Sleep Healthy

A Good Read: Good Green Homes by Jennifer Roberts

I happened upon a book at our local library on creating "green homes" that proved to be very informative and inspiring. Good Green Homes by Jennifer Roberts with photography by Linda Svendsen. The photographs are worthy of coffee table status. From a dairy farm in Tucson to a Dewes Island near Charleston, South Carolina, this resource features homes built with ecology and human comfort in mind. The chapter on row houses and New Urbanism centers was particularly interesting.

Thinking about building green? You'll find information from roofing to flooring, windows to water consertation, steel buildings to adobe and straw bale construction. I rarely take time to peruse a book cover to cover but this one captured my attention long enough to have the library call and say it was overdue.

Enjoy!

How organic cotton is saving lives around the world

Ode Magazine was given to me as a Christmas present and it is now on my list of favorites. The December issue: The Organic Top 20 features Ode's annual pick of favorite fair and fun products from around the globe.

The article that most interested me was Fields of Dreams: How the Ecofashion boom is transforming the lives of cotton farmers in Central India by Saritha Rai. As organic cotton goes mainstream with Walmart and Nike now the world’s top organic marketers, farmers in India are converting their cotton crops to be certified “A” grade organic, free of dangerous pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

The result? Farmers and their families are no longer exposed to toxic chemicals and predatory lenders are going out of business because farmers no longer need to borrow to buy pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Financial ruin was a leading cause of suicide in many rural towns. Read it and look for the label that tells you it’s “100% certified organic cotton”.

Buy organic and save lives? Yes, you can.

New parents, want to sleep better?

Here’s a must-have book for your library: Raising Baby Green – The Earth-friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care by Alan Green, M.D. Dr. Greene is the founder of the leading pediatric Web site, DrGreene.com. He is the pediatric expert on WebMD and “The People’s Pharmacy” as heard on National Public Radio.

The book is written with consumer advocate Jeannette Pavini reporter for CBS TV 5 News in the San Francisco Bay Area, adding her experience developing stories on how consumers can “shop smart” to help save the environment. The book includes information for making smart choices and applying green principles to create a truly clean and green nursery, from zero-VOC paints to organic bedding.

The opening paragraph to The Nursery says it all, “The occasion of bringing a new baby into the world is an opportunity to apply green principles to a universe of new products, from cribs to diapers and toys to baby sleepers—and that’s the ideal time to learn about new green versions of family home improvement materials, such as paints and flooring.” I couldn’t agree more.

Boy, I wish this book was written when Matt was born. Here’s a sample of what you’ll find:

Green Parent Alert: If You Decide to Remodel – offers tips and special precautions if you are planning to do the work when you are pregnant.

Buying Green – Features some fab organic cotton fabric wall coverings (no PVCs) from ModGreenPod, with coordinating upholstery fabric. I love their contemporary designs and colors. Check them out at www.modgreenpod.com

Looking to re-do your floors? Consider wood floors, bamboo, or natural cork and you’ll find links to 10 companies that specialize in these not-so-easy-to-find alternatives.

Think you can’t find green carpeting? Not true. Take a look at www.greenseal.org/resources/reports/CGR_carpet.pdf

Want to use your buying power to help stop child labor? Visit www.rugmark.net to find a rug retailer that doesn’t carry items imported from countries where children are used in the rug weaving factories.

New parents, buy this book before you head to the baby store. New grandparents, buy this book for a not-so-subtle gift. I found the best price at www.a1books.com. We’re going to be offering it on The Clean Bedroom, too.

Let me know what you think.

I’m back. Ready to get back to the subject of sleeping organic.

The past year has been a whirlwind of activity with our company The Clean Bedroom growing exponentially. I’ve been buried with building sales and hiring staff to fill the 13 jobs I have been doing myself until now. Not much time for blogging.

Now every task is in capable hands and I can do what I love, write and research ways to get a healthier night’s sleep. Silk comforters and aloe enriched wool pillows are my focus at the moment. Silk is supposed to be great for summer sleeping, light, and healthy. Not sure I like the idea of sleeping with aloe but I’ll let you know how our test pillow feels.

I’m still on the hunt for furniture manufacturers that make non-toxic bed frames other than Pacific Rim Woodworking in Eugene, Oregon. Found a few on www.theorganicpages.com and will do reviews in the coming weeks. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

One of my readers has submitted more recent studies on the link between SIDS and latex crib mattresses since my earlier blog post on the subject, supporting the toxic gas theory. I’m checking the study and will report back on my findings.

Have fallen in love with another magazine: Innovative Home. If you like modern design, contemporary interiors this magazine will delight. I like the generous offering of ads for green goods. Let me know what you think.

Got mold? I’ve got the article

I found a helpful "how to" article on getting rid of mold in "ecological HOME ideas" magazine.

The magazine itself is pretty impressive from an editorial standpoint. The articles are informative, well written, and useful without being alarmist and overly technical. The mold article has plenty of pictures, tips for clean up, and resources to help you do it.

I learned the only way to get rid of mold is to eliminate moisture. Good grief, that means our basement needs more than a clean up of the mold spores, we need to tackle the leaks. My brother-in-law said the only way to keep the water away from the foundation is to dig a trench next to it and pour gravel in the space. Not only is that time consuming, backbreaking work but expensive. Not going to happen, this year at least.

Clean up is our priority before winter sets in again. We pulled the carpet out, trashed all the cardboard boxes, paper, etc. after many ghastly trips to the re-cycling center over the summer. Everything of importance is in sealed, clear plastic bins.

