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?

What do you say? Can going green help your wallet? When I look at ‘eco-friendly’ products on the market I tend to be a little put off by the price. As a mother of 3, it just seems easier to buy store brand mac & cheese for $0.48/box than to put up the cash for organic or ‘all-natural’ mac & cheese at an astounding $1.59/box. ‘Green’ toys are more expensive, ‘green’ cleaning products are usually 20-30% more expensive than their conventional counterparts. So, is going green just a luxury for the upwardly mobile?

If we get to the heart of it, it can go either way. The focus is really on a few fundamentals, and the balance of those fundamentals is what sways the price either up or down. Let’s break it down a bit.

1.  Consume less. The heartbeat of the green movement, or at least it should be, is to consume less, waste less, use less. Reduce your impact on the world around you. Check out the Stuff video that we love so much. Consuming less means using the library instead of buying books; finding ways to use every part of what you have – like cooking up the pumpkins you bought as halloween decorations; reusing and repurposing rather than chunking and replacing. It’s buying more ‘classic’ clothes that will remain stylish for multiple seasons instead of jumping on the latest trend. And consuming less certainly costs much less.
   1. An integral part of consuming less is consuming less new merchandise. When it’s time to get a new hoozamawhatzit, check out second hand stores, Craigslist, and freecycle. The less you purchase new items, the more you salvage from landfills, and the less you feed the Stuff cycle.
   2. Another part of consuming less is being intentional about energy and other resources you use. It’s about turning off lights when they’re not in use, consolidating errands into fewer trips, and maybe purchasing a power-saving electric strip for your appliances. This is where you hear about eco-friendly light bulbs and things like that. Small cost upfront, large savings to come.
2. Go natural. Aim for pesticide-free products that are closer to their original form, not laden with chemicals and synthetic substances. Unfortunately, this is where we see a lot of the rising cost for green merchandise and services. Natural, sustainable resources are exponentially more costly than man-made alternatives. Pesticide-free sugar cane is way more expensive than high fructose corn syrup, so that drives up the cost of all products that use natural sweeteners as opposed to HFCS. It’s difficult for farmers to gain the ‘organic’ seal for their products, and they have to pass that cost on to the consumer. Natural fertilizers are more expensive than pesticides and chemicals, and that’s where we see the lion’s share of the premium for ‘green’ products. Do you really need elephant poop paper? Sure, it’s green and it’s cool (and it’s a really clever way of repurposing) but balance your need to be trendy with your budget and see what comes out ahead.
3. Go local. Buying local includes everything from locally farmed produce to shopping in the mom and pop stores instead of big box stores. Often this entails a higher price too. Big box stores can reduce their prices based on the volume they sell. Mom and pop stores don’t have that luxury. At the same time, if you can find the time to shop around you may be rewarded lower prices locally on quality goods. Also, mom and pop stores tend to take care of their ‘regulars’ through loyalty programs. Take advantage of some of those and you may find yourself saving more than you think.
4. Go fair. The last bit of the ‘green’ movement (and often the most unsung) is the justice side of things. Fair trade, responsibly sourced items from women’s co-ops often carry the heaviest price of all the ‘green’ initiatives. Virtually everyone tries to save money on labor, and fair trade goods ensure that farmers, producers, and artisans receive a fair wage for their work, enjoy reasonable work conditions, and have opportunities for education, clean water, and other ‘luxuries’ of that sort. Fair trade is taking over coffee, high end chocolate, and making its way into home goods, apparel, and even the wine industry.

In summary, if you’re looking to green on a shoestring, the place to start isn’t with grass-fed beef and a bamboo wardrobe. Start by consuming less, shopping locally, and creatively repurposing and reusing. Instead of buying tupperware, keep those glass jars from spaghetti sauce and pimentos. Be intentional about purchasing things that will last for more than one season, and recognize that sometimes an up-front purchase (like light-bulbs or a high efficiency water heater) will save you enough money in the long run to make them worth while.

Check out the blogs there – you’ll probably find a few new ones you’ll like – I know I did!

