Wangari Maathai Memorial in NYC on Nov 14

Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, died of cancer on September 25th. There will be a memorial for her in NYC on Monday, November 14th 4:30 to 6:30pm at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine on 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.  I hope you will be there with me and hundreds of others!

I was lucky enough to first learn about Maathai and her accomplishments while working at Lantern Books back in the '00s. The company had published her first book and was all abuzz when she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. (You can see a video about Lantern and Wangari Maathai's relationship here.) Since her passing, I'm reminded of what a great source of inspiration her legacy provides. Maathai taught women to plant trees in order to save the environment, build community, and empower women with financial independence (among other things). Talk about a feminist green entrepreneur!

This great poster from Just Seeds has graced the walls of three of my apartments.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

 

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Is there a monster under your bed?

Besides cleaning the bathroom, mopping seems to be everyone's least favorite household chore. Perhaps it has something to do with all the stuff we space deprived New Yorkers cram under our beds, sofas, tables, desks, and- if all else fails- under nothing (just a huge pile-o-stuff in our living space).

I say this not from a pedestal, but from experience. I absolutely love mopping most of my floors, but when I get to my bedroom I often lose steam. Yesterday, I stopped to think about why I feel this way. I realized it's because I have to spend at least 5 minutes pulling under bed storage containers from beneath my bed, another 5 to 10 minutes dusting those damned things, and then another 5 minutes putting them back once I've cleaned under the bed. Ugh! Wouldn't it be nice to just be able to clean under the bed and be done?

Here is how I've attempted to tame the monster under my bed. These steps are based on those outlined in Laura Leist's book, Eliminate chaos : the 10-step process to organize your home & life. (Check out her book for yourself. It's available at the Brooklyn Public Library. Leist makes the home organizing process so easy to do and understand.)