April is EARTH Month and April 22nd is Earth Day. Most areas are still recommending to stay at home and practice social distancing if you must go out or are an essential worker, but we can still celebrate the Earth!
Here are 12 ways you can get outside and celebrate the earth while still practicing social distancing.
Plant a garden. Propagate new plants, repot or split over-crowded plants, or plant a window sill garden. Spring is the perfect time to start your seeds indoors for all of your favorite garden herbs, fruits, and veggies.
Take a hike or walk.
Pick up litter around your yard or in your neighborhood.
Find a geocache..or better yet, cache and trash! We cachers call this CITO (Cache In, Trash Out.) Geocaching is a fun outdoor GPS game where you use GPS coordinates to hide and seek containers, called “geocaches” or “caches”, at locations marked by coordinates all over the world. My family and I have enjoyed geocaching while hiking, running errands or even on vacation. You can join for free at geocaching.com. If you do, look me up at abc0619! We can be caching-friends!
Plant a bush or tree.
Do some yard work. Clean leaves out of flower beds, mow or treat your lawn.
Create a serene outdoor sitting area.
Make a birdhouse or add a bird feeder.
Have a picnic.
Go for a bike ride. Not only are you getting some exercise, but you are also reducing pollution!
Read a book outside in the sunshine!
Have a nature photoshoot. Take pictures of plants, trees, leaves, flowers, insects, the sky, or clouds. Take it all in and enjoy! You may even get some shots good enough to frame!
Although it may not feel like it, spring is here! I have been using some of my extra time during this quarantine to do some spring cleaning, cleaning out drawers and closets, and paring down, donating things we don’t need or use.
I always love the smell after spring cleaning…the windows are open and I can smell the sweet scent of the hyacinths in the air blowing through and the fresh, clean smell of the lemon and orange oils from my homemade cleaners. I prefer to use chemical-free cleaners in our home and so I make my own. One of the most important staples I keep around for making homemade cleaners is 20 Mule Team Borax.
What is Heck is Borax?
Borax, also known as sodium tetraborate, is a white, powdery mineral mined from dried up lakes. Because it is a completely natural mineral, it is no more toxic than baking soda when used properly.
I first came across this magic mineral when I had my first child. My son had been put on soy formula and the stains were terrible to get out! I was talking about this with my grandmother one day while visiting her with the baby. She suggested pre-soaking in borax and water solution before washing. I asked her, “What the heck is borax?” My grandmother goes to the laundry room and comes back with a box of 20 Mule Team Borax. She was a cleaning lady for many years and also made her own natural cleaners.
I picked some up later that day. It was kind of hard to find in the laundry aisle at the store because it was shoved way back on a bottom shelf. I tried it that very night and was AMAZED at how well it worked! Why had I never heard of this before?
After it worked so well for removing the formula stains on the baby’s clothing, I was hooked! The box had a few other common uses printed on the back to clean rusty cooktops, remove mold and mildew stains and dissolve sticky messes. I had to know more…what else could I be using this for?
5 Great Uses for Borax
While Borax can be used for a myriad of household cleaning and deodorizing, here are FIVE ways to use borax around your home.
Use as a deodorizer- Borax powder can be used to deodorize carpets, stinky sneakers, garbage cans, refrigerators, mattresses, and garbage disposals,
Use to remove rust and limescale on tile, porcelain, cookware, and stainless steel. Because of its abrasive qualities, borax is a wonderful cleaner for bathrooms and kitchens.
Use outdoors to deter common pests like ants, fleas, water bugs, roaches, and other pesky insects. Borax can also be sprinkled around the base of fruit trees to enrich the soil, used as a weed killer, or used to scrub your outdoor furniture in the spring.
Use as a rinse agent in the dishwasher instead of the expensive and toxin-filled alternatives to prevent spots on glassware.
Use as a laundry booster. Borax can be used to boost the power of traditional laundry soap or can also be used to make your own detergent. Works well on stains too!
Using Borax Around My Home
I love that borax is so multi-purpose and also safe for my family. I use it as a laundry detergent booster as suggested on the box, but I utilize it for so many other applications around my home.
