From the Archives: 10 Tips for Healthy Cleaning and Living

Whether you have kids or not, its good to be (Im so sick of this word )"green". Its mainly good for you - which is most important. Lots of cleansers & household products are extremely harmful - which is why the companies never post the ingredients to their formulas; they don't want you to know you're buying something that's quite toxic. Well, here are a few ideas from the past that I've revamped :

1. Fix a squeaky hinge; door, box, wheel, etc. How do you do this? Easy, just spray the hinge with cooking spray like PAM or whatever type you use. Olive oil will also work, but it can get a bit runny.

2. Freshen up a room: Option A - get a small spray bottle -say 2 oz. - fill with water and a lovely smelling essential oil. (tip: use peppermint oil to really get the stench out of the room. My sister, who is a nurse, says this is what they do at hospitals when ...accidents happen). Shake it and spray til the room's scent is to your liking. Option B-Just get a small decorative jar and fill it with baking soda and a few drops of essential oil till its scent is to your liking - this works great in the washroom. I love the lemon/eucalyptus blend. God knows what is in Febreze!

3. Get a large spray bottle 16+ oz., fill with water and about 25 drops of Lavender & Tea Tree essential oil (its a combo oil). This should kill any mold and mildew thru out your home, just spray on surfaces and let air dry. It also smells great and works well as an air freshener too.

4. Use 1/4 cup vinegar during the rinse cycle when your doing laundry. It will work as a fabric softener without all the chemicals but with all the softness. And no, your clothes won't smell like vinegar.

5. Clean your windows, mirrors, glass with a spray that 50/50 water and vinegar (add an essential oil to tame the vinegary smell if you like) - but the smell goes away very quickly.

6. Try not to buy things new. If you can find them at the GoodWill or Salvation Army, do it. You can always find Target's clearance items at these shops so you can buy things 'new' too! You help others as well as finding cool stuff.

7. Used coffee grounds work to keep pests away from your plants. Make sure your plants can tolerate the acidity the grounds may add to the plant soil tho!

8. Kill weeds by spraying them with vinegar - careful not to spray what you want kept healthy in your yard/plant/garden. Vinegar can kill the important stuff too! Its better to use this then items like Round Up, which is very toxic.

9. Use baking soda to scrub just about anything - the oven range, toilet, bath tub, sinks, your teeth, etc. Dab some mixed with a bit of soap to get stains out of clothes as you would with Shout.

10. If you do buy any cleansers I highly recommend Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds. Its like an all-purpose miracle cleaner! Use it to wash your laundry; floors; bathrooms; counters; walls; dishes; car; fruits & vegetables; plus its mild & gentle on the skin. I swear it gets our hardwood floors looking cleaner and better than Murphy's Oil Soapdoes. And it lasts a LONG time - so its totally with the $9 - $12 for a 32 oz bottle - a little goes a long way.

Ok, thats all 10! I hope it helps anyone who needs it!

Image above from The Economist

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DIY Deodorant that WORKS.

There has been a lot of discussion about the effects deodorant has on the body. Personally, I have been sick of using it because I have no idea what the long term effects really are and many people think they have no choice in the matter, other than being a reeking, smelly pig. As of late, it has made me break out in hives..and this is the "natural" stuff. I knew God didn't put us on earth for man to develop crazy chemical laden, and sometimes dangerous concoctions, if there are natural solutions to our health problems. Ever since I had my brief brush with acute and painful arthritis (that has now subsided and not come back- ptl) I have been exploring natural remedies opposed to man-made poisons from Big Pharma. So, I have been searching for the best DIY deodorant recipe and sort of stumbled upon something so incredibly simple; Castor oil and baking soda. I add a scent, like pure tangerine oil or whatever just because I don't wear perfume.

This has been working fantastically. All you do is pour a nickle (or quid) sized dollop of castor oil into your palm (add a scented oil at this point if you like - but make sure this oil is safe on skin) rub your palms together and apply it onto the skin. Follow with about the same amount of baking soda and you are done. My husband has now switched to this method, and as a man who works & sweats all day, he finds it just as fantastic as I do.

This is also extremely beneficial financially. You figure you probably spend close to $100 a year on deodorant, this method might cost $15 or less a year AND it's one less toxic thing you're not applying onto your body on a daily basis.

You can find castor oil online or go to A Fruitful Yield, Whole Foods, or any health food stores that are in your area. You can also find essential oils at these places, too!

Try and enjoy~ let me know how it works for you!

