So here are a few natural remedies that are 100% safe for people, pets, and planet.

1. Cornmeal. Leave small piles where the ants come. It’ll keep them away for about 2 weeks until their cousins return, but yes – it kills them. So, if you have issues with killing ants keep reading.
2. Vinegar. It’s a natural ant repellent. Put some in a spray bottle and spray where you see the little buggers.
3. Chalk. Draw a line and the ants won’t cross it.
4. Pepper – cayenne or black. Sprinkle some wherever ants are coming in, and they’ll stop coming. Just remember to re-sprinkle after you sweep or mop!
5. Cinnamon. Just like pepper – for whatever reason, ants don’t do cinnamon.

Now for a little announcement. Come back one week from today – we’ll have a book review and a giveaway! You won’t want to miss it on Monday the 15th.

Image Credit: Edelman PR

Did you catch that? 67% of loyal consumers would switch brands due to participation in a cause. Brand loyalty used to be about product performance, service, and price. Now we’re seeing a fundamental shift in the way people value products and services. It’s no longer enough to produce a great product, support your customers, and price it well.

And today, causes go beyond American Cancer Society and Habitat for Humanity (even though those are awesome, and we wholeheartedly support them). Today we have a whole subculture of products that protect the environment, protect health, protect animals… Most people lump it all into the ‘green’ category, but when it comes down to it, ‘green’ consumers have highly segmented motivations. And there’s super loyal. In fact, ‘green’ consumers – once they find a product that suits their values, are unlikely to switch to a conventional product, even if it’s higher quality at a lower price.

Our consumers drive us to do better. They drive us to find creative ways to invest in our world and outdo ourselves. We love our clients for the way they motivate us. So, thank you for your loyalty. We promise to stand by the values that got us started – health for people, pets, and planet. We do it for you.

Image Credit: NPA, via Wall Street Journal

Here at BroomHuggers one of our main concerns for the last 4-5 years has been the fluidity of the use of words like “natural,” “organic,” “eco-friendly,” especially in cleaning products. See, no one regulates the use of these words in cleaning products. I could make something out of ammonia, formaldehyde, and petrochemicals and say that it’s natural because the mood hit me. (Of course, I wouldn’t do that… but someone might…)

Green Seal has been a nice source of information, but often unhelpful. It seems that a lot of the small brands that would pass their criteria don’t have the funding to get the certification, and many of the big brands who care enough to certify are only available in industrial contexts.

The EPA has a Design for the Environment qualification, but it lets through pesky chemicals like 2-Butoxyethanol, a carcinogen. Environmentally friendly? I think not. Safe for people, pets, and planet? No.

So, to earn the new qualification of Natural Product Association certification, products will have to meet criteria including the following: 95% of the ingredients in the product, excluding water, must be derived from natural sources. Non-natural ingredients should be used only when alternative natural ingredients are unavailable. The product should contain no ingredients with suspected human health risks. NPA says it is reviewing full ingredient lists from manufacturers who have applied for certification to determine whether their products qualify. The seal will be seen on products in the next several months.

Clorox, the manufacturer of GreenWorks, is on the advisory committee for the organization, and while we don’t consider GreenWorks fully green, they have made larger strides than any other major mainstream manufacturer of cleaning products. So, while hopes are high, my feet are firmly grounded in the reality NPA standards won’t be any higher than GreenWorks.

I’d really like to see their list of ingredients with no suspected human health risks. We’ll see in the next few months which products qualify, and then we’ll know if this is just another incentive (and leverage) for companies to engage in greenwashing, or if we finally have a certification that separates the chaff from the wheat. I have high hopes for this one. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a nice little standard that everyone in the industry used that helped consumers differentiate products when they’re standing in the grocery store aisle trying to make a choice?

And hey, I have to give a shout-out to @squeaky_clean on Twitter who pointed out the news on the Wall Street Journal to us.

Excuse me while I rue the day I chose to recycle my vintage (and super cool) wine bottles from Eastern European countries. I had some kickin bottles from Moldova, the Republic of Georgia, Bulgaria… Man. Those would have made some great lamps.

