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Eco Tips

Eco-Friendly Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas That Will Melt Hearts And Not Wallets

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Eco-Friendly Valentine’s Day Gift IdeasValentine’s Day is right around the corner so get ready for the chocolate, heart shaped gifts, and last minute gift buying. The last thing anyone would think of on Valentine’s Day is eco-friendly gift ideas. Chocolate and flowers are everyone’s first choice. Try to be creative and earth conscious this year. Love Earth because she lets the person you love live on her. So thank her too on Valentine’s Day. The girl/guy you are on a date with will love you a bit more if you gift them something thoughtful.

Here are some gift ideas that are so lovely that even Mother Nature would fall in love with you.

  • You can plant a tree together. When the tree grows, you can come back and tie a ribbon around it with a small frame with your initials. Do not carve the tree. They hate tattoos. As the tree grows, so does your relationship.
  • Buy each other a star. Not a paper star but an actual star. You can name it too. Now you can be the star in each other’s eyes. Look up at the night sky knowing that your love for another is universal now.
  • Recycle an old wine bottle and write a letter on recycled paper. Put it in the wine bottle. Seal it and put a nice ribbon around it for some simple décor. Message in a bottle can’t just be Sting’s idea.
  • Forget giving flowers. They will wither and die. Plus that is the last thing you want symbolizing your relationship. Instead make her origami flowers using recycled paper.

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  • Make a sidewalk letter with chalk. Save paper. Chalk is natural. Just be careful it does not rain. You will chalk up with tears.
  • Go to farm and pick fresh produce to make a romantic dinner at home.
  • Gift something handmade like a tie with his favorite superhero on it. You can try your hand at quilting a blanket for both of you to cuddle in.
  • Sleeping under the night sky is so romantic. Get a hammock or a tent. If you have a hammock then cuddle up with your love and stare up at the night sky. If you have tents then cuddle in a sleeping bag (cold areas) or nice sheets (warmer areas) and enjoy one another. Just be warned that you are in your backyard, keep it PG.
  • Love is in the air. Take your significant other on a nature walk to enjoy the beauty it offers. Have a picnic with organic snacks, overlooking a scenic view.
  • If you are going the original route then remember to get organic chocolates and organic flowers.

Hopefully, your significant other will enjoy any of the gifts you give them. Try something new from the list above and make it an eco-friendly lovely day. Sharing is caring and so is giving me one of those heart sugar cookies. Oh that came out wrong…I meant to say, sugar cookies in the shape of a heart. So have a happy Valentine’s Day to all of you reading this.

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Eco Tips

6 Eco-Friendly U.S. Cities You Have To Visit

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So what criteria should a city meet to be considered eco-friendly? It could include measuring the quality of the air and water, the way recycling is enforced, the replacement of conventional energy sources with renewal ones like hydraulic, air and solar energies, cleaner modes of transportations that do not leave a carbon footprint. Even farms that produce organic products can put a city on the eco-friendly map.

Here are six cities that meet the criteria.

  1. Austin, Texas is not all about horses and cowboys. They have also devoted a great deal of acres to the creation of parks, preserves and hiking trails. In addition, they are in the process to make their city entirely carbon free by the year 2020 by switching to renewable energy sources. Hybrid and electric cars are rapidly replacing fully gas powered vehicles.
  2. Just because the air in L.A. sucks doesn’t mean that all of California should get a bad rap. Take the city of Berkeley for example. They are known for using an abundant amount of green technology like solar power, wind power, hydro-power, and biofuels to run their city. In addition, they also offer a bunch of options of high quality organic food products at restaurants as well.
  3. What are the advantages of being a port city like Oakland in California? For starters, you are by the ocean, so you can use hydraulics as an energy source. Oakland is also known for having some of the freshest organic food sources available. The tap water is clean so you don’t have to invest in a filter or worry that you’ll suffer from contamination if you need to drink from the tap. Public transportation is hydrogen-powered. By the year 2020, Oakland hopes to be completely independent of oil based energy sources.
  4. Boston, Massachusetts is the place to be in 2015. That’s because they’re implementing a plan called “Green by 2015”, in which they hope to replace gas powered taxi cars, motorcycles and public transportations with hybrid ones. They will also use recycled trash to power the city as well as use solar panels as an energy source.
  5. San Francisco, California may be known for getting a whole lot of fog but it is also considered the country’s largest solar energy user. In addition to encouraging the local residents to recycle through neighborhood programs, the city has also banned the use of plastic bags at grocery stores.
  6. If you hate to drive then ditch that car, buy a bike and move to Portland, Oregon. It has 200 miles worth of bike lanes. This has been instrumental in diminishing the use of gas-powered vehicles, which as we all know really messes with the ozone layer. Plus, the less cars they less of a chance you’ll have of getting hit while bike riding to work.

Some of these cities are bike-friendly, use sustainable sources of energy like solar panels or wind sails, or provide their residents with rich, nutritious organic foods that are free of chemicals and hormones. But however they are accomplishing their environmental-focused efforts, they are succeeding and more cities ought to take their example.

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Eco Eats Eco Tips Lawn & Garden

Food Gone Wild: Super Usefull Foraging Tips

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forage-food-edible-guy-picking-plantsThere will come a day when you are lost in the forest, or even worst, the wild, and you have nothing to eat. Well you have your fingertips, but that is just disgusting, and also a bad habit. Anyway, if you are afraid of finding yourself truly lost and starving then you need to learn about foraging for food. I mean if squirrels can do it…so can you. Let Mother Nature feed you her essence. Why start foraging? Well…food costs are rising, edible plants in nature are free, they give you nutrients, and some are used for medicinal purposes.

Here are some beginner tips on foraging.

  • Tip 1: Do not eat everything that you see. Curiosity killed the dumb brat for a reason. Some plants can be poisonous.
  • Tip 2: Know what environment you are going to end up hiking. Suit up properly too. Gloves are your friends.
  • Tip 3: Bring a bag. Use it to keep your foraging finds.
  • Tip 4: Before you eat the plants, test them out to see if they do not upset your stomach and make you plant one in the toilet.
  • Tip 5: No seconds, my dear. Let the area you picked plants from have a chance to grow back.
  • Tip 6: Stay away from highway, nuclear, and landfill plants.
  • Tip 7: Read twice, pick once. That is the foraging motto…for me. Some plants can fool you, so read the books twice and cross-reference it with other plants to make sure you are eating the right one.
  • Tip 8: Make sure you are not allergic to specific plants. Rub a bit of it on a small area of your arm and then some on your lips. If you are not dead, then go ahead.
  • Tip 9: Be thoughtful. There are some endangered species of plants. Read up and find out which ones they are. The last thing you want is to eat the last one of its kind.
  • Tip 10: Do not make a mess. Littering is frowned upon.
  • Tip 11: Mushrooms are great to eat, but some can kill you on the spot. Always have a picture book of edible plants or food.
  • Tip 12: If you do not know if something is edible then do not collect it.
  • Tip 13: Make it a daily routine. Explore different areas to forage for new items.
  • Tip 14: Bring a camera to take pictures of plants, fruits, herds, weed, etc. that you find to keep track of what is in your environment.
  • Tip 15: Say thank you to Earth for giving you great natural nutrients.

So when you are out and foraging for your food, make sure to follow these tips. Remember that just because Mother Nature is giving you free food; it does not mean that you cannot repay her back. Plant some new seeds or throw some seeds in the wind and let nature take its course.