Recycled Clothing

The idea of buying clothes for Little Critter to wear for the next 8 weeks is a bit daunting. Especially since back to school shopping looms just around the corner.  (By the time Sept. 15th arrives, it’ll be too chilly in our part of Oregon for shorts!)

My options- go to Target and buy a few pieces from the $4 table and Costco to grab a couple pair of light weight jammies. (And accept that a minimum of $50 is gone on essentially disposable clothing.)

Or- chop up her old stuff. Now that’s an idea I like much better. I cut three pair of old leggings off (which were in the Goodwill pile) and zigzag stitched the hem. I also converted two pair of Carters Sleeper Jammies into sleeveless short jams. LC LOVES them. I adored the cute brown/white and pink/bright pink dots on the jams and didn’t want to part with them. This gives us more time to enjoy them. At the rate LC grows, they might also fit her next summer.

The only sewing I did on the jams was to zig zag stitch back and forth across the bottom of the zipper (since I had cut off the zipper stop). Then I took pinking shears to trim the legs.

I also divested several shirts of their long sleeves. Little Critter had several shirts that were made to look like a long sleeve was layered under a tee… I simply turned those inside out and cut off the long sleeve portion.

Unable to skimp on shoes, I brought home an adorable pair of brown suede with pink trims Peanuts from the employee store yesterday. ($18 vs. $35 retail). These fabulous shoes, with Sensory Motion System built in is close to walking barefoot and yet provides a good amount of protection. Little Critter is stilling wearing her size 12-18 month Robeez (a good investment at $28 ) which I purchased well over a year ago, but she also needs a pair of regular shoes since she is an active 3 1/2 year old! Oy, I am excited to see on the Robeez website, the booties now come in sizes 2-3 yrs and 3-4 yrs! We have been lucky that they ran on the big size and LC is small… but this is great news as she is about to wear out the pair she has.

Today’s Green Tip- Repurpose your clothing whenever possible. (Think beyond what I have posted, quilts or blankets out of favorite baby clothing that was stained- just use the unstained pieces or using a little RIT dye like Tenille over at GFF.) What you cannot repurpose or reuse donate to a shelter or second hand shop so they don’t end up in the landfill.

 

Win This AWESOME Recycled Back To School Package!

Look what I found… this is titillating.

Why is this so exciting to me? You see some silly old juice pouches. I see a fabulous way to reuse something that has thus far escaped recycling and resides for hundreds of years in the landfill.

What is it? It’s a pencil pouch. You know, the cute little thing your child fills with pencils, erasers, sharpener and stuff into their desk or locker. And just how many of these do you think will be in your child’s school? Probably not as many as I would like to see! It feels relatively durable, after all, those foil pouches are pretty hardy. This pouch CAN BE YOURS. Read on. (If you don’t win, Terracycle has made these and they are available at most Target stores in the school supply section.)

Now, there are some pencils. The blue ones are made from RECYCLED DENIM. I’m so excited I almost wet myself. The white ones are from RECYCLED NEWSPAPER. Can you believe it??? (If you don’t win, these pencils along with some biodegradable pens are made by SRX Green and available at Target with the school supplies.)

My Children will be using O.P.P (Other People’s Paper), shouldn’t yours? Look how cute the 100% recycled paper notebook and folder are? Just adorable. Not to mention what a great way to make our youngsters remember to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (The Three R’s as my 8 year daughter informed me this afternoon, as in, “Duh, Mom… don’t you know that?”.) Now, I’m not 100% happy with these for a simple reason, we all know that recycled paper is, well, brownish. This is very white. So, it has been bleached. Then, I don’t know that #2 lead would show up very well on brownish paper, or that Teachers would allow it in school. But still. Instead of the folder actually being brownish… like a paper bag, it is screen printed (or whatever method they use) to get that look. Not quite as cool. (Once again, for those who aren’t lucky enough to win this fabulous package, these are also available at Target in the school supplies section. Also available are a 3-ring binder and composition books… I haven’t yet found recycled notebook paper, but I’m betting its out there.)

This entire “Recycled Back to School” Package can be yours FREE. Just comment to win. The winner will be selected on August 1, 2008 and posted here! Be sure to check back to claim your prize. I will draw one winner and two runner-ups, if the first winner doesn’t claim the package within 3 days of contest end, prize will go to the first runner-up who will then have 3 days to claim before package forfeits to second runner up. Open to residents of the United States and Canada only, I am unable to ship overseas. However, I will ship to our military with an APO (Because you guys ROCK).

Today’s Green Tip- Buy recycled school supplies whenever possible. Just think about how many trees lose their lives to make pencils and papers for our children. (Or for those who have seen Wall-E, consider how long those supplies take to biodegrade!)