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10 Earth Saving Ideas

Whether you have kids or not, its good to be (Im so sick of this word )"green". Its mainly good for you - which is most important. Lots of cleansers & household products are extremely harmful - which is why the companies never post the ingredients to their formulas; they don't want you to know you're buying something that's quite toxic. Well, here are a few ideas from the past that I've revamped :

1. Fix a squeaky hinge; door, box, wheel, etc. How do you do this? Easy, just spray the hinge with cooking spray like PAM or whatever type you use. Olive oil will also work, but it can get a bit runny.

2. Freshen up a room: Option A - get a small spray bottle -say 2 oz. - fill with water and a lovely smelling essential oil. Shake it and spray til the room's scent is to your liking. Option B-Just get a small decorative jar and fill it with baking soda and a few drops of essential oil till its scent is to your liking - this works great in the washroom. I love the lemon/eucalyptus blend. God knows what is in Febreze!

3. Get a large spray bottle 16+ oz., fill with water and about 25 drops of Lavender & Tea Tree essential oil (its a combo oil). This should kill any mold and mildew thru out your home, just spray on surfaces and let air dry. It also smells great and works well as an air freshener too.

4. Use 1/4 cup vinegar during the rinse cycle when your doing laundry. It will work as a fabric softener without all the chemicals but with all the softness. And no, your clothes won't smell like vinegar.

5. Clean your windows, mirrors, glass with a spray that 50/50 water and vinegar (add an essential oil to tame the vinegary smell if you like) - but the smell goes away very quickly.

6. Try not to buy things new. If you can find them at the GoodWill or Salvation Army, do it. You can always find Target's clearance items at these shops so you can buy things 'new' too! You help others as well as finding cool stuff.

7. Used coffee grounds work to keep pests away from your plants. Make sure your plants can tolerate the acidity the grounds may add to the plant soil tho!

8. Kill weeds by spraying them with vinegar - careful not to spray what you want kept healthy in your yard/plant/garden. Vinegar can kill the important stuff too! Its better to use this then items like Round Up, which is very toxic.

9. Use baking soda to scrub just about anything - the oven range, toilet, bath tub, sinks, your teeth, etc. Dab some mixed with a bit of soap to get stains out of clothes as you would with Shout.

10. If you do buy any cleansers I highly recommend Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds. Its like an all-purpose miracle cleaner! Use it to wash your laundry; floors; bathrooms; counters; walls; dishes; car; fruits & vegetables; plus its mild & gentle on the skin. I swear it gets our hardwood floors looking cleaner and better than Murphy's Oil Soap does. And it lasts a LONG time - so its totally with the $9 - $12 for a 32 oz bottle - a little goes a long way.

Ok, thats all 10! I hope it helps anyone who needs it!
Image used: Bulb Apartment Plants from Here

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Best Tools for Cleaning Vintage

For all the years I've been buying vintage, there has been one thing plaguing me; how to get it clean, where its good-as-new looking. For many years, it just took the right cleaners and a good amount of elbow grease. Now we have something magical. Magical, indeed.

Magic erasers are excellent for cleaning vinyl furniture. Nothing will work better. Nothing! Its great on fiberglass, wood, metal, etc. Anything with nooks and crannies of a very small nature. Once, Morgan was selling this pair of vinyl chars he picked up and nothing would get them clean. Rags and sponges just cannot match the work ethic of the magic eraser. I got a few from the store and it cleaned them up good! and no real 'scrubbing' was involved.  I should warn against using said erasers on certain things, as they will not clean, but ruin them: CD's, DVD's,  and it will scratch/scuff vintage plastic/acrylic items. You're best off with soapy water and/or  a soft cloth with those.

You know what else is great? Steel wool.

I found this adorable tea pot..but inside was grossly tea stained for who knows how long. All that I tried did not work...til one day when I found some steel wool lying around and decided, if I could be gentle, I'd try it. Lo' and behold it worked like magic! It got it to shine like new! Just look at that......amazing.

Now, of course, you can't use steel wool on just ANYTHING because it can take off more than you want in some cases. Even on some metal items, you must be careful. I'd google the best way to clean a certain item if you're not sure.

Ok, last little miracle worker is vinegar. I found these adorable Melmac cups, but the insides were coffee stained - or at least I hope it was coffee. I read online that soaking them in vinegar water overnight helped and it totally works. I used a 80% vinegar to a 20% water solution for very tough stains.

I hope this helps out someone out there. I know it took me long enough to discover a few simple cleaning tips!

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Upcycled Gift Box Tutorial

 

One super fast and easy way to wrap up some last minute gifts is to dress up some boxes lying around in the pantry. Here I used some small stamps to create a pattern and used some embossing powder ( just cuz I love sparkly stuff.)

