eco ike is in Natural Home magazine!

Natural Home Magazine featured eco ike as a "Fresh Find" in their September/October issue!

back to bed 4 back to school!

more and more research is showing that kids need more sleep and that there is a direct correlation between the amount of sleep that they receive and how they perform at school!  not getting enough sleep affects cognitive ability & emotional and physical well being. 

some studies indicate that missing an hour of sleep, for elementary school kids, causes a drop in performance equivalent to one grade level.  missing sleep means that kids don't have the ability to absorb and process what they've learned neurologically.
 
with little ones going back to school (even preschool), it's important to give them every advantage to make their school experience a great one. 

read more about the importance of sleep in children and how you can positively encourage more Zzzz's

the 'green' kid lunchbox

according to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, kids consume about 50% of their daily calories at school!  studies also show that children who eat a healthy diet can concentrate and perform better at school!

a healthy lunch is balanced with fiber, carbohydrates, proteins and fats.  getting kids to eat their vegetables is often the most challenging part of packing a good lunch.  try these strategies for getting your child to eat their vegetables:

• grate fresh or steamed vegetables into a sandwich or wrap
• add vegetables to hot foods like pasta & sauce or mac-n-cheese
• make a bean burrito with roasted veggies, salsa and sour cream
• add thinly sliced vegetables to sandwiches

excerpt from The Co-Op Advantage
photo courtesy of kiwimagonline

A+ lunch containers

It’s back to school time and eco ike is dishing out lunchbox and container ideas. Plastic sandwich bags move on over, there are endless {and super cute!} options out there. Tons of Etsy sellers are making ‘reusable sandwich baggies’ check them out. And if your little one wants a durable and reusable lunch container that is eco friendly, check out:

our entire selection of GREEN LUNCHBOXES & accessories

on our eco ike eco boutique.  Check out our entire selection here!

please take your shoes off!

taking off your shoes not only helps keep your home cleaner, it also helps keep it healthier. If you think about where your shoes have been, you will realize that you possibly came in contact with a lot of contaminated dirt.


It is estimated that we track 85% of the dirt in our homes in from the outside on our shoes or paws of pets. In a recent warning about lead exposure, the Environmental Protection Agency specifically recommends that shoes remain outside the house. According to a report called The Door Mat Study, lead-contaminated soil from the outside causes almost all the lead dust inside homes.

wiping your shoes on a mat & removing them at the door cuts lead dust by 60%. The study states that limiting the amount of tracked in material may help reduce exposure to lawn & garden pesticides, wood smoke & industrial toxins, mutagens, dust mites, and allergens.

image courtesy of Real Simple

3 cheers for houseplants!

you know they can brighten your surroundings and improve your mood, but here are three more reasons to buy a plant:
1.)  The American Society for Horticulture Science found that common ornamental plants (the purple waffle plant, in particular) removed indoor air pollutants, significantly improving indoor air quality.
2.)  A study in the Netherlands discovered that plants boosted productivity in creative work environments.
3.)  Hospital patients exposed to plants had shorter stays and less pain, anxiety and fatigue than their plant-less counterparts, according to a study by Kansas State University.

excerpt from Natural Health Magazine
photo from Fine Green Design