Next up, cleaning the foundation walls in one small room where the moisture seems to come in from the outside. The article offers some good DIY tips for this. Then, we have to seal the walls as best we can from the inside. I’ve been told there’s something to paint on the cinder blocks that keeps moisture out. Hope our neighborhood paint store knows the answer.

I’m open to ideas, and encouragement. This is one awful job but I’m convinced our health is at risk every weekend we let this project slip.

Falling in love with my new alpaca wool comforter

Is it possible to actually love a comforter? I’m not sure whether I’ve taken a particular liking to our new alpaca wool comforter from Crescent Moon because I adore those little alpaca animals, or the alpaca wool fiber actually does help me sleep better. Probably both. My night sweats have subsided and I’m sleeping through the night with only a few exceptions, night after night. A real blessing since once I wake up in the middle of the night, it takes hours for me to get back to sleep.

This new alpaca comforter is on the thin side, yet it keeps my body at just the right temperature whether the air conditioning is on, or the window is open. And, this is summer. It’s about half the fluffiness of our Natura wool comforter, which we also love but have decided will become our winter comforter.

I’m experiencing first hand the benefits of wool in regulating body temperature. It prevents overheating so you toss and turn less and stay in deep REM sleep longer. M-m-m-m, deliciously cozy sleep, I might add.

If you’re thinking about buying a wool comforter, give alpaca a try. You may never have to count sheep to get back to sleep again. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Trouble sleeping? Helpful reading next time you’re up in the middle of the night

Chris submitted a comment to my post "Can’t sleep? Here are 30 tips for Insomniacs" citing the fact that one-third of all adult Americans–about 50 million people – complain about their sleep. And, I thought I was the only one walking the halls at night!

This growing trend must account for the increasing number of sleep remedy commercials on TV lately. The pharmaceutical companies can’t wait to solve our problems with yet another drug.

The number of sleep disorders is pretty astounding. Check out the lengthy list on The Sleep Disorder Guide. The guide offers some help but it’s pretty bland and mostly tells you to see a doctor but it does help define why you can’t sleep, stay asleep or sleep too much.

Want to find your sleep problem? Find a list of Sleep Disorders from Depression to Restless Leg Syndrome to Jet Lag.

Caution when visiting this site: Stick to the site itself because it’s loaded with Google Ads that are hidden in the editorial. I found myself clicking through to directories and didn’t like that at all. For the most part, it’s helpful if you’re careful where you click.

Great new bed linens

I’ve been amazed at all the new organic bedding lines that are popping up in stores like ABC Carpet and online. Bright colors and contemporary designs, finally! For a long time the only organic sheets we could offer our customers came in ivory or white, not so today.

Looking for some new contemporary designs? Here are some manufacturers who really deliver sophisticated looks in earth-friendly or organic materials:
Indika Organics – environmental sheeting, hemp and silk blend bedding

High Desert Naturals – I love their nursery bedding because it doesn’t have a single duck, monkey, or lamb on it. Very fun and contemporary.

Coyuchi color sateen sheets and duvet covers. Also, my personal favorite is the Birch duvet cover.

Amenity – the most sophisticated pure virgin cotton bed linens I’ve ever seen. Very interesting color ways and designs.

Say good-bye to crunchy granola designs. Today, natural and organic bed linens are coming out in bold new ways. All I can say is, thank goodness.

Suffering from night sweats? Wool bedding can help

I was skeptical when I first heard wool bedding could actually help with night sweats. Then, I started getting feedback from customers who claimed they were no longer waking up in a pool of sweat because of their new wool topper, pillow, or comforter.

It was worth a test so I started sleeping with a wool comforter. It’s lighter than down, the insides don’t shift to the bottom and piles of filling don’t wander over to my side like down. It’s cozy without making me clammy.

Now I’m spreading the word, wool is not what you think it is.

My latest article for Organic.org spells out the true virtues of the wool fleece gathered from sheep and alpaca. While doing my research I learned that wool has been making human beings comfortable for over 12,000 years.

I found wool works like a natural HVAC system, keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer. It wicks moisture away from your body to create a thin layer of dry air next to your skin that locks in body heat in winter, cools your skin in summer.

Wool is also hypoallergenic because dust mites, the major cause of allergy and asthma suffering, don’t like wool. They’d rather live in down or other materials.

Wool is a natural flame retardant because it cannot catch fire; it basically smolders and extinguishes itself. That’s why fire fighters wear wool uniforms and natural bedding manufacturers use wool in their products to meet federal and state fire codes. Think of all those disaster movies where they roll flaming humans in wool blankets, and you’ll get the idea.

Using wool products supports local farmers throughout the U.S., especially those letting their sheep or alpaca graze on pesticide free pastures. Who wouldn’t want to support raising little lambs to maturity for their fleece rather than food and, have you ever seen the face of an alpaca you couldn’t love?

If you sleep with wool bedding, give me your thoughts.

"Sleeping with Wool – Nature’s Natural Air Conditioning"

InnovativeHOME Magazine – my new must read magazine

I was checking out at the grocery store last week and spied the preview issue of this very slick magazine focused on sustainable home design. I’m pouring over every article and never get bored.

According to the publisher, InnovativeHOME is designed for architects and interior designers but as a consumer, I found it chocked full of inspiring ideas for greener living.

The section on modular housing was interesting and opened new possibilities for building a new home or even renovating without breaking the bank, and a marriage. Perhaps there’s hope for our new addition, if we build it modular. I like the idea of our new master bedroom coming completely assembled and installed in weeks rather than years.

Subscription is pricey at $37.50 for just four issues and that’s with the discount but it looks to be a real addition to the library rather than another magazine to take up space in the landfill.

To preview the premier issue online >