Have you ever heard the story of the little boy and the starfish? Apparently it was adapted from a story by Loren Eiseley. It’s one of my favorite stories, so just in case, here’s a quick summary for you.

Once upon a time, a man who always visited the beach in the mornings to write saw a little boy who kept walking, then pausing, then standing up again. The man wanted to see what this kid was up to. He saw that the little boy was throwing starfish into the ocean. The man asked the little boy what he was doing. The boy said, “That big storm last night washed all of these starfish up onto the beach. If they don’t make it back to the water before the sun hits, they’ll die, so I need to toss them back in.” The man told the boy that there must be ten thousand starfish. What difference does it make if you throw a few back? The little boy bent down, picked up a starfish, and threw it into the ocean. “It made a big difference to that one,” he said.

There are many different ways to tell the same story. A bucket of water consists of just a million tiny drops. Hobbits were able to save the world by taking one little step at a time. OK, that MAY be fictional (Frodo lives!) but it’s the same general story.

These days, the world is filled with really big problems. Often, these problems can seem so big that there almost doesn’t seem a point in trying to solve them. What can one person do, after all? Environmental concerns are one area where this holds true. Icebergs are melting, polar bears are dying out, and there is an island of trash the size of the Barrier Reef floating in our oceans.  What can one person do about all of this? What can one little town do about all of this?

The fact is that here in the MOV, we believe that there is always a reason to push the needle forward. We may not save all of the starfish, but the ones we do save will be well worth the effort. To that end, many businesses in the area have started to make efforts to become more environmentally careful.

One such business is Dad’s Primitive Workbench. An active member of the downtown community, owner Charlie Clay is a large reason Dad’s Primitive Workbench is a popular shopping destination. Charlie said he is making efforts to make his business more green. “We reuse all the paper that comes in our shipments to wrap antiques and glassware in the store. We also have been asking customers if they want a receipt to save paper and also have switched to chalk board sale signs versus printing paper signs as much as we can.”

Wit & Whimzy is another beloved stop downtown, and owner Laura Pytlik is another who somehow seems to be everywhere downtown. Laura said the environment has been on her mind as well. She said, “My landlord collects all our cardboard to recycle – none goes in the dumpster. I use and re-use cloths to clean, instead of paper towels and I’m starting to transition to electronic receipts instead of paper.”

Peddler of Dreams Art Space for Children is also mindful of materials, and does a lot of recycled art projects to minimize waste. Many of their events include environmental education and nature inspired activities. “We are very environmental awareness driven and always try to educate children about recycling, reusing materials and seeing beauty in cast off materials,” said owner Prudence Burgardt. “We encourage them to come up with ideas to use things usually disposed of in the garbage. We frequent the recycling center weekly for materials.”

Over on Second Street, The Galley has been making waves recently in initiatives that are focused on making the eatery more green. In the spring, The Galley began growing their own herb garden on the roof, which literally makes them more green, but growing food helps reduce fuel costs and has many positive ripple effects for the environment. The Galley is also moving to a “no plastic straws” policy, and they have begun using recyclable paper take-out bags and cardboard take-out boxes versus plastic and Styrofoam. General Manager Nate Shahan notes that more initiatives like this are being worked on right now.

I remember when I was a kid being told that the Earth was already in big trouble. I think kids my age were raised to some extent to believe that it was actually a sin to throw an aluminum can in a trash can instead of a recycling bin. Recycling is not as easily accessible in the Mid-Ohio Valley as I wish it was, but I find it so encouraging to know that so many businesses are doing what they can. As more businesses begin tagging along with these efforts, sustainable business will become a trend, not an outlier. The Mid-Ohio Valley may not be a big area, but we are doing what we can to help change the world.

If you are interested in learning more about minimizing waste generation, check out Zero Waste MOV, a Facebook page created to share tips and ideas for local sustainable living. 

The post Sustainable Initiatives in Downtown Marietta appeared first on Clutch MOV.

