If you are looking to make space for your new mattress, consider a few creative solutions of disposing your old one. According to Greenyour.com over 33,000,000 mattresses are produced each year and 20,000,000 are thrown away. Twenty million!! A mattress is a wealth of resources that can be used for other things. My rule of thumb, which I learned from studying Permaculture, is everything can be used more then once, or in at least two different ways. Why throw away something that still has a function? Below are suggestions for ways to recycle mattresses.

- If the mattress is not soiled then Craigslist.com is a great place to sell or give it away. You could even include the metal bed frame and bedding in the price.

- Put an ad in the paper stating the mattress is free for the taking. Many people are in need and would be ecstatic to take it off your hands.

- If you are not partial to having strangers come to your house, call your local fire department or news station when there was a natural disaster in your area. They would know of families in need who may have lost everything, and your donation may be just what they needed.

- If you live in the SF Bay Area, check out http://www.BayAreaRecycle.com

- Carefully deconstruct the mattress. The wood can be broken down into wood chips, cotton and wool is great for the compost bin or as a covering for flower beds. The springs make for a great art project or can be melted down into steel.

- Ecohaul.com is a company that strives to do what they can to keep materials they pick up out of landfills. See if they are in your area!

The possibilities are endless. Be creative and if you think of any other ways to creatively reuse a mattress, let us know!

Sara, Product Specialist

I was in San Francisco and did some shopping this weekend. I stumbled upon a store that sold mostly organic cotton shirts, skirts, and dresses. What caught my eye and separated this company from most others were their labels. In bold letters they read, “Cotton is GOTS certified organic.” It is in my nature to trust people. If someone tells me something is organic, I tend to believe them. And yet, there was something comforting about these labels. I didn’t need to ask the sales associate where the shirts were made or what kind of material they were. The company had nothing to hide and I was not secretly wondering if they were being truthful about the details of the product line because they were certified by a third party.

Third-party certifications on  material items can turn you into a responsible shopper without having to do much work. Truthfully, I was going to buy a skirt no matter what. The GOTS certification was the tipping point, as I now want to revisit the company because the clothing is high quality, fits well, and is made from sustainable materials. I can have my cake and eat it too, and the store benefits because I’ll certainly patronize this store again and again.

-Sara, Product Specialist

There are many types of yoga. Ashtanga, Iyengar, Bhakti, and Anusara are just a few.

Karma yoga is the discipline of action. It is thought by many that if your actions are pure and good, then positive things will come into your life. One example of Karma yoga is buying organic food. After cooking and eating a healthy meal, we benefit from feeling pleasantly full and satisfied. Our friends and family have more peace in their lives because they are relaxed after a good meal, and the farmer that produced healthy food receives payment. Conversely, when food is heavy in empty calories or toxins, the body feels heavy and may respond to life situations in a harsh way. In such cases we may have given our hard earned money to a farmer who sprays the land with pesticides and other potentially harmful products that affect both humans and animals.

It can be said that people have free will to decide if positive or negative actions come into our lives. Home products can be applied to Karma yoga. Making the choice to buy natural cleaners, organic bedding, and of course, sustainably made mattresses allows us and those we invite into our homes the opportunity to be healthier. Because of your life choices, your guests may learn about organics from talking with you. Then, they’ll go out and buy an organic product or two, and before you know it, America will be a model of sustainability and health. Now that’s good Karma!

-Sara, Product Specialist

Before working at Lifekind^® I was an Outdoor Science teacher. After settling in as a Product Specialist, I realized my job title may have changed, but my responsibilities are similar. As a science teacher I educated my students about where their food comes from, how it is processed, and the difference between conventional and organic produce. You would be surprised how many of the children had never seen a piece of food growing in a garden.

Living in America, we are blessed with the ability to make many of our own decisions. I encouraged my students to teach their families what they learned and to aid in the decision making process about what ingredients they put in their bodies.

Here at Lifekind^®, I am still teaching the public about environmental issues and the importance of making educated decisions. Families have the choice whether to support corrupt chemical-laden industry or to purchase U.S.-made products that use organic and natural ingredients.

It is great that more families are conscious about eating healthfully. Now let’s teach children to support healthy practices around the home as well. It takes a lot of time and energy to educate yourself about chemicals and processes in the mattress industry. At Lifekind^®, we’ve done the work for you. Our Product Specialists are extremely knowledgeable, and will assist you in making good decisions.

We would love to hear from you!

Sara, Product Specialist

Take this quiz. If you get all of the answers correct, call us and we’ll send you a free soap sample with your next order!

True or False:

If there is 10% organic material and 90% synthetic material in a mattress, it can still be called “organic.” (TRUE)

It is possible to make a mattress in which all the materials are organic and yet 100% come from another country. (TRUE)

Lifekind uses certified organic cotton and organically-grown wool that comes from right here in the United States. (TRUE)

How did you do?

Check back for more quizzes and more free samples!

-Sara, Product Specialist

I’ve been thinking lately about the differences between the ways our great grandparents lived compared to how we live now. My great-grandmother used to take salt baths and rubbed oils on her hands to make them smooth. She used vinegar as hair conditioner and as a softener for clothing in the washing machine. She bought all of these ingredients at the local market. My grandparents even had a horsehair mattress that was made by a merchant in town.

Why is it so common in this day and age that we go shopping for other countries’ products when ours are time tested and proven to be effective? I say, when your health and well-being are involved, support American workers and buy U.S. manufactured mattresses. I know my great grandparents would have never imagined there was any other option.

If you aren’t supporting your neighbors, then who will be there for you when you need it?

Sara, Product Specialist