Farm Fresh Living: Simple 2010 Green and Sustainable New Year's Resolutions for a Healthier You!

Simple 2010 Green and Sustainable New Year's Resolutions for a Healthier You!

Live Healthy
Get Fit Outdoors
Eat Organically
Be Environmentally Responsible
Enjoy Life

The holidays are over and the New Year has just begun. Most of us start the New Year with good intentions of sticking to our ‘resolutions’, but few of us actually ever do. This year try making some simple, yet life changing New Year’s resolutions that will benefit you, your family and the environment. These simple changes in your daily routine continued throughout the year can make a difference. Below are 10 simple suggestions that are easy to do and can set you on the road to sustainable living. Better yet, some may even save money as well as helping the environment.

Start reading labels and google any ingredient that you can't pronounce. Although it sounds ridiculous and simple for a New Year's resolution, becoming aware of what is in your food and in the products that you use on a daily basis is probably the most healthy thing you can do for yourself and your family. Education is king!

Reuse shopping bags, or better yet, get a durable bag to carry with you to the grocery store and on all your shopping trips. FACT: A singe tree produces only 700 paper grocery bags.

Now that you started reading labels you should be scared to death of what is inside all of those 'friendly' household cleaners under your sink. Household cleaning products contain a huge array of chemicals that are hazardous to you and the environment. Switch to green cleaning products which are just as effective and are comparable in cost. FACT: Common chemicals found in household cleaners that can cause health related problems include: Butyl cellosolve, hypochlorite, Kerosene and Sulfuric acid. Try using natural, home-made cleansers instead of chemical ones. Here is a few simple recipe for an all-purpose cleanser: mix ½ cup vinegar in one quart of water (reduce water for hard jobs). Use it in a spray bottle. For dryer sheets, switch to using Certified Organic Lavender Dryer Sheets available at Farm Fresh Living.

Buy locally made and grown products. Support local agriculture and rural economies by shopping at your local farmers market if possible. To locate a farmers market or local grower near you, click here. As an added bonus, locally grown products usually require less packaging and eliminate the environmental costs of long-distance transport. The added bonus is that local fruits and vegetables are often fresher, higher in nutritional value and locally produced goods help support your own community.

Switch to USDA Certified Organic Soaps and toss out the chemicals that you were using to bath with. When buying organic soaps only purchase USDA certified organic to be assured that you are using

soap only made with pure, organic ingredients. Learn more about Certified Organic soaps here or give our USDA Certified Organic Soaps a try, we know that you will love them as much as we do!

Choose digital subscriptions. Only if you must purchase standard print subscriptions otherwise hop on the web and browse away to find the freshest news from a variety of viewpoints.

Be active! If one of your resolutions is to get more exercise, try doing your shopping and errands on foot as part of your exercise program. Walking will help keep automobile pollution down and, like carpooling, help ease traffic congestion. Rather than driving to the gym, get outside, enjoy the sunshine and get fit. If you live in an area that gets snow in the winter try snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. In the spring and summer try hiking, backpacking, gardening or learn to fly fish.

Say no to fast food and pre-packaged food at the supermarket and yes to organic and local produce. FACT: A few of the most common preservatives found in prepackaged and fast food include: Glutamates that may cause headaches, palpitations, dizziness, and cancer and almost all convenience foods contain this harmful preservative. Propyl gallate may cause birth defects and damage the liver and Mono- and Di-glycerides may cause birth defects and cancer.

Grow your own food. Have a small yard or no yard at all; no problem. You can grow an herb garden and fresh, organic

lettuce even if you live in an apartment with nothing more than a small balcony! FACT: You can grow Alpine Strawberries in a hanging basket from your patio and enjoy fresh, strawberries all summer long. Try growing Bush Early Girl Tomato in a container or whiskey barrel. Visit our website for more fruits and vegetables that are ideal for a small gardens or apartment living.

Cut air-conditioning use by planting trees around your house. One estimate is that three mature trees around a house can cut air-conditioning needs by 10 to 50 percent. If 100 million trees were planted around homes and businesses, the nonprofit conservation group American Forests estimates, $4 billion would be saved in energy costs. Planting trees anywhere will also help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to offset the damage from burning fossil fuels.