Not too long ago, I wrote an article about how Google was making some business owners angry with the Google Business Pages platform. If you recall that article, you might be thinking, “Here we go with the sleazy marketing. First they hate something, or pretend to, and then they turn around and tell you to buy into it.”

Well this is NOT that.

The fact is that Google IS ticking off a lot of people, especially companies who are paying a lot to optimize their website. The main goal when you invest in search engine optimization is to be the first website people see on the first page when they Google something. Google, with its maps platform and business platform, now shows up before those companies that have been working so hard. As you can see in this screen capture, the first thing I see if I’m looking for a local carpenter is a paid Google Adwords ad, and then there’s a giant map with different local business pages listed. I have to scroll down if I want to see anything else:

The fact is, however, that Google Business is a double-edged sword. If you have your own website, it might be harder to get people to visit it or even to see it. However, if you want to promote your business heavily on a local level, I truly believe Google Business is becoming a must. Here are five reasons why.

You immediately have a chance of showing up in search results

As we just saw above, companies that have a business account with Google can show up right away in those map listings. This is not to say that having a website or optimizing your website is now unimportant, but Google is doing its best to grab people and send them to Google pages, so why not ride on Google’s coattails? Even if you work nationally, being located on a Google map can show people where you are in relation to them and in relation to your competition.

If you play the game right, people can learn about you who might not have heard of you before

This is one of the features that really clarified for me how important a Google account can be for a local business. Here is a screen shot of a real insights report for one of my clients:

Over the last month, there have been 659 searches. Of those, 72% fall into the “discovery” category. In other words, people were searching for terms that pulled up my client’s page. They were not searching for the company specifically. This means you have a great opportunity to introduce people to your company who are actually looking for products or services you offer.

Links back to your website

Although Google has been criticized for trying to provide as much information as possible within the Google Business platform so people don’t ever need to visit your page, you can actually encourage people to click wherever you want them to go. There are options for buying, learning more, booking, and a couple of other options.

Tracking phone calls

The insights section of Google Business is probably my favorite feature (but then again, I am a 100% marketing geek). One of the most interesting things the insights section reports on is how many people have called your business from  your maps listing. In an ideal world, you would set up a special phone number that you would list on your Google business page, so you would know any phone calls to that number would be coming from Google. That way you could compare your tracking with Googles and also gauge how the quality of those leads are rating. Still, Google will tell you how many phone calls you have gotten from your listing and even what days you got the most calls.

Tracking the competition

Finally, Google Business is great because you can keep track of how your listing is performing versus your local competitors. In the case of the client above, I know that we are the only company in our direct area of expertise to have photos on our account, which gives us an edge in search.

All of this is not to say that you should abandon Facebook or Instagram or your website, but Google is giving a significant leg up to local businesses with these features. All you have to do is decide to use them and then track the results.

The post Five Reasons Local Businesses Need to Use Google Business Pages appeared first on Clutch MOV.

Reproduction is a topic that people do not like to talk about most of the time. We take it for granted in our society that the usual life course is to fall in love, get married, and then have children. This is so much a part of our culture and society that discussing topics that force us to think about diverging away from “the norm” can be very uncomfortable and quite painful.

The fact is, however, that 1 out of every 8 women you know has been diagnosed with infertility. If that isn’t shocking enough, you might not know that women can be diagnosed with something called Secondary Infertility, meaning they have had one baby but can’t get pregnant again. One in twenty men have been diagnosed with infertility, and as hard as it is for women to discuss their diagnosis, I think it is even more difficult for men.

Every year, the National Infertility Association sets aside a week for Infertility Awareness. They try to set it towards the end of April, and I imagine that decision is because it is fairly close to Mother’s Day, which can be a very difficult day for couples struggling to have a baby. This year, National Infertility Awareness Week is April 22-April 28.