What you will need:

•  Boxes from cereal, crackers, pasta,etc. It can be any size, as long it has no damage or grease spots.
• Stamps, stamping ink, glue (Stick is best, but I was out).
• Ribbon or twine depending on how you want to finish it off.
• Optional: Embossing powder and gun - its up to your tastes. You can just stamp it and leave it at that.

 

Now lets start. First you want to find the seam of the box

Place your finger -or letter opener, butter knife (non serrated side) between where the box is glued and gently separate them. You have to use caution at this part - the glue can be stubborn and you can rip the whole box apart if you're not careful...not to mention getting a paper cut!

Once that's done, open the box up and fold back all the creases, especially the small tab you just separated in the last step.

Now get out your stamps & ink and add your design.

If adding embossing powder, do it as soon as you finish stamping, otherwise if you wait long enough for the ink to dry, the powder wont have anything to adhere to. I recommend placing a large sheet of paper  underneath where you are working, that way you can shake off the excess powder onto it and funnel the powder back into the jar. 

Get your embossing gun, turn it on and let it heat up. Then slowly move over each image and you will see the colors and texture shifting as it becomes a finished embossed image. Don't stop on an image and heat it because that can burn your box.

 

Once that's cool, get your glue and glue the seam. A glue stick really works best because you wont get any bubbling like you would with liquid glue.

Join the seams, pressing firmly. I suggest laying a heavy book on top once you finish gluing to ensure a good bond.

Now when its dry, close up one end/opening by either gluing it or taping it, whichever you prefer. Then add your ribbon or twine. Put a gift in there and its ready to go!

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Earth Day Plan for the Frugal Future

In honor of Earth Day (you could also say 'in honor of frugality') I'm deciding to make my own reusable items - as many as I possibly can! I am done with skyrocketing prices even at the cheap stores (Walmart is not included, I refuse to shop there). I had to get baby wipes because I have a newborn and a 21 month old in diapers. I get them from target, and I get the target brand 3 pack of refills which used to cost 2.97 - now its 4.97. WTH?! So nuts to YOU Target, I'll make my own wipes! For those of you who agree...but may not sew yourself - here is a cute option... BareBebe PureBebe Cloth Wipes

 I also want to make my own produce bags. Who needs plastic poisoning their food? Not I. These ones are cool... Reusable Produce Bags by SeventhSphere

I already have the supplies to create some snack bags but I really thought these were cute.
Reusable Snack Bags by BananasaurusRex .  Its probably smart to make like 10 of these, since kids tend to lose, drop or destroy.

Reusable Paper towels by MooCowMomma

I'm still on the fence about making reusable paper towels...with 3 kids under 5, messes are plentiful. I would need to make about 50 reusable paper towels...I think in this arena, I'd opt for just buying them.

So in a few ways, I'm saving some green...which is what Earth Day is all about.

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Make a Better Cup of Coffee

I got a bunch of Great Lakes Coffee from a friend who works for the company and it is the best coffee I've had in my life. Starbucks and any other corporate cafe cannot even compare! I used to enjoy simple coffee, say, from Dunkin Donuts - but now I can't stand the stuff. Now everything from everywhere tastes too burnt, watered down, and all around quite lackluster. Anyways, Great Lakes has great coffee - I made that point.

So while I was in the hospital for a week - some of my coffee was beginning to dry out...the beans were not as oily and aromatic once I got back...and that happens. So I decided to make some of it anyway - it was the Organic Costa Rica stuff. I really hate the taste that not-so-fresh coffee has so I thought of ways to make it taste better:

1. Use the french press! I love the rich taste, body and frothiness you get from using it. Machines are good too - but I think some taste is lost - plus you don't have as much control over it as you do with the press.
2. Before I added the boiling water to the press (its a 32oz press and I fill it with the max amount of coffee, btw) I added about 1/8 tsp each of ground cinnamon and cardamom to the dry grounds plus about 1/2 tsp of vanilla. Its best to add to the grounds and not to your cup afterward - since such powdery spices just sit on the surface and are hard to completely mix in.
   
3. I then added the water and stirred it and pressed it.
4. I poured a cup, added cream and sugar...I ran out of regular sugar so I had to use brown sugar, which I think gave it additional flavor.
5. OMG - it was so tasty and I couldn't even tell the beans were 'getting on'!

It could may well have been that the coffee is just great old or fresh but I highly HIGHLY recommend Great Lakes Coffee - I especially enjoyed the Organic Triple Threat, its awesome!

