unconsumption:

I like these eco-pails from unconsumption. If you’re a serious DIY-er I can think of about 50 uses for them at home off the top of my head from cleaning and painting to project with the kids. They’re sturdy and eco-minded in construction.  Nice.  

Eco-Pail. It’s an environmentally-friendly twist on the five-gallon buckets you’ve seen everything from paint to joint compound being lugged around in. Because they’ve replaced the standard metal wire handle with a Plastic Eco-Handle produced from recycled materials, the entire thing can be tossed into a recycling grinder, no separation required. (And yes, the handle is just as strong.)

BWAY Corp.’s Eco-Pail and Other Recyclable Industrial Packaging - Core77

It’s not like I really needed another reason to avoid the dentist!  But here it is! The radiation from annual dental x-rays can increase your likelihood of a brain tumor by about 1.5-2%.  

I know, just don’t get the x-rays unless absolutely necessary. But still. 

In order for us to be more relevant we want to know what matters to you most when it comes to your health and living a healthy lifestyle (or not!). 

So take our poll. It’s short and painless. And we’d be really appreciative. 

Just in case you missed it, click here to take the poll. 

And please, feel free to spread to word to all your friends. Healthy or not, here we come.

Thank you, thank you! 

The Veritey team

Not that you need another reason. We all know that cola is bad for us. But it’s just so good. It gives us mojo, moxi, and more. And yet. It’s loaded with artificial sweetners and chemicals that are hard to pronounce (let alone for your body to process.)  And, it’s a lot more expensive than plain old tap water.  

With the latest study showing that diet soda can lead to increased likelihood of heart attack, stroke, and death, isn’t it time we all kick the cola habit?

Maybe if we band together it won’t be so bad? Join me in giving up the diet pop. I know in the end, we’ll be glad. We’ll most certainly be healthier!

And trust me, it doesn’t have to be so bad. If you’re desperate for a soda-like substitute try  an izze, all-natural, sparkling juice instead.

Cheers. 

unconsumption:

Clever DIY project du jour: Make chair seats from old neckties

For how-to, see Mag Ruffman’s ToolGirl blog here.

Related (kind of): Chair seats and backs made from vintage belts — here, here, and here. And some earlier Unconsumption tie-related posts here.

I’ve been looking for a simple homemade surface cleaning solution that would smell good AND work. Here’s the latest one I’m trying from skinny scoop. The one tweak I’d make is using organic fruit if possible so that there’s no risk of chemical residue in your cleaning fluid. 

Once you’ve made a batch and tried it, you might want to make an extra batch so that you always have one “brewing” and one that’s ready to use. 

happy cleaning!

If you don’t know what GMO stands for, allow me to enlighten you. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organisms and it’s referring to genetically engineered food. Food that we are probably eating, without knowledge or consent, in some form or another through corn and soy byproducts as a minimum. Eighty percent of foods in US grocery stores contain GMO ingredients. And it could get a whole lot worse. If we let it.

Genetically mastered foods are known to have less nutrients and breed “super bugs” though they can grow more efficiently. We should not ingest them, as they’ve been linked to increased disease. And, quite frankly, just haven’t been studied enough.

Other nations in Europe and Asia have strict laws about the labeling of genetically engineered foods. But not the US. How is it that the land of the free, home of the brave, the seat of freedom of speech is also the land of irresponsible farming techniques which aren’t being labeled? 

Starting tomorrow Californian’s can make their voice heard to make sure proper labeling goes into effect. We have a right to know what goes into our foods. We have to wage war — our food supply and our health is at risk.  

Take action and learn more at: the center for food safety organization.  If you eat, you need to get involved. 

How do you like our look?  There’s a lot of layers to this onion! 

Veritey gets to the root of what’s really inside the products we use. 

I’d love to hear what you’d like to know about to. write us here or at veriteyinfo@aol.com 

Founder & Chief Capidealist* Amy Ziff is a trained journalist and start-up junkie who never wanted to work at a women’s magazine writing about make-up. She always was looking for ways to make a difference, and to find better ways to live a healthy life. When she became a mom, everything came together. Ziff felt frustrated by how hard it felt to make what should be simple decisions – healthy decisions - for herself and her family. For years as a hobby, Ziff has been seeking out the truth about products and their real ingredients. (What companies put in their products can be shocking, including known carcinogens and potentially toxic chemicals, which are often not disclosed.)

Finally, she’s taking her pastime to primetime by bringing her findings public in the form of a community site called Veritey.  Veritey comes from the latin root word Veritas meaning truth, combined with the sound of tailored in Veritey…Meaning a site filled with truths tailored to your life. 

As a mom, Ziff feels more of an urgency to create a healthy home in order to give her children the best possible start in life. She can no longer be casual about decisions, like the soap that goes on her children, the clothes they wear on their skin, the foods she gives them.  “It’s my job as a Mom,” says Amy, “to help my kids be the best they can be. In order to foster them to be their best selves a healthy start paired with unconditional love is crucial.”  

Our world assaults us silently with un-natural products, even products that claim to be helpful.  Children are more susceptible to the adverse effects from these chemicals. Seemingly innocuous ingredients that claim to be “anti bacterial” or “natural” or “sun blocking” are very often more harmful than helpful!   Ziff believes you shouldn’t need a PhD to decipher what products to use and which to avoid.  Yet the reality is that getting to the truth can take hours of research and legwork, and most busy moms and parents just don’t have that kind of time. Ziff is determined to make it easy for everyone to make healthy choices for themselves, their loved ones and the planet.  “As busy, loving, concerned Mom I just wanted someone to tell me what to do. And so, I’ve created Veritey to do just that.” 

Veritey makes it simple for people who are time pressed to make healthier decisions.  Veritey is about truth and healthy living.  

*A capidealist is one who believes that world change can come about through our collective purchasing power on the free market.

Become a capidealist today by emailing veriteyinfo@aol.com with “add me to the list” in the subject line and we’ll make sure you’re up-to-date on all our happenings and updates.