I talk a lot about decorating here on Red Leaf Style. But there’s a whole different side of me that I haven’t really shared with you. Well, I’m really into everything natural. I eat organic food. I clean my whole home with baking soda, vinegar and lemons. I compost. I reuse. I recycle. I’m really into this whole natural and organic thing. I try not to take myself too seriously, but I do enjoy making natural living a part of my everyday life. Natural and organic. What do these mean? Let’s talk about these terms. Natural and organic are terms used to describe everything from food to cosmetic ingredients to fabric. I’d need more than this blog post to tell you about all of the differences. But in general, “natural” doesn’t really have any regulations behind it, but “organic” does. Organic means the food or ingredient has been grown without the use of chemical pesticides. How do you start living naturally? Most of us care about our health. Usually that starts with taking a hard look at what we eat. Maybe that leads to buying organic food or cutting out processed foods. An interest in organic food tends to...
Indoor Gardening Day
I don’t take my home so seriously that I can’t drag a big ole bag of potting soil inside to do a bit of gardening. That’s exactly what went on in my kitchen this Saturday. After weeks of chilly, snowy and dreary weather, I’m ready to fill my home with greenery! A week or two ago I started some seeds using eggshells. (Check out my tutorial to learn how!) I planted a smorgasbord of veggies and herbs: spinach, carrots, lettuce, radishes, oregano, basil and chives. All easy-to-grow plants that I can cultivate in containers. The radishes sprouted far faster than all of the other plants. They were ready to transplant to larger containers, so that was this weekend’s project. If you’re looking at the pictures and wondering if I used that soup ladle to fill the pots with soil, why yes, yes I did. (Go ahead, file that one away for future reference. Soup ladle works just as well as shovel.) I didn’t actually plant the peppers or tomatoes in the pictures above, but I love the happy colors on the seed packets. That’ll be a future project. Until it warms up enough to move all of these plants outside and transplant the rest of the...
Skip the Seed Tray! This is How to Start Seeds in the Most Frugal Way
Inside: Break out the seeds and soil. Here’s a method to start seeds for your garden without spending big bucks. “And now for my next trick, I’m going to build a rocket ship from tissues.” I have a friend who likes to poke fun at my budget-friendly ways. He breaks out this saying when I bake my own granola, shop at thrift stores or find frugal ways to start a garden. Maybe I earned it. I have been known to drag a bag of potting soil into the kitchen for an indoor gardening day. Or, fold dozens of newspaper pots to start seeds. And, I’ve composted table scraps in a plastic cereal container in my apartment kitchen. Growing your own food is rewarding, but it’s also cheaper than buying those same tomatoes, basil and squash at a store. Not to mention fresher and tastier. If you garden, then you probably like to save money too. Well, here’s a fun way to save some green with that green thumb of yours. Get your gardening going with this frugal (and unexpected!) way to start seeds. A Little-Known Way to Start Seeds for Your Garden Skip the seed trays. You can start...