Organize your Move and Reduce your Stress

Moving can be a very stressful and nerve-wracking experience.  But with some careful planning and by thinking ahead a little, you can make the process go a bit smoother.
Create a simple record keeping system. Whether it’s computer-generated or hand written, be very specific when recording things on this list.
You’ll probably need many more boxes thank you think, and having enough boxes will make your life easier.  If you go through a moving company, keep in mind that any boxes you purchase but don’t use can be returned for a credit or refund. Have at least ten boxes set aside to use for last minute items on moving day, such as bedding, clothing, and cleaning supplies. You’ll need strong plastic packing tape to close up the boxes securely. Use unprinted newsprint or packing paper or bubble wrap to wrap and cushion household good. Again, you’ll need lots more supplies than you think, so get extra. Moving companies will be happy to deliver boxes ahead of your moving day.
Designate a color for each room in the new home, such as yellow for kitchen, orange for dining room and so forth. Apply colored stickers on the box near the box number. In your new home, place a matching sticker on the door to each room. This is a simple way for the movers to know where to put everything when they arrive.
Insist on keeping things together when you or the movers are packing boxes. Keep bookends with books, light bulbs with lamps, and extension cords with appliances. Small, loose parts can be attached to the item they belong to with tape or placed in small envelopes — to keep picture hooks with pictures, shelf brackets with a bookcase, a special wrench and bolts with the wall unit.
Anything you can pack ahead will save you time on moving day. If it’s summer, get your winter clothes out of the way. If you must clean your old place after moving out, put together a kit of basic cleaning supplies and rags.  Moving companies will not move cleaning chemicals, so plan to transport those with you in your vehicle or give them to a neighbor or friend.

Acupuncture And Tai Chi For Stress Management

Acupuncture and tai chi are methods which many people believe can help to release the flow of energy throughout the body. These ancient forms of health care are becoming more and more commonly used in the western hemisphere, as people realize the benefits to their health and well-being.

In a study conducted at Yale University Medical School in the 1990’s acupuncture was demonstrated to significantly reduce stress. The study showed that the technique succeeded in lowering blood pressure, anxiety state, heart rate and electrodermal activities in the majority of test subjects.

In a second study, published in 1998, acupuncture was successful in treating 85.7 percent of test subjects with General Anxiety Disorder.

Acupuncture is considered a holistic medicine, and those who are treated generally experience no side effects. This is in stark contrast to the many side effects often experienced by patients taking prescription medications to reduce the affects anxiety and stress.

While acupuncture requires the use of very small, fine needles applied to specific areas of the body, tai chi is a non-invasive form of acupuncture, which requires no needles to be effective.

Both procedures have been shown to reduce the presence of certain chemicals in the body which are produced at high levels during periods of stress. Additionally these procedures help to optimize nerve transmissions along the spine, and stimulate the internal organs, increasing their ability to function properly.

To find a licensed and certified acupuncture therapist visit the “National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine” on the web.

Keep Your Garden Free from Pest Safely

Safe pest control should be of your utmost concern. Safety not only in terms of your plants but also for animals and people as well. This is especially so for those with vegetable and organic gardens.

The use of pest control chemicals will defeat the purpose of an organic garden. There are measure you can take to aid in maintaining a safe, less damaging and more environmentally friendly garden.

Use the physical pest control process. Snails like to hide, you’ll find them hiding in damp places under rocks and towards the base of those plants with strap like foliage. Pick grubs off by hand, create barriers and traps and plug holes.

Apply biological pest control. You can encourage predatory insects such as green lacewings and dragonflies to feed on aphids and other pests that attack your plants by placing a shallow bowl of water in the garden. Dragonflies especially will hover around water. Bacterial insecticides such as B. thuringiensis could also be used against caterpillars.

Consider using safer pest control substitutes. Recipes for alternative pest control include this one which is targeted toward Green Aphids and Mites – Mix 1 tablespoon of liquid soap and a cup of vegetable oil. Dilute a teaspoon of this solution in a cup of water and spray on aphids and mites.

Only as a last resort should you turn to chemical pest control. Organic pest control methods can be successful and the ingredients for many of them can be found in your own kitchen cupboards. If chemical sprays are really necessary, try and find the least-toxic ones. These include horticultural oils, insecticidal soaps, dehydrating dusts, and the like.

Make sure the chemicals you are planning on using are made specifically for the insects you are targeting. It won’t do you any good if it won’t get rid of the particular pest you are trying to get rid of.

Natural versus Store Bought Disinfectants

You need to disinfect your home; so, you want the best product for the job, right? That’s understandable. However, do you have to run to the store and pick up the first chemically-loaded disinfectant that you come across, or are there alternatives that are natural and safe for your home and family?

When most people think of a common disinfectant, they probably think of Clorox® or Lysol®. Are they the best choices to use? What about the natural products available online? Or can you make your own? How do they compare in availability, price, and effectiveness?

While Clorox® and Lysol® are available at almost any retailer that sells cleaning products; there are natural products that you can purchase online. You can also make your own disinfectant spray.