The main purpose of National Infertility Awareness Week is to get people talking about this very challenging topic. There are countless landmines surrounding infertility. For example:

• Couples diagnosed with infertility can feel shame, as if they have done something wrong

• Couples diagnosed with infertility may not want to tell family and friends because they don’t feel comfortable or they don’t want to make people with kids feel awkward or different

• Couples diagnosed with infertility may try many different VERY expensive routes to get pregnant, whether it’s with hormone usage, IVF, or something else. Not only are these treatment options very expensive, but they also create a tremendous roller coaster of emotions for the couple. If people around them don’t know what’s going on, this can be confusing.

You probably know someone right now who has been diagnosed with infertility, or who is dreading going to a doctor after not being able to get pregnant. You probably have no idea that your friend or loved one is going through that struggle. You may not know for years and years. Because this unfortunately is such a silent struggle for so many people, the National Infertility Association encourages people not to ask questions like, “When are you going to give me my grandchild” or “Why haven’t you guys had a baby yet?” These questions come from a place of love and excitement, but they can be devastating for a couple that wants to answer those questions in a very different way from what they actually can say.

If you yourself are dealing with a diagnosis of infertility, this association can be a great resource for you. There are local in-person groups you can join in addition to national initiatives.

Most of all, the association wants men and women with infertility to understand that while this is a taboo subject right now, it should not be. There should not be feelings of shame or guilt. Infertility is like a disease. Along with not being able to have a baby, there can be other repercussions for the individual as well, and those are complicated and hard to talk about, too.

If you want to show your support for National Infertility Awareness Week or if you want to learn more about the association, you can visit https://www.facebook.com/resolveinfertilityorg/.

The post 1 in 8: National Infertility Awareness Week appeared first on Clutch MOV.

Mark Zuckerberg began Facebook as a way to rank pretty college girls on his college campus. It is hard to believe that something with a start like that was able to take over the world. I’ve certainly encountered my share of guys and gals who concocted ways to rank people for different things, and none of them ended up creating a social platform as populated as a small country.

Facebook began 2018 as a hot topic for businesses because Zuckerberg announced that he was going to be changing how Facebook worked. As we discussed previously here on Clutch MOV, Facebook decided to try to boost local stories and people with real-life connections. The result of this change is that business pages have experienced dramatic drops in traffic. Even boosted posts don’t go as far as they used to go.

More recently, Facebook has been in the national and international spotlight, and not for spectacularly positive reasons. It appears that millions of Facebook users were targeted during the 2016 Presidential election with particular ads. Those ads were sent out to people whose personal information had been gathered without their knowledge. You can find a quick and easy-to-understand recap of this scandal via this Fortune article.

A Lack of Control

All of this news has been bothering me. I do not like that the companies using Facebook have to decide to either pay out the nose to get their posts seen or simply go to other platforms.  Facebook has never outright said that it is a “pay to play” platform, but on the business side of things, that is essentially what it has become.

On the personal side, I am not at all comfortable with the idea that my data can be made available not through my own actions, but because of the actions of people I’m connected to on Facebook. Even if I never took one of those fun surveys that were actually data gathering missions, my data went to them if one of my friends took that survey.

Based on the onslaught of all of this frightening information, I decided I was going to quit using Facebook. I tried to reach out to as many people as I could, because let’s face it, a lot of people rely entirely on Facebook now to keep in touch with friends and family. I figured I could stay up on local news by getting my weekly email updates and going to various websites to get informed. Facebook seemed shady and scary. I did not want to associate with it anymore.

Reality Bytes

My job here in Marietta is to plan and execute marketing for close to twenty different companies, many of which are local to the Mid-Ohio Valley.  My clients often get mentioned by local organizations because we live in an amazing, supportive, uplifting community. Sometimes they get tagged and sometimes they don’t, so just using the “pages” feed does not pick up every instance of mentions. There are news sites I follow on Facebook that are my best sources for keeping up on things that might impact my clients (or me, for that matter). There are not comparable versions of these Facebook groups and pages anywhere else.