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Spell with Flickr

We all know the endless fun of Flicker and this has been around for a while but I just found it and thought it was pretty neat! Go to Spell with Flickr and type in anything! write a ransom letter - just for fun of course. Once you type in your words, just click on any letter you would like to change and it automatically changes it for you. For instance, The "L" they came up with looked like a 'c' so I clicked it until I got to one that was decent. Go now and check it out - you can type in your kid's name (like I did), create a new shop banner or whatever

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If you have a love for Fonts...

If you love fonts, go here for over 1000 different fonts in all shapes and sizes - which includes some really fun graphic fonts - graphic as in some are little fun pictures of things aka Dingbats :) I usually type in my shop name when I feel like changing up my shop banner (which I recently did using said fonts). You just download them to your computer and install them - they will show up in all your programs like Word, Photoshop, etc.

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Another Cute Valentine Tutorial

Make these cute paper hearts with the kiddies or to give out to friends..or whatever you want. Find the tutorial here. I thought it was a clever idea and, as the blog states, perfect projects for boys as well as girls. And boys should get some crafty exposure since they are going to be the ones "expected" to shower their sweetie with Valentines. True?

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Sewing & Craft books I want...now!

Ok, I was killing time with the kids over at Borders today and love to peruse thru the sewing/craft section...I could spend hours looking at these books. Some that caught my attention are the following:
Zakka Sewing- How cute is a squirrel shaped tea cozy!? This book is filled with cute and unique projects from pot holders, pillows and pouches.

Sewing Green - This has a bunch of cool "green" projects I want to try...just look at that way cool scarf! Who wouldn't want to make that?

Another good repurposing book is Handmade Home - they got kids stuff and other cute ideas for the home - I love stuff like that.
Chic and simple Sewing - I've been in dire need to use my dressform Morgan got me for Christmas last year, mainly cuz he keeps pressuring me to use it..but I thought this would be a perfect book to help kick-start some dressform usage.
One I saw and instantly loved was CROBOTS - now there's something I don't see everyday! Tho I do crochet, I cant read a pattern to save my life...I mean I can - but I could never master the Amigurumi.Another amigurumi book I thought would be perfect for Halloween time was Creepy Cute Crochet - adorable and its pretty cheap over at Amazon. Again, I wish I could create these...I just need a really patient teacher to teach me all this.

Well, thats it for now. If anyone has these books and has any feedback, it would be appreciated!

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Newest Crave : Faux Food

Lately, I don't know why but I've sort of been obsessed with faux food. Its great as kids toys, novelty items, gifts, etc. The best part is being a cool handmade super fun alternative to lead paint doused toxic toys, or even boring old plastic,which carries its own scary baggage (no pun intended). I chose to showcase the Etsy shop of mclean2612 who specializes in Fun Felt Foods. The prices are great too..almost the same price you'd pay for the real thing, except these won't rot and stink up the place.

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Etsy Featured Artist: CarryMeAway

With eco-friendly items being all the rage, I thought CarryMeAway's Shop was a nice place to indulge youe sense of eco-responsibility!

She can even do custom orders - say, of youre shop so you can advertise yourself at the market, post office, and anywhere else you go. She paints them by hand so each one is quite unique in its own way. So go...Check out what she has to offer!
She is so generously offering FREE SHIPPING if you mention my blog!

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Green Tips for around the house

Whether you have kids or not, its good to be (Im so sick of this word )"green". Its mainly good for you - which is most important. I've been meaining to post a few useful tips - so here they are:

1. Fix a squeaky hinge; door, box, wheel, etc. How do you do this? Easy, just spray the hinge with cooking spray like PAM or whatever type you use. Olive oil will also work, but it can get a bit runny.

2. Freshen up a room. Just get a small jar and fill it with baking soda and a few drops of essential oil till its scent is to your liking. I love the lemon/eucalyptus blend.

3. You can use the same thing in #2 to clean your bathroom.

4. Use 1/4 cup vinegar during the rinse cycle when your doing laundry. It will work as a fabric softener without all the chemicals. No, they wonr smell like vinegar.

5. Clean your windows, mirrors, glass with a spray that 50/50 water and vinegar plus an essential oil to tame the vinegary smell - which goes away very quickly

6. Try not to buy things new. If you can find them at the GoodWill or Salvation Army, do it. You help others as well as finding cool stuff.

7. Used coffee grounds work to keep pests away from your plants.

8. Kill weeds by spraying them with vinegar - careful not to spray what you want kept healthy in your yard/plant/garden.

Ok, thats all i got at the moment! But I hope it helps anyone who needs it!

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Food, Gas, and the High Cost of Everyday Living - what to do?

All over the world we are seeing truckers striking, Food and fuel skyrocketing, the global economy getting worse, and all for what? So these oil bastards can make more money. So this is my counteraction to the oil problem...and money problem...and environment problem..etc. I know Im just one person, so i encourage anyone to do any of these that they are able to...