If you have kids you’ll want to head over there and enter the giveaway.  And while you’re there, check out her other posts – she’s got a great thing going on there.

Chef’s Diary at Gristmill posted what I would call an awesome post that challenges KFC’s ad that a family KFC meal is cheaper than cooking dinner.  It talks about providing sustenance for your loved ones as a vital, spiritual act that deserves reverence. I think there’s so much to that, especially when I read Gabriella Garcia Marquez novels, where everything from love, bitterness, jealousy, and warmth are actually cooked into the food. Not everyone has the opportunity to cook for their family every day, and for those of us who do, it truly is a luxury, not a burden.

He went to the grocery store and bought what you’d need to make a KFC family meal, and did it for a few bucks less than the fast food version would cost. I think $10 for a meal for 4 is pretty steep. I cook for 7 daily and the majority of my meals – healthy, crowd-pleasers that require under an hour to prepare – cost under $10.

So, what’s for dinner at your house? Have you been decieved to believe that cooking is less noble than other pursuits? That your time could be spent doing something more ‘meaningful’? For me, there’s nothing more meaningful and creative than providing healthy meals that my family will love. Somehow it would seem like a cop-out to bring home take out. But that’s my family. What about yours?

Great question Teresa. It’s hard to say without seeing it, but here are my thoughts. The first thing is process. The best products won’t do the job if the process isn’t right. Tea tree oil should kill the mold and keep it from returning, but you may need to let it sit a bit longer. Spray it on, let it work its way into the grooves and pores of the surface, and after 10 minutes (or more) scrub away. Over the next week or so keep your spray handy and spritz the shower daily to make sure all the spores are dead. The problem with mold and mildew is that it grows deep into surfaces. It penetrates, but your scrub brush or sponge doesn’t.

The next method is to use Borax, which you can find in your grocer’s laundry aisle. It’s another natural fungicide but it works a little differently than tea tree oil. You’d make a paste of Borax and water and spread it over the area. Let it sit overnight and scrub it in the morning.

As for a commercial product, several of our clients have had success with Melaleuca’s No Work Shower Spray.  Spray it daily and mold and soap scum be gone. I have to attest that my girls love to clean homes where the homeowners use this stuff. They say the showers are a breeze!

Keep in mind though, grout isn’t meant to last forever. Over time your grout – and sealant too – will need to be replaced. That’s actually the case in my shower. In fact, the previous owners sealed the grout without cleaning it first, so there’s mold growing beneath the seal, which makes it virtually uncleanable. If all else fails, you may have to look into having grout work done – or doing it yourself.

There are some tips to cut down on mold and mildew growth though. They grow in dark, warm, wet areas. So after your shower, rinse the shower walls and door with a shot of cold water. Squeegee the walls and door when you get out to remove excess moisture, then leave the shower door (or curtain) and the bathroom door open to allow the humidity to escape. Even better, turn on your bathroom fan to create a draft. Mold doesn’t like that! Anything you can do to dry your shower quickly and cool it off will keep mold and mildew at bay.

Good luck Teresa!

First, invest in a few microfiber cloths. The synthetic fibers are 80% polyester and 20% polyamide and they are by far my favorite cleaning tool. You can use them on most surfaces without any liquid cleaning agent. Just the cloth alone will clean windows, mirrors, dust your furniture, and do a great job on countertops and lightly soiled surfaces. And no cleaner means you just saved yourself on Windex or whatever it is you would have been cleaning with. If you do need to use a liquid, you’ll need much less of it with a microfiber than you would with a sponge or regular cloth.

Alternatively, stop spending money on cleaning cloths and sponges and start cutting up your old, used t-shirts. They’ll do a nice job and they’re free!