The bottom line is that I realized that for the purposes of my job, I needed to maintain a Facebook presence. There is also the sense of obligation to share news about my clients with the community, and I can only do that on Facebook as myself. Using a dummy account would not have been appropriate.

The personal stuff? OK, yes, I also found my will weakened because I realized I would probably lose touch with a lot of people I keep up with on Facebook. I am in touch with people I have known since nursery school. We don’t have deep heart-to-heart conversations, but I keep up with them, they keep up with me. That sense of staying connected gets depleted rapidly when you try to quit Facebook cold turkey. Sad, but true.

A Necessary Evil

Like so may aspects of our society today, it seems that Facebook has become a necessary evil, at least for marketers and business owners. There are alternatives to explore, but for now, Facebook remains too significant to ignore. Perhaps the Facebook executives know that, and it makes them feel confident that they can get away with anything.

What are your feelings about Facebook? Does the recent news bother you or do you figure that’s just the price we pay for free networking? We’d love to hear from you!

The post Facebook: The Struggle Is Real appeared first on Clutch MOV.

Back in May 2017, the National Humane Society released a list of the 100 worst puppy mills in America. Twelve of the top 100 were based in Ohio. The only state that had more puppy mills was Missouri at 19. Two other states also had twelve on the “horrible hundred.” The list highlights only the ones that are particularly abusive to dogs. There are countless puppy mills that may fly below the radar or that treat dogs just well enough to not garner attention.

What is a Puppy Mill?

The ASCPA defines a puppy mill as “a large-scale commercial dog breeding facility where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs.” The reason that the humane societies and other charitable organizations focus so much on these kinds of set-ups is that, as the name suggests, dogs are there simply to reproduce. Often times, numerous dogs are stored in every tiny spaces, and the dogs do not receive proper care or feeding. The objective is simply to produce as many puppies as possible. These puppies are often sold to pet stores. Sometimes they are sold at road-side booths and sometimes they are sold in shady Craigslist deals.

Dogs Aren’t the Only Ones

Petfinder.com, a major pet adoption website, notes that it’s not just dogs that are sold to pet stores based on less than humane practices. Cats and kittens are often sold to stores in the same way, as are rabbits and many other animals. Remember, pet stores are in the profit business and those animals need to come from somewhere. The best way to make a profit is to buy animals on the cheap and sell them for as much as the store can. When animals are purchased from pet stores, this whole cycle receives the financial support it needs to continue.

Kawaii is in the process of being adopted from the HSOV

Humane Societies to the Rescue – Literally

You know that Humane Societies across the nation shelter animals and try to care for them as much as possible, and animals can be adopted from these shelters usually at a very low cost. When I adopted my dog from the Humane Society of the Ohio Valley in Marietta, they not only sold him to me for a very small sum, but they also got him groomed (which was quite a task) and also helped cover the expenses tied to getting him fixed. This is not all that these organizations do, however.

Often times, Humane Societies are also responsible for taking animals out of dangerous and/or abusive situations. One great example of what Humane Societies do for animals was reported by WTAP on January 24, 2018. A family in Belpre called the Humane Society saying they had been hearing a cat cry from under their house. Volunteers ended up cutting out the wall and crawling into a 7’ deep well to rescue the 3-year-old female cat. Humane Society volunteers also rescue animals from reported mills, hoarding situations, dog racing/fighting sites, and more.

Athena is a beautiful 9-month old male Labrador Retriever/Jack Russell Terrier mix who was surrendered by her owner on March 2, 2018 along with her handsome brother (Aries).

Don’t Be Afraid of Uncertainty When Adopting a Pet

The only thing I was a little concerned about when looking for my furry friend was that I probably would not know a lot about his or her past. Not knowing about health issues or other facets of the animal’s life can be a little disconcerting, especially for a slightly over-protective dog mom like me. You never know if this is just how the dog is or if this pattern of behavior or health issue is something that should be looked at by a veterinarian. However, my experience has proven that whatever animal you give your home to will guide you in to how best to care for them. Indeed, my shih-tzu/poodle mix pup has me very well trained, at this point. A good vet can help soothe any concerns as time goes on.

