Say goodbye to Plastic
“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you”
July is Plastic Free Month, it’s the perfect opportunity to survey how much plastic you use, recycle and thrown away. We all know its time to say goodbye to our plastic habit but how simple is it to achieve this. In lots of ways, it;s a shift of how we shop and live. Simply taking your own tupperware boxes to the supermarket is easily done, most are used to this, and the independent shop is more than happy to oblige. Buying loose fruit and vegetables from your local market is really easy, most markets only use brown paper bags but if you take your own, even less waste. Its items such as milk, yoghurts, ice cream etc that is tough to switch. You can buy milk in glass bottles, the cost is higher but im sure if your local supermarket knew that you would buy this and want to return the bottle to be sterlised and refilled, the price would lower. We have to put polite pressure on mass to supermarkets that we want less waste and more easy to use ways to shop. After all they want to keep us shopping and most have finally stopped adding plastic film around cucumbers etc, which is balmy.
In your garden, you can buy plants grown in coir pots which can be planted straight into the ground without any waste or disturbance of the roots. But your local garden centre will still sell you plants grown in peat (or part peat) and in a plastic pot, again polite pressure could be applied to garden centres to move to coir pots or maybe grown your own, its fun, easy and the sense of achievement when your garden is alive with scent and petals. The smaller growers are using peat free compost and coir pots, DJA Plants have a wonderful collection of plants.
Here at Helpmeorganics, we are working towards becoming NetZero by 2026. We are always looking at ways to reduce our plastic waste. Many raw materials arrive in plastic pots and bottles, we have written to our suppliers on how we can improve this, would they accept the pots back every so often if we sterlised them? or can we reuse them in some way. In our products, we do have the plastic straws in both the room sprays and massage oils alongwith the pump and spray tops, we keep searching for realistic alternatives and will change as soon as we find one that works well and easily stocked. You can read about how you can work towards being netzero here , they have wonderful ideas to live with less waste. You can also pledge to change to a greener energy company, use your car less etc by reading the Count Me In Website
Its not just the obvious plastics that we can improve on. Did you know that microplastics are released when you wash and tumble dry your clothes, brush your teeth and wash your hair? According to OceanWash , fitting a filter to your washing machine will help to cut down this, contact the manufacturer of your washing machine and ask which filter you will need to fit, if they dont have one, ask them why? Using non-whitening toothpaste is low in microplastics but if you do like to use whitening toothpaste. use a bowl or cup to catch the wastewater and add to your bin (not down the plug). Check bottles of shampoo and conditioner for any sign of microplastics, I think most brands are now using non-plastic ingredients.
USE ESSENTIAL OILS TO IMPROVE YOUR WELLBEING
Essential oils are powerful pockets of pure plant therapy. Active therapeutic compounds made from leaves, stems, roots, bark, flowers and rinds. The oils contain the scent and flavour of the plant, they are distilled in various ways to extract this wonderful healthy essence. We use organic essential oils which are grown and extracted without any harm to the soil, insects and nature which is vital. We are only part of earth, so must not leave a footprint behind us.
You can enjoy using essential oils around your home. We all love a beautifully scented home and there is no nicer scent than a geranium, lavender or eucalyptus plant. We have developed products to help you include scent into your daily life. You can light a candle whilst you eat or bathe, keep our room spray handy to add that instant burst of fragrance and pop 2 drops of your chosen blend onto the aroma stone to make working from home that much easier. Whether you use reed diffusers to scent your hallway or massage your skin after your bath or shower, make the pledge to include scent as much as you can. Never synthetic, always organic essential oils.
If you, or your family, struggle with anxiety, we would recommend our Mindful blend. We have blended Frankincense, well known to help with feelings of panic, stress and anxiety. We have blended geranium bourbon and lavender to complete the blend, use it by your bed or keep a tissue with 1 drop on in your bag so that if you feel anxious, take a deep breath, inhale the scent, and release.
Do you struggle to sleep? Our sleep blend is made with petitgrain, eucalyptus, lavender and ginger. All the oils help with reasons why you struggle. Ginger is soothing, calming especially if you struggle with digestive issues, eucalyptus helps to clear your sinuses. Petitgrain is made from the leaves of the Bitter Orange tree, its sister, neroli, is made from the same tree (flowers) and is very relaxing, calming and sleep inducing. Lavender is a powerful destressing oil, soothes and calms and has an amazing scent.
If you struggle with motivation, our energy blend is made with all the uplifting, energising and motivating essential oils. Juniperberry, Sweet marjoram, Pine, Lavender and Lemon will certainly get you in the mood to move and achieve. Perfect for the home office.
When you ve had a busy day, there is nothing nicer than running a bath and soaking away the day. Our Chill Out candle is the ideal partner, the blend of Palmarosa, Geranium bourbon, Lavender and Ylang Ylang will dissolve the stresses of the day, calm and soothe your thoughts so that after your bath, you feel relaxed. Why not massage our body oil to replenish and hydrate your skin, the blend of oils will help you have a restful sleep too.
