10 Sustainable living tips for your home.

Hi Eco babes,

Sustainability to Rebel + the Gypsy means living a life that lowers the impact of the way you live on the earth.

Look at what you have, and look at what you need, try and find ways to improve your environmental footprint, we cannot do everything, but we all can do something.

1. Choose to support brands that support sustainable, fair trade and ethical business practices, we do.

Did you know at Rebel + the Gypsy

- Your De Lorenzo hair colours and products are;

100% Australian Owned and Made

No Animal Ingredients or testing

Vegan Certified Plant Based Ingredients Environmentally Sustainable

- Your teas are all organic and your coffee is fair-trade.

- Most of the furniture is handmade or up-cycled.

2. Buy second hand and up cycle or up cycle what you have. If you didn't know most of the furnishing in the studio are either handmade or up-cycled.

3. Buy clothing that is made ethically, search for brands that look after their staff, provide a fair wage and living conditions.

4. Buy staple quality pieces that can be worn for a long time, Repair the clothing you have, use old clothing as rags or donate it to a company like Man rags, giving it one more life rather than going to landfill.

5. At home make your own cleaners that are safer for your lunges and better for the environment.

One recipe thanks to 'The Scoop' is;

6. In the bathroom use flannels or face washers (depending on where you are from) instead of plastic scrubbers, they can be washed and at the end of their life and will compost back down into the soil.

7. Choose Compostable bin liners, be super careful when picking your liners, companies will trick you with words like

'Degradable bags' these are made from fossil fuels and break down into tiny bits of plastic that never go away....aaaaarrrrhhhh!!!!

'Biodegradable bags' are made from plastic however contain micro-organisms that help the bag to breakdown faster, sounds good but those tiny pieces of plastic never completely leave the earth...also arrrrhhhh!!!

The only, and best choice being Compostable bags is that they are made from plant based materials, they will 100% breakdown and leave no toxic residue or materials on Mother Earth....winning.  Look for bags with a leaf symbol on it or the Australian Standard AS4736 certification.

8.Eat Organic, we have been told so many times you are what you eat, oh boy is that true.

If you can't grow your own, eat as much organic food as you can get your hands on. Percy's has a really good selection of veggies in Warwick QLD.

Organic farmers avoid toxic herbicides and pesticides at all costs and are more heavily regulated ensuring that what they say they use is in fact true.

I feel that reducing the toxic chemical residues in our food, and on our land can only be a good thing for both our bodies and Mother Earth.

I find organic just tastes better, I love nothing more than picking a snow pea straight off the vine and eating it right then and there.

If you want to try to grow your own food and you don't have any land try pots or tubs, even a little kitchen herb garden not only looks cute but is so good for you, think fresh teas, tasty herbs in your cooking all within your reach.

In studio we stock a selection of seeds that come from a local small family business, visit us to get your packet of goodness to plant in your garden this weekend.

9. Fill your home with plants

Did you know that filling your home with plants helps to filter the air in which we breath,

cleaner air, healthier body. Another win is that green is the colour of the heart chakra the colour green creates a sense of well being and love for ourselves and others, it helps us to harmonize and to feel balance. Not only do plants look beautiful but they will make you feel at ease and turn your home into a beautiful chill out zone.

If your thumbs are not so green yet I recommend starting with

Zanzibar ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)

This plant thrives on neglect, if you forget to water it, it will be ok, it can also handle low light situations so its great for that spot in your home that doesn't get a lot of light.

Sansevieria or better known at Mother in laws tongue

Fantastic inside, is also amazing in low light areas and isn't fussy about the temperature, it will do well in most areas. I believe it filters the air even at night, so pop this one in your bedroom.

Pothos aka devils ivy

Oh my goodness this little gem will grow in water or on soil, once it takes off you can look down its runners for the nodes, they look like a little lump sticking out of the stem, use a pair of scissors and cut below it and stick it in some water, in a couple of weeks it will grow roots and from there you can place it in a pot with potting mix and it will grow. Hey presto, one plant purchase turns into heaps of plants.

My rule of thumb for watering indoor plants is stick your finger in the pot, if its moist leave it, if its dry water it.

Once a month give them a seasol drink, you will find the concentrate at any of our local nurseries, read the instructions on the bottle as you will have to weaken the mix. It gives the plants some love like their version of a treat xo.

until next time wishing you light and love

Storm xo

Rebel + the Gypsy

#sustainability #warwickhairdresser #ecoliving #greenliving #ecobabesblog #lowtoxlife