A Shelter Animal Rescued This Family

I have a floor mat on my front porch that has this saying on it. I got it from the Marietta branch of We Luv Pets, a store that does a lot to support the local humane societies. It sounds cliché, but knowing that you are giving a warm and loving home to a dog, a kitty, a rabbit, or a horse that had a tough go of it in the past can fill your heart with a high dosage of happiness. I often think of the fact that my dog was found wandering around in a field, burrs and mats all over his body. As I write this, he is curled up on the couch fast asleep while it is snowing and raining outside. Extending care to animals from shelters can also be great ways to teach your kids about care, compassion, and charity.

Margie and her rescued pup

So, from my pup and me, think very strongly about how you are going to bring your new pet into your home, and please consider adopting, not shopping.

This article was co-authored by Margie’s feisty yet also lazy dog, Cumbie.

The post Adopt, Don’t Shop appeared first on Clutch MOV.

Business owners always are juggling incredible amounts of responsibility. They wear a lot of hats, as we like to say. When you are the owner of a small, local business, you have to wear even more hats than the owner of a giant company, which hardly seems fair. While a Fortune 500 CEO has a marketing department, an accounting department, a maintenance team, and so on, local business owners have to take care of all of those things on their own. Handling marketing on top of everything else can seem particularly hard to weave in. You know marketing is important, but it also often seems less important than other things on the to-do list, which might include getting the rent paid or stocking inventory.

Business owners in the MOV do an excellent job of marketing their products and services, but two different obstacles have thrown a little bit of a wrench into how local retailers have been marketing themselves up to this point. The first issue is the change in the Facebook algorithm and the second change involves Google and its Google Maps/Places property.

The Facebook Algorithm

Many local businesses have really begun to put all of their marketing eggs into the Facebook basket, and Facebook has certainly made that seem like a good decision in recent years. Companies can now set up shop options on their page, there are special kinds of boosted posts that encourage people to call or message the company, and, of course, setting up a page on Facebook is free and fast. Many companies rely so heavily on Facebook pages that they never even set up their own websites. They figured the Facebook page was enough information, and setting up a website can be a hefty investment for retailers.

The problem is that over the last few weeks, Facebook has made some significant changes in how people see posts in their newsfeeds. Now, company pages have been reporting drops in page views for a couple of years now, but there were some ways around that. Asking people to add the page to “favorites” is a common tactic, and encouraging people to “like” and “share” also worked. This change is a little bit different, however.

Early in 2018, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he was going to be updating how Facebook works for users. He said he wanted people to engage in more meaningful ways with people, which means he wants people to see posts from friends that will encourage them to leave comments instead of just doing the “like and scroll.” He later said he also will be giving more weight to local newspapers and local organizations, again because people truly care about what is going on around them. What’s the problem with all of this? Well, if your company has a page on Facebook, it means your posts are going to have a far reduced chance of being seen now. On January 12, 2018, Bloomberg reported:

The big glaring losers — besides investor & delicate stomach linings — are the millions of companies that sought to build a business on Facebook. The company warned that its computer systems are likely to circulate less information from Facebook accounts of businesses and more from personal accounts. That’s bad for news organizations, entertainment companies, Main Street coffee shops and giant corporations trying to reach existing and prospective customers on Facebook. Those businesses need to adjust to the billionth version of Facebook’s rule book. And they don’t even have a copy of the rules. Only Facebook does. 

Google

The other thing you need to monitor is that Google is fighting for your customers’ attention as well. You might notice that when you do Google searches now, the first results you get are ads, and then you might get Google maps results. Google is pretty happy with that set-up. Your prospects and customers can glean a lot of information from Google Maps/Places, too. They can learn where you are, what your hours are, they can leave a review, and more. All of that means that they might not feel the need to go to your Facebook page or your website. Everything they want to know is right there.

