HAPPY "GREEN" VALENTINE'S DAY | HOLIDAY

HAPPY GREEN VALENTINE'S DAY !!

It is possible to enjoy an Eco Friendly Valentine's Day to show your love ones that you care while being kind to your planet at the same time. 

Valentine's Day ranks very, very high up there with Christmas for extreme consumerism. Gifts, gifts and more gifts = lots and lots of garbage and lots and lots of emissions polluting the air from all the trucks delivering those gifts.

Eons prior to Valentine's arrival, tv commercials bombard us with commercials about cut flowers, chocolates, dinner reservations, lingerie, perfume etc. The store shelves have been packed with Valentine cards, balloons, gifts~in non recyclable paper, I might add, heart-shaped boxed chocolates and stuffed teddy bears for the past weeks and weeks! We are all being prompted to purchase, purchase, purchase all this STUFF! 

Not to rain on your parade and as lovely as all this gift giving is, Valentine's Day further exhausts our Earths dwindling resources.  I recently read that it is estimated that over 1 billion Valentine Cards are mailed out all around the world.  

Wow, isn't that incredible! It is just really too bad that most end up in landfills with all the other piles of waste already there.

As a society we  need to become more conscious consumers and really stop and think, " hummmm, so many trees were destroyed making these cards and boxed goodies" and then consider an environmentally kinder alternative.  

Cut red roses-eco friendly?  Think again.  One of the least actually. Those red roses had quite a journey getting to your local supermarket.  They most likely were grown in Ecuador or Columbia due to the perfect year-round climate. However, they are drenched with fungicides, insecticides and herbicides to keep away the critters. Unfortunately, the workers are unprotected mostly women and children and ultimately end up with a multitude of health issues ranging from respiratory to neurological. Once the roses are harvested then they begin their very long voyage in a refrigerated, emissions pumping truck to your local supermarket where they sit in an energy sucking refrigerated cooler waiting for your purchase. 

Hey, I know it appears that I am turning what is supposed to be a day of love and romance into a day of doom and gloom. 

That is definitely not my MO.

My intention and my gift to you on this Valentine's Day 2019 is to get you to step back for just a moment. Step back from getting sucked into the pressures of the overwhelming consumerist vortex and the feelings of duty, guilt and obligation that you absolutely must buy gifts this day. Because we sometimes loose sight of this, I also want to gently remind you that the greatest gift that you could possibly give to your love ones and them to you, is love and affection year-round, spending valuable uninterrupted time, creating wonderful memories together and showing true appreciation for each other.  Just speaking the words I LOVE YOU is a symphony to the ears! NO card can ever replace that.

On a personal note, I feel so very blessed as this is how my husband and I live our life each and every day. 

It really doesn't get much better than that does it??

Now, if you are looking for a few fun ideas to make today extra special, try some of these easy on the pocketbook, earth-friendly ideas. 

Mother Earth will truly thank you.

Photo - courtesy of  Jaymi Heimbuch

Ditch the box of truffles this year and spend time making this yummy fondue for the two of you to enjoy using Fair Trade Extra Dark Chocolate. The recipe includes some interesting ingredients such as a little chili powder, cayenne pepper, dark rum and cinnamon. Marry it with your favourite fruit!

  

 Photo - Courtesy of Heirloom Flower Seeds

If you really still want to give the gift of flowers, how about giving some heirloom flower seed packets to be planted in the garden. Flowers are beautiful, very eco-friendly as they feed the birds, the bees and other important insects in the garden. If you plant perennials you can enjoy their beauty for years to come.

Dinner, Movie, Candles + Wine are always a nice way to spend the evening especially when it is in the comfort and privacy of your own home. Staying at home translates into not having to deal with or waste time on the crowded roads, at the restaurants or movie theatres, your evening is on your schedule and keeping your car put in the driveway means that there are no car emission contributions by you.  Bonus!! It's a win, win evening. Flickering candles - healthy bees wax only please, some organic wine from a local winery, a lovely home cooked meal, a Romantic Comedy on the big screen and voila ~ you have the perfect ambiance for a romantic Valentine's date with that very special person in your life.

And REMEMBER

LOVE .... knows no age

Enjoy!

Pictures courtesy of Google

Soulier Design Studio specializes in sustainability, eco-friendly design, products + lifestyle

http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com

ECO-FRIENDLY EASTER IDEAS | SLO MO SUNDAY SERIES | HOLIDAY

HAPPY EASTER

For those celebrating Easter Sunday today, Soulier Design Studio would like to wish you and yours a Happy, Healthy + Safe Easter Holiday.

Easter is another one of those extreme consumerism holidays when we need to keep the health of our Environment in mind when purchasing gifts for our children, friends and loved ones.

