I have been using this nice piece of software for over 3 weeks now and so far I am very impressed. I can see exactly what takes most of my time on the computer (which is more of a surprise than I thought).

One of my goals is to become more organized and make a better use of my time. This tool is a great helper for that. Since I have started to invest more time in leading a more succesfull and healthy life time has been a major issue for me.

I am always happy for advise on time management and if you know any other great tools that can help with this please leave a comment on my blog! I will keep you guys posted about my progress as well.

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I visited the local health food stores and found a couple of green cleaning detergents. I tried them, but was not fully satisfied since I noticed that they left white stains on some of my clothes. It was at this time that I read about soap nuts for the first time. The term soap nuts refers to the seeds of the Sapindus tree that grows mainly in India and Asia. These seeds contain saponin, a natural detergent which can be used to clean clothes.

At first I was skeptical since I never heard of nuts cleaning clothes, but I was ready to give it a try. I ordered a smaller package first to test the effectiveness of the soap nuts. With the package I received a small bag that would hold the soap nuts during the cleaning process. For the first load of clothes I used 2 soap nuts and nothing else. I expected my clothes to be not really clean and maybe to have a weird smell.

I was surprised to find that the clothes turned out perfectly clean and had no smell to it at all. Since that first time I have used the soap nuts over and over gain and so far I can’t complain. These nuts clean my laundry like any other detergent would without the smell and the chemicals. Sometimes I add some Borax, if the clothes have heavy stains on them.

After I used up my first small container of soap nuts I decided to buy a big bag, since this should last me for a while and also saves on the price. This big 1kg bag can be purchases at Better Life Goods. Smaller test packages for a good price can be found at Maggie’s Pure Land. Since I read that soap nuts can also be used to create soap and other cleaning products my next goal is to find more ways to use soap nuts in my home. This is by far the most natural and at the same time effective cleaning product I have found and the price is good too. Makes me almost want to grow my own soap nuts. I wonder if they would like the weather here in California?

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One day when we visited our local supermarket we found a brand of herbal teas in the tea aisle that stated that they would help with digestive problems. Open to anything at that time we decided to give this a try and bough a pack of Eater’s Digest tea.

Back at home my fiance fixed herself some tea after dinner to see how it would work. She started to have discomfort after the meal, but as soon as she drank the tea the problems went away. For the rest of the evening she had no more stomach problems at all. This was a great surprise for us after all the traditional medicine didn’t help at all.

From now on she has used this tea on a regular basis and so far we are very happy with it. The tea’s main ingredients are peppermint, fennel and ginger which all have been used in many cultures as a medicine for centuries. The tea is also caffeine free which is important if you don’t plan to be up all night long after drinking it. After we have discovered tea as a way to improve your health we are always looking for new teas that we use for all different kinds of problems. This tea has saved us a lot of money so far in doctor visits and expensive drugs.

So the next time you have health problems you might want to check out the tea aisle in your local health store. We have not found these teas in many regular stores, but health stores such as Whole Foods and Mother’s Market carry a lot of different herbal teas.

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Negative health effects of chlorine:

1. Chlorine has been documented to aggravate asthma

2. Links have been found between chlorinated water and cancer

3. Chlorine contributes to heart disease

4. Chlorine gas released in the shower can reduce oxygen transfer capacity of the lungs

5. Taking a shower in chloridated water will also hasten the skin’s aging process

During my research I found out that shower water filters are not as expensive as I thought and one small filter can last for a whole year. Now I was convinced. I decided to go with the Paragon Water Systems Shower Water Filter, which had some convincing reviews. This filter is less than 20 dollars (and free shipping) at Home Depot Online, so I felt even if it wouldn’t work at least my loss would not have been too large. The filter arrived quickly in a couple of days after I ordered it. It was very easy to install. As long as you have a tool to loosen and tighten the screws you can easily screw it onto your shower head and the pipe. Since the filter is in a upright position it doesn’t take up a lot of space either. The first time I ran the filter black residue came out of it. According to the instructions this was suppose to happen. The residue appeared only the first time and only took a second until the water was clear. It’s a good idea to hold a bucket under the shower head for the first second, to catch the residue.

The first time I took a shower with the filter I noticed a major difference. The water was clear, had no odor to it and felt much softer than before. There was not the slightest smell of chlorine. I have to admit that I was surprised how good the filter worked. The filter also sat very tight between the pipe and the shower head, so that no water was dripping out.

More than 2 months later the filter still works like on the first day. I am very happy with my purchase, since my skin stopped smelling like chlorine instantly and my it is also not dry anymore after I take a shower. Even if I don’t use lotion my skin is still nice and smooth. My fiance, who was very skeptical in the beginning, likes the filter too. She even uses it to cook pasta and potatoes. So these 20 Dollars were definitely worth it and made a big different in our daily life.

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Since then I have been working on finding products without sugar. In my search I discovered a new natural sweetener called Zsweet. This sweetener is from all natural ingrediences and does not cause tooth decay or raises blood sugar levels. Sounds too good to be true so I had to give it a try.

My judgment after two days: This product looks like sugar and tastes like sugar. No strange aftertaste or smell. The only negative thing is that it is not as sweet as regular sugar, so if you have a real sweet tooth you might have to use a little more. It also has it’s price like most healthy products. All together I am very positively surprised by this product and will probably buy it again. I found this in my local health food store. I haven’t seen it at any of the major stores yet.

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