Don’t Panic, Just Learn New Tricks

The intent of this article is not to create widespread panic. However, these are changes that local retailers and business owners do need to be aware of and monitor. Digital marketing, as it has existed over the last five years, approximately, is going to have to change in order for it to be effective. Indeed, it might be time to even think about some “old school” marketing tactics for this modern era. Face-to-face marketing can happen at events put together by Marietta Main Street and Downtown PKB, not to mention the local Chambers of Commerce. Television, radio, and billboard advertising are viable alternatives, and so is email marketing, AdWords programs, and more. You can also emphasize Instagram a little more, which as of now is still running the same way as it has for awhile.

Do not feel like you need to abandon your Facebook pages. Especially if you have built your presence there for a long time, it would be terrible to lose those person-to- person connections with your customers and your community. However, consider supplementing those efforts with some other ideas. Facebook is still great for local retailers, it’s just not strong enough anymore to carry the whole marketing burden.

The post For Local Businesses, Time to Think Outside the Marketing Box appeared first on Clutch MOV.

One of my favorite movies of all time is What About Bob, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Bill Murray. Richard Dreyfuss plays a psychologist who is about to make it big with his new book, Baby Steps. The idea, as he explains it, is that anything is achievable if you break it down into well, baby steps. If you haven’t seen the movie, I won’t spoil the rest of it for you, but I humbly suggest you give it a watch.

When I realized I really needed to get myself into better shape, the idea of getting into regular exercise seemed very intimidating. I had gone through patches of exercising like so many people do, but then my busy season at work would come along, or life would come along, and I would get out of the habit. “Do I want to spend twenty minutes working out or twenty minutes eating a cookie? Well…”

Especially at this time of year, when people are most anxious about starting the year off right, the idea seems to be that in order to build a more fit lifestyle, you need to exercise till you puke like on The Biggest Loser. Naturally that will not seem attractive. Most of us don’t have 8 hours a day to dedicate to exercising. We FEEL like we have no time to dedicate to exercising. So how can you incorporate this whole segment of activity into your already overloaded life?

A few years ago, a friend introduced me to an online fitness guru named Natalie Jill. Now, I know what you’re thinking. This article was clickbait and this is really an ad for a diet pill.” Don’t worry. Natalie Jill, at least in my opinion, is a fitness guru who actually makes sense. Her whole deal is that you can dedicate an hour to hemming and hawing on a stationary bike OR you can dedicate 10-15 minutes to a very very intense but manageable workout. Don’t bring a book to read. Don’t bring your earbuds. Just focus on your exercise for a handful of minutes—just two commercial breaks, really.

The other thing that made me trust this particular fitness guru is that she offers tips for all levels of participants in every video she does. She does not do this in a shaming kind of way. If you are just starting to exercise and activities are hard for you, she tells you ways to adjust the exercise so that you are moving, even if it’s not the full motion. Seeing the full exercise also gives you something to shoot for, and you can measure your progress not by how many pounds you’ve lost but by how much you have progressed in your ability to do the moves. I’ve been doing these videos mixed in with other stuff for three years now and there still are a lot of things I can’t do. However, I CAN now hold myself up in a wall handstand, walking my feet up and down the wall. I was definitely not able to do that at all when I started.

I think the psychology behind this kind of exercise is really smart. It’s hard work, and make no mistake about that. It’s amazing how much a 10-minute exercise can make you sweat and feel sore. However, it gets to the point where it becomes harder to rationalize NOT doing these short exercises. Everybody, and I do mean everybody, has 10 minutes. Honestly, everybody probably has a lot more time than that . Surely, dedicating some of that time to improving your overall health is worth it, right?

