Hippie Tip: Cultivate Your Garden

Growing your own herbs, fruits and veggies is pretty easy. All you need is soil, some seeds, and a little time and patience.

Make your garden as big as a small plot of land in the backyard or as small as a few pots on the porch.  It helps to choose seeds that grow well in your area (ask your local gardener or check out what people are selling a lot of in the farmer’s market) so you won’t be endlessly battling fungus and pests and it’ll be easier to grow them without pesticides or chemical fertilizers.  Choose seeds that are 100% certified organic to avoid the gmo market (http://www.seedsofchange.com has a wonderful assortment of high-quality seeds).  Or, better yet, save the seeds when you purchase organic produce at your local health food store or farmer’s market. Dry them on your windowsill and save them in a little bag until planting. We have an abundance of pepper plants in our green house, a prolific guava tree in our yard, pineapple plants (plant the tops), and young lemon trees all from saving the seeds from local produce.
Happy Growing!

Hippie Tip: Cool it on the water heater!

If you live in Hawai`i, you most likely have an electric water heater unless you have propane trucked and delivered to your house (which is still dependent on oil any way you look at it), or if you’re fortunate enough to have solar.

Some ways to save on electricity (and oil dependence):

-turn it off when on vacation
-install a hybrid water heater (you might also get a tax cut for this)
-install an off/on switch to the water heater and only switch it on for a few hours at night when you use it most
-use cold water when washing clothes

Hippie Tip #8: Every day is Earth Day!

We owe it to ourselves. If we all pitch in and do our part by recycling, reducing waste, keeping our soil and water clean, keeping the trees upright, and reusing everything possible, then we are doing our part to take care of one another as well as our planet Earth.

It's a small World, after all. And we have only one to take care of. ♥

Hippie Tip #7: Tote it!

It's simple. Find all the cloth tote bags you can, then stash them in your car. Every time you go grocery shopping, to the farmer's market, or any kind of shopping for that matter, bring your bags with you. Some stores even give a discount for bringing your own bags. They're easy, they fit more stuff, and you'll never have another ripped-bag accident.

If you're too savvy for totes, then stash it in your Coach collection. Now that'll make a statement.

Hippie Tip #6: Bidet!

Why are we one of the few countries who doesn't use some sort of water-wash system? It's cheaper, cleaner, you don't use your hands (thus spreading disease and grotesqueness), and you're not wasting trees. SO much wasted paper.

Some countries use a simple scoop-and-wash method, others use a high-tech bidet with a spot-on stream of warm water that finishes it off with a nice blast of warm air. I'm not kidding. Try going to the bathrooms at the Narita Airport in Japan. I don't know how they did it, but they did. Perfection. And there was even a little speaker with fake flushing sounds for discretion. haha.

The bidet below is very simple. I can vouch for it....though I'm still working on the rest of the family (old habits are hard to break). It simply connects to your existing system without the need of a plumber or electrician. There is a plethora of more expensive, higher-tech choices as well. Or use a simple cup (just mark it "bidet" or you might have some angry guests!).

Call me a hippie. But at least I'm a clean one. :D

http://www.amazon.com/Astor-Non-Electric-Mechanical-Toilet-Attachment/dp/B003TPGPUW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335055353&sr=8-1

Hippie Tip #5: Cloth Tissue!

How did we ever get by before the 1920's, when everything started becoming expendable? I remember my grandpa used to carry around a cloth hankie and I thought eww, so old school. Since then I've discovered that cloth is actually softer, more absorbent, good for allergy sufferers, cheaper, and you never run out. Cloth diaper flats make great cloth kleenex, as do simply-serged squares of fabric (thin flannel, velour, etc.).

Welcome back, old school.

Hippie Tip #4: Conserve water by attaching water-saving aerators on your faucets

They're cheap, they maintain your water temperature, and they conserve a lot of precious water. They have a little flip switch on the faucet that's super easy to use even when you're half asleep. We love ours!

It's not as big of a deal in rainy Hilo, but if you live in the dry states (say, California), where your water is pumped in from far away, these babies can save a lot.

http://e3living.com/shop/water-saving/faucet-aerators/products