Carnival of Natural Family Living #1

Okay here it is! The first Carnival of Natural Family Living is now open. I think we did pretty good for the first carnival if I do say so myself. In no particular order I will now go ahead and share the best submissions for the first edition of this carnival. Thanks to everyone who decided to participate!

First up is Frugal Panda with 101 Ways to Entertain Yourself and Your Family. These are some great tips! I especially like #2 which addresses summer lecture series offered by public libraries.

I love to talk about how being frugal often times coincides with green family values. That is why I like Sagar’s 100 Creative Ways to Cut Wedding Costs. It has many tips that make for a green wedding with suggestions to buy a used wedding dress, borrow jewelery, grow your own flowers, and skip the wedding favors. It is a great read for anyone about to walk down the aisle.

In keeping with the same frugal theme I also enjoyed reading How to Make Money Management a Family Affair by the Millionaire Mommy Next Door. Teaching your kids about money and consumerism is a valuable life lesson.

Carrie of Natural Moms Talk Radio shares with us her take on living frugal and living naturally in Eating Organic: Tips to Save You Money. This article has alot of great advice and links. My favorite tips were to buy in bulk and to skip porcessed foods.

Mel at Bean Sprouts offered a post about her recent attempt with alternative crafts. She and her sister made a Cake Stand with vintage China plates and sherry glasses. This is a great way to repurpose household items to fit new needs and it is quite stylish too I might add. Green enthusiasts can have their cake and eat it too.

Dana at Principled Discovery tackles a tough subject. She discusses how kids as young as two years old might be emotionally attached to brand symbols such as the golden articles at McDonalds because of their wide spread advertisements on TV. These ads are in effect preparing them to be consumers even at that young age. So how does this affect children in TV free or virtually TV free households? Dana offers her perspective in Brand Loyalty in the Absence of Television.

Kevin of 21st Century Citizen offers us A Simple Step You Can Take: Eat More Locally Grown Food. In this article he explores many of the local food resources on the Internet and how you can use them to stay true to a 100 mile diet.

For my part AND to close this edition of the Carnival of Natural Family Living I submit and article I wrote for GNMParents called The Hottest Color in Beauty. It discusses different beauty products and cosmetics that are composed of sustainable materials, come in sustainable packaging, or come from companies that support sustainable or ethical initiatives.