One final great thing about Natalie Jill is that at the start of every month she sends out a fitness calendar to the people on her email list. I’m a Virgo from start to finish, so having an organized approach to my fitness program is just fine with me. There are rest days scheduled in there, and there are also days where she offers educational material about nutrition and other issues. You can print out the calendar and cross out the exercises you finish, and feel super proud of yourself at the end of the month if you were able to cross out a lot of them.

The best place to check out the exercises I am talking about is the Natalie Jill YouTube channel. Now, I will warn you, she, like so many fitness gurus, is super chipper and kind of sappy sometimes, so just be ready for that. Watch some of her videos and see if any of them look interesting to you. You’ll see that most of her videos are about 10 minutes long, and usually about 3 minutes of that is her introducing the routine. You can do these exercises anywhere, and usually you don’t need anything except yourself. Sometimes you can use a resistance band or weights, but she gives you ways to exercise without those.

I have lost about 1/10 of my weight since I started dedicating myself to the baby step approach of exercising. Even if you don’t like Natalie Jill, there are plenty of short but intense workouts out there. Naturally, it’s important to talk to your doctor before designing your own program, especially if you have specific health concerns. Also, naturally, no exercise program will work if you reward yourself with cheesecake every time you work out. I know because I have quite often gained all of my weight back thanks to that kind of attitude. However, I am a strong believer in trying to get yourself to move in an exercise kind of way for 10-20 minutes every day. It has helped me immensely. Let me know if it helps you.

The post Exercising with Baby Steps appeared first on Clutch MOV.

I have been following gardener and author Shawna Coronado online for so long I can’t even remember how I first encountered her. She has long been one of my gardening role models. Although she lives near Chicago, she has managed to turn her yard into a mostly edible mini paradise. She is full of tips on how to fit gardens into any kind of environment you might have, and all year long she posts envy-inducing pictures of what she has managed to grow.

A short while ago, Shawna announced the sad news that she had been diagnosed with a degenerative osteoarthritis in her spine. This not only caused her a lot of daily pain, but it also meant, she knew, a major change in how she would live. Those of you who are gardeners know that gardening is not exactly just clipping the roses. You often have to lift really heavy bags of soil, mulch, or manure, there is a lot of bending down and standing back up, and sometimes pulling out those darned dandelions can get you into some awkward positions. So I’ve heard…

Shawna initially was devastated by her diagnosis, but she did not want to just take it lying down. Working with several specialists, she made significant diet adjustments and also altered the tools she used and how she gardened. Then, being the awesome person she is, she put everything she has learned into an amazing little book called The Wellness Garden.

Oh ye cynics, do not fear. This is not a book about sitting on the floor surrounded by aromatherapy candles and repeating a chant backwards. Actually, there are several different categories of people who will find this book useful, including people who are already gardeners, people who need to add more fresh produce into the diet (that would be everyone so far as I know), or people who want to start growing their own food but don’t quite know how to get started. There is enough detail to keep experienced people interested, but there is enough explanation to help novices stay engaged.

Actually, the amount of education you receive by sitting down with this book is hard to believe. You learn what kinds of foods tend to help reduce inflammation, which can be helpful for everyone but most especially to arthritis sufferers. You learn how to prepare soil in the garden, how you can prepare a “living wall” garden, how you can make sure your garden is set up both for easy access gardening and easy access enjoyment, the benefits of Yoga, and more. That may sound like a little more information than what you want to take on in your free time, so rest assured the photography in the book is absolutely stunning, so there is plenty of visual engagement and beauteous distraction.

The Wellness Garden is a really quick read, but it is not the kind of book you read once and then file away. I plan on keeping the book out as I work on planning my garden (spring will come eventually, guys. It always does). There are a lot of pages you’ll want to bookmark as well. Shawna offers advice on what plants combine together best if you’re using an in-the-ground garden or a container garden, for example. There are also guides regarding plants that can do well in shade versus plants that require full sun for 6-8 hours a day, and lots of other information you’ll want to reference on a regular basis.

