This short, easy-to-digest guide is full of engaging stories, recipes, tips, tricks, and ideas for anyone interested in living more mindfully and harmoniously with themselves and the Earth. Includes three weeks of exercises designed to help the reader make slow living a part of their daily life, no matter where they are.
A guide to creating and growing a backyard garden simply and sustainably—from planning to planting to harvest, with profiles of essential vegetables and herbs, ecological tips, and fun and creative projects Growing food in your backyard (or even on a porch or windowsill!) is one of the simplest and most rewarding ways to nourish yourself, be self-sufficient, and connect with nature in a hands-on way. Here sustainability expert Julia Watkins shares everything you need to know to grow your own vegetables, fruits, and herbs (as well as wildflowers and other beneficial companion plants). The book covers all the nuts and bolts of creating and caring for your garden—planning, building, planting, tending, and harvesting—followed by a deeper dive into the plants themselves: demystifying annuals vs. perennials, cold-weather vs. warm-weather veggies, and profiles of favorite crops. Throughout, Julia offers tips for creating an eco-friendly and sustainable garden (such as vermicomposting, no-till “lasagna” gardening, and attracting pollinators), plus some fun and unexpected hands-on projects like how to build a bean teepee, make wildflower seed paper, and enjoy refreshing herbal lemonade ice pops.
Learn what you can do right now to reduce your carbon footprint with this inspiring, accessible, stunningly illustrated book based on Eduardo Garcia’s popular New York Times column. “This beautiful and practical book on the climate crisis is for people of all ages, packed with wonderful pictures, powerful stats, and sound advice.”—Mike Berners-Lee, author of There Is No Planet B Award-winning climate journalist Eduardo Garcia offers a deeply researched and user-friendly guide to the things we can do every day to fight climate change. Based on his popular New York Times column “One Thing You Can Do,” this fully illustrated book proposes simple solutions for an overwhelming problem. No lectures here—just accessible and inspiring ideas to slash emissions and waste in our daily lives, with over 350 explanatory illustrations by talented painter Sara Boccaccini Meadows. In each chapter, Garcia digs into the issue, explaining how everyday choices lead to carbon emissions, then delivers a wealth of “Things You Can Do” to make a positive impact, such as: • Eat a climate-friendly diet • Reduce food waste • Cool your home without an air conditioner • Save energy at home • Adopt zero-waste practices • Increase the fuel efficiency of your car • Buy low-carbon pet food • Hack your toilet to save water • Slash the carbon footprint of your online shopping Delivering a decisive hit of knowledge with every turn of the page, Things You Can Do is the book for people who want to know more—and do more—to save the planet.
In an increasingly complex and chaotic world, we yearn to live a little slower, a little simpler. For popular lifestyle blogger Merissa A. Alink, living slower has enabled her to eat healthier, develop stronger relationships with her friends and family, save money by spending less, and have more Òin-real-lifeÓ time with her kids instead of more screen time. It has given her family more time to plant gardens, can produce, and sit down to wholesome, home-cooked meals. It has allowed her to do what is needed rather than what is expected. Now she shares the secrets to living a simpler, slower life with anyone who is tired of feeling anxious, frenzied, or disconnected from the natural rhythms of life. She helps you reevaluate your priorities, seek God first, and take small steps toward a life more in line with your values, including decluttering to create space in your home and your mind, making simple and healthy meals, taking a weekly Sabbath, limiting the influence of media, and taking time to nurture your most important relationships.
“Empowers readers with a toolkit of traditional and sustainable practices for an emerging artisanal crafts movement, and a brighter future.” —Alice Waters, chef and owner, Chez Panisse; founder, The Edible Schoolyard Project Modern life is a cornucopia of technological wonders. But is something precious being lost? A tangible bond with our natural world—the deep satisfaction of connecting to the earth that was enjoyed by previous generations? In The Heirloom Gardener, John Forti celebrates gardening as a craft and shares the lore and traditional practices that link us with our environment and with each other. Charmingly illustrated and brimming with wisdom, this guide will inspire you to slow down, recharge, and reconnect.
