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A Friendlier Valentine's Day!
Every year we Americans spend a fortune of flowers, cards and chocolate to honor our loves on Valentine's Day. While the sentiments are genuine, the methods aren't always friendly to the Earth nor are they easy on the budget!
According to some sources, consumers spent a total of $16.9 billion last Valentine's Day. This level of spending has a large impact on businesses. Last year, approximately 189 million roses were sold and 180 million cards were exchanged on Valentine's Day.
Our holiday roses are often grown in third-world countries using poorly paid labor who work under substandard conditions where they sustain high levels of pesticide exposure. (Check out Sierra Club's articleThe Hidden Life of Cut Flowers at: www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200107/hidden.asp)
Typical greeting cards are printed on virgin, bleached paper with petroleum-based inks. By the end of February, they've wound up in our landfills or burned to release PCBs and other chemicals into the air.
A Better Way!
This year why not make Valentine's Day a little greener, friendly to the earth and easier on your wallet!
Try organic alternatives to the usual cut flowers! Local health food stores and the Whole Foods chain are great sources. Better yet, buy a plant that has been grown sustainably. It will provide many years of pleasure and remind your sweetie of the sustaining power of your love!
Cards made from recycled or tree-free paper are the best choices when purchasing a card for your honey. Even better, try hand-crafting your own Valentine by using images from magazines, newspapers and other miscellaneous resources you would have trashed, or hopefully, recycled. Sharing your own, personal heart messages with your love are bound to be better appreciated!
Of course, you can never, ever go wrong with chocolates. When buying your sweetie some sweets, look to see if it is organic, fair trade and/or Rainforest Alliance certified. When labeled “organic” you are assured that your chocolate hasn’t been sprayed with synthetic pesticides and fertilizer. “Fair trade” means that farmers were given a fair price for their cocoa. Chocolate is a shade-grown crop, making it more profitable for farmers to preserve the rainforest instead of cutting it down – these items are certified by the “Rainforest Alliance.”
How about a local, organic sparkling wine instead of an imported champagne? A local product hasn't racked up the travel miles and is therefore a greener choice.
Not sure what to get the man in your life? How about a gift certificate for a series of relaxing massages to ease away his stress? Since stress is a doorway to disease you'll also help to keep your honey healthy for a long time! Men today are also more interested in looking good. If he wants to reduce the effects of aging on his face, why not get a few organic skin care products he can use at home?
Home Made Gifts.
This year, you can also try your hand at making some luxurious, aromatherapy gifts for your loved one!
Lavender is considered by many to be a natural, alternative remedy for a variety of common ailments ranging from anxiety, to headaches and insomnia. It has been shown in many research studies that lavender can ease stress, induce relaxation, refresh, and even invigorate.
To make the following lavender personal products start with a high grade lavender essential oil. If you can get it, Young Living makes the highest grade but it is available only through a distributor. You can also go to your local health food store and ask for an edible, food grade essential oil of lavender.
Easy Lavender Facial Spray
2 cups of mineral water
lavender essential oil
Add 10 drops of lavender essential oil and two cups of mineral water to a spray bottle. Shake before spritzing on the face. Remember to keep your eyes closed when using any facial mist or spray. Tightens pores and refreshes; wonderful after a work-out or shower. Refrigerate and use when cold to invigorate.
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Light Lavender Water Cologne
1 cup lavender flower buds
water
vodka
optional: one or two drops of lavender essential oil
Remove lavender flower buds from stems and add to a one-cup measuring container, packing lightly. Pour the measured cup of lavender buds into a glass container. Add one measuring cup of water, preferably distilled or previously boiled and cooled. Add 1/8 cup of vodka and stir or shake well. Allow infusion to sit in a sunny windowsill for two weeks, shaking the jar daily to combine ingredients. Strain the lavender water into a pretty bottle and use as desired. If resulting lavender perfume is too lightly scented, reinforce with a drop or two of lavender essential oil.
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Lavender Bath Salts
2 cups of Epsom Salts
2 cups of baking soda
2 cups of sea salt
lavender essential oil
Mix the salts in a bowl. Stir with a non-reactive(not metal) spoon and then pour into a decorative container. (The jar can be a recycled jar with a tight-fitting lid which can be decorated prior to mixing the salts!) Once the salt mixture is in the container, add a few drops of essential oil. Use sparingly - 4 or 5 drops - since you can always add a little more if you want it stronger!
Bath salts can be great for the body. Epsom salt, in the bath, is absorbed through the skin and is known to draw toxins from the body, sedate the nervous system, reduce swelling and relax muscles. It's also a natural skin softener and exfoliator.
Baking soda helps neutralize the acids on your skin and wash away oils and perspiration, leaving your skin silky smooth.
Sea salt helps to cleanse pores, alleviate dry skin conditions and soften the water.
Dissolve one half to a whole cup of bath salts in a bath of warm water. Get in and enjoy!
Happy Valentine's Day to everybody! -- Editors.
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Let us know what you did for Valentine's Day! editors@spiritliving.org.
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