first in a series of posts on eating to fight cancer, a topic that is very close to our family’s heart. We will be featuring ten foods that have cancer fighting properties with an explanation of what those properties are and a favourite recipe of ours that includes cancer fighting ingredients. More »
Homemade Bird Food
n some parts of North America there is a shortage of fruit and nuts during the winter months. This means a lot of wild birds will be very hungry this time of year. You can help feed them. Save money by eliminating store bought bird feed and decrease your waste by using kitchen scraps to make homemade bird feed. More »
Raising a Child to be a Minimalist
There is a growing trend toward raising children in a minimalist, non-materialistic way. It is an uphill climb when you choose to raise your children in a frugal, non-consumerism sort of way, you are up against powerful advertising media and outside influences that you have no control over. More »
What’s Sharing Your Bed? 6 Tips for a Healthier Pillow
A good comfortable pillow is one of the most important tools for getting a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately it can also be a source of allergens, especially dust mites. I don’t know about you but the thought
of any kind of bug, no matter how microscopic, sharing my pillow, gives me the heebie jeebies. So I was relieved to come across these tips for helping get rid of those creepy little critters:
1- Washing – Wash your bedding in hot water each week. We all know that hanging clothes out to dry is more energy efficient but if you are allergic to dust mites you should run your pillow case through the dryer on a hot setting.
Wash your pillow itself every month or so (if it is washable – check the tag) using hot water and the dryer as well.
2- Freeze your pillow – Place your pillow in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for 24 hours. This will kill dust mites. If you have a deep freeze or case freezer, all the better (the temperatures are colder). Do this every week or so.
3- Have more than one – Rotate your pillows so that you are not using the same one all the time. Dust mites feed on microscopic flakes of human skin, so using the same one over and over never gives the cycle a chance to break. Also, you’ll need something to sleep on while your pillow in the freezer. When you store your extra pillow, make sure it is in a sealed plastic bag and not accumulating dust on your closet shelf or elsewhere.
4- Allergy-proof covers – There are allergy-proof pillow cases that you can place over your pillow. They usually have a zipper. Your regular pillow case then goes on over it. These covers are made from a material that dust mites cannot penetrate.
5- Lemon spray – Dust mites, like most arachnids, do not like the scent of lemon. Add some lemon juice to the rinse cycle when you are washing your pillow or pillow case. You can also put 1/4 cup of lemon juice in a quart of water and spray that lightly over your pillow first thing in the morning and before going to bed at night.
6- Replace your pillow - Every three years or so, you should replace your pillow. You may be able to go longer than that if you are already rotating several pillows. As for your old pillows, you can always cover them and use them as a bed for your dog or cat or, do like I do, cover them in outdoor material to use as an armrest on my swing and outdoor seating.
Now I can have a peaceful night’s sleep, knowing that the only living creature using my pillow is me.
You can find organic bedding and allergy proof pillow protectors at the following online retailers:
