Homemade Liquid Detergent

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap

4  Cups - hot tap water

1  Fels-Naptha soap bar

1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (click for link to purchase at Meijer.com)

*½ Cup Borax

Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil. Some use lemon.

Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). 

I'd love to know how the detergent works for you! 

Seed Bombs

I was recently reading a Garden Magazine and learned of Seed Bombs! (pictured to the left) It's a great example of Urban Greening. You can buy Seed Bombs just about anywhere including Anthropologie who sells five seed bombs in a muslim bag fro $6. However, it is just as simple, and a lot more fun, to just make your own! Here's how...

Ingredients

Seed of your choice, or a mix
Dried organic compost of any kind
Finely ground dry red clay: You can use potting clay or dig clay out of the ground as long as you dig deep enough so there are no weed seeds in it. The subsoil in most of the country is clay, so it’s easy to find, especially at building sites or where roads are being built. If you use potting clay, be sure to use only red clay—other kinds might inhibit seed growth. Spread it out to dry, then grind it up between two bricks to make a powder.

1. Mix one part seeds into three parts compost.

2. Add five parts dry clay to the compost/seed mix and combine thoroughly.

3. Add a little water a bit at a time until the mix becomes doughlike. You don’t want it to be soggy.

4. Roll tightly packed little balls about the size of marbles, and set them aside to dry in a shady place for a few days.

5. To make the strongest impact, distribute these balls at the rate of about 10 balls per square yard of ground.

Remember that Seed Bombs work, so it's a good idea to strategically "throw" them. And you can check with your local nursery to find out which seeds might work best for your area. This particular recipe is from: http://www.naturalhomeandgarden.com/natural-landscaping/how-to-make-seed-balls.aspx#ixzz1WijXvw2I

A Tip for Cutting Down on Waste

I'm always looking for new ways to cut down on waste. Today, I was talking with a co-worker over lunch. We were discussing CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) programs and how often the box is just too much for one person to eat in a week. Unfortunately, my husband and I don't share the same eating habits. While he could live on steak, shrimp and ribs, I am mostly vegan (I have to say mostly because I do love cheese and the occasional omelet). Our CSA box comes each Tuesday with several heads of lettuce, cabbage, chard, turnips, radishes, etc. By the end of the week, I'm eating chard three meals a day and frankly it's not delightful. My friend suggested that at the end of the week, I throw EVERYTHING that I wasn't able to eat (veggies) into a pot and make a vegetable broth, then freeze it for future use. Genius! And why didn't I think of that?! Thankfully, with good friends and online resources you don't have to know-it-all. This saves me a few extra bucks on buying the broth and cuts down my waste-guilt tremendously.

Eat.Live.Breathe.Organic

Urban Homesteading

My latest read is Urban Homesteading by Rachel Kaplan and K. Ruby Blume. I was turned onto it by a friend and co-worker, who wrote about the book on our firm's Regenerative Landscapes blog. http://www.regenerativelandscape.org/

The book had me at the dedication, which reads: "This book is dedicated to the children who follow after us. May they inherit a fertile and abundant world filled with people who honor the diversity of life teeming around us: from the tiniest microbe, to the wondrous chicken, to the beauty of human community."

Often these books are overwhelming, they start off demanding you to build your own chicken coop and to quit your job to become a farmer. I'm am all about taking baby steps when it comes to lifestyle changes. The first chapter in this book, "Start where you are" -- What a refreshing concept!

But, as Grace Paley says, "The only recognizable feature of hope is action." So ideas and concepts, hope and dreams are all good, but at some point we all have to get our hands dirty. "And so we find ourselves in our backyards...pulling carrots, tending bees and gathering grapes."

The book has a Bioregional Quiz, that helps you discover where you actually are. Among the questions is can you trace the water you drink from precipitation to tap? Describe the soil around your house. Were the stars out last night? The quiz helps the reader to start thinking, to start living more aware and curiously. Knowing our surroundings can make us better stewards of the places we call home. It's the concept of being the change we wish to see in the world. It starts with you (and me) and we can start small.

Here are a few themes from the book:

Simplify.
Use Less.
Share More.
Localize.
Diversify.
Do it Yourself.
Indigenate.
Emobdy.
Relate.
Forgive.
Listen and Observe.
Create and Renew.
and likely the most important, Begin.

Start where you are. Make mistakes. Begin again.

The book is filled with inspiring, practical, insightful knowledge and tools that we can use to change the way we live and more, to change the way we view our surroundings. I will be writing more as I work my way through the book and hope that you will join me on the journey to more sustainable living. If not for oursevles, for "the children who follow after us."

Eat.Live.Breath.Organic

I love Tuesdays!

Every Tuesday, I get to pick up my box of organic, fresh, local farm goodies at the CSA drop-off by my house. This week the box contents included: chard, garlic, scallion onions, young potatoes, basil, two varieties of lettuce, and radishes. Each delivery comes with a newsletter that includes a description of what is in the box and how it was harvested. It also has farm news and a list of recipes on the back that coordinate with items in the box. My two get-a-ways recently have been running and cooking. After a long day at work yesterday, I decided I would get home a bit early at start cooking. I used a new recipe from the newsletter: Chard and Potato Quiche. Next time I make it, I'll change a few things, like the size of my pie dish and I would add the Basil AFTER the dish was finished baking.

Chard and Potato Quiche
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of milk
6 - 8 small potatoes
a bunch of scallion onions, sliced thinly
2 cups of flour
4 eggs
1/2 tsp of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the crust first: Mix oil, milk and salt in a medium sized bowl, add two cups of flour and combine with a fork until well mixed. Put dough-like mixture into the pie dish and press into the dish to form a pie crust.

In a pan, put a small amount of oil, dice potatoes and heat in the pan until almost cooked through. Add diced scallion onions and shredded chard. Heat through. Pour vegetable mixture into the dish with the pie crust. Beat the four eggs with a tablespoon of milk and pour over vegetable mixture. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Remove and top with fresh basil.

Of course, after dinner, I had to let my son Jack eat the candy-stick that I had made for him over the weekend with chocolate candy (blue food coloring) and sprinkles. Organic and totally healthy, I know!!

Andiamo a mangiare!! (Let us eat) 



If you are interested (which I highly recommend) joining a CSA, Community Shared Agriculture, group please go to: http://www.localharvest.org and search for one in your area. We buy from Shooting Star Farm, and we pay approximately $24/week for our box, which feeds our family of three (I'm not including my 3 month old) all week, with a few supplements like meat (for my husband and son) and dairy products.

Eat Live Breathe Organic

Miraculous Trauma...Natural Childbirth

Since this about all things organic or natural, I decided it would be a good place to post my son Jett's birth story. Giving birth natural is pretty organic, right?! My first son, Jack was born at home and Jett was born at our midwives home/birth center here in Oakland. I titled this post Miraculous Trauma, because that is really what it was to me. I ended up having post-traumatic stress after Jett's birth, but after some healing (mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally) I've been able to see the miracle in it all. So, this is the story of Jett's birth...

Walking with Nana 

Jett Stone Hyson
March 11, 2011 | 11:38 AM
8 lbs. 5 oz. | 20.5” long

Wednesday, March 9, 2011
9:30 AM - I had my first appearance of bloody show.
10:00 AM - My Mom and I set out for a walk to try and speed up the labor. We walked from our house to
Jack’s school on Redwood Road. It was 1.5 miles there (up and down hill) and another 1.5 miles back. This is a picture of one of the hills that we walked up to get back home. It was a tough walk, but we finished at 11:30 AM and I felt stronger and more prepared for labor (little did I know).
11:30 AM - We finished our walk and I took a shower. More bloody show. This time I called Selena to let her know about the “progress.” She was happy to hear from us and asked that we keep her up-to-date as anything changes. I also sent a text to our doula, Grace to keep her posted as well.
12:30 PM - We ate lunch and a few hours later I laid down for a nap.
4:00 PM - I awoke to some “leaking” from my bag of waters. Still no contractions, but we notified Selena
and Grace. For the next two hours my water leaked and gushed. It made me nervous, but our midwives
assured us that YOU actually continue to make more fluid and that we wouldn’t “run out” ;-)
8:40 PM - We went to the birth center at Selena’s request. They checked me and I was 60% effaced, -2
positioning and 2 cm dilated. They sent us home to rest. I had contractions throughout the night last ing a few seconds each with long breaks in between where I was actually able to get some sleep.

Thursday, March 10, 2011
I woke up having contractions in the morning: 1 every 10-30 minutes lasting about 30-60 seconds each. I was feeling very tired.

Labor Tincture (yum!!)

10:15 AM - Called Pearl to check-in.
Contractions at: 10:34 AM | 10:44 AM | (ate at 10:53 AM) | 11:00 AM | 11:19 AM | 11:40 AM | (took a    shower at 11:40 AM) | 12:00 PM | 12:29 PM | 12:39 PM | 12:40 PM | 12:53 PM | 1:10 PM | 1:17 PM | 1:25 PM |1:39 PM | 1:54 PM | 2:19 PM | 2:34 PM | 2:46 PM | 2:59 PM | 3:24 PM | 3:39 PM | 3:59 PM
4:00 PM - Jamal left to pick up Jack from school.
Contractions continued: 4:10 PM | 4:33 PM
4:30 PM - We are driving to the birth center. I was having contractions in the car (ouch!)
5:30 PM - We are at the birth center. Jamal took Jack to MayMay’s house (we were sad to see him go).
6:00 PM - The midwives gave me a Labor Tincture to speed up the labor “naturally.” Pearl would drop a few drops under my tongue every 30 minutes. The tincture tasted like 100 proof alcohol. It literally burned and I would have to hold it under my tongue for as long as I could, then swallow it. I made Nana and Daddy try some. They almost gagged ;-) But Mommy took it faithfully, every 30 minutes for 4 hours while having contractions.
7:15 PM - Pearl and Gionna used a Moby wrap to wrap my belly. It helped take some of the pressure and pain off of my back during contractions. My back labor was extremely painful and much more unbearable than I imagined.
7:45 PM - Daddy gave me a foot massage and then brought me some fresh strawberries to snack on.
8:40 PM - Pearl started the bath, so that I could get in. She did an exam and found that I wasn’t very     dilated and that your head was sitting on my cervix, causing some swelling.
9:12 PM - We started our ipod playlist. Mommy needed a distraction. The playlist included songs like:
“Boston and St. Johns” by Great Big Sea, “Breathless” by Corrine Bailey Rae, “Can I Walk with You” by India Arie, “Chasing Pavements” by Adele, “Come Child” by Jonny Diaz, “Crazy Love” by Brian McKnight,
“Free Fallin” by John Mayer, “Held” by Natalie Grant, “I Was Here” by Lady Antebellum, “Wonderful” by
India Arie, “Killng Me Softly” by Colbie Calliat, “Love Never Fails” by Brandon Heath, “Pretty Wings” by
Maxwell, “More Beautiful You” by Jonny Diaz, “Never Alone” by Barlow Girl, “So You Can Cry” by  Ne-Yo, "Take Me Away” by John Legend, “When You Love Someone” by Donnel Jones, and “Lucky” by Colbie Calliat and Jason Mraz.
9:22 PM - I climbed into the miraculous jacuzzi tub. It was so helpful in getting through the now seemingly unbearable contractions. The warm water helped ease the back labor.
9:30 PM - Our Douala, Grace, arrived. She is so sweet and although I couldn’t express it, I was happy to
have another kind helping hand.
9:45 PM - I start taking Arnica to help reduce the swelling. It is a homeopathic and I can take it every 15 minutes. I just finished my last dose of the Labor Tincture (thank God)!
9:48 PM - Listening to the music. Grace has a very soothing voice.
10:10 PM - Baby’s heartbeat is still strong.
10:45 PM - Pearl gives a pressure point massage to help speed up labor. Contractions continue every 3-4 minutes apart, but then digressing to 10 minutes apart, then back to 3 minutes. The contractions are very irregular, but extremely painful. Much more so than I ever experienced while in labor with your brother Jack.
10:51 PM - I’m complaining that the contractions are never really ending. They start, steadily increase like climbing a mountain, they hit the mountain peak and are most painful there, then they go down the mountain slightly, then rise back to the peak twice, before coming down. However, I feel like they never really make it to the bottom before starting the climb again. Very painful.
11:17 PM - Using the birth ball to “bounce” through contractions while Daddy sits in front of me rubbing     my shoulders. I use his legs as support or squeeze his hands. Grace gives me a massage on my lower back which helps with the back labor.
Friday, March 11, 2011 (Your Birthday!!)
12:50 AM - Contractions go back to 10 minutes apart. Very intense. Mommy and Daddy laid in bed to try and rest (yea, right!) between the contractions, but they were too strong.
2:07 AM - I’m exhausted at this point. They check your heartbeat and it is still strong!
2:48 AM - I had to eat a Zuma Bar for some energy, while Grace massaged my back to help with the back labor during contractions.
3:05 AM - Pearl checks my cervix again. It opens to 5 cm during contractions but closes back to 3 cm after. Not much progress.
3:15 AM - Contractions are back to 3 minutes apart. I take more Labor Tincture (yuk!) I spend a few         contractions in the bathroom with Daddy. I went to the bathroom and got “stuck” there waiting for a break in contractions so I could walk back down to the birth room.
4:10 AM - Puking.
4:13 AM - Puking and Contractions. I tell everyone, “That was the worst”
4:37 AM - Contractions get more intense (if that is even possible) and Grace continues to massage me while I labor.
4:40 AM - Puking (again) from the intensity of the pain. I try to labor on my hands and knees while on the bed, but I have to change positions. The back pain is too intense. I say things like, “That was intense, very intense.” (That was my favorite word during the labor)
5:25 AM - Nana wrote in the birth journal, “Julie made her own bed up and is laying back...you are my superstar sweet, sweet girl...You and Jamal make the perfect team...Great job both of you!”
5:37 AM - I’m feeling tremendous pressure. Pearl comes to check on me. They take off the moby wrap
(again) -- It feels good to be a bit “free” -- Pearl checks your heart rate, still strong as ever! You’re doing
great baby boy!
6:17 AM - Pearl is going to do another exam, but a contraction comes so she waits...Pearl says that the   
cervix is “gone around the back” -- She is going to try and push the part that is around the front over the baby’s head while I’m having a contraction.
6:27 AM - Puking (again).
6:36 AM - I’m questioning if I can do this. I ask out loud, “Am I going to be able to do this?” Everyone in
unison says, “Yes” -- At this point, I’m still not fully dilated. Active Labor caused my cervix to be more
swollen, which means Mommy has to rest and lay flat on my back. I’m continuing to take Arnica to help
reduce the swelling.
7:25 AM - Daddy draws another bath so that I can get in and try to feel some relief.
7:55 AM - Pearl says that Early Labor was just extremely long. It hasn’t actually been that long of an     active labor since my cervix started opening. She will check back in 1.5 hours...this makes Mommy feel defeated. I’m feeling like I can’t go on...and an 1.5 hours seems like FOREVER!
8:10 AM - I’m crying now. I’m feeling like there is no way I’ll make it through this. I’m exhausted and in the
worst pain I’ve ever experienced. Contractions are still coming about every 5 minutes.
9:15 AM - I’m asking for Pearl. I need to have help getting through this or I’m going to need to go to a
hospital. Gionna tells me to wait until 10:00 AM and Pearl will come and check. I tell her I need Pearl now.
9:40 AM - Pearl comes in to check the baby’s heart rate and do another pelvic exam. Cervix still isn’t
fully dilated. The baby’s head is pushing the cervix forward. I thought the worst was behind me, but it was just beginning. Pearl works with me to push through contractions, even without the urge, so that she can manually get your head past the cervix. About an hour into this, we realize that if we push you over to the left (Grace did this) the cervix disappears. Turns out you were blocking it. So, Grace pushes you over while I push and Pearl “works” on my cervix. At 11:00 AM -- I can feel the urge to push and I am thrilled to see a light at the end of the tunnel and to know that I will soon be holding you in my arms. I can feel you crowning...it burns...and there is SO MUCH PRESSURE. 40 minutes of pushing on the birthing stool and Pearl asked me to stand up over the birth stool. I stand and give one last push...Pearl catches you and hands you to me as I lay back on the bed next to Daddy.

Daddy and I just laid on the bed and stared at you. In one final push, the pain is gone (well, somewhat gone) and you’re here, in our arms. You are perfect. Ten fingers, Ten toes and a head full of JET black hair. You laid on my chest, so sweet, so peaceful. The only words that I could get out were “My Baby” and I said it over and over again as I kissed your head.

    Labor (n): physical or mental exertion; especially when difficult or exhausting work.
    Exhausted (v): to wear out completely.
    Intense (adj): extreme in degree.

The labor was nothing that I expected it to be. It was the hardest and most intensely painful experience in my life. It turns out you came out forehead first with a fist over your eye. You never fully engaged in my pelvic which means I pushed you out from the floating position. In some ways I felt like I was doing the work alone. Like you were working against me or were just along for the ride. Maybe you just liked the warm, dark comfort and safety of my womb. The labor was physically, mentally and spiritually exhausting. I fought with every cell in my body to labor through the pain, to accept what my body was doing. At times I felt completely defeated by the process. Defeated because nothing was going the way that it was “supposed” to go. Defeated because I felt as though I had lost control over my body. Yet, at other times I felt like the strongest woman in the world. I felt empowered and brave. I felt like a Mother. A Mother who sacrificed comfort, chose to feel pain, to give you the best entrance into this world.

Three weeks after you were born, I saw an acupuncturist who helped me to accept and move past the trauma of the labor. She said to me, “You feel like the experience didn’t go perfectly, because it didn’t go the way you planned it to. But the birth was perfect, because it happened how it was supposed to happen and in the end you gave birth to a healthy baby. So, it was perfect.” It has taken me a full three weeks to recover mentally from the experience. To realize that the miracle you are, is too precious to be ignored or overshadowed by the pain or trauma of the labor.

In April of 2010 we lost your brother/sister. I was devastated and heartbroken. I cried for months and couldn’t get past thoughts of all that we would miss, not ever meeting Journey. When I held you in my arms for the first time, I felt no less sad about our loss, but I felt an unmeasurable happiness that I had you. If we hadn’t lost Baby Journey, we would have never had Baby Jett. You are a miracle. You are a perfect gift from God. You are a living form of His grace and I feel blessed to call you mine. Daddy, Jack and I love you more than words can express. You are so sweet and relaxed. Your disposition reminds me of your Daddy. It doesn’t hurt that you look just like him too. I’m lucky to live life with three amazing men. You boys are my world and you, My Baby, are a perfect addition to our family. We love you, Jett.

Welcome Baby Jett

Eat.Live.Breathe.Organic

Positively Green

"The first rule of ecology is that everything is connected to every thing else. One simple action affects countless others throughout the environment." - Joan Ward-Harris, Ecological Author and Artist

My Douala, Grace, came by today for her last post-natal visit. She is every part of her name. She acts and speaks with the sweetest voice, so full of grace. She brought Baby Jett some really cute gifts and gave us a treasured card (which I didn't see until well after she left since we let our three year old, Jack, open the gift). The card was incredibly sweet and to my surprise, when I turned the card over I found that it was made by a company called "Positively Green."

The back of Grace's card was almost as inspiring as her handwritten words on the inside:

Do Something Positive: Your purchase helps to ensure a livable, healthy planet. We donate 10% of the profits from these cards to organizations that work to protect our environment.

It even has a Green Tip!

Do Something Green (Tip #149): Instead of buying detergents or cleaners in big disposable boxes or plastic tubs, buy smaller amounts of concentrated cleaners and mix them up to full strength at home in reusable containers.

I touched on this in my last post, but the Tip above is an alternative (baby step) way to reduce your waste.

And, the cards are printed on FSC-certified, 100% post-consumer recycled fiber at an EnviroStar printer utilizing green power. The paper is certified by Green Seal, and by the Rainforest Alliance SmartWood Program...which promotes environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests. Additionally it is printed with soy ink...and guess what else? It's printed in the good ole' US of A!

So the next time you send a card for a birthday, anniversary or holiday - use it as an opportunity to Live Organically.

You can learn more about these cards at: www.live-inspired.com

Eat.Live.Breath.Organic

Baby Steps

In light of my first blog-post comment from Orlando, I've decided to write a list of ten ways to get started on this Eco-friendly organic journey to healthier living. Again, this is a journey. You have to start somewhere, and I think this might be a good place:

1. Drink more water. Invest in a quality water-filter and cut out the water bottles. Water bottles are a huge source of container waste.(Additionally, cut out the soda. If you're going to drink juice, drink fresh-squeezed...not Tropicana. I don't want to be a hypocrite so I'll openly admit that I need at least one cup of coffee a day. You probably do too! So, try to find organic fair-trade coffee and drink it in a re-usable travel cup.)

2. Cut out ALL fast-food. Yes, that means the McDonald's salads (does anyone really eat those?)!!

3. Wash your clothes in cold water. (Did you know that 85% of the energy used in washing clothes goes to heating the water?)

4. If you eat meat, make one meatless meal each week. (There are plenty of studies, facts/figures, and documentaries on the impact that "meat" has on our environment and our health. I don't expect that everyone will convert to vegetarianism, but going without once a week doesn't seem like that big of a sacrifice.)

5.  Make your own cleaning supplies. This can save big on container waste and will greatly improve your indoor air quality. They are actually quite simple to make and there our plenty of recipes online. All you really need are a few simple ingredients such as: baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and soap.

6.  Buy in bulk. This cuts down on packaging and can make a huge impact (positive) on our environment.

7. Stay away from pre-packaged food/drinks. For example: juice boxes, while convenient, are much more wasteful than fresh-squeezed (best option) and even a large jug of juice (baby steps...) which you can pour into re-usable drink ware. 

8. Recycle, Recycle, Recycle. There is even an iPhone app for this created by Earth911. It makes local recycling about as easy as it gets. It gives you info on what and where you can recycle. These resources are also available online.

9. Change out your light bulbs. Converting to CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs is one of the easiest ways to save energy and money. 

One of my favorite ways to reduce our environmental impact and to live a healthier, more organic lifestyle is to: 

10. Support local farmers. I'm probably a late bloomer as I only recently discovered http://www.localharvest.org/ -- This website is an amazing resource in supporting your local farmers. Not only can you find local farmers markets, you can also sign up for a CSA (community supported agriculture) program. The benefits are tremendous and when you compare with grocer costs, the CSA is extremely wallet-friendly. I highly recommend the documentary "Food Matters" which briefly touches on the journey of our food from farm to grocery store...did you know the average Safeway or other grocery-store tomato was picked while green and very unripe, then chemically ripened before making it to our stores. The average produce is 5 days old before it even reaches our store. Not to mention all of the chemicals and pesticides that are used to grow our grocery-store food. Local Harvest gives a list of consumer advantages on their site, which I have re-posted here for your benefit:


Advantages for consumers:

• Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
• Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
• Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
• Find that kids typically favor food from "their" farm – even veggies they've never been known to eat
• Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown 

Okay, so this list of ten could easily be a list of over 1,000, but I hope the ideas are simple enough to give you a head start on this journey. Even simple ideas, like these, can have a tremendous impact.

Eat.Live.Breathe.Organic

Living Organic

I created this blog as an outlet to post about all-things-organic. My hope is that it is an educational tool that helps people discover new ways to live more organically. By living organically, I mean making conscious and healthy choices. When we think of organic, we often think food and I will definitely be talking a lot about food. However, organic is not just about healthy food choices. It's about living as close to nature or the natural as possible. It's about limiting our impact on the environment. For me it's about breaking old habits and re-learning how to eat, work, play and live. Contrary to the documentary title, I don't know that a "No Impact Man" (or woman) actually exist. This is a journey. Start where you are, wherever that is and take small steps. You won't regret it. 

Eat.Live.Breathe.Organic