Borax works fantastically on those crusty, stove burners to clean grease and cooking spills.
With borax, white vinegar and a little elbow grease, this stovetop is gleaming!
I also use borax to combat insects that sneak their way into the house in the spring like ants. Mix 1/2 cup of sugar, 1.5 tbsp borax, and 1.5 cups warm water. Soak some cotton balls in the mixture and place in corners of the room, windowsills, cabinets, and counters to keep ants away.
Another way I use borax at home is to make a natural weed killer to spray the cracks of my driveway and sidewalk. This mixture is extremely easy to make and can be applied once yearly. I apply in the spring for best results. Dissolve 10 oz. of borax into 4 oz of warm water. Once the borax is dissolved into the warm water, mix into a home and garden sprayer and add 2.5 gallons more water. Do not use around flower beds or vegetable gardens.
Cleaning with Caution
Although borax is a naturally occurring mineral with low toxicity, it can still be absorbed through the skin causing mild skin irritation. As with any other cleaning substance, using gloves and following directions, along with heeding package warnings, is always recommended.
Conclusion
Cleaning with natural ingredients is not as difficult or time-intensive as one may think. Natural cleaners are just as effective and much less toxic! Making your own natural cleaners with borax and other household staples like white vinegar, baking soda, or salt are budget-friendly and eco-friendly too! If you haven’t heard of borax, give it a try! I have given you [at least] five great ways to try it in your home while spring cleaning!
I have seen a plethora of articles about self-care, but this one is a little different…I feel an obligation to write my own self-care post to remind you that self-care is not just sitting around relaxing and pampering yourself.
There IS a difference between relaxing and laziness.
As important as taking the time to care for your mental health is, there is a line between taking time to relax and recharge and being just plain lazy. I know when we are stuck at home, it’s easy to lose track of what day it is. It feels like all you do is cook and eat. Getting stuck in a rut, binge-watching and ordering in is extremely easy with this extended period of time at home, but get off of your couch already!
I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but I see some people falling apart, spending much of their time arguing with strangers on Facebook, watching every season of every show on Netflix, constantly checking statistics and news on COVID-19, being depressed about being stuck at home or sleeping these weeks away.
Grandma says…
Makes me think of what Grandma would have said…I can hear her now. “Suck it up buttercup and get moving.” She was an extremely strong woman and mentor for me. My grandmother was a mother to 9 children, 8 of them boys. She was married to an alcoholic for many years who would spend his time after work in the bar till closing time. He was angry and abusive. She could have easily been swept up in her situation. But that was not her way. She was strong and stubborn. And she sucked it up and got moving. She left that man and moved on with her children. I often think of her and what she would do when I am struggling with something.
Do YOU!
You can only sit on your couch for so long in those same clothes you’ve been wearing for days and binge Netflix or scroll through your social media feeds. Don’t get me wrong, I have taken a couple of hours here and there or even a day to relax and recharge. We are going into the third week of the stay at home order in my area and the boredom with the lack of activity has set in…just because we are stuck at home doesn’t mean we cannot still be motivated and productive!
This is me (and Grandma too) telling you to get up off of your couch already and motivate yourself! Now is the perfect time to be forming better habits, reading and writing more, learning a language or skill, planning and goal setting, diving into your passions, spending time with your children, accomplishing projects and so much more! Plant a windowsill garden, experiment with essential oils, clean out your pantry or closet, make a homemade face mask, organize your workspace, clean the garage, or start a journal. The possibilities are endless!
Stop reading all of those coronavirus and COVID-19 articles and worrying yourself to death! Stop ranting on Facebook and aggravating yourself! These things will not be of any benefit and will only help to make you miserable…
Choose to be more motivated and the happiness will follow! When you are on social media, choose to send out positive vibes and comments, connecting with others! Connect with family and friends through phone and video calls! DO SOMETHING! Your body AND MIND will thank you.
You will be amazed at how much better you will feel if you use this time to get some exercise, expand your mind, and accomplish some of those things on your to-do list!
If you have been using your time wisely and doing something inspirational, educational, or productive, I would love to hear about it!
Drop it in the comments or send me an email! Bonus points for photos 🙂
