Imperfectly Natural.com
It is all thanks to Squidoo!
This lens tells you how I first met the Imperfectly Natural Woman, Janey Lee Grace and what made her contact me three months later and make me the most fabtastic offer. You will also learn about the Imperfectly Natural website and how it may be able to help some Lensmasters drive traffic to their lenses!
Contents at a Glance
- Imperfectly Natural Contents
- The start of my Imperfectly Natural story
- Janey Lee Grace's books that inspired me to become more natural
Imperfectly Natural Contents
- The start of my Imperfectly Natural story
- Another landmark day in my Imperfectly Natural life...
- Imperfectly Natural.com - what is it all about?
- Why should you visit Imperfectly Natural?
- The Imperfectly Natural Forum
- Another reason for Lensmasters to visit Imperfectly Natural
- Submitting an article to Imperfectly Natural
- Two more reasons to visit Imperfectly Natural
- My Imperfectly Natural connection is due to Squidoo!
- What do you think about Imperfectly Natural?
- About AJ
The start of my Imperfectly Natural story
A day that was to change my life, but I did not know it at the time!
Have you ever had one of those "feelings?" You feel absolutely driven to do something, but you don't know why? You just have this inkling in the back of your mind that you just HAVE to do it?
This was one of those days!
One of our local schools was having an "Eco Fair". It was the school that my daughter Sparky would be transferring to in September. Both my Lovely Hubby (LH) and I do as much as we can to "reduce, reuse and recycle". We do it because of what we know due to LH's job. I sometimes think we know too much about how man is devastating his natural habitat. But that is another story!
I was insistent that we went to the Eco Fair. The weather was lousy - typical English Summer weather: damp and windy and cold! Sparky and her younger sister Lizzie did not want to go but I was adamant, almost obsessed - looking back it's as though I had a strange premonition that I HAD to go . There was someone who was going to be doing a talk at the Eco Fair and I wanted to see her. Her name - Janey Lee Grace.
Janey has been making a name for herself in the UK as an expert in "natural living". Not only does she make regular TV appearances, she also features on BBC Radio 2 three afternoons a week on the Steve Wright Show. I was curious, I wanted to see if she was the same in real life as she sounded on the radio and TV.
So we dragged the girls out. We listened to Janey's talk, which was great. The girls were so interested that they wandered off elsewhere - ah well! Plenty of opportunity to convert them to natural living another time. I bought a couple of books, that Janey signed and that was that. But I was buzzing so much that I decided that my very first lens on Squidoo would be about Janey and it was published on 14th July 2008.
Janey Lee Grace's books that inspired me to become more natural
Imperfectly natural woman and Imperfectly natural home
Imperfectly Natural Woman: Getting Life Right the Natural Way
The book that has inspired me to try to be more "natural" in the home and converted me to Soapnuts.
Amazon Price: $18.96 (as of 07/09/2009) 
Imperfectly Natural Home: Everything You Need to Know to Create a Natural Home
The other book I bought, when I met Janey for the first time. In it Janey shares her secrets and top tips for living natural. She gives friendly and down to earth advice.
Amazon Price: $15.56 (as of 07/09/2009)
The Imperfectly Natural Woman: The Pocketbook
Published 06 March 2009
Imperfectly Natural Woman: The Pocket Book
Amazon Price: $14.82 (as of 07/09/2009)
Building on the success of her first book Janey has created Imperfectly Natural Woman: the pocket book. It includes tips and ideas extracted and adapted from Imperfectly Natural Woman together with some new tips and and added sections (particularly recipes for making your own natural skincare) and some gorgeous illustrations.
The perfect gift!
My very first lens - the Imperfectly Natural Woman
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Janey Lee Grace
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Janey Lee Grace is a UK expert in the field of "natural" living. Janey describes herself as an "Imperfectly Natural Woman" and has written a best selling book with the same title. More recently "The Wright Stuff" on UK TV has started referring to her...
Another landmark day in my Imperfectly Natural life...
Contact from the Imperfectly Natural Woman!
Twelve lenses on and an email landed in my inbox. I got the surprise of my life. It was from the subject of my very first lens: Janey Lee Grace. Oh my gosh!
Janey wrote: "Love your lens on me! As someone who can't even get it together to make my blog look half decent I'm most impressed. Have we met ?"