Ahem. I’m back now. Remember what they taught us about not judging a book by its cover? This is where I admit that on my next trip to the store I’ll be judging wine by its bottle. Because I think I’ll be making one or two of these lamps soon. My question is, how does it work? Cork-lamp kit goes in the top, but how to attach the chord and drill a hole in the glass to make it come out the back?

I LOVE IT!!!!!  I can’t embed it here – you know, something about intellectual property rights, copyright law… who knows… But you can see the ad series at the Green Police channel on YouTube, and it’s worth the 30 seconds it’ll take to view it. Go watch. Then come back and tell me how hard you laughed. Go ahead, I dare ya. Just don’t drink anything while watching.

Update: We like the review of the ad over Huffington Post. Well written, friend. To those out there who think the ad is fascist, go see if you can buy yourself a sense of humor somewhere between the organic bean sprouts and tofu burgers. I know. You hate me for saying that. Don’t bother complaining. I realize I’m being obtuse and belittling your hard-core vegan sensitivities. I apologize, but only mildly. I still think you should go buy yourself a sense of humor.

How about you? Have any recipes straight out of your cupboard?

The good news is, your refrigerator coils are easy to clean. Unplug the fridge and then find the coils. In most fridges they’re behind the kickplate under the appliance, but on some you’ll see them easily exposed around the back. Once you’ve found them use the flat hose attachment to your vacuum and attack the dust. If you’re really industrious you can buy a long, conical brush at your local hardware store and brush off any stubborn left-over dust.

You’ll make your refrigerator happy, and that’ll make your electric bill happy.

Then there is the user review factor. I like to know if other people like this product. Obviously, we all have different tastes but I still find other peoples comments to be very beneficial. In fact, they help calm that twitch of buyers anxiety that starts to well up inside of me when I walk into the store or get ready to submit an online order.

So, I’ve done the research and I’ve read the reviews and I’ve tested the products myself. It took trial and error to find out what our family liked and what worked best for each of us. Over the next few weeks (months, years, however long it takes) I will be sharing with you, our loyal readers, my very own product reviews.

One of my most recent and favorite finds is this…

Weleda Children’s Tooth Gel

My daughter did not like my toothpaste which led to her not wanting to brush her teeth. I didn’t like the struggle to get her to brush, but I didn’t feel like the fruity toothpastes would make for a very easy transition when she was older. I went on a search and when I found this product it had RAVE reviews for it’s gentle minty flavor that isn’t too overpowering for little mouths. Its Skin Deep rating was a 1, which is great to me, but kids don’t always care about ratings. I was a bit skeptical but I hit send on my online purchase anyway. I really talked up her new toothpaste. By the time it got here she was so excited. We ran the the bathroom and tried it right away and to my surprise she LOVED it. She brushed and brushed and then asked for more! Now there is no more struggle and each time she brushes her teeth she has to brush once, then have just a little bit more…

If you have kids and you are looking for a natural, fresh scent toothpaste, this is definitely one to try!

Let’s face it. It’s hip. It’s cool to be green. Everybody’s doing it – even Clorox. Of course, we were green before the trend came along, so we’re not just trying to jump on the bandwagon. We’re driving the bandwagon.

Others go green because they’re worried about the plight of the sea turtle or the Columbian white-tailed deer or maintaining balance in the rain forest. I don’t want to discount any of that – the impact we have on the world around is taunting, and we certainly should try to reduce our footprint.

Some people go green looking for a simpler life. Less stuff, less energy, fewer resources. Again, we’re with you there, but it isn’t what drives us.

We’re in this for the green bit because of health. Do you know that there are thousands of chemicals that are introduced into household products every year and only a handful of them are tested for their effect on health? Or that several of the chronic health problems we face are a result of the chemicals we expose ourselves to?

We’re moms. Pet owners. Community leaders. We’re concerned about our families and our neighborhoods. We want to see a curb in asthma, ADD, autism, childhood cancers, and neurological disorders. And we think it all begins with limiting the chemicals we expose ourselves to.