1. Take public transportation; trains, busses, L's. Cheap and reliable. Its better to put money into these than in the pockets of the oil companies. All the time public trans get in financial trouble ...lets make it impossible for that to happen.


2. Buy food locally; farmers markets are great for this. You can get tons of produce, grains, herbs, etc. The reason food is high is because we get so much of said foods from mexico or far parts of the US that truckers bring - and deisel gas is $5 a gallon! You may think farmers markets may be a bit pricey but they are willing negotiators - just bring a reasonable price.


3. Make it yourself; whatever you are capable of making, do it! If you can sew, make the things you need, if you can bake, make your own bread and baked goods; make your own cleaning products (see other blog Greening your Cleaning). There is so much we can do ourselves. The plan is to be as self sufficient as possible.


4. Buy American; this is obviously for Americans. Our country is falling apart from plants moving to other countries, outsourcing, everything under the sun is imported from China-made from children in sweatshops. Nothing bothers me more than calling up my local phone company to talk to an obviously foreign man I cant understand named "Kevin". Who do they think they're kidding???


5. Drive only when necessary; if you can find people to carpool with or public trans that goes to where you need to go, then do it.


6. Bring bags when shopping. If you need to shop, bring your own large bags and avoid using plastic ones. Most places have canvas bags for cheap for you to reuse. Plus, you dont have to worry about the bag ripping or cutting off your circulation when theres something heavy in it.


7. Around the house; Shut off lights in rooms you leave. Wash your dishes by hand, dont use a dishwasher. If you have the space to hand wash / hang dry your clothes, do that. I hang dry clothes indoors - we live in an apt - by putting them on hangers and hanging them on the curtain rods. Less electricity wasted is less toxic waste! And save some $ too.


8. Recycle! We were amazed at how much more the garbage stinks now that we put all the recycleables in a seperate bag. yikes! But I think everyone knows the benefits of recycling - just do it!

These are just a few simple ideas. Somethings will become more obvious the more you involve yourself in a more self sufficient and eco-friendly lifestyle.

Picture above is from the etsy shop of http://rls2131.etsy.com/

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Greening my cleaning

We went to the library yesterday so I could look for a few sewing books to get some new ideas...too bad most of the books were lame with ideas from the 90's {cringe} I didnt exxactly feel like making that giant beaded shirt with the tapered pleather pants. I did find a few good ones, luckily. As I was browsing thru the books, maddy started taking ones off the shelf to look at - im sure its every librarian's nightmare. She was smart enough to stack them in a neat pile at the bottom of the shelf, so that made their job a little easier. As I was telling her to stop, my eyes gazed at a book she took halfway out of the shelf called Green Up your Cleanup by Jill Potvin Schoff. I've been wanting to do exactly that so i took the book, flipped thru it, and decided it was worth checking out. So at home, im reading thru it - going in shock from how incredibly harmful cleaners are. If you look at the back of most household cleaners, the ingredients are not even listed because they're so harmful and can get away with not having to display them. The book says to avaoid disinfectants with: Cresol, phenol, ethanol, kerosesne, formaldehyde, ammonia, chlorine bleach, sodium hydroxide, and phosphoric acid. Instead of using cleaers with said toxins, it gives a very simple recipe as a natural alternative. Its called the Mildew and Germ Killer and all you need is:
1 - 16oz spray bottle
2 cups of water
1/4 tsp of tea tree oil
1/4 tsp of lavender oil
Shake before each use and use on anything you want to disinfect / kill germs on. You spray on a surface and let dry - dont wipe.
there are recipes for Laundry soap, glass cleaner,dishwasher soap (which is good to use since most dishwasher cleaners are still allowed to use phosphates, which are extremely toxic for people and environment), All surface cleaner, Scrubs, etc.
The ingredients for most of these are:

• Liquid soap -#1 pick is Dr. Bronners Castile Soap (cheap and at trader joes!)
• Borax - a mineral similar to baking soda
• Baking soda
• Washing Soda - found in the laundry section of stores (where you'd find Borax)
• White distilled Vinegar
• Lemon Juice
• Oxygen Bleach (usually a mix of hydrogen peroxide and washing soda)
• Club Soda
• Essential oils like tea tree, lavender, lemon,orange, peppermint.

All these are super cheap and safe - though anything can be harmful if used the wrong way. I've taken all our harmful cleaners and took them out of under the sink and hid them high up in the pantry, away from everything. Ive so far made glass cleaner (1/2 water, 1/2 vinegar) I need to get crazy stuff like borax and washing soda and I'll be set.

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