Top 15 Tips for My Readers
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| Photo courtesy of Dave Dehetre |
1. It’s summer time, so sit outside at dusk and watch the fireflies. Bring the baby monitor outside, sit next to your spouse and enjoy the simplicity.
2. Minimize the screen time in your home, especially for your kids. There are so many worlds to explore in books and in your own imaginations.
3. Set a goal this summer to learn how to make one of your favorite processed foods from scratch. It can be as simple as Iced Tea or as extravagant as Nutella.
4. Book a massage from time to time. Treat yourself, recenter yourself and have some quiet time.
5. Find an organic u-pick farm by using www.localharvest.org and go. Enjoy the day outside.
6. Support your local libraries. Any books that you know you will not read again and again, borrow them from here. It brings you out into your community and keeps your house less cluttered.
7. Stop using chemical weed killers like Round Up. They are not healthy for you or the planet.
8. Learn a handcraft. Whether it be carpentry, model building, knitting or crochet, all of them teach patience and let you appreciate how things are made.
9. Get to know your farmers at the farmers’ market. It makes it that much more local and personal when you can greet them by name and they ask how your own kids are doing.
10. Buy fresh flowers to brighten up your kitchen or even better, clip beautiful ones from your own garden and bring them inside.
11. Thrift shops are a great way to find quality kids’ clothes at great prices. Don’t be intimidated, but be discerning. Don’t just buy it because it’s cheap. Buy it because you need it and it works in your budget.
12. Take your time and know what your kids’ toys are made out of and feel comfortable saying no to companies that you are not comfortable supporting.
13. Don’t give up on introducing new foods to your kids. I’m not a big fan of hiding vegetables in other foods either. Take them to the market or to food festivals and let them explore to open their minds and palates.
14. Talk to your local eateries about what sustainable practices they pursue. If they jive with your standards or exceed them, excellent. If not, see what you can do to suggest small changes.
15. Don’t check your email for 24 hours and see how it feels to unplug for the day.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
You’ve inspired me to pack up the boys for a day trip and go strawberry picking!
Yay! Enjoy! We scored a bunch of organic raspberries at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday and have them all freezing to store for later.