Friday, December 31, 2010
Just take a look...it's in a book!
So this book has been my guide to eco-friendly homemade cleaning products!
Discovering the world of Superfoods!
So this is a recipe that I really want to try. Just have to order the ingredients.
Superfood Shake:
2 Cups Almond Milk
2 Tbsp. Cacao Powder
1.5 Tsp. Maca Powder
10 pitted dates
1 tsp. Honey or Agave
1 Banana
1/2 Cup ice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Blend until frothy.
Superfood Shake:
2 Cups Almond Milk
2 Tbsp. Cacao Powder
1.5 Tsp. Maca Powder
10 pitted dates
1 tsp. Honey or Agave
1 Banana
1/2 Cup ice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Blend until frothy.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Save a Tree with Recycled Paper TP!
I grew up coming to the mountains. My father's family has been in the Blue Ridge, Georgia area for generations. I spent many happy summers and holidays in these little mountain towns, surrounded by the majestic beauty of the mountains. As the years have gone by, I have noticed one increasingly disturbing trend. The trees are disappearing. And they are disappearing at an alarming rate! New construction in this area has caused land developers to cut down thousands of trees all in the name of progress. This got me to thinking about how many trees are cut down to make the products that I use everyday, all in the name of making my life "more comfortable and easy." So I decided to do some research on the subject. Here is what I found out.
Some sources have said that the average American will most likely go through 23.6 rolls of toilet paper per year. But, I have seen numbers that claim that that number is more like 100 rolls. If you average that one tree will be able to yield 1000 rolls of TP per year, then with the U.S. population in the billions you will most likely find that the numbers will support a general estimate of around 7 million trees cut down or destroyed every year just on toilet paper alone!
If learning this frightened you, you aren't alone. One way that we can change these numbers is by switching to toilet paper made from 100 percent recycled paper. Two brands that I buy are from Seventh Generation and Marcal Smallsteps. Both are made from 100 percent recycled paper, contain no chemicals and no chlorine bleach or dying/scents. They are both also safe for septic systems.
As for "comfort," both are a happy medium between soft and hard tp. True, you will not be wiping your butt with a piece of pillow-y softness but, you won't be wiping with a piece of bark either!
If you are like me, then doing all you can to preserve to the planet is important to you. So I advise you to start thinking about how your personal consumption affects the Earth. Save a tree, use recycled TP!
Some sources have said that the average American will most likely go through 23.6 rolls of toilet paper per year. But, I have seen numbers that claim that that number is more like 100 rolls. If you average that one tree will be able to yield 1000 rolls of TP per year, then with the U.S. population in the billions you will most likely find that the numbers will support a general estimate of around 7 million trees cut down or destroyed every year just on toilet paper alone!
If learning this frightened you, you aren't alone. One way that we can change these numbers is by switching to toilet paper made from 100 percent recycled paper. Two brands that I buy are from Seventh Generation and Marcal Smallsteps. Both are made from 100 percent recycled paper, contain no chemicals and no chlorine bleach or dying/scents. They are both also safe for septic systems.
As for "comfort," both are a happy medium between soft and hard tp. True, you will not be wiping your butt with a piece of pillow-y softness but, you won't be wiping with a piece of bark either!
If you are like me, then doing all you can to preserve to the planet is important to you. So I advise you to start thinking about how your personal consumption affects the Earth. Save a tree, use recycled TP!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Just a spoonful of Cinnamon
Febreeze seemed like an answer to my prayers. A bottle of miraculous scented liquid that not only removed odors from the air but, also from fabrics. But, this product soon became my own personal nightmare. Every time I used it, I would begin to sneeze and itch. I desperately wanted something to freshen my home so I began using those cone shaped pop-up gelled air fresheners. Those two either dissolved too quickly or left a nice round stain on my tables.
Not too long ago, I read an interesting article about the air freshener industry. How much money the market makes without having to list the ingredients in their products on their labels. Not knowing what was in them made me a little nervous to say the least. Only after reading further did I learn that these same air freshening products sometimes contain and release several potentially harmful chemicals into the air along with a scent. They also may contain chemicals that block the sensors in our noses from being able to smell fowl odors to begin with! How scary is that?
I went on the hunt for a natural way of freshening my home without the use of unknown chemicals. Here is what I found and it works better than 20 store bought air fresheners.
Recipe 1
Heat a pot of water on the stove until boiling.
Add a dash of Cinnamon, a cinnamon stick broken in half, cloves, and vanilla extract.