I responded: "Yes, we have met and I found you so inspiring that I wrote my very first ever lens on Squidoo about you.................
The reason why I am writing on Squidoo is that I have a very bad problem with my right ear, called Otosclerosis and cannot work at the moment due to problems with balance and co-ordination. Have always wanted to write and as I am pretty good at research I thought I would give Squidoo a go. It doesn't pay the bills, but hey I am loving it as writing is saving my sanity."
Janey answered, suggesting that perhaps I could do some writing for her website: Imperfectly natural.com. Oh my word!We spoke on the phone. We met up - Janey lives not far from me - and to cut a long story short, I am now doing some freelance feature writing and editing the site. The site was completely redesigned and still needs work on it to squish the inevitable bugs but I am now happy that it is good enough to be able to start broadcasting the URL further afield. So if you do go and visit please bear with us if something is not working.
There is even a link to my Janey lens on the Home Page and considering that the site gets upwards of 300,000 hits a month, what a backlink!
Janey's Blog
The musings and doings of "Imperfectly Natural Woman"
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byImperfectly Natural.com - what is it all about?
Building an Imperfectly Natural community
As Janey herself says:"This site is to help build an Imperfectly Natural Community, where I hope to share with you everything I can on the best natural and holistic ideas for us, our kids, our partners, and for our way of life and our environment... but in a realistic way.
You don't have to become a tree hugging eco-warrior, and I won't preach to you, but with your help we can bring a more natural, chemical free, and more eco-friendly way of living right into the mainstream... that's right, change the world!"
Some Imperfectly Natural tips
Janey Lee Grace - The Green Queen on TV
Janey Lee Grace Green Home
Why should you visit Imperfectly Natural?
All companies that are listed in the Directory also have opportunities to provide special offers and competitions on "Janey's Tips" - the bi-monthly e-zine that is emailed to thousands of subscribers - or to offer a competition prize on the front page of the site.
The Imperfectly Natural Forum
As good as SquidU!
The members exchange tips and converse about all things Natural and if you want to know which "natural" deodorant works and which doesn't, amongst other things of course, then this is a great place to find out.
Soapnuts
My only New Year's resolution for 2009
My Imperfectly Natural secret is that I don't use soapnuts enough! I confess this in an article on the Imperfectly Natural website.-
Soapnuts - The Environmentally Friendly & Natural Cleaner
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Soapnuts are one of the best "ecosoaps" on the planet! They are an environmentally friendly, natural and cheap alternative to commercial detergents, which are easy to use in the home. We have four children and like many parents, my husband and I are...
Another reason for Lensmasters to visit Imperfectly Natural
Do you write lenses about "natural" products or services?
PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY!Have you used any of the products in the Recommended Products section of Imperfectly Natural.com?
We feature new articles on Imperfectly Natural every week and we are constantly on the look out for new topics and writers. If you have a lens about any of the products in our Recommended Products section then add the link to the Plexo below.
Then email me via the "contact me" button on my Bio and let me know if you would like to contribute. PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANYTHING ELSE AT THIS STAGE!
Adding your link to the plexo or e-mailing me does not guarantee that your submission will be accepted.
Any irrelevant links will be deleted from the Plexo.
If we invite you to submit an article/feature, you will be sent some guidelines. The article/feature will have to be at least 500 words long and NOT spammy. For a definition of Spam, see my lens Squid Etiquette!
And if you do not have a lens about any of the products we recommend, then why not write one?
Submitting an article to Imperfectly Natural
What's in it for you?
However, you will get valuable backlinks and exposure on a site that has a massive number of hits each month!
Add your Natural lenses here
Please read the guidelines above before adding your lenses here. Irrelevant links will be deleted. Allowing links here should not be taken as a personal endorsement by Imperfectly Natural or Janey Lee Grace
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Soapnuts - The Environmentally Friendly & Natural Cleaner
Have you heard of Soapnuts, the environmentally fr more...2 points
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Mooncup - Reusable menstrual cup
My periods have always been difficult; although I more...2 points
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Why Vegetarian? The Environment & cruelty to animals
There are several reasons for people to become veg more...1 point
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The Environment Lensography
A lensography of the best lenses about pollution, more...1 point
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Unique Eco Chic, Environmentally Friendly Products From Chartreuse
Chartreuse is an eco friendly company offering a w more...1 point
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Paperless Paper Towels
Think about how many rolls of paper towels you con more...1 point
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Organic Foaming Hand Soap
Did you know natural plant oils become pure soap w more...1 point
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Baby Carrots ~~ When Is A Carrot Not A Carrot?
