Archive for May, 2007

May 31, 2007 | Kitchen, Cleaning tips

Have you ever noticed how much difference it makes when your sink is clean and shiny? It makes the whole kitchen look cleaner! And even better, you can have that clean, productive, instant gratification in only a couple of minutes! It’s so worth it.

And it’s easy! Use a bit of Bon Ami, Bar Keeper’s friend, or even some baking soda will work if you don’t have those, sprinkle in your sink and use a sponge to shine all sides of the sink and around the edges. For an extra special treat, add some lemon juice to your sponge. It’ll leave a clean, fresh scent and give your sink that extra shine. To get the most bang for your buck (or bang for your minutes), run the garbage disposal when you’re done with your sink - as the Bon Ami or baking soda washes down, with or without the lemon juice, it’ll help your disposal run clean.

May 29, 2007 | Essential oils, Cleaning tips, Cleaning products

The Green Guide’s tip last week was most helpful! They suggest making a furniture polish with a vinegar or lemon juice base, so that it doesn’t make your furniture ‘gunky’ like an oil-base would. Check it out here! I just tried it - and I love the results!

Edited 7/5/07: The first time I tried it with vinegar, olive oil and eucalyptus essential oil. But I just did it again with 1/4 c. lemon juice and about a tablespoon of safflower oil (I’m out of olive oil) and I didn’t need the essential oils. I love it!!! It leaves a beautiful sheen on the furniture, with no buildup. And the lemon juice leaves a nice scent in the house. Please note: Lemon juice will go rancid if left out, so please refrigerate. It’s fine on the furniture, but if you have leftover solution, keep it in the fridge.

May 28, 2007 | Health

• Shovel and pail for the beach: $2.11
• Pocket-size container of hand sanitizer: $1.65
• Trip to the ER for alcohol poisoning: Priceless.

Are you aware that hand sanitizer is poisonous if ingested? With an alcohol content of 62% it’s comparable to 120 proof alcohol! Thanks to Suburban Turmoil for pointing this out to us! How many times have I rubbed it onto my kids hands right before a meal? In all honesty, that amount is probably not harmful. They’d probably have to gulp a bit down to become ill, but regardless, I’ll think twice before slathering it on again. And not just that - I think it’s time to move all those little bottles of hand sanitizers in a more secure place.

May 25, 2007 | Health, Cleaning products

It’s always fun to look at my stats and find out what search terms brought people to the site. Lately there have been a lot of people here searching for “mix bleach with” x, y, or z. So here’s my rule of thumb.

Public Service Announcement

(Drum roll)  Please, folks. For your own sake, and the sake of your loved ones and everyone within a 500 foot radius, don’t mix bleach with anything except water. Also, don’t mix ammonia with anything. If you don’t know if it’s safe, don’t try it. Bleach releases very toxic gasses when mixed with numerous things, so just don’t do it. Ammonia does to, and the same can be said for any cleaning product that contains ammonia.  I don’t like bleach or ammonia in general, but when taken into some make-shift science lab in your kitchen or bathroom - it just isn’t safe. Friends don’t let friends mix chemicals.

Point made?

May 24, 2007 | Allergies, asthma, Health, Cleaning tips

Truth be told, I only sweep my front porch and back deck once every several months. Well, once or twice a year to be brutally honest. But times, they are a-changin’! I just read at the IIRC website (they have some great cleaning tips) that regularly cleaning the outside areas of your home that people regularly enter through can cut down on allergies. Apparently, less pollen and debris get tracked in that way. Who knew?!

Now, one thing we do right in our house (though for other reasons) is we take our shoes off when we come in. I remember going to a friend’s house as a kid where I was told to take my shoes off when I came in. I thought they were so persnickety about cleanliness - just because they didn’t wear shoes inside. Just think. What got on your shoes the last time you were in a public restroom? How much of it actually came off on the way home, and how much was still on the soles of your shoes when you entered your house? If you have crawling babies or toddling kids, think of the effect that has on them. (ew, gross!)

Now as an aside… Another perspective on the whole shoes thing - and this is why we don’t wear shoes in our house - is that in many Eastern cultures people just don’t wear shoes inside. They’re seen as dirty, cumbersome footwear that should be traded in at the door for cozy, homey slippers. It’s cleaner. It’s comfier. It fits more with the ambiance and is more appropriate to the environment. And when you visit someone else’s home, it’s one of the small ways you show respect. It’s the same idea as zero footprint. The less mess you leave for your host (and the less dirt you track into their home), the less time they’ll spend cleaning it. And that shows you respect their time and effort to invite you as a guest. Consider that.