Clorox® Bleach has been available commercially since 1913. They have created numerous cleaning products in the ensuing years. Their products range from plain Clorox® Bleach to aid in whitening clothes to cloths to help clean and disinfect hard surfaces around your home and a disinfecting floor and surface cleaner.

While Clorox® is well known for disinfecting, the products are not entirely safe if not used exactly as indicated. Two hazardous ingredients in many of the Clorox® are didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride and n-alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride. The packaging says to avoid skin contact and that you should use protective eye wear and gloves while using it.

The Lysol® products have been in production a year longer than Clorox® Bleach. However they’re not any less hazardous. Lysol® also lists dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride 0.08% and dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride 0.02% in their ingredients.

So, if you want to disinfect your home, but don’t want to subject your family to the chemicals in these well-known products, what options do you have? Watkins, a familiar name since 1868, found that pine oil is a natural disinfectant. This naturally-occurring disinfectant may just be what you’re looking for.

Pine oil (a phenolic disinfectant) is an essential oil used in cleaning products such as Pine Sol and similar products. You can use Pine Sol (which is a Clorox® product), but you can also purchase pine oil from various sources online as well as many local health food stores. By doing this, you are able to control the ingredients in your cleaner and disinfectant.

Other eco-friendly essential oils you can use to disinfect are tea tree oil and thyme. These essential oils are interchangeable when used in homemade all-purpose cleaners or disinfectants.

To make this homemade recipe, combine two tablespoons of borax (easily found in the laundry aisle of any grocery store) and one-fourth cup of lemon juice and two cups of hot water in a spray bottle. Cover the bottle and shake until the borax is dissolved. Add twenty drops of either tea tree oil or thyme essential oil. Shake again and then use as you would any commercial product.

Another homemade recipe, especially good for disinfecting toilets is a combination of vinegar and essential oils. Mix two cups of white distilled vinegar with three drops of tea tree, thyme, eucalyptus, or pine essential oils. Spray in the toilet then clean as usual. When making homemade cleaning products, please make sure to label the bottles.

While it may be easier to find commercially made cleaners and disinfectants, homemade cleaners and disinfectants can be made for pennies on the dollar. You can pronounce all of the ingredients that you add to them, and you can rest assured that what you use won’t be hazardous to your family.

Organic Gardening Advantages

By Mary Hanna

The definition of organic gardening is a garden that does not use pesticides to kill pests. This method can be used in either vegetable or flower gardens. In vegetable gardens organic is the safest for you since you will be consuming what you have grown. But, if you utilize it in flower gardening also, it is safest for the environment.

Raising an organic garden has many sound reasons to encourage gardeners to go this route. As mentioned above all of your vegetables will be pesticide free, which means no poison on the food you are growing. While in flower gardening, many people plant flowers that will attract butterflies or bees which you won’t attract if you use pesticides. You especially want to remain pesticide free if you have small children or pets because chemicals could be harmful for them.

Your organic garden will be anything but simple gardening. Every garden takes effort and research and your organic garden is no exception. As with all gardens you must start with a plan. Research the plants you wish to grow. Find out what their needs are when it comes to light, fertilizer, PH in the soil and drainage. Be diligent in picking a spot that is well suited to your plants. If you are planting an herb garden select a site that is close to your kitchen door for easy harvesting. Find out if there are companion plants and if there are, consider using them.

When planting an organic garden you will need some really good compost. You can make your compost out of soil and organic matter. Organic matter includes leaves, manure, vegetable refuse, coffee grinds and eggshells. You can include peels from fruits and vegetables. (Potato skins, apple skins, orange rinds, etc.) Start your compost early, find a place to put your compost and work it frequently. By working it I mean turn it with a shovel so the organic material will break down. When you are ready to start planting work your compost into the garden beds before you plant.

Your garden location is very important. You need to pick a spot that gets lots of light and drains well. If it is a very windy spot you will have to figure out some way of sheltering. Don’t pick a low spot on your property since that might flood during heavy rains. You really want to put the garden in a place that has easy access for you and for watering with your hose.

Mentioned above were companion plants. Companion plants are plants that repel unwanted pests. If you plant roses, plant some garlic. It is said that garlic will repel rose’s nemesis, aphids. Cucumber beetles will not be a worry if you plant oregano. Marigolds will also repel many pests. For a good natural pesticide follow this recipe:

In a jar, combine 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid and 1 cup vegetable oil. Shake vigorously. In an empty spray bottle, combine 2 teaspoons of this mixture and 1 cup water. Use at ten-day intervals (or more often if needed) to rid plants of whiteflies, mites, aphids, scales, and other pests.

If you come up with a good plan you can have flowers and vegetables mixed together. Make sure that you know your zone and the conditions that apply in your area. Flower and vegetable gardens will be very different in Alaska than in Florida.

Your organic garden will take some work, but it will not be in vain when you can sit back and enjoy your beautiful blooms or make some culinary delights from the vegetables and herbs you have grown.

Happy Gardening!

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at Gardening Landscaping Tips, Gardening Outside, and Herb Gardening

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