About

First, if you don’t have something hot to drink, get up and go grab a cup of coffee or tea first.

Who am I?

I am a retired Chiropractor-Turned-Stay-At-Home-Eco-Mom. My education in chiropractic trained me on living healthy, physically and mentally but more importantly, connecting the environmental factors that influence our health. Having said though, and although I have always been conscientious about how wasteful we are and how much we abuse our natural resources, I never and probably wouldn’t ever classify myself as an environmentalist, in the traditional sense of the word. But it does really bother me that we live in a disposable and “we-wanted-it-yesterday” society and that quick and convenience takes priority over the environment. I’m guilty of that sometimes too but I am trying to change and want to do it in a fun and simple way, without being too radical or becoming a pack rat by hauling all of the neighbors’ garbage into my house for reusing.

“I’m turning into my Mother!”

Well, it’s true and I am proud to admit that. I am turning into my mother! (and a little bit of my mother-in-law, as scary as that might sound.) They have been the ecological savvy matrons for years without realizing it. In fact, they’ll profess that they were just trying to be frugal! They always reused ice cream tubs, yogurt containers, take-out containers, and alike and never bought new plastic containers…until the studies have shown that plastic containers may leak chemicals into foods. Yikes! Now, they store non-food items in them. There goes their hobby of trying to match up plastic tub lids to the bottoms without losing their minds. They have been reusing glass jars even before recycling became a household word and even now, they rarely put glass jars out for curbside recycling because they hoard them. If everyone were like them, Tupperware and Glad companies would go out of business. Imagine that!!?!! No more plastic! No more dependence on petroleum. What a concept.

Now, I, the one who always complained that we had too many empty glass jars and plastic containers in the pantry, am filling my own pantry with glass jars and non-recyclable plastic containers. I am also looking at ways to reduce buying “want’ items and just buying the “need” items…call it being frugal or being an environmentally conscientious consumer but I am starting to really dislike clutter. I started to think that may be I can reclaim things to renew instead of buy new things. Also, mass produced imported goods, especially from China, (and don’t get me started on that – that’s another blog in itself.) were starting to turn me off.

You mean, people will buy my stuff?

After I decided to sell my practice and stay home, at least until my teenagers are no longer in need of a chauffeur. (I have other roles but I won’t bore with the job description but I think you know what they are.) I started to knit and crochet with organic yarns while waiting for them to finish their after school activities. (It’s ironic that chiropractic means “done by hand” in Greek and I end up still using my hands  even when I’m not practicing Chiropractic.) I gave away some of my ecological creations as gifts and some people suggested that I sell my ever-growing selection of handmade ecological goodies. (Frankly, I think they were getting tired of getting scarves and washcloths for every holidays and birthdays. I mean how many scarves can you wear and another washcloth? Come on, am I that dirty Aunt Karen?) So my first shop, ecogeneration was born. But like our planet, everything changes and now, ecogeneration is stocked with eco-friendly supplies that I no longer need and hope that you might be able to use. And a new shop, ecokaren opened, where you’ll find my eco friendly creations. Being the doctor in me, I love to educate people and send out a message that we can all reduce, renew, and recycle easily, even if slowly. So this blog was born. I try to include tips, tutorials, reviews, and eco-news regularly. I also feature Etsy Eco-sellers who are creating artistic and creative goodies with ecology in mind. In doing so, I hope to help these eco-minded indie artists to get their message out. My philosophy is that you don’t have to get too drastic or radical but try to do one ecologically responsible thing each day. What’s better, you’ll save money in the long run and feel great while doing it.

Did I put you to sleep? Didn’t I suggest getting a cup of coffee of tea in the beginning of the story?

Hang in there; I’m almost done. I hope you enjoyed learning something about me but come back often and check out what I’ve been up to make this planet a little better place for our kids. I hope you’ll join me in that endeavor. Oh, and, leave me a comment or two when you visit; would love to know that you stopped by. And I hope you’ll try my products on ecokaren on Etsy. I know you’ll enjoy them.

Any questions? Click the “Contact Me” tab and e-mail me. I will try to answer within 24 hours, barring any “severe” global warming related weather conditions.

Have a beautiful green day!

♥Karen

Tagged as: Uncategorized