Life that amazes you

There are so many things in this world that can amaze you.. let them!

Live your life to the fullest and love!

There is no meantime, there is only the real time. The only time that truly exists is now. We don't own the past to return to it and relive it. We can never live in the future, as it is always in tomorrow. All we have is now, this day, this moment. And only we can fill it with light, love and life. Love and true connections are all around us.

The love that we share and build in our families is sacred and not to be shared further. But only having this sacred love within me I can be open to the world around me and love every bit of it and have the honoring love for human beings I meet on my way. And that's sacred too.

Be true to yourself, to what you cherish, and as open you are to the world, as open arms it will take you in to share the blissfulness of the unity of being all and one at the same time. Let the world amaze you!

Every heart is a string that brings the sound of joy to the world around it. Find the strings you can sound with in harmony to play the music of life!

Namaste

 

Decluttering, cleaning and making our home

My dear husband has been asking if there's something itching in me in last few days or what? I've been using every free second to clean, shrub, unpack old boxes and take empty ones away, even tidying up my little ones toy shelves.. So what's about cleaning, reorganizing and decluttering on green carpet?






Well, it started probably with three major motivators:

• Since I have been away from our apartment for almost a week (and last I was there I was busy with my daughter after work, so I paid no attention to surroundings), I just noticed that our wonderful 4week cleaning schedule has not been ticked for.. emm.. not gonna even say how long.. and with that I also noticed that my bathroom sink looks like it needs more washing than my face or feet..
• We bought a blender with two 750ml take away 'cups' so we could take our juices, smoothies and raw soups to work too.. so I had to place it somewhere in our kitchen..and I realised that I have way too much stuff in there, some of which I hardly use, so it really was the time for rearranging our appliances, getting rid of what's unneccessary (too many boxes, glass jars, packaging to reuse someday) and putting deep in kitchen cupboards appliances that I use very, very rarely, but still want to keep for occasions (like an electric sandwich maker)..
• Psychological need for some order and prioritizing (reorganizing stuff and things in my mind) and clearing away unnecessary thoughts (cleaning and decluttering our home from stuff and chatoic things in my mind)..

 

Of course, one has to keep in mind the greenness of cleaning processes too. Ruleas are simple as always:

• Use only health and environment friendly cleaning materials and substances (soda, vinegar, lemons, microfiber cloths, upcycled torn rugs, eco-friendly liquids if really necessary). Clean your home keeping the planet clean too!
• Donate or re-gift all unneccessary stuff you're not gonna need (sometimes also broken things can be given to people who can fix them..)
• Repurpose or keep for reusing or repurposing later (like cardboard boxes for Christmas gift packaging etc.)

Now, after my bathroom sink is now shining with all bottles nicely organized, my daughters toy shelf looking like a toddlers toy shelf instead of a colourful mess, more clear space in our small kitchen with easy access to the appliances we actually use everyday, and many other tasks, my head has become clearer, my mind more peaceful and I now again I can feel a little restless and happy, but also energized to do a little more every now and then.

But what I was also reminded of by this "cleaning spree" was that home is not just a space to live in. It is like a living organism, you have to take attentive care of it for you it to take care of you. Your daily tasks should not be put behind just because you are busy and getting rid of old boxes is not on your priority list right now. Your daily care of your house is what actually creates the feeling of home, not just a house.

I know that most of the people were doing all the decluttering in spring cleaning, we did some too, but apparently it's something we, people and our homes, need once in a while, not just once a year.
I am not gonna share the decluttering tips here on green carpet, just because there are like millions of those on the web and blogosphere, and everyone has their own approach to that. I just go with my guts.. Take a look around and see what you can do today to make your home feel lighter, airier, giving your family and your home a clean and fresh space to breath and space to fill with warmth of a family home.

I might be mis-quoting the actual Chinese proverb, but I love the idea of it:
No matter how tired you are, always find a minute in the evening to tidy up your home.
Added value to a nice place to wake up in the morning? You will go to bed with your head tidied up too, will have better sleep and refreshed mind in the morning!

 

What more added value could you get? Maybe try to involve rest of the family members too and make cleaning and decluttering fun? It may take longer if your toddler is jumping in the boxes you are trying to put away, or squashing the bubble wrappers, but if it is also your family quality time together? I'm looking forward to our next shared attempts of making our home.

World Environment Day

Today is the World Environment Day, and we are going to celebrate it on green carpet too!

I was thinking of what activity would be the best for our family and our planet..
And I realized that I just simply have to address the two concepts of what UNEP has also suggested- Sustainable consumption and Food waste!

So this is what I registered at UNEP as my activity:

The change starts at the grassroots level right? So I am starting there- with myself and my family. I am discussing how food production impacts the Environment and what we can do, especially discussing food waste. Even though my mom assures we don't have much food waste since we have pets and grandmom nearby has also hens and ducks, and my mom has a worm compost "farm" too.. but still- I am on the path of finding the ways to show my family how every scrap of food can be used and how leftowers can be incorporated in further meals.. In addition I am talking with them about reducing store bought produce, reducing bread, meat and ready made items, and even reducing cooking and benefits of eating more raw food! It might not help saving hungry children in developing countries, but what we must change is the overall eating patterns of our whole planet, especially "the West".. 

Copyrights BERAS

Additional motivation for this I also found in Tallinn last week where I attended Policy forum on BaltAdapt project, and one of the participants was presenting the BERAS- Baltic Ecologycal Recycling Agriculture and Society and the concept of a Diet for a Clean Baltic:

As a consumer changing what you eat is the most important action you can take to save the environment. The following criteria can guide your choice of food weather you are an individual consumer, a professional responsible for purchases in the public sector, or running a restaurant.

First of all the food should taste good and be healthy. Organic food is good both for us and the environment. Local food and food according to season minimise transports and support our local producers. Most likely seasonal food will also cost less and give us the opportunity to stay more connected with our natural environment. Leftover food is a waste of energy and we should try to reduce it. Producing vegetables and grains is much more energy efficient than producing meat. Therefore reducing our meat consumption is the most important thing we do.

We call it Diet for a Clean Baltic.

In short, Diet for a Clean Baltic means choosing food that is produced within the natural boundaries of our ecosystem.

I'm in!!!
So- eat organic, eat local, eat seasonal, eat vegetarian and I would also like to add- eat raw!
I don't mean that you have to go 100% on any of these at once, but just start replacing step by step, introduce the good things and you'll see how the bad ones fall away real quick ;)

Let's eat food that's good for yourself, your family and your planet!