Here are a couple of ideas to help you out in that department and keep you and your family in the green.

IXNAY  all the plastic disposable gifts, easter eggs and toys that will inevitably end up in landfills or our oceans and opt instead for books, garden seeds ~ for fruit, vegetables, flowers, jump ropes, homemade baked items ~ cookies, loaves, breads,  gift certificates, bulbs for the garden or garden supplies, craft supplies ~ water colours, crayons.

Did you know that your kitchen has all the ingredients to make your very own dye-free lovely coloured easter eggs using spices, fruit and vegetables? 

Try out the following;

Soak organic locally purchased eggs in the juice of  raspberries, cranberries or beets for ~ red/pink eggs 

Try using tumeric or saffron ~ yellow-coloured eggs 

Red wine ~ purple eggs

Blueberries or red cabbage ~ blue eggs

Boil 2 cups of the above with equal parts water and bring to a boil.  

Reduce and simmer for approx 10 min. Cool and strain fruit or veggies through a sieve. Add 1 Tsp of Vinegar and stir.

Dip/submerge eggs in the mixture turning to coat the eggs.  Leave in until you have the colour you want. 

Place your beautifully coloured easter eggs in a pretty basket on your table ~ skip the plastic green grass though!

Everyone looks forward to some Easter candy.  Treat your family to organic chocolate bunnies and treats to avoid artificial colourings, flavourings and dangerous food dyes.

Lake Champlain Chocolates

Have some of your own eco-friendly Easter ideas to share that would make the Easter Bunny and Mother Earth proud? 

We would love to hear from you. 

Enjoy your Weekend

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle.

http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com

WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF GREEN COMMITMENT?? | GLOBAL WARMING

GLOBAL WARMING.........

This is not a new term. We hear it almost everyday, on the news, weather stations, radio, newspapers. What does it mean? 

These photographs tell the whole story really don't they? 

A recent study in the U.S and Canada clearly indicates that the polar bear population in Canada's northwestern Arctic has declined by almost half in the last ten years. 

Pic - Climate News Network

Photo - Courtesy of Shia Wisdom

Wikipedia tells us that, "Global warming is the current rise in the average temperature of Earth's oceans and atmosphere and its projected continuation. The scientific consensus is that global warming is occurring and was initiated by human activities, especially those that increase concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as deforestation and burning of fossil fuels"

Over the next few posts we will discuss various levels of green living to learn how we can reduce our environmental impact on a day-to-day basis. We will begin with the most simple ways to incorporate some "GREEN INTO YOUR LIFE" right up to full blown commitment.  As we discuss each level, I invite you to share some of the ways that you have added that element of green into your life!!!

 REDUCE, RE-USE, RE-CYCLE, RECLAIM

    

REDUCE - This is the first level, the most simple/important and the easiest way to begin your journey toward incorporating some green into your life. We live in a very wasteful society and to support a greener and sustainable tomorrow we must all do our part to reduce consumption, reduce waste and reduce pollution as well as conserve energy, water and other natural resources.  

RE-USE -  Re-use items that we have to keep them out of our already overstuffed landfills.

RE-CYCLE - Probably the most widely used term in the sustainability world. It simply means to treat or reprocess a material/product back into a RAW material to be used in the production of a new product.

RE-CLAIM - Very similar to reuse, items can be used for alternate purposes. 

What are you doing to bring some Green into your life, help foster a better tomorrow and protect our environment for years to come? 

We would love to hear from you!!!!                   

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle

http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com

WALTER WHITE ~ FROM BREAKING BAD TO BREAKING GOOD!

WHO KNEW???? 

Who knew that Walter White a chemist and drug lord, who cooked crystal meth on the hit TV series Breaking Bad cared about the environment????

After doing some research, I found an article on Treehugger which states the following, 

" Methamphetamines a Clear Danger to the Environment Illicit methamphetamine dumping has killed livestock.  A group of forestry workers were taken ill when they came in contact with a meth dump. A meth lab that had been operating for several years produced so many toxic fumes that the surrounding trees, 150-year-old ponderosa pines, had died. Tree kills around meth labs are not rare occurrences. In fact, 26,000 acres of Tahoma State Forest were closed because of meth pollution. "

A little background info for those of you not familiar with the series; "Walt" found out he had terminal lung cancer and started manufacturing meth to help pay for his Cancer treatments and to provide for his wife and children should he die.  He made quite a lot of money.

Now Walt aka Bryan Cranston is living responsibly and saving fists full of dollars with his Eco-Friendly, Platinum LEED certified and very green beach house just outside of Los Angeles California. This home is truly gentle on the environment.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. 

There are four levels of certification - Platinum is the highest level that can be achieved. 

Some of the Eco Friendly features that this home is equipped with are photovoltaic and water heating solar panels, rain water collection, recycled materials, LED lighting,  Energy Star appliances, radiant floor heating, triple pane windows, ceiling fans to circulate the air. The list is endless!! 

This home is also the first Passive home to be built in the county. Passive solar homes do not use active mechanical systems/ furnaces, but instead are constructed to allow sunlight to be absorbed by windows and stored in walls and floors to be distributed in the form of usable heat in the winter and to reflect or reject solar heat in the summer.

I would like to share a few photos of this amazing home with you

Enjoy!

  Photos - Courtesy of Dwell

This home is an inspiration example for anyone interested in green building or living an eco-friendly, and sustainable lifestyle.

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco-Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle.

Please visit us at 

https://www.soulierdesignstudio.com

WAIT- STOP USING TOXIC WASTE FOR YOUR SPRING CLEANING! | ECO FRIENDLY | MAY 14

WOW this has been a hard, looooooooong winter. These last few days here in the Toronto area and outskirts, we have been privy to what appears to be the tardy beginning of spring and winter's final kiss.

At least I HOPE!

The temperatures have been all over the place making it really difficult trying to figure out what to wear.  21 degree Celsius one day and then down to 11 degrees the next. I have stored away our ice scrapers, snow shovels, winter coats, boots and gloves I am ready for Spring.  BRING IT ON!!

This is the time of year when most of us start the annual ritual of Spring Cleaning.  Cleaning and organizing the house from top to bottom and busting open all the windows after an extremely long and dreary winter. Literally getting rid of all the cobwebs.

Unfortunately, most of the products sold at the supermarket for cleaning our homes are extremely toxic to our health. Several studies have linked these products to various cancers, infertility and a whole host of dreadful diseases.

If you have been following my posts, you will know that I am in the final stages of my LEED AP studies.  My specialty will be Homes.  For a home to achieve LEED Certified status, up to 136 credits are distributed into eight categories, one being Indoor Environmental Quality and within this category is Indoor Air Quality. More specifically - reducing the creation and exposure to indoor air pollutants. My blog post Breathe Easy Interior Design 1 and II , talks to you about the health of your indoor air being compromised by non Eco friendly interior furnishings such as carpets, beds, paint, couches, and fabrics that off gas harmful chemicals into the air.  Well, non Eco friendly chemicals that we use to clean our homes have the exact same effect.

I absolutely cringe every time I watch the commercial for a very popular air freshener and the person is spraying their home, bedding, couch and all furniture in the house to get rid of odour's.  My first thought is, "don't they realize that they have just contaminated the air with chemicals and that their family are now breathing them into their lungs" and then my next thought is, "why does their house smell sooo bad that they feel they have to mask it?" How about the commercial for a popular aerosol disinfectant and again the person is spraying it all over the place like a maniac and most unbelievably onto the kitchen counters to get rid of germs. While gasping in disbelief I think about food being prepared on those counters absorbing all these chemicals. "Here can I interest you in a chemical sandwich? "Ewwwwwww, no thank you I think I will take a pass"!!!!! Yes, they are killing the germs and their families health as well.

If you look under my sink in my kitchen or my bathroom, you will not find any of these chemicals.  I use these 3 simple natural products from my kitchen that are just as effective.  By the way the added bonus is that they are ALOT less expensive.

Everyone has Baking Soda in their pantry right ? 

Baking Soda is mildly abrasive and cleans pretty much everything. I use it on my counters (fantastic for red wine and coffee stains) my sink, to clean the tub, down the drain, the list is endless.

How about lemons? Most of us have lemons or lemon juice in our fridge.

The juice from this lovely yellow fruit can be used as an air freshener, helps cut grease, cleans wood cutting boards. I use it with baking soda to clean my stainless steel sink, bathroom sink; the list is endless.

White vinegar - another staple in everyones pantry.

Vinegar is a highly versatile cleaning product and can be used for unclogging drains, as a deodorizer, cutting grime on the top of the refrigerator, removing mineral deposits and buildup in a tea kettle or in the coffee maker, use full strength for killing germs in the bathroom.  Yes, I am repeating myself for the third time - the list is endless.

One Eco friendly cleaning appliance that I use all the time is my steamer.  I love my steamer.

All pictures - Courtesy of Google

This is not the brand I have but mine looks similar to this.  You just add water, it heats up.  When ready, the light will signal and you are ready to steam to your hearts content. I use this on grout, (Even though I am on a mission to eliminate all the grout in the world LOL)  the toilet, to disinfect the floors, counter tops, on the bed and furniture to freshen and just about everywhere.  Because the steam is extremely hot (not to the touch), steamers sanitize and disinfect any surface in your home and if anyone suffers from allergies, the steam vapour helps kill dust mites, molds, fungi and bacteria. Bonus!

And guess what???????  NO CHEMICALS AND HOW VERY GREEN

I hope that this very long blog post has inspired you to clear your home of these harmful cleaning products and introduce these natural, green products already in your home.

If you are curious and would like more information about the specific chemicals in your household cleaning and beauty products that you are currently using in your home, a wonderful resource is EWG - Environmental Working Group -  "The nation’s most effective environmental health research and advocacy organization."   

I guarantee, you will be alarmingly surprised!!

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability and Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle

Please visit us at http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM SOULIER DESIGN STUDIO!!!!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

 

 

Soulier Design Studio would like to extend our very, very best to you and yours.

 

May 2014 be your best YEAR EVER!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU!

 

 

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com 

ECO - FRIENDLY GIFT WRAPPING WITH KRAFT PAPER | KICKING BACK ON THE WEEKEND

 

At this time of the year with so many things to do before the big day, it is really hard to KICK BACK ON THE WEEKEND and relax. It is so important to try and carve out just a little time for yourself so that you don't get too overwhelmed and stressed out! 

If you are anything like me, you still have Christmas shopping, baking, menu planning, decorating  and gift wrapping still on your to do list. Trying to be sustainable and reduce waste at this time of the year can definitely be a challenge. There are hundreds of thousands of gorgeous wrapping papers to choose from. Then you have so many design magazines suggesting that you must coordinate your Christmas wrapping paper to your décor and tree in order to have a well dressed home for the holidays!

Sure all this gift wrap looks amazing under the tree but there are definitely more eco friendly choices that are not so wasteful and chances are most of this commercial gift wrap contains metals or plastics and therefore are non-recyclable.

I have started to use recycled brown Kraft Paper and boxes for my gifts and I have noticed that it is becoming increasingly popular. I love this paper; it is super strong and very inexpensive.

With a few creative touches added to your gift such as ribbon, pine cones, cedar branch tips, boxwood or any nature-inspired treasures you can find, not only will you have a beautiful creative package to give but one which has the environment in mind.

Some inspiration ... Enjoy!

Photos | courtesy of House and Home and Pinterest


So put on some Christmas music, pour yourself a glass of wine, sit in front of the fire and wrap away!

Happy Wrapping!!

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com 

ECO FRIENLY WALL COVERINGS | BREATHE EASY INTERIOR DESIGN PART ll

Breathe Easy Interior Design Part ll continues our look at Eco friendly products that you can introduce into your home to create a healthier environment for your family. These products prove that you can go green without sacrificing style.

While at the Interior Design Show I was introduced to this fabulous WALL COVERINGS product called Modular Arts.  These repeating modules (panels, tiles, blocks) can be placed in any area, or size of area in your home or office.  Low in VOC's, they ensure the use of responsible, tested materials and have been designed for less crating waste, superior fire safety, indoor air quality, and ease of handling and installation.

Modular Arts collection of products, add wonderful architectural features to your space. With interlocking edges, the installation is quick, accurate and superior in stability. .

As you can see, there are unlimited applications and styles for this product.

The panels are white but can be painted to match your décor.

This product - InterlockingRock Blocks create fully dimensional, double-sided, rock walls. This photo illustrates how you can create spaces within a space but allow light to flow through. 

ALEX TURKO ART ILLUSTRATOR

I am absolutely crazy, nuts about this artist's work and I am sure you will be also.  Alex Turko creates the most elegant, creative, decorative art panels which allow art to be placed in areas of your home, office etc. that you would not normally find art.  Showers, steam rooms, pools and any wet area. The  panels are completely waterproof due the use of epoxy resin which is solvent free and non-toxic.  Best of all they install and are cleaned easily and will not yellow over time. Water and sun do not damage these works of art and can be installed indoors or out.

Here are a few examples of Alex Turko's work and the many applications.

A fabulous backdrop for a bathroom; accessorizing it with intense colour!

What an amazing backdrop for a pool 

Talk about a great conversation piece in your dining room!

  The above panel looks like a huge slab of Onyx. Love it.

Great focal point in this spa-like bathroom

 Modern and Dramatic and no grout to clean ( a serious pet peeve of mine )

Amazing backsplash and easy to maintain in this wonderfully sleek kitchen ( no spaghetti sauce in the grout)

Did I happen to mention I am not a fan of grout??

So you see, it is possible to have a beautiful and eco friendly home; one which supports the earth and your health.

Part l of Breathe Easy Interior Design can be found here. Enjoy!

 Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com