Rethink conventional notions of beauty and wellness, abandon established regimes and commercial products, and embrace your “renegade” beauty In this essential full-color guide, Nadine Artemis introduces readers to the concept of "renegade" beauty—a practice of doing less and allowing the elements and the life force of nature to revive the body, skin, and soul so our natural radiance can shine through. Anyone stuck in perpetual loops of new products, facials, and dermatologist appointments will find answers as Artemis illuminates the energizing elements of sun, fresh air, water, the earth, and plants. This book is a comprehensive resource for anyone who wants to simplify their self-care routine, take their health into their own hands, and discover their own radiant beauty.
Eco-Friendly Cardboard Crafts to Make and Play With At last, a genius way for you to put all that cardboard lying around the house to good use! Mailing boxes, paper towel rolls, cereal cartons and more can be transformed into a range of crafts, toys and games that guarantee hours of fun, imaginative playtime. Blast off in a cardboard Rocket, set up a fun Ice Cream Cart or become royalty in a Castle Cubby with life-size play structures that will delight your little ones. Let big imaginations run wild with pretend play creations like cool Butterfly Wings, a handy Tool Belt or a Mini Monster Truck that’s built for jumps and tricks. Create games that will challenge and engage your kids with projects like a Pinball Machine, Tabletop Soccer and Cardboard Labyrinth. With all of Kathryn’s best tips and tricks for sourcing, upcycling and handling cardboard, plus a wide range of inventive projects, this incredible collection is your go-to guide for easy, eco-friendly ways to transform cardboard into crafty creations your kids will love.
Grounded (adjective): used to describe a person who has a good understanding of what is really important in life. This book is your entry into a world that spins slowly and draws its inspiration from the earth, the ocean, the sun and the sky. Each turn of the page through projects organized into chapters for the four seasons will lead to discover a new way to practice slow living and weave nature into your everyday life. Build a garden bed and plant seeds. Watch your vegetable garden grow, and pluck a tomato or two to make a salad. Go on a walk in the woods, build a campfire and then read the moon. Rediscover a childlike joy of nature through over 20 projects to cook, make or do outside. Grounded is the ideal way to put down your devices and spend time in natural surrounds with your friends, your family and, of course, yourself.
A Paperback Original From the beloved creator, workshop facilitator, and author of How to Not Always Be Working comes an approachable and practical guide to leaning into the unknown even when it feels as though everything around--and inside--us is in flux. Picking up where How to Not Always Be Working left off, Getting to Center is an empathetic offering to those who are looking for a roadmap for finding their way back to equilibrium. This book meditates on endings, grief and joy, ease, hope, addiction, and beginnings, pairing Marlee's own experiences and wisdom with practical exercises and tools for creating balance and understanding within the natural changes of life. In her own constant shifting, improviser and entrepreneur Marlee Grace has found ways to pivot within her career, while still maintaining constant threads throughout. She has developed practices that have supported her through opening and closing multiple businesses, a divorce, several cross-country moves, choosing sobriety, and more. Essential for anyone who feels overwhelmed and anxious about these unpredictable times, this gorgeous, thoughtful book is a hand to hold to feel less alone, and a guide to cultivating resources we can replenish and depend on in ourselves.
“Guides readers toward the road less consumptive, offering practical advice and moral support while making a convincing case that individual actions . . . do matter.” —Elizabeth Royte, author, Garbage Land and Bottlemania Like many people, Beth Terry didn’t think an individual could have much impact on the environment. But while laid up after surgery, she read an article about the staggering amount of plastic polluting the oceans, and decided then and there to kick her plastic habit. In Plastic-Free, she shows you how you can too, providing personal anecdotes, stats about the environmental and health problems related to plastic, and individual solutions and tips on how to limit your plastic footprint. Presenting both beginner and advanced steps, Terry includes handy checklists and tables for easy reference, ways to get involved in larger community actions, and profiles of individuals—Plastic-Free Heroes—who have gone beyond personal solutions to create change on a larger scale. Fully updated for the paperback edition, Plastic-Free also includes sections on letting go of eco-guilt, strategies for coping with overwhelming problems, and ways to relate to other people who aren’t as far along on the plastic-free path. Both a practical guide and the story of a personal journey from helplessness to empowerment, Plastic-Free is a must-read for those concerned about the ongoing health and happiness of themselves, their children, and the planet.