Hayfever is part of summer that is a nuisance, sneezing, runny noses and itchy ears and eyes can put a dampener to a sunny day. Let our “under the weather” blend help to ease your sinus congestion, soothe your headache and clear your nose so you can sleep better. We have blended powerful antibacterial, antiviral and antimicrobial essential oils of Tea tree, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Lavender and Tangerine, the smell is amazing and they certainly work. Fill bowls of water and place on windowsills, this acts as a magnet to pollen granules, add 2-3 drops of our blend to diffuse around the rooms.
The last scent, our Happy blend, is one to help you feel happy and uplifted. We have blended sweet orange, rosemary, frankincense and cedarwood to improve your mental wellbeing, cheer you when you feel sad and the scent will make any room smell delicious.
This is our suggestions to include scent in your daily life to help improve your feeling of wellbeing, it has been a very difficult time and essential oils can definately help you feel good.
“The key to being happy is knowing that you have the power to choose what to accept and what to let go” -Dodinsky
This month, remember to ……
Enjoy a picnic as its National Picnic Month - if the thought of wasps, flies and mosquitos is putting you off eating outside. Take a jar of something sweet and place it away from your blanket, the wasps should (fingers crossed) go there and not pester you. Our summer blend is made with oils that smell amazing but help to deter flies and mosquitos so pack that too! The first week of July celebrates the Great British BBQ, why not experiment with burning, oops grilling different foods!
The first week of July highlights the loneliness that older people can struggle with so if you have a neighbour or family member who lives alone, arrange to meet on a regular basis for a chat in the garden or help them with shopping, gardening or simply phone them.
Make a pledge to never use a plastic bag again. July is Plastic Free Month as we’ve said but on July 3rd, it is International Plastic Bag Free Day. We hope that governments across the World choose to ban production of plastic bags. There are so many good alternatives, its ridiculous that they are still available. If i was Prime Minister, Britain would be a plastic free country.
Now then, July is also International Kissing Month - at the moment we are starved of hugs and big kisses but maybe blow lots of kisses (through your mask is not as much fun) and see how many come back!
I am very partial to chocolate. Dark chocolate is actually healthy but this month, try and find small artisan chocolate makers as we celebrate international chocolate day on July 7th.
Most of you will know I am a dedicated gardener and garden for bees. July 10th is International Don’t Step on a Bee Day , highlighting the plight of wild bees worldwide. If you see a bee on the floor, it may be hungry, tired or thirsty. Find a flower rich in nectar and move it close to the bee. Obviously if the bee is in a vulnerable place, safely move it to somewhere safe, then place the petal close to it. If it still struggles, get some sugared water and pop the bee close to it so it can drink. Then find a safe warm spot for it to rest, more than likely the bee will fly away.
We all spend too long on our phones, laptops, TV that we retreat into our thoughts. On July 12th it is National Simplicity Day. Switch off your phones, laptops, computers and TVs, spend time outside with your family going for nature walks, counting stars. This would be lovely to do on a regular basis. Teach your children to build a den, pond dip or paint pictures. Release their imagination and yours.
Above all make July a month to live outdoors, spend time creating memories to put on your vision boards to help keep you positive during a darkest winter months. July is for eating fresh foods, drinking large fruity drinks and getting out for walks in your local park. Counting butterflies, making daisy chains and enjoying being alive
“shall i compare thee to a summer’s day” - William Shakespeare
SCENT OF THE MONTH:
“help me, they say exercise is good for you”
We have blended organic essential oils of Juniperberry, Pine, Sweet Marjoram, Lavender and Lemon to create an energising blend full of motivation and perfect to help get you in the mood to get those jobs done. In our massage oil, the blend of oils, once blended with our organic carrier oils, help ease muscular aches and pains after sport. Rich, nutritious yet light, our massage oil will be absorbed by your skin quickly without leaving a sticky residue.
If you love cooking, burning our energy candle afterwards will cut through any cooking smells and leave a beautiful scent in your kitchen and dining room.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR PROFESSIONAL THERAPISTS AND SALONS TO USE OUR MASSAGE OILS IN THEIR TREATMENTS…INTERESTED? PLEASE GET IN TOUCH
and finally….
We are so excited that our soy candles and room sprays are now being stocked in a wonderful gift shop in Northwich, Cheshire. Becky from The Chapel Gift Company carefully handpicks products for her gift shop. If you live near Northwich, we highly recommend you pop in.
In August, we will be taking part in The Summer of Handmade Virtual Fair, we will let you know more details nearer the time.
July 1st sees the arrival of more editions to The Little Box of Essence collection. At the moment, you can treat yourself to our gift box containing the summer blend but all the 6 scents will be available in a gorgeous silver gift box, just £18.
“I love how summer wraps its arms around you like a warm blanket”
“tans will fade but summer memories last forever” - take photos, make memories. See you next month xx
