I don’t mind the heat as long as it’s not too immense but my 14-month old daughter detests it. She loves BOTH the cool breeze from a nice blustery day as well as the air conditioning in her room when she sleeps at night, but with the heat wave, we’ve had to cool down our place by turning on the A/C more often. As a result, our electricity bills are on the rise and there is no sign of it being reduced anytime soon.

So as I was rocking the little milk monster to sleep, I thought: how can I save money and reduce my carbon footprints at the same time? I Googled about lowering the A/C bills and found out that you should ideally keep the temperature as high as you can, maybe 20 or 21, not at 16 degrees like we usually do, and use a fan to circulate the air. It worked! It somewhat reduced the following month’s bill.

I’m going to try build my DIY organic garden soon! There’s a Green Living Kit I have just discovered so I’ll be posting little nuggets of tips on how to go green and save money at the same time.

There are so many products on the market today and so many websites that you can visit in order to get tips and tricks on how to clean using natural products that it would be just silly to continue to use the basic toxic products to clean because why would you not want to help save the environment while at the same time saving yourself more money due to the fact that Green cleaning is less expensive. You can go to the store and see a lot of the products that have the bold word green printed on them that tell you these are good cleaning products.

Once you find these products, you should compare the prices of them with the prices of the regular cleaning products that you have been using and you will be surprised at the difference you will save by going green. There are probably products in your home that clean just as good as your basic non green products but you just were not informed. That is why there is so much information on the Internet in order to tell people that it is easy to get into Green cleaning and they should take advantage of all the information that is available.

If you have a chance to do your part in helping to clean up the environment and make the earth healthy again, then you should definitely do it and Green cleaning is a way to give you that chance. Throw away all of your non green cleaning supplies the correct way and research on all of the other substances you can use that will still have the same affect in keeping your home really clean and smelling fresh but with an extra additive called giving. By doing this, you are giving to the environment the stability that it so desperately needs.

Use less water.

Saving water is all about small steps, here are a few that will help save big.

- Shut off the water while you brush your teeth
- Take showers that are a minute or two shorter
- Only flush the toilet when you need to
- Only run full loads of laundry and dishes
- Buy from sustainable producers. These are farmers, ranchers, and other producers that use techniques that pollute less and use less water. You can do some research online or ask at your local organic market to find these products.

Use less energy.

If you don’t have the money to buy a hybrid car or convert your house to solar power, you can make a big difference with small changes.

- Buy energy efficient appliances. They may be more expensive, but make up for the increased cost in lower energy bills.
- Unplug chargers when you’re not using them. Cell phone and other chargers use up powers even if there’s nothing attached to them.
- Put devices with remotes, like T.V.s, VCRs, and stereos, on a power strip and turn it off when you’re not using them. These devices use a lot of power to run the remote receiver even when the device is off.
- Walk or ride your bike for short trips.
- Buy local products. It takes energy to transport food and other products across the country. Buying local not only supports your local economy, it helps them use less energy.

When it comes to saving energy and water, it’s a great idea to get the kids involved. You can even make it a game. Have them track how much water and electricity everyone is using. You can compete to see who uses the least water. You can often count on your kids to help keep you on track when given the task.

Pick appropriate plants. Not all plants are appropriate for the area you live in. While you might be able to control the temperature, humidity, and rain conditions inside your house, you can’t do it out in the garden. If you pick appropriate plants for your area, you may be able to avoid using fertilizers and saving on water too. Research, what plants are native to your surrounding areas and try planting them in your own garden. Wildflowers, are just that, they can pretty much be left alone and will thrive in most areas.

Pick natural repelling plants. You don’t need to rely on poisons to keep away garden ruining pests. Many plants produce chemicals that repel these animals naturally. By putting them in or around you garden, you can keep your garden safe with little effort and no chemicals. Plus, you can pick parts of these plants and use them to make products to keep them away from you too.

If you don’t want to plant natural repellents in your garden, you can use them to spray your plants without harming them or adding artificial chemicals to your garden. Many herbs like hot pepper, vanilla, and lavender can help repel insects from your garden.

Pull weeds. We’re all looking for a quick and easy way to safely get rid of weeds without chemicals, but the good old fashioned way is still very effective. It you take time every day to pull the weeds you can find, you’ll only take a few minutes so it doesn’t seem like a lot of work. You can even get the kids involved, just be sure to do it properly so you don’t spread the seeds around. There are even some common weeds that are edible, just make sure there are no pesticides that could have gotten on them.

Crop rotation. Farmers all over the world use crop rotation to naturally fertilize plants. The concept is to change what crop you’re putting in a certain field each year. Plants use different nutrients and put other nutrients back into the soil. If you rotate crops that replace the nutrients the other plants use, you will have to fertilize the soil less.

You can use this same concept in your garden by planting different plants every year, or just rotating where you put specific plants in the garden.

So, you’ve made all these changes and are using a low-water, chemical free garden? Well, you still haven’t done the most important thing: pass it on! One garden can make a dent, but more can make a bigger difference. Tell your friends, teach your kids, you can even visit their school and teach your kids friends! Every little bit helps make a better world.

Homeopathic medicine is based on three basic principles. The biggest principle of homeopathy is that like treats like. Instead of treating based on the disease doctors think you have, treatment is done based on the symptoms you know you have. The second principle is that there is only one treatment, not two or even ten like a traditional doctor might give you. The third principle is that everything is given in extremely small doses.

To treat yourself homeopathically, you must figure out all the symptoms. Once you know your symptoms, you find a substance that causes the exact same set of symptoms and take a small amount of it. Because you are only taking a very small amount, the substance not only doesn’t harm you, it’s said to cure you, generally long term or even permanently.

When most people hear about homeopathy, their initial reaction is “no way!” Treating symptoms with something that causes your symptoms seems totally counterintuitive, but it’s a concept that’s used in modern medicine as well as more ancient cures. Shots commonly used to treat allergies contain a small amount of whatever you’re allergic to. Many vaccines contain a small amount of the disease they’re designed to protect against.

While homeopathic medicine is not only considered effective, it has many benefits over modern medicine. Like many other natural medical treatments, most homeopathic remedies are totally natural. While this doesn’t necessarily make them safe, these remedies tend to cause fewer side effects, have little drug interactions, and are generally better for your overall health.

Homeopathic medications are also considered better for your body because they work with it. Many modern medicines work to suppress symptoms like fever or coughing. These symptoms are the body’s natural ways to get rid of disease. Instead of suppressing symptoms, homeopathic medicine works to cure the problem itself while addressing the specific symptoms.

When the right treatment is found, homeopathy is considered very effective. The big problem is that just like there are thousands of prescriptions and over the counter drugs, there are also thousands of homeopathic remedies as well. And if you don’t pick exactly the right one, it won’t work.

While you can buy homeopathic remedies over the counter, just like herbal and other alternative medicines, that doesn’t mean it’s 100% safe to treat yourself. If you’re serious about this treatment you should speak to a doctor who has experience in alternative medicine or even see a specialist in the area.