As for cleaning products, if you’re looking to save money the best way to go is concentrated dilutables. 2 you’ll find locally at grocery stores are Clorox GreenWorks and Simple Green.  They’re concentrated and can be used for multiple purposes, but if you’re looking for a real go-to product that won’t cost you extra elbow grease and really does walk the green walk, my best recommendation is Shaklee’s Basic H2. It’s what we professionals use, and for good reason. After diluting it, a bottle of window cleaner costs about $0.01, all-purpose cleaner costs about $0.8, and heavy duty degreaser costs around $0.12. Add to the fact that it’s climate neutral, free of petroleum distillates, phalates, endocrine disruptors, respiratory irritants, neurotoxins, and carcinogens, AND that it works better than even most of the conventional (toxic) cleaners on the market, and you’ve got some happy cleaners.

A few more ways to save green while going green on your housecleaning? Try the ’speed cleaning’ method lots of companies use. It’s basically dry cleaning, but I’d only recommend it for relatively clean surfaces (even though many companies out there use it exclusively – even in heavily soiled areas). Basically you use a rag or microfiber cloth, spray just enough cleaner on it for the area you’re going to clean, and wipe, wipe, wipe. No rinsing or water involved. Just wipe away visible dirt and grime. This will cut down a bit on your water usage, but if you’re one of those ‘clean freaks,’ you’ll want to go with the traditional water-based cleaning method your mom and grandma used.

You can also cut back on your cleaning by avoiding the ‘gimmick’ cleaners. You don’t need a separate cleaner for your toilet, your tub and tile, and your shower doors. Save money by buying only what you really need: window/glass, all-purpose, degreaser, furniture polish if you need it, and some sort of disinfectant. You can use those for all areas of your house (including floors). Everything else is a gimmick. Add in a can of Bon Ami or Bar Keepers Friend and you’re good to go for even the toughest spots in your home. Of course, if you were smart you bought a single highly concentrated cleaner that you can use for the windows, all-purpose, and degreaser, like I mentioned above.

Well, when you have 3 kids below school age, washing bottles and sippy cups becomes a major part of day-to-day life. Questions like how clean the brush stays, where to store it, width of bristles ergonomic design – there’s no end to the frustrations of finding a good bottle brush. And with kid #1 we must have gone through 8-9 different brushes. And then – Eureka! – we stumbled onto the Deluxe Munchkin bottle and nipple brush (and no, they’re not paying me a cent to say any of this). It has lasted through 3 babies. 

It works great for most of our bottles. The only exception is the long narrow-necked bottles (like Mr. Brown’s, which we don’t use anymore since they’re BPA-laden).  The handle is long enough to reach down into standard, wide mouthed 9-oz bottles and 9-oz sippy cups. The nipple brush twists out of the handle and the bristles are sturdy enough to scrub with, but flexible to fit in tight spaces like the valve-holder in sippy cups. When you put the nipple brush back into the handle, there’s a nice suction cup at the bottom so that you can stand the brush up on the countertop or sink (for proper draining and air-drying – cutting down on bacteria and fungal growth). 

There’s a new banner on my left sidebar, down towards the bottom. It looks like this. Click on it and you’ll find yourself at a website with a really supercool video. Sure, it’s about 20 minutes long, but it’s well worth the time. Think about it. What else would you have done with those 20 minutes? Read a few more blogs? Watched 2/3 of a sitcom? (or the whole thing if you’ve Tivo’ed it and can skip commercials) Cleaned something?

Well, this is better than all that. You’ll laugh. You’ll learn something you didn’t know. And you just might be challenged to change the way you think about some things. It’s good viewing. I promise. In fact, I’ll guarantee it. If you watch it and you walk away not having laughed or learned something, I’ll give you 20 minutes back. (Wait! You’re not taking me seriously on that are you?)

But seriously. It’s good.  It touches on dioxins (which are present in an alarming number of cleaning products), goes into where our stuff comes from, where it ends up, and – more importantly – why we’re so attached to it.

My favorites are the Root-Vue Farm – grow your own radishes, carrots, and onions, and see which one’s roots grow fastest. Watch the whole thing through the see-through window.

Also, the GrowZone – alien garden! is awesome for the more adventurous young gardeners. There’s a worm composting garden and an edible seed sprouting kit too – something for every kid, and perfect for summer.