Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Re-think

Have you ever thought about how much waste is being thrown into a landfill each year?  A lot!

 

View Source Here.

How does 220 million tons, just in the US, a year sound? This averages that people throw away about 4.3 pounds of waste per day.  Kind of scary right?  Especially since that is 1.6 pounds more than the waste of the average person in 1960. (Source) These numbers make me want to change the way I live and help others reduce waste as well.

 

I started thinking about ways to eliminate waste at home by buying some things in bulk when possible.  All the individual packages may be convenient but then I think of the cost to make them and then they are just thrown away.  Hopefully they will be recycled but that's not always the case and there is still the costs associated and waste produced to make new packaging.

 

As a mother of two little kids, I purchased some refillable food pouches like you see yogurt and other pureed foods such as applesauce sold in grocery stores.  They are awesome!  Not only do I get to spend less money on yogurt since I can buy the large container, but I'm also saving on my waste.  Instead of a bunch of little packages, I have just one container to recycle.

 

I can also make my own pureed food to fill them with, which saves me a ton of money and peace of mind as far as what my kids are really eating.  The pre filled ones normally go for $1 or more each. 

 

The way I see it is every small change now adds up over time!

 

How to use your Apple Baker; A Simple Recipe with Party Green

While fall isn't officially here yet it certainly felt like it with the 46° cool crisp weather this morning. It is always sad to see Summer go but Autumn is one the most loved seasons and it is easy to see why with all the fresh fruits and vegetables available and all of the wonderful warm, comforting food you can make with them.  Just the thought of warm pies and soups and casseroles warmed me up and had me embracing the cold morning.

My favorite harvest this time of year? Apples! I cannot get enough of them! Apple pie, apple sauce, apple crisp, apple bread any and everything apple. That is why I was so excited that Party Green started carrying Apple Bakers. An easy way to bake a yummy breakfast or dessert for just me when I want it, without all of the hassle in making a whole pie, crisp etc.


Let me tell you a little about Apple Bakers.
The Apple Baker is made from hand crafted earthenware clay. It is ovenproof, dishwasher and microwave safe and the glaze is lead-free. The specially designed cooking spike helps cook an apple more quickly and evenly; the clay will take on the heat and cook from the inside out. The Apple Baker is also an attractive serving dish and will help keep your apple warmer longer.

 

How to use your Apple Baker.

What is great about the Apple Baker is your options are endless, here are the basics you need to know:

• You will want to wash and core your apple, whether you peel them or not is up to you but they generally come out better if they are peeled as well.
• Pre-Heat your over to 350° Fahrenheit.
• Put your cored apple into the baker.
• Add 1 Tablespoon butter.
• Add 1 Tablespoon water if your apple is a dryer type (you can generally skip this step in the fall when the apples are fresh)
• Add any toppings you wish(see list below for suggestions)
• Bake for 20-40 minutes depending on the size and amount of topping on your apple.

That's it! Check out our video below to see how we baked our apples.

 

 

Topping Suggestions:
Brown Sugar
Maple Syrup
Honey
Coconut
Raisins
Oatmeal
Flour(make a mini apple crisp!)
Nuts
Pie Crust
Cinnamon
Ginger
Nutmeg
Allspice

Apple Bakers are sold by the pair for only $25.00. You can get yours at PartyGreenHomeParties.com

What would you put on your apple?
 

Using Essential Oils; A Party Green Consultants Guide

Green Colored Glasses will be featuring guests post from our independent sales consultants from time to time. This is our first one, submitted by Heather R.



It's back to school time again for many families and this is also a good opportunity to check your stock on essential oils.  If you don't have any or don't know much about them, then now is a good time to learn.  Essential oils can be used to treat common ailments naturally or just to freshen a room with out commercial sprays that may have toxic ingredients. Here are just a few to incorporate essentials oils into your life.

 

Did you know you can add tea tree oil to your kids shampoo to help prevent lice? Add 2 drops of tea tree oil to every ounce of your shampoo of choice, shake to mix well, and use as normal.  Tea tree oil has antibiotic, antiseptic, antiviral, and anti fungal properties.  If you mix 2 drops tea tree oil with 1 drop lavender oil and dip a cotton ball in it, you can use it to help treat athletes feet.

 

Lavender oil also has antibiotic, antiseptic, antiviral, and anti fungal properties.  If you have a first degree burn, rinse the burn under cold water for 10 minutes, then immediately put 2 drops of lavender oil on the burn.  Lavender is also known for its calming properties.  When you have a headache, mix 3 drops lavender oil and 1 drop peppermint oil with 1 drop vegetable oil.  Massage the mixture around your temples and the back of your neck, near the base of your skull.  If you don't have both lavender oil and peppermint oil, you may use one on its own. 

 

Another good oil to have on hand is eucalyptus oil.  This oil is good for congestion.  Mix 1 drop eucalyptus oil to 1 tablespoon coconut oil to make your own vapor rub.  If your not a fan of rubs and lotion, you could also put a drop of eucalyptus oil on a cotton ball and place in your pillow case to help with night time congestion. 
 

 

Now you have a little bit of knowledge about what you can do with essential oils.  Hope this comes in handy to start you on your way to a more natural way of healing.

Do you use essential oils in your home? Tell us how in the comments below.

Enter to win your own RAW Pure Organic Essential Oil from Party Green Home Parties!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Party Green Hosts New Consultant Information Session

Do ecofriendly, organic and natural products interest you? Are you looking for a new career, a way to add a little more cash to your income or perhaps just getting discounted and free products that you love? Being a Party Green Independent Sales Consultant gives you the choice to choose any of the above, mold your business into what you want.

