Don’t know about you, but Thanksgiving through January tends to be super busy for my family. Yes, there are “the holidays” but both of my children also have their birthdays in December and January, and we always make sure they get their fair share of celebrating and adoration. So this time of year involves lost of lists, planning and taking things “one item at a time” in order to maintain my sanity. Sometimes that also means that my eco-goals fall by the wayside. I read somew

What is the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge? In a nutshell, the goal is to get your family outside as much as possible in order to reap the benefits of unstructured nature play. The advantages include stress reduction, physical exercise, fresh air and fun! Less screen time and more outside time! The aim is to reach 1000 hours within one year but I’m not holding myself to that number. For me, it’s more about working outside play into our lives, whether an hour or five a day, and

There are many reasons why I love writing for GreenLifeNH, but one is that it pushes me to further improve my eco-habits. You can’t talk the talk if you don’t at least try to walk the walk. There are therefore a few lifestyle changes that have been propelled by this site, such as switching to a reusable steel razor, eating less meat, attempting to spend 1000 hours outside and the following attempt: Secondhand October, based on the more popular “Second Hand September.” Friends

I first met Stacey a few years ago in a typical Concord fashion – our daughters were playing with a group of kids at the neighborhood playground. Fast forward to this year, and we ran into her again, this time picking walnuts from a tree in order to make a liqueur. I was so intrigued by her creativity and ability to connect with nature right in downtown Concord! When I heard Stacey was running for City Council, I was excited that we’ll be possibly be getting a new voice that

Well, school is back in session and my schedule has gone from zero to a million very quickly. Convenience and time saving hacks come into play, especially when I’m tired and don’t have a lot of energy to get it all done. Yet somehow the weeks are moving forward and I continue with my zero waste habits. Not everyday is perfect, and I have some larger goals I want to attain, but I’m showing that environmentalism and modern-day multitasking can work in tandem. You can juggle it

The other day, while I listened to Laura Knoy discuss Zero Waste with her guests, the panelists talked about the important Rs – reduce, reuse, refuse and recycle. They also introduced two new ones that I hadn’t heard – repair and rot (compost). Well today I’d like to add one more – respect. My husband and I received a beautiful wooden salad bowl when we got married. I loved the bowl and used it often, cleaning it with water and soap and letting it air-dry. After a few too man

I love to read and tend to gravitate towards novels. Yet it’s the non-fiction books that have changed my life and way of thinking. The Omnivore’s Dilemma (OD) is one of those books. I first read the OD when it was published almost 15 years ago. If you are looking to understand the terms “free-range eggs,” “grass-fed beef,” or “antibiotic-free chicken,” you should start here. Pollan explained these methods to the every day person, in a a way I had never heard before. He also t

“The Green New Deal” is a term I’ve heard and a program that I want to support based on its premise. However, if I’m being honest, I don’t know a lot about its nuts and bolts. While driving yesterday, I happened upon Senator Ed Markey talking about this program on NPR’s 1A. I found the conversation useful, as he listed a few metrics, such as increasing MPG for cars and providing permanent tax breaks on electric vehicles and alternative energy sources. (These breaks currently

Today’s “Five Questions With…” interview is with Marie Davis, the founder of Hazel Moon Botanicals. I first met Marie a couple of years ago and have been using her products ever since. My favorite is the bug spray; it’s our yearly tick-repellent and has been keeping my family safe for the past few summers. My kids love the way it smells and I like that it’s DEET free and works! – Rachel 1) Please tell us a little about Hazel Moon Botanicals. What made you want to start it? Do