Anyhow, it does make for a cleaner home, and I can see it when I wash my kids’ socks. They’re used to taking off their shoes inside, so they do it wherever they are. When they’ve been at home, their socks are usually the same color they were when they were freshly washed. When they’ve been at someone else’s house who wears shoes inside, their socks are almost always darker on the soles. I can tell how clean my floors are by the sight of my kids’ socks…

May 23, 2007 | Food & drink, Health, Organics, Pregnancy, News

Joni Mitchell said it best, “…Hey, farmer, farmer, put away that DDT now. Give me spots on my apples, just leave me the birds and the bees, please!…” Now we can add to the birds and the bees line, babies and brains too!

News this week? Babies conceived in the summer months don’t do as well in school as those conceived at other times of the year. Neonatologist Paul Winchester analyzed the scores on standardized tests and found that children who were conceived in June, July, and August were significantly less proficient in language and math. He attributes the effect to high levels of environmental pesticides during the most crucial months of nervous system development. “The pesticides we use to control pests in fields and in our homes and the nitrate we use to fertilize crops and even our lawns are at their highest level in summer,” Winchester says. He suspects that pesticides are causing higher rates of hypothyroidism in pregnant women, a condition known to affect brain development in growing babies. Not only that, pesticides and fertilizers are also blamed for premature and preterm birth.

So, no more makin’ whoopie in the summer time! Well, scratch that. But if you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant this summer, I’d say it’s high time to start buying organic produce, and limiting the chemicals you use in and around your home. Switch to natural cleaning products (or a natural maid service, like… need I say? Broom Huggers!), see if you can manage your lawn and indoor pest control without pesticides and fertilizers. And most definitely, buy yourself some organic 2% milk (miscarriage rates rise a bit in women who drink skim), and limit your beef intake.

Cleaning tips

The IIRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration) has some great tips to keep your home healthy this spring and into summer. Check this out:

Spring into Cleaning With April showers and May flowers come dust and pollen that can leave your home in desperate need of a seasonal makeover. Spring cleaning may not be one’s idea of fun in the sun, but the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) has a few tips to make cleaning a breeze. HVAC filters - Use quality electrostatic filters that attract particles to the filter. To keep filters in top shape, clean once per month. Control moisture and humidity - Maintaining humidity at 50 percent or below prevents the growth of mold and the infestation of dust mites; two of the most common allergens. Increase vacuum frequency - Since about 75% of carpet soil is dry particulate, vacuuming more often prevents soil from embedding deep into carpets. Vacuum heavy-traffic areas slowly and repeatedly. Use high efficiency filter bags - High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) double-lined vacuum filter bags filter out 99% of particles that cause respiratory irritation. For professional cleaning jobs, look for an IICRC-Certified Firm - Confirm their technician’s training and certification in the type of work to be performed and always obtain a written estimate.

May 22, 2007 | Lifestyle

If you live in the sweltering south, one of your primary struggles each summer is to keep your living space reasonably cool. And at this time of year you watch your energy bill shoot through the roof as you’re running your A/C pretty much without stop. Not to mention, everyone’s home from school, using more lights and electricity.

The folks over at Energy Star - yes, the very same people who helped you choose your energy efficient washer and dryer, and fridge and dishwasher too - have a new feature on their website - Energy Star @ Home. It takes you on a room by room tour of your house and tells you how to lower your energy bill. Really, it’s quite helpful. Check it out! Shave a few bucks here and there off your electric bill, and you’ll have some extra funds to put towards your summer vacation!

May 17, 2007 | Organizing, Lifestyle

Last Thursday we talked about using your home for a purpose. Plan the purpose of each room and storage space. Make your home fit the purpose you need it to - and restore your home to proper function.

But you can do the same thing for your life! Think long and hard about what your values are. What do you consider to be of utmost importance. Think about family, faith, ideals, education, hobbies, etc., and think about what you get out of those things too. Now look at how you spend your money. Do they match up? Are you spending your hard earned cash on the things that are important to you? Are you spending them to attain what’s most important? And the harder question - how do you spend your time? Does the way you spend your time line up with your values?

Think about that. What can you do - what adjustments can you make - to put the way you spend your time and money in line with your values and priorities in life? Be intentional about it!

May 15, 2007 | asthma

It can be so frustrating to go through the day with asthma - always conscious of triggers, coughing for seemingly no reason. The EPA has reported that indoor air is multiple times more toxic than outdoor air. So what to do? A new study notes that the critical time to keep your windows closed is between 4 and 8 AM. That’s when most plants emit their pollen. So keep those windows closed in the early morning. But open them up in the evening. Let the breeze blow through your house and conquer all those spring time allergies and asthma triggers.

Next - and this one is pretty obvious - make sure your air filters are HEPA - they capture 99.97% of particles.

You can also check the daily pollen count at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. Stay inside when pollen counts are high.

Clean the house frequently - and especially things like pillowcases, which should be washed in hot water to eliminate dust and pollen settling in.

Finally - and this was a bit of a surprise to me - shower at night before you go to bed. A lot of asthmatics have worsened problems at night. A lot of the time this is because they carry pollen and dust to bed with them on their bodies. So shower at night, wash off all the day’s pollen, and sleep more soundly.