We are having a free information session on Thursday, August 14th 6pm at Market Square Restaurant in South Paris, Maine. Come join us to see if being a Party Green is right for you. 

Get more information on our Facebook event page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/895502827132885/

Check out our products:

http://partygreenhomeparties.com/

Free refreshments will be provided as well as a thank you gift for coming.  We hope to see you there!

Piggy Paint - As Natural as, but prettier than, Mud.

Review and Giveaway!

I am so excited to share Party Green's Featured product for the month of June, Piggy Paint.  Piggy Paint is a natural, biodegradable, odorless, ecofriendly nail polish for people of all ages.  This polish is also non-toxic and hypoallergenic making it safe for all to use.  The colors range from bright & sparkly to pretty & pastel and everything in between. My favorite right now is "Peace of Cake" a lovely pastel, peachy orange color that goes right along with the Summer 2014 nail polish trends.

Peace of Cake

Many of us don't really think about chemicals in our everyday products, especially nail polish.  You are most likely aware that there are chemicals in your nail polish and remover, you can smell them as soon as you open the bottle.  What is the harm of those chemicals anyways?  I mean, it goes on our nails, they are tough and can handle the chemicals, right? Wrong! Anything you put on your nails can be absorbed through your nail bed, including all of those chemicals in your mani/pedi products. 

While a lot of nail polish brands have eliminated the "toxic trio", formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate, or DBP, they are not banned in beauty products in the US so read your labels!  You definitely want to avoid these chemicals as they have been known to cause headaches, dizziness and fatigue as well as being known human carcinogens and have effects on reproductive and developmental systems.  I could go on about how bad those three things are but that is for another time.

Most nail polishes, while eliminating the above ingredients, still have other toxins that can be harmful to our health and environment.  Conventional nail polishes often contain other potentially dangerous chemicals including ethyl acetate, isopropyl alcohol, fragrances, dyes and more.  One way to tell how toxic your nail polish is, is to check it on the EWG.org Skin Deep Database(you can see that Piggy Paint got the best score of 0).  You can see the difference of the nail polishes on this styrofoam plate that has both Piggy Polish and a solvent based polish on it:

(I don't know if you can tell but the green is all the way through 4 plates!)

The best thing about Piggy Paint is obviously that it is free of chemicals, the residual benefits only make me love it more.
First, it is odorless!  How many of you have opened a bottle of polish to pretty up your nails only to have someone else in the room complain and you have to put it away or go some where else?  Not with Piggy Paint!  I was painting my nails in the living room when my boyfriend was watching a movie, he turned to tell me something and then I saw his face and could tell he was going to complain about me painting my nails.  Then I spoke up and said, "Can't smell it can you?" He couldn't, even when he gave a few intentional sniffs of the air.  One battle I will no longer need to fight.

Another awesome quality of Piggy Paint is, you can spill that pretty pink polish on your gorgeous white rug(I thought, can anyone have a white rug?) and you can clean it out!  Unlike solvent based nail polishes that will stain as soon as they come in contact with fibers, Piggy Paint is water based and will clean up as long as you do it while it is still wet.  Perfect for the little ones that want to do it themselves, though I still wouldn't recommend it on a white rug.

One downfall of Piggy Paint is that it doesn't last as long as the chemical filled ones.  With the right measures though you can make your mani/pedi last just as long without all of those harsh toxins.

1) You want to start with clean nails, soap and water will do just fine.  Dry.
2) Apply 2-3 thin coats of Piggy Paint
3) Allow to air dry for 60 seconds
You can stop there but for maximum chip resistance blow dry polished nails for 1-2 minutes on warm heat/low blower setting.
A topcoat and basecoat are also available in Piggy Paint for improved performance.  Checkout the "Make it Last" mini gift set to save money on the two.

My pedicures last WAAAY longer than when I paint my fingernails.  I can do just steps 1-3 and it lasts for weeks, chip free.  For my hands it will usually chip badly within the first couple of days if I do not do the blow dryer step.

Enter here to win your own "Make it Last" and colored Nail Polish:   Win Free Piggy Paint

Little Changes; Big Impact 

When some people think about changing to a greener lifestyle they think an overhaul of they're current one is the only(and expensive) way to go about it.  Well this blog will show you various ways that you can change your lifestyle by making little changes that can make a huge impact on your health, finances and our planet!

 

Did you know that the energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a television for three hours? Imagine the impact of just starting to recycle them!

 

Electricity bill a bit high? Try adding a few dryer balls to your load! They cut your drying time, reduce static and soften your clothing, eliminating your need for dryer sheets.  Now you don't have to worry about the chemicals that come on the dryer sheets and you save money not having to buy them and from reducing your drying time!  Not to mention the way that helps our lovely planet Earth as well!

 

Did you know that 60% of what we put on our skin is absorbed into our bloodstream? Scary, huh?  Imagine the impact changing one product at a time, as you need it, would make on your health!  Look for natural and organic ingredients.  If you are like most people and can't understand what the heck your products is made out of (even the organic ingredients are hard to decipher sometimes) the Environmental Working Group is a great resource, search for the product and get your answer, from an organization you can trust.  www.ewg.org.

Green Colored Glasses is a blog partnered with Party Green Home Parties.  Party Green is committed to bringing you natural, eco-friendly, safe and American made products you can trust!  This blog will feature green tips, news, products reviews and more!  Tell us what you would like see!



Interested in having some of the best eco-friendly products brought to your home to try before you buy? Host a Party Green Home Party, you can even earn free products! Contact us here.