North Americans love baby carrots. Even more than more...1 point
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Olbas Oil - The best relief from Sinusitis
Olbas Oil is a natural product I use on a regular more...1 point
10
Inexpensive Eco-Friendly Christmas
With these difficult economic and ecological times more...0 points
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Natural Bathroom Decor
Do you wish to change your bathroom? Does your bat more...0 points
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Eco-Friendly Videos
Watch eco-friendly youtube videos0 points
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Growing Lavender %u2013 Cooking With Lavender %u2013 Bathing With Lavender
Using lavender is one of the best ways to pamper y more...0 points
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Young Living - Save Your Health - Save the Planet - Create Abundance
This lens will tell you about the Young Living opp more...0 points
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Food Waste Mountains, Biofuels and the energy crunch
It appears that at the present time, we are facing more...0 points
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HOWTO: Save Electricity Used By Your Computer
Many people use computers every day, some people h more...0 points
Two more reasons to visit Imperfectly Natural
Imperfectly Natural tips & competitions
Would you like to receive Janey's FREE tip sheet packed full of her personal recommendations, great exclusive offers, competitions and freebies?
It is completely free and is sent via email every fortnight. This link takes you to the subscription page.
Competitions
Janey is constantly trying out new holistic ideas and eco-products - from big companies to tiny partnerships, and she wants to know what you think too. So each month we give away some fabulous prizes and we ask the lucky winners to write a review for the Imperfectly Natural site.
This link takes you to the Competitions page.
NOTE: Not all prizes are available to people outside the UK - please check the Competition details before entering.
My other Imperfectly Natural lenses
One of them is about an important campaign
Imperfectly Natural.com is supporting a campaign against what I think is one of the most stupid of all the stupidest pieces of legislation to come out of the European Parliament.-
Hands off our Vitamins
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Hands off our Vitamins is a campaign against the introduction of The European Commission Food Supplements Directive. If the Directive comes into force then the EU will dictate what vitamins and minerals we can buy in all the member states, including...
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Twelve Days of a Green & Ethical Christmas
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The Twelve Days of Christmas to my family is simply a time of being together. When I was a child there was no such thing as "global warming" and vegetarians were very unusual. Naturally, as I have got older my awareness of the damage the human popula...
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Valentines Day
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Valentine's Day is celebrated all over the world and is another of those special days which appears to have been hijacked by commercialism - but the soppy romantic in me still loves it! However, if you do want to buy chocs or flowers for the loved o...
My Imperfectly Natural connection is due to Squidoo!
Thank you Squidoo!
And yes, I said, there could be some money in it too. However, within a few days I realised that making money on Squidoo would mean patience, a huge investment of time, an ability to learn monetising and promotion techniques and probably a bit of luck. The most important thing was to set realistic expectations, so that I would not get disheartened if I could not achieve what turned out to be impossible objectives.
The ability to realistically asses what Squidoo could offer me is probably the most important part of my "Squidoo story" and this will be the subject of a new lens.
I will carry on Squidooing, I cannot imagine not being part of such a great Community, but life will now have to be more of a juggling act than it has been for the last five months - but hey, isn't that why AJ stands for Always Juggling!
Follow Imperfectly Natural on Twitter
Updates to the Imperfectly Natural Website will be Tweeted on a regular basis
- imp_natural
- aka Imperfectly Natural
- 221 followers
- 136 following
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- Trying out some recipes on my dehydrator...
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- Our Editor @aj1996 is finishing her "tour of duty" with Imperfectly Natural today and hopes you will all carry on following her on Twitter!
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- Could you give up your car? http://tinyurl.com/d2y7p2
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- Its Fairtrade fortnight in the UK. Have just added a news item about ethical gold & silver to http://www.imperfectlynatural.com
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- Just reading this - it applies to more things than just "presenting" - http://tiny.cc/i04Jk
More natural lenses on Squidoo
There's a lens that asks the question "What did you do to use less energy today", go and join in the conversation!-
What have you done today to conserve energy?
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I fully expect the new Obama administration to create a sensible energy vision. A big part of that plan will include conservation of energy and other resources. So this is your chance to chime in and tell the world: What have you done today to cons...
