simple.green.organic.happy.

Author: Robin Strong Elton

Get a FREE Mrs. Meyer’s Everyday Luxury Set from Grove Collective
Keep reading to find out how you can get this Mrs. Meyer set for free.

As rosemary is to the Spirit, so lavender is to the Soul.

I’m a sucker for monthly subscriptions. One of my favorite sites is Grove Collaborative (formerly ePantry), which stocks natural cleaning and beauty products. Basically, you create your “pantry” of products and the schedule you’d like it shipped on; before the order is sent, you’re emailed a reminder and you can decide if you need to add or remove anything. Or, if you realize that you’re about to run out of something, you can go ahead and opt for “send now.”

Right now, I’m scheduled to get a delivery every two months of Mrs. Meyer’s laundry detergent, dish soap, hand soap and dryer sheets, along with a set of Grove Collaborative sponges, which works out just about perfectly in terms of our usage. I am OBSESSED with the basil and rosemary scents. I LOVE THEM. As I’ve mentioned a million times on this site, I’m really sensitive to scent. Mrs. Meyer’s scents are not at all overpowering, I don’t associate cleaning with the smell of chemicals and just in general the fragrance of herbs is something that makes me happy.

I’ve also ordered Mrs. Meyer’s toilet bowl cleaner and multi-surface cleaner, and I love those too. The concentrated refill of the multi-surface cleaner lasts a really long time. Everything I’ve tried from that brand has been effective and gentle and great smelling. Plus: the pretty vintage-esque packaging. (Dang, I hadn’t realized how strong my Mrs. Meyer’s love was until I wrote this.)

Of course, Grove Collaborative carries more than Mrs. Meyer’s. The usual suspects of green cleaning products are represented— Dr. Bronners, Seventh Generation, Method etc. They have a nice selection of lotions and body washes and facial cleansers. There’s shaving lotions and feminine products and dental care, along with household stuff like sponges and paper towels and sandwich bags. Everything I’ve purchased has been competitively priced, often the best price I’ve found online. AND! It ships really fast too.

…the Grove Standard:

Uncompromisingly healthy.
Beautifully effective.
Sustainably minded.
Amazingly affordable.

OK. HERE COMES THE PART WHERE I TELL YOU HOW YOU CAN GET A FREE MRS. MEYER’S EVERYDAY LUXURY SET.

I’m not sure if it happens with every order or if it just seems like it, but Grove Collaborative often runs these offers where they’ll add a freebie to your delivery— so you get to try a bonus item for free. And until Sunday May 1st, if you’re a new customer you get an awesome freebie with your first order, the Mrs. Meyer’s Everyday Luxury Set. That includes:
- a Mrs. Meyer’s candle: made from vegetable waxes, with a lead free cotton wick
- a Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap
- a Mrs. Meyer’s dish soap
- Grove Collaborative walnut scrubber sponges, which are made from crushed walnuts: tough on messes, gentle on pots and pans
- shipped for free.
To claim your free luxury set, click right here on my affiliate link.

(If you’re already a Grove Collaborative customer, you can still claim a Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap for free with your next order when you use this link.)

You do need to spend at least $20 on that first order to get your free luxury set. As I’ve said, I highly recommend just about everything in the Mrs. Meyer’s line. Here’s what Grove Collaborative suggests as a possible first order:

That’s a lot of good stuff for 26 bucks.

Other products I’ve liked and will order again: Method body wash in White Tea, Seventh Generation dishwasher soap and glass cleaner, Acure Organics Facial Cleansing Gel Superfruit + Chlorella Growth Factor, the Yes To line in general but especially the face cleaning towelettes, the Grove Collaborative hand sanitizer, and of course Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds.

There are a limited number of sets available and this offer ends Sunday May 1, so grab yours now. Here’s the official walkthrough:
1. Sign up for Grove Collaborative here. You’ll receive the Mrs. Meyer’s Everyday Luxury Set for free when you sign up.
2. Answer 4 quick questions about your home. Grove Collaborative will use this to customize your first basket (this takes under 30 seconds!).
3. Once you’ve answered the questions, you can finalize your basket of products to suit your household needs by adding or removing items.
4. To receive this offer, your order needs to total at least $20. Choose the combination of products and scents you love and receive in your first box (this is the hardest part— I agonize over this every time).
5. Click “Finish & Pay” and place your order.
Let me know what you order and if you love it!
April 26, 2016
Celebrate Mom Event: Check Out This Belli Skincare Giveaway
I can’t believe it’s almost MAY already, but Mother’s Day is just around the corner.

