Learn DIY Home Remedies on 2/25 with Dr. Aviva Romm!

Are winter bugs making the rounds at your house?  Simply interested in learning more about taking control of your health using DIY remedies?  Join us on Facebook on Monday, February 25th for a chat with renowned herbalist, physician, midwife, and author Dr. Aviva Romm!  We’ll be discussing recipes and remedies you can make at home for:

• Women’s general health;
• Pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum; and,
• Infant and child health.

We’ll be sharing tips and experience as a community all day and Dr. Romm will join us live from 7-8pm EST.

Visit the Holistic Moms Network Facebook wall on Monday the 25th to learn, share, and connect!

(Note: This is part of our 2013 Holistic Living Challenge. Join us on the journey to living healthier, happier, and more in tune with nature!)

About Dr. Aviva Romm

Dr. Aviva Romm is a Yale-trained physician specializing in integrative medicine for women and children, a midwife, an herbalist, an award-winning author, and the creator/owner of WomanWise, on-line courses dedicated to vitality and optimal health for women and children. She is a mother, a teacher and speaker, an artist, and a woman who lives from the heart. She has spent nearly 30 years as a health care practitioner and advocate for women and children.

Dr. Romm is an internationally respected expert in botanical and integrative medicine for women and children and one of the founders of the Yale School of Medicine Integrative Medicine Program. Aviva is on fire about creating a better world for all of us, and she does this as a compassionate integrative physician with a social and environmental conscience.

The recent past President of the American Herbalists Guild, a founder of the Yale Integrative Medicine program, and the author of 7 books on natural medicine for women and children including Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health, The Natural Pregnancy Book, Naturally Healthy Babies and Children, Natural Health After Birth,Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent’s Guide, ADHD Alternatives (with her husband Tracy Romm Ed.D.), and The Pocket Guide to Midwifery Care, Aviva has been a pioneer in natural birth and botanical medicine for gynecology, obstetrics, and pediatrics in the United States and her books are read around the world.

Practicing what she calls “transformational medicine,” she is a leader in the health care revolution to transform the current medical system that over-medicalizes life, from birth to death, into a model that respects the intrinsic healing capacities of the body and nature.

7 Super Easy DIY Cleaner Recipes

At HMN, we're diving into this month's Holistic Living Challenge with gusto!  Here's a great way to take on our challenge to learn something new to live more naturally: make your own non-toxic cleaners!  If you haven’t tried making your own cleaners yet, there’s no time like the present to get started. They’re safer, cheaper, more eco-friendly, and really much easier than you might think.

Here are 7 DIY cleaner recipes to try today!

Tub and Tile Cleaner from Apartment Therapy: In a jar or spray bottle, combine 1 2/3 cup baking soda with 1/2 cup vegetable oil-based liquid soap. Add 1/2 cup water and 2 tablespoons vinegar. Shake before using. Apply with a cloth or sponge and rinse well.

Hardwood Floor Cleaner from The Daily Green: Whip up a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar and 30 ounces of warm water. Put in a recycled spray bottle, then spray on a cotton rag or towel until lightly damp. Then mop your floors, scrubbing away any grime.

All-purpose Cleaning Spray from Frugal Living on About.com: Create your own all-purpose cleaner by filling a spray bottle with equal parts white vinegar and water. Then, shake up the mixture, and you're ready for your next cleaning spree.

Disinfectant from The Daily Green: Instead of bleach, make your own disinfectant by mixing 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of liquid soap and 20 to 30 drops of tea tree oil. It's easy!

Oven Cleaner from Mother Nature Network: If your pie boils over in the hot oven, cover the spill with salt immediately. It will dry to a crusty and easy-to-remove powder when the oven cools down.

Toilet Cleaner/Deodorizer from Better Homes and Gardens: Sprinkle toilet bowl with 1/4 cup baking soda. Drizzle with 1/4 cup vinegar, then scour with a toilet brush.

Glass Cleaner Recipe from HGTV: Try this recipe to harness the cleaning power of rubbing alcohol. Mix in a spray bottle: 1 cup rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon white vinegar. Spray and clean!

If you want to go the extra mile, teach others to make their own cleaners by hosting a Green Cleaning Party created by Women’s Voices for the Earth!

What are your favorite green cleaning recipes?  Share them in the comments!

Try the 2013 Holistic Living Challenge to learn all the different easy ways you can bump up the health and happiness in your home and connect with moms across the country who are on the same path!  Take on our monthly challenges for a chance to win great prizes. Learn more today!

Learning to Live More Naturally: Simple Steps

Becoming a Holistic Mom (or Dad), doesn't happen overnight.  Most of us do not de-tox our entire lives in one fell swoop.  Rather, it's small, everyday changes that we make that add up to big lifestyle transformations.  In hindsight, the changes are huge but each time we learn something new and incorporate it into our more natural, healthful lifestyle, it's one little step in the larger picture.

For this month's Holistic Living Challenge we challenge you to learn something new to live more naturally!  No matter where you are on your holistic living journey, there are opportunities to incorporate a new practice into your lifestyle whether it's learning how to make non-toxic cleaners at home, planting an organic garden, or starting a compost pile.  So for February we encourage you to make a conscious effort to tackle something new and share your experience for a chance to win great prizes from holistic companies that will further support you on your journey!

Here are the details:

Challenge:  Learn something new to live more naturally.  Mix-up your own non-toxic cleaner.  Try cloth diapering.  Make a DIY home remedy.  Try to avoid plastic for the month.  Grow a windowsill herb garden. The choices are endless and totally up to you.  You can tackle something big or ease into something small. Learn one thing a day, one thing a week, or one thing for the month.  Cater the challenge to your life - just make sure you try to choose something really new to you to benefit most from the challenge.

How to Get Started:

• Make a plan. What would you like to try?  Will you try multiple things?  Map it out and set some goals for yourself. (If your kids are older, get them involved! What would they like to try?)
• Research your idea to see if you need any special supplies and stock up on whatever you’ll need for the month.
• Take it one day at a time (and celebrate every success).
• Record your experience.  Was it easier or harder than you thought?  Were you pleased with the outcome? Share your experience for a chance to win great prizes!

Tips & Tools:

• Join the weekly #HolisticMoms Twitter Parties on Tuesdays at 10 EST/7 PST to learn more and get inspired! 
• Join our Facebook chat (details to come!)
• Connect with your local Holistic Moms Network chapter to learn what other moms are trying and get tips for your challenge.
• Read about little changes that matter on the HMN blog.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to our January Prize Winners:  Michele B. (Mountain Valley Spring Water), Anne J. (Fyrefly Organic Herbal Teas), Brittany L. (Holistic Moms Many Paths Cookbook), and Sherry S. (Holistic Moms Membership)!