why is organic important
“I care to live only to entice people to look at Natures loveliness”
They say that sweet April showers do bring May flowers, and the answer is yes. As the weather warms up following the chill of winter, the gentle showers in April coax the flowers to bloom, mix this with longer days and the promise of more warmth in the sunshine, our mood can only be lifted.
From an early age, I have always had a fascination for plants and nature, I have grown to see the importance of using organically grown food, skin and hair care and in the garden too. When i started Helpmeorganics, I wanted to make it easier to fragrance your home and use remedies to feel happier, healthier in the home and they had to be only made using organic ingredients.
On Saturday 6th April, the Helpmeorganics team will take part in the Big Green Hike to raise funds for Project Seagrass so they can continue their vital work to restore, maintain and protect vital seagrass meadows. We need your help, it would be lovely if you could go to our Just Giving page and donate towards our fundraiser, thank you x
Why is Organic important?
When a food or plant is grown organically, it has been grown and processed without pesticides, chemicals that harm vital wild insects, caring for the soil and micro beasts that this planet relies on. There is minimal to no footprint left behind. The taste and scent of organically grown foods and flowers is much better, yes the vegetables may be funny shapes but that wont alter the flavour. Essential Oils, grown organically, are stronger and more potent, this means that their therapeutic value is much higher.
Organically grown foods will be more expensive as they are not grown in those dreadful huge fields, lacking in trees or hedges, sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. So we have a choice, do we want to live in a world where our food is grown inside large buildings, polinated by farmed bees or do we want to protect and nurture our countryside, grown our foods in harmony with nature, eat seasonally and accept that we cannot have mangos, avocados etc as easily. I know which side i am on Growing your own vegetables and fruit is fun and anyone can grown lettuce, microgreens, tomatoes, takes little room or knowledge and you will enjoy the walk from your kitchen to gather the vegetables for your meal. Blueberries are so easy to grow, we collect them in the summer and freeze them to enjoy during the winter months, strawberries dont make it back to the kitchen, they are eaten with delight as soon as they are ripe, but thats the whole pleasure of growing your own isnt it. I came across a Eco-Friendly Gardener on Instagram recently, Anna Greenland, you can follow her on instagram
We need to be much more careful of what goes down the drain as the waste water ends up in the rivers and our sea. Did you know that microplastics from clothes end up in the river alongwith phosphates, this causes algae blooms which reduce the level of oxygen in the water, harming fish and other aquatic life, you can fit a filter to your washing machine or buy clothes made with natural fibres. There are many phosphate free laundry detergents and softners on the shelves now, a little more expensive but much kinder to your skin and our rivers. If you bleach your toilet, try using a phosphate free bleach or try a mixture of vinegar and bicarb of soda, maybe add a little lemon and peppermint essential oil too to refresh.
If you use floor cleaner, think of investing in a steam mop which just uses water. In the bathroom, shampoos and conditioners also contain harmful chemicals, instead find ones that are sulphate and paraben free, have the "no animal testing” bunny logo and contain organic ingredients.
April is Stress Awareness Month - lets see how essential oils can help
Living in a stressed state can have an impact on your wellbeing and health, there are many ways that stress can manifest itselft within our body. From rashes, headaches, hormone imbalance, IBS, migraine and lots more, it is important to try to rebalance and reduce your stress levels, but thats easier said than done.
Essential oils can help. We all know the benefits of lavender oil for stress but there are so many other essential oils that can be stress reducers. Geranium, Ylang Ylang, Palmarosa, Cedarwood and Frankincense all have mood balancing properties. Using them in conjunction with mindfulness meditation, yoga or simply enjoying a jigsaw, can help your mind to switch off for a time, allowing all the stress chemicals to reduce.
I am a big fan of writing a journal, it helps to write down everything in your head. You can break down your worries, pressures and job lists into bite sized manageable pieces, this often shines a light on how you can improve a situation or, indeed, find a solution. Dont be afraid to say no too, we are programmed to live with a “fear of missing out” so we say yes to invitations that we don’t really want to do.
Using essential oils at home, or in the workplace, is very easy. Essential Oil blends can be used in bowls of water near a heat source, like a radiator, or on the aromastones next to your bed. Applying a massage oil to your skin improves the health and feel of your skin, try it after your shower, your skin will soak up the jojoba, grapeseed and apricot kernel oils and you will enjoy the scent of pure organic essential oils during the day. Fragrancing your home is easy with candles, you don’t have to light the candle to enjoy the scents. Reed diffusers gently diffuse the oils, if you prefer a stronger scent, find a warmer position.
Springtime in the garden
O I’m sure you ve looked forward to spring as much as I have and the garden is alive! That first buzz from an early bumblebee is just wonderful and I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the croaks from the pond, although this year we have noticed much less frogspawn so far. Now this could be due to the housing developments behind us but they are not directly behind or if could just be due to the colder, longer wet winter.
Ponds are vital habitats for wildlife, and they benefit us too> Did you know that a single Dragonfly eats 100s of mosquitoes a day? they lay their eggs in ponds, then the young climb up reeds and take to the air on a summers day, I love them.