Turn off the heat and allow the natural vapors to fill the house.
Recipe 2
Heat a bowl of water in the microwave with at least five drops of pure Lavender essential oil. Again, allow the natural vapors to fill your home. The intensity of the smell will surprise you. It will last for hours!
Not too long ago, I read an interesting article about the air freshener industry. How much money the market makes without having to list the ingredients in their products on their labels. Not knowing what was in them made me a little nervous to say the least. Only after reading further did I learn that these same air freshening products sometimes contain and release several potentially harmful chemicals into the air along with a scent. They also may contain chemicals that block the sensors in our noses from being able to smell fowl odors to begin with! How scary is that?
I went on the hunt for a natural way of freshening my home without the use of unknown chemicals. Here is what I found and it works better than 20 store bought air fresheners.
Recipe 1
Heat a pot of water on the stove until boiling.
Add a dash of Cinnamon, a cinnamon stick broken in half, cloves, and vanilla extract.
Turn off the heat and allow the natural vapors to fill the house.
Recipe 2
Heat a bowl of water in the microwave with at least five drops of pure Lavender essential oil. Again, allow the natural vapors to fill your home. The intensity of the smell will surprise you. It will last for hours!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Homemade Laundry Detergent "Recipe"
So it has been quite a while since I wrote an article for this blog. I must admit that I fell away from the Organic/Eco-friendly movement. I became lazy again and stopped searching for ways to better myself and the planet. I have made the decision to alter my lifestyle again and hopefully I will be able to inspire others to do the same.
As an average consumer, I have been growing weary of the rising prices of certain every day items. One of these such items is laundry detergent. It seems like the bottles of liquid laundry soap keeping getting smaller and the prices keep getting higher. One bottle of Tide can set you back 10-15 dollars! It also frightens me that there are so many chemicals in these products!
I knew there had to be a better way to clean my clothes without spending an arm and a leg as well as being better for the planet. Using simple, more natural products like Borax and washing soda, doing your laundry can be less harmful on the planet and more eco-friendly! And for less than 10 dollars, I have made enough detergent to last 6 months or more. I know exactly what is in my detergent and I feel so happy about making it myself and saving some serious cash in the process!
Here is the Recipe I used:
4 Cups Boiling Water
2 Cups shaved soap (1 entire bar of soap, unscented. I used Ivory)
2 Cups Borax
2 Cups Washing Soda
5 Gallon Painters bucket with Lid
With a cheese grater, grate the bar of soap into shavings. Boil 4 Cups of water and melt the soap shavings until liquid (no visible chunks)
Add Borax and Washing Soda to bucket and add in melted soap. Stir until dissolved.
Add 2 gallons hot water and mix thoroughly.
Cover with lid and leave for 24 hours.
(Use 1/4 Cup per load of laundry).
*The final product will have a solid, gel, soap curd on top. Don't freak out! I got a pair of rubber gloves and broke up the curd and mixed it again with a whisk.
I liked that my clothes just smelled clean and did not have an overpowering scent.
As an average consumer, I have been growing weary of the rising prices of certain every day items. One of these such items is laundry detergent. It seems like the bottles of liquid laundry soap keeping getting smaller and the prices keep getting higher. One bottle of Tide can set you back 10-15 dollars! It also frightens me that there are so many chemicals in these products!
I knew there had to be a better way to clean my clothes without spending an arm and a leg as well as being better for the planet. Using simple, more natural products like Borax and washing soda, doing your laundry can be less harmful on the planet and more eco-friendly! And for less than 10 dollars, I have made enough detergent to last 6 months or more. I know exactly what is in my detergent and I feel so happy about making it myself and saving some serious cash in the process!
Here is the Recipe I used:
4 Cups Boiling Water
2 Cups shaved soap (1 entire bar of soap, unscented. I used Ivory)
2 Cups Borax
2 Cups Washing Soda
5 Gallon Painters bucket with Lid
With a cheese grater, grate the bar of soap into shavings. Boil 4 Cups of water and melt the soap shavings until liquid (no visible chunks)
Add Borax and Washing Soda to bucket and add in melted soap. Stir until dissolved.
Add 2 gallons hot water and mix thoroughly.
Cover with lid and leave for 24 hours.
(Use 1/4 Cup per load of laundry).
*The final product will have a solid, gel, soap curd on top. Don't freak out! I got a pair of rubber gloves and broke up the curd and mixed it again with a whisk.
I liked that my clothes just smelled clean and did not have an overpowering scent.
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