Andy's Idea Factory

Ever since living on the farm in Oregon and learning all the old world holistic trades, I have been a big proponent of do-it-yourself home care. Be it for skin, hair, eating or cleaning, there's so much to be said about making your own. And one of our go-to items is a healing comfrey salve. Burt's Bees makes a great version ( Dr. Burts ), and there are several others like it you can buy at Natural Grocers, Whole Foods, etc. So if you don't have time, having one of these store bought versions in your first aid kit or cabinet is a great idea. The magic of the comfrey plant is legendary - the Native Americans called it "Knit Bone," and used it for all sorts of internal and external remedies. In our house, we use it for rashes, stings, cuts, nicks, scrapes, and most of all, burns. Most versions (home made or store bought) include lavender in their blend, which is an immediate and must-have cure for burns. So this summer, when our comfrey plants took over the f

Healthline launched two programs this year to support people with symptoms of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Healthline's new #pselfie program is a collection of photos from people living with psoriasis. Users can upload a photo on Instragram or Twitter with the hashtag #pselfie or upload a photo directly onto our page. You can view the photos here: http://www.healthline.com/health/psoriasis/selfie/photos-and-quotes For every photo they receive, they will donate $10 to the National Psoriasis Foundation. They've also launched You’ve Got This, a collection of videos submitted by those living with psoriasis giving hope and encouragement to others with the condition. Again, for every video they'll donate $10 to the National Psoriasis Foundation. View the videos here: http://www.healthline.com/health/psoriasis/youve-got-this Last, Words You Should Know for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. All of the terms and definitions were submitted by users from Healthline's

In October we posted when we first got our Tower Garden . Now it's time to share a little about what we've learned! A quick summary and recap: What's a Tower Garden ?  First, it's compact: It's literally a 4 foot tall by 1 foot wide white tower with 20 net pots that sits atop a 1 foot by 3 foot 20 gallon reservoir. Next, it's water and energy efficient: A pump inside the reservoir distributes water with nutrients to the plants' roots that hang from the net pots. In recycling the water every 15 minutes, the Tower Garden uses 10% of the water that traditional gardening does. It's also on a 125 watt timer (included), so it waters the roots every 30 minutes for 15 minutes, meaning no work for you, and costing about $4 per month to run. So on to what we've learned - Chapter 1 Seeds and Lights ... For anyone who says they can't garden - either born without a green thumb, devoid of space (apartment owners), or simply without the time, Tower