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Make a New Year's Resolution to Green Your Life in 12 Months
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You could decide to lose weight--again--or this year you could resolve to lighten the load you leave on the planet. Here is a series of small changes that add up to big results divided up by time frame. You can complete them today, this week, or duri...
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Mooncup - Reusable menstrual cup
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I found using tampons uncomfortable, bordering on the painful, especially in the last couple of days of my period. Sanitary towels were messy and irritating and both worked out as expensive in the long run. So, I needed to find something that would s...
Would you like to make a "natural" lens or promote your "natural" website?
Then join Squidoo!
Do you have some stories to share?Do you want to get a message across about something you believe in?
Do you have a website to promote?
Would you like to try your hand at writing on Squidoo?
Then become a Lensmaster! You may even make some extra cash too! AND it is free!
All you have to do is click on this link. Choose a Username and a Password - you dont even have to publish until you are ready - then go visit some lenses and learn everything you could possibly need to know about Squidoo.
AJ's Blog
AJ's Squidooings and other musings
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byWhat do you think about Imperfectly Natural?
Your views are very important to the Imperfectly Natural team!
If you visit Imperfectly Natural.com, then your feedback would be much appreciated and could influence what content is included on the site.
calicoskies wrote...
What a wonderful story! You are an excellent writer - keep up the good work. I will be using imperfectly natural as a resource. I am always trying find ways to reduce exposure to chemicals and I am always looking for natural eco friendly products :)
Posted May 20, 2009
Evelyn_Saenz wrote...
Reading about the Imperfectly Natural concept makes me feel inspired to continue towards a more natural lifestyle in this imperfect world.
Posted March 05, 2009
WritingforYourWealth wrote...
Congrats on your success :) Maybe I can submit an article sometime!
Posted March 03, 2009
naturegirl7 wrote...
Welcome to the Naturally Native Squids group. Don't forget to add your lens link to the appropriate plexo and vote for it.
Posted February 24, 2009
About AJ
AJ is very proud and humble to be a Squidoo Angel
I am also very proud to have been awarded lens of the day for
Auditory Processing Disorder TWICE!
And then I got it for Twelve ways to have a green & ethical Christmas!
Lensmaster aj2008, aka AJ , has been a member since July 10 2008, has rated 2,071 lenses, favorited 404, and has created 52 lenses from scratch. AJ donates their royalties to Save the Children. This member's top-ranked page is "Bullying At Primary School". See all my lenses
Check out these great lenses...
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- Bullying At Primary School
Bullying at Primary School summarises everything that I learned when my daughter was being bullied and gives tips and strategies to use when dealing with the school. I hope your children are never bullied, but if they are then perhaps our experience... view lens -
- Squidoo Community
What is Squidoo? What is the Squidoo Community? What can Squidoo do for you? How can you make money with Squidoo? What are the benefits of Squidoo? When I first discovered Squidoo, I had all these questions and a lot more. The biggest one being: How... view lens -
- AJ2008 a Lensography
This Lensography is a different sort of Lensography to the first one I made: AJ is Always Juggling, which is more about me, my likes, my dislikes and my personal ambitions. This lensography is my Squidoo Story. Joining Squidoo has changed my life! N... view lens -
- Auditory Processing Disorder
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a little known condition that may affect 10% of children, the majority of whom are undiagnosed. According to Contact a Family it was first recognised in the USA in the 1960s. APD is a term that is often used to... view lens -
- Squid Etiquette
Squid Etiquette is all about what to do and what NOT to do on Squidoo! In our enthusiasm to not only publish our first few lenses but also get traffic, we may forget some very important things or we may do things that actually, if you really stop and... view lens
Follow AJ on Twitter
- aj1996
- aka aj2008
- 355 followers
- 332 following
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- Congratulations Gia! RT @EnerG: Woo hoo! Number One lens in health: http://www.squidoo.com/balancebloodsugar
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- @jaguarjulie Good morning Birthday Girl - have you seen this yet http://squidlog.com/
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- OMG - that's Oh My Gosh! Buzzing about my latest Purple Star lens http://bit.ly/RvXVW
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- RT @thefluffanutta: RT @Spartz: Want more Twitter followers? Earn them.
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- Wishing @jaguarjulie a very happy birthday!
