Clean & Green

I was cleaning the bathtub the other day with some sort of industrial strength muck and found myself in a chemical haze.  Headache. Scratchy throat.  Nasty taste in my mouth.  It all led me to jump online and do a little research.  I found the following appalling factoid:

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the air inside the typical home is on average 2-5 times more polluted than the air just outside—and in extreme cases 100 times more contaminated—largely because of household cleaners and pesticides.

What??  Think about this - the cleaners that you use to de-germ your house are likely more harmful than the germs themselves.  They include strong, artificial ingredients and harsh chemicals like bleach, ammonia, and alcohol.  We are hurting ourselves, our children, our pets, the environment, etc. etc. etc.  I find this incredibly disqusting, not to mention a cause of some serious anxiety.  I went under my kitchen sink, threw out every single toxic cleaner I owned (which luckily wasn't many!), and made a pledge to buy & make safe, non-toxic, environmentally friendly cleaners.  I found a couple recipes to get me started and it seems pretty easy.  

Basic ingredients: 

Vegetable oil based soap (like Dr. Bronners), water, baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, borax, essential oils, tea tree oil. 

Recipes. 

This is fun - it's like cooking, but you can't eat it!  Insead, the reward is knowing you will have a clean house without giving yourself cancer.  Sounds harsh, but this is serious business!    

All purpose cleaners - for countertops, floors, walls, carpet & upholstery.  Combine in a spray bottle:

1. Dissolve 4 tablespoons baking soda in 1 quart warm water.
2. Add 1/2 cup vinegar to between 1 cup and 1 quart of warm water.
3. Combine 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil based liquid soap and 3/4 cup warm water.  Shake to blend. 

Abrasive cleaner: Use baking soda or non-chlorinated scouring powder (like Bon Ami).

Grease cleaner - use a mix of vinegar and salt. 

Disinfectant - for kitchen cutting boards and the bathroom: use a spray of distilled white vinegar followed by a 3 % peroxide spray.  Wipe clean. 

Glass cleaner - mix 1 quart warm water with 1/4 cup white vinegar.  Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice for a citrus scented version or add a couple drops of your favorite essential oil. 

Furniture polish - 1/2 teaspoon oil (like olive or jojoba), 1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice (fresh works best of course!).  Mix in a glass jar and use a soft rag to dab and wipe onto wood. 

Two of my personal favorite safe & environmentally friendly brands to buy are Seventh Generation (expensive, but you can find coupons here) and Trader Joes Cleanliness is Next to Godliness (for the more frugal cleaner)!

Happy, healthy & green!

Sources: http://www.worldwatch.org/, http://www.eartheasy.commost/, www.oregonmetro.gov, www.care2.com.  

Reusable shopping bag

How's this for going green?  The Cartier Marcello de Cartier Shopping Bag!  I am usually not a handbag kind of girl - I pretty much just carry a wallet around - but, I LOVE this bag.  So classic!   It's listed on the Cartier site at $2,200, but I found it at Sacs en Ligne on clearance for $500!!  Tempting, isn't it! 

reading 'til I'm sick.....

I ride Trimet to work every day - usually the bus.  It is super convenient, very reliable, earth friendly, and usually allows me to devour whatever book (or blog on the iphone) that I may be obsessed with at the moment.  The only problem is that I tend to get ridiculously car/bus sick.  Every day on the way to and from work I read and read and read right up until I am about to throw up on the passenger in front of me.   Sometimes I actually get all the way to work without having to stop reading and sometimes I only get a couple of miles.  I can't figure it out - I also usually get carsick faster on the way going home than I do on the way into the office.  Anyway, I realize that this is completely weird.  I am not in denial about it, but I just can't help myself when I find a book I love.  I thought I would share my latest spew-worthy and not-so-spew-worthy reading material:

The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas(thank you Courtney - this one was absolutely brilliant!)

This book was crazy and pretty thought provoking - it was about science, faith, the concept of space and time, facing death, and a ton more.  It was completely enjoyable - I couldn't put it down and would highly recommend it. 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

I am a sucker for a good mystery.  Actually, I retract that. I am a mystery whore.  I prefer good to bad, but will happily read anything involving a crime and a solution (hello Patricia Cornwell, right!).  There is something about reading a book by a classic author, though, and this one offered some great plot twists!  

 

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I am going to get completely lambasted for this, but I couldn't stand this novel.  I love the idea of it - some sort of life tragedy forces a woman to live out her dreams of traveling, eating, spending time meditating, etc, but I just thought this one was so tedious (and completely unspew-worthy).  It came highly recommended, though, so don't take my sourpuss review as gospel. 

I think next on my list is Popco by Scarlett Thomas.  If it is anything like Mr. Y, I will be finished with it in a couple of days, so I am hoping that some of you guys out there might be able to pass on some recommendations - let me know if there is something that is at the top of your book list!  

Also, I just got these two craft books, which will help me on my way to fulfilling my craft more and sew more New Years resolutions.  If anyone has tried any of Lotta's projects below - let me know.  The book seems to be filled with simple, quick and cute projects.  I will keep you posted on the progress.

 

Happy Monday!