If you know a mom preparing to celebrate her first Mother’s Day, or if you yourself are a new mom (congrats BTW! It’s awesome!) you’re going to want to head on over to the Belli Skincare website. They are running a fantastic giveaway valued over $700 that includes:
- a subscription to Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine
- Padma Collection Mom & Baby Cami and Pant set
- Jane necklace and set of silicone links
- Goumijamms by Goumikids infant gown
- $100 AmEx gift card
- Moby wrap Dots carrier
- Lotus Everywhere crib
That would be a pretty sweet package to wrap up in a bow or to find on your own doorstep. The giveaway closes on May 3rd.

You can also stock up on some Belli products by saving 20% storewide until May 3rd with code BLIMOM20. Their skincare is designed to be safe, effective and luxurious, and is tailored to the needs of expecting and new moms: there’s Elasticity Belly Oil, Stretchmark Minimizing Cream, anti-blemish care (I never had acne problems until I had kids), hydrating products, treatment for undereye circles, and of course sunscreen.

I’m well past needing some of those but I can attest that the Anti-Blemish Facial Wash is fantastic— it’s kept my sensitive skin clear without drying it out and it smells nice (I have a thing about scents). Plus it’s made in the USA.

Every Belli product is allergy tested, free of paraben preservatives, phthalates, and artificial dyes or fragrances, and made in the USA. And, for expecting and new moms the products are teratology screened to avoid ingredients with even remote links to birth defects or miscarriage in published medical studies, and Lactmed screened to avoid any ingredients that could be harmful if passed through breast milk.

Since your skin is your biggest organ, what you put on it matters, and even more so when you’re passing your own exposures on to your baby in utero or through skin-to-skin contact. Keep Belli in mind as an excellent gift for future baby showers— pampered mom, healthy baby!
April 26, 2016
5 Ways to Support National Parks

Happy 100th birthday National Park Service! This year the National Park Service is celebrating a century as the caretaker of the national parks, and welcoming the next generation of visitors and supporters to play an active role in stewardship of America’s most treasured places. Community members are invited to join the Find Your Park movement by taking a hands-on role in park conservation and preservation. There are a lot of great ways to get involved, with activities suited to a range of interests.

5 ways to get involved with National Parks:

1. Join the VIPs.

The National Park Service’s Volunteers In Parks (VIP) program engages over 444,000 citizens who donate over 7.9 million hours, which is the equivalent to more than 3,700 additional employees. Thousands of Volunteers help maintain trails, provide visitor services, lead guided nature walks and historic tours, support preservation initiatives, and deliver education programs to youth and school groups. With more than 400 parks in all 50 U.S. states, the engagement opportunities available are as diverse as the parks themselves.

2. Become a Citizen Scientist

Ever dream of discovering a new species? Here is your chance! The parks’ Biodiversity Discovery program has revealed amazing things, and is not just scientists who make these discoveries. Volunteers and students have collected plants and animals that turn out to be rare, new to a park, and sometimes new to science. In 2016, you can join one of more than a 100 National Geographic Society BioBlitz events to help park staff and scientists catalog biodiversity in your local national park. The National Park Service reports that to date, more than 114 national parks and 30,000 people have engaged in this annual BioDiscovery effort, and more than 18,000 species new to parks have been identified.

3. Leave No Trace

Volunteers help maintain 18,000 miles of trails in national parks. If you’re planning to get out and find your park this year, help keep the parks as beautiful and litter free. Go the extra mile by bringing your own garbage bag to pick up any trash you might see along the way! And remember, there are at least 247 species of threatened or endangered plants and animals found in national parks, and you can help protect them by keeping food stores secure and not disturbing the plants, animals and historic artifacts that live there.

4. Be an Artist in Residence

Artists have created art in national parks since the late 19th century. Today, the sights and sounds in national parks continue to inspire artists in more than 50 residency programs across the country. There are programs for visual artists, writers, musicians, and other creative media. Programs vary, but residencies are typically 2 to 4 weeks in length and most include lodging. Often artists are invited to participate in park programs by sharing their art with the public.

5. Try Virtual Volunteering

In the new, free mobile iOS game – Save the Park – you can virtually experience the types of activities and impacts volunteers have in parks. Play all four volunteer characters – Environment Champion, Wildlife Lover, Citizen Scientist and Culture Concierge – across three park environments. And for each download of Save the Park occurring this year, American Express will donate $1 (up to $50,000) to support the National Park Foundation’s conservation and stewardship programs.

This post was contributed through American Express; I was not compensated in any way, just thought it was pretty cool and wanted to share for National Park Week!

Photo credit: Depositphoto

April 20, 2016