Perhaps the best thing about the book is that you know all of the advice is being passed on from medical specialists, and while no promises are made that everything will work for you (all of our bodies are different), it is inspiring to see Shawna write about how much her symptoms subsided when she figured out what foods triggered inflammation in her system.

I got my copy of the book off Amazon. I encourage you to look up Ms. Coronado on social media channels as she is always giving away important information and beautiful pictures. I follow her most on Facebook and you can also learn about her other books on her website.

Give me a shout and let me know what you think if you decide to give this book a shot!

The post The Wellness Garden appeared first on Clutch MOV.

On New Years Day, I looked out my window at one point in the morning, and I noticed that I could not really tell where the sky ended and the ground began in the distance. Everything was the same drab, brownish whitish grey color. I thought to myself, “This is the stuff that Seasonal Affective Disorder is made of, I think.”

According to The Mayo Clinic, “Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.” I know that some people feel that SAD is another of those modern phenomena that we are overthinking. Everything is grey and brown and there is less to do because you’re locked up inside. Of course you feel blue! However, SAD is a serious problem for many people.

Apart from moving to a place like San Diego, where SAD is probably less prevalent, how can you try to soften the impact that this condition has on your life? Well, of course, the best thing you can do if you’re really worried is talk to a doctor and get some professional advice. However, I can tell you that I have found the following things to be helpful in keeping my chin up during that wasteland between New Years Eve and Easter (no, Valentines Day does NOT deserve a mention in this article!). Perhaps some of these might help you cheer up a little as well.

The “Look, I’m at the beach!” trick.

The human imagination is a powerful thing, and if you give it just a couple of little cues, amazing things can happen. That is how I came up with this little pick-me-up. I lie on a heating pad and get really relaxed, and then I play the sound of the ocean in some form. There are white noise apps that can help with this, or you can even find the odd YouTube video that is just the sound of ocean waves. The warmth and the sounds can transport you away from the cold bog in which you live, at least for a little while. While there are not warm golden sands and very attractive people offering you drinks with umbrellas (I’m guessing), you do get to come back from your trip without having to clean your bathing suit, which is a huge advantage, if you ask me.

Plant Something.

One of my biggest issues with winter is the whole “snow and ice kill plants” thing. I love flowers, and most especially I like growing my own flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Needless to say, the Ohio climate is not the best for year-round gardening aspirations. However, there are ways to plant things inside, whether you have a really well lit window or whether you get a whole elaborate set-up with grow lights and tables and a complex watering system. Watching something grow while it’s cold and bleak outside always cheers me up.

Think About Cheering Someone Else Up.

Eastern religions in particular seem to stress the idea that one of the best ways to cheer yourself up is to work on cheering up somebody else. Much like gardening, this kind of activity requires an investment of time, and you can track progress slowly (hopefully) over time. One of my personal favorite things is to send someone flowers for no particular reason (please see my love of plants). However, checking up on someone, donating to someone’s fundraiser, or otherwise engaging in helping other people out naturally distracts you from your own feelings of sadness.

Get Up and Move.

When it’s nice outside, you can go out for a walk without having to put on 17 layers of clothing. When you’re living in a town that could randomly suddenly be found in Antarctica, taking a walk is not so appealing. It’s easy to sit in front of a TV or computer and disappear into a show or movies. That’s a fine way to spend the time, but at least in my case, I find that if I spend too long watching TV, I end up feeling kind of like I’ve been turned into molasses. The truth is, your brain sort of shuts down with all of that entertaining stimulation. Set a timer if you have to, but get up now and then and do something. I like to get up during commercial breaks and maybe clean a counter and see if I can get it done in 3 minutes. By the time my show is done I’ve cleaned most of the kitchen. Bonus! I know people who also like to jog in place or do other kinds of exercise during commercial breaks. Whatever moves you is fine. Just move!

These are just four things I’ve learned help me out during this trying time of year. They may not put a dent in things for you, but who knows, maybe just trying one of these will put new ideas in your head.

If you suffer from SAD, what do you do to help yourself through it?

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