 

More Mommy to Love

May marked my annual at the Docs. Yippee.

Toward the conclusion of this check up, Doc C and I are talking about how healthy our family eats. How we eat ALL NATURAL, mostly organic and have drastically reduced the frequency of eating out. I have also all but given up coffee and stopped drinking soda. (Thank you Topamax). So, why am I not losing weight? Doc C looks at my chart on her little computer screen and says, “you’ve lost 12 lbs since last year, that’s great.”

Well, I guess it is. Especially since I haven’t dieted or tried to lose weight. I’ve just completely changed my lifestyle and eating habits for the better. But still, why couldn’t it have been 20 lbs? Hmmmmm?

Two weeks later I am at a specialist visit to follow up on the possible Celiac issue. (My lab work came back as PROBABLE.) I step on the dreaded scale and notice it reads two pounds more than it did at my check up. Interesting, but I figured it was just the difference in scales.

Jump forward to this week, I am at yet another specialist follow up (related to something completely different… trust me, you don’t want to know.) I step on the scale and this time it reads four pounds heavier than it did a month ago. What the heck? The nurse reassures me that a woman’s weight can fluctuate 5 pounds throughout the month, so its nothing to worry about. I’m thinking, let’s do the math here: 12 lbs lost in 12 months, good. 4 lbs gained in one month = 48 lbs gained in 12 months at this rate, bad.

Honestly, I think I really have gained a couple pounds back. I feel it. Today my t-shirt is not at all flattering. I just caught Oregon Dad glancing over at me working away on my laptop on the couch, his eyes looked down at my belly where a nice fold of Mommy chub is lurking before he looked back up at me with a smirk on his face. As if! It’s the way I’m sitting on the couch. Really. It is.

No more ice cream for me.

Today’s Green Tip- instead of buying new jeans, send your much loved ones off for repair to denim therapy. More cost effective than buying a new pair and saves the ones you love from the landfill! Think of it as a rebirth for your favorite denim. Yippee!

 

The Price of Ice Cream

This evening I had to drop TeenGirl off in town for Youth Group. Our cozy, little Church is located right next door to our town market. (Hey, when you live in a town of 600 everything is close!)

On my way out the door, Oregon Dad says “Why don’t you pick up some ice cream?”. He LOVES all things ice cream.

My selections were limited, our market carries Tillamook (which is a local brand) and some off brand (ie CRAPOLA). I called Oregon Dad and read off our options, “Huckleberry, Oregon Strawberry, Chocolate, Vanilla, Blackberry Pie, Coffee Almond Fudge or Udderly Chocolate”. The decision was made and I headed for the register with a half gallon of Udderly Chocolate ice cream.

I was SHOCKED that the price was $5.99. At Winco I could have purchased two cartons of ice cream (if it is on special) for $6.00, and at Safeway, the same carton would be $4.49.

Then I started crunching numbers. It is 20 miles each way to Winco. In our Prius (calculating for country driving vs. city driving) we get between 40 and 45mph. So, that round trip run for ice cream would have consumed a gallon of gas. At $4.25 a gallon, my carton of ice cream would have been $7.24 (assuming best price scenario at the grocery). Safeway is a bit closer, about 12 miles each way so that ice cream would have been about $6.99.

When I look at these numbers, our little market doesn’t appear so expensive after all. The better option of course, is to only buy ice cream when we are doing our regular grocery runs, then our gallon of gas is a fraction of the 30-40% total price savings found at the larger grocers.

Tonight we had to suck it up, there was no way Oregon Dad was surviving until Saturday grocery shopping without ice cream.

Today’s Green Tip- Plan your shopping trips to best conserve gas. It makes good financial sense and its better for the environment.

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Tags: icecream, price of gas, gas and food prices, cost of groceries, calculating gas into food cost, rising prices, Tillamook Ice Cream, Winco, Safeway,

 

Stupid at the Library, Restaurant Openings and Through The Eyes of a Six Year Old

Today started out pretty much the same as any other day. I made pancakes from scratch (yum yum yum). There is a little bit of Heaven in hot from the griddle pancakes smeared with butter and drizzled with REAL Maple Syrup. Mmmmm. I’ll get the recipe up in the next couple of days.

Then K-Man had a BB game… the sun was shining and it hit 70 degrees here today. Bonus! I dropped everyone off at the ball field, then K3 and I ran a couple of errands… gassing up the truck with Flex Fuel E-85, stopping by the natural section of Fred Meyer to get K3 a dark chocolate candy bar so she can have a treat when everyone else does (she gets 3 little squares at a time, so one bar gets us through 4 treats). After that we ran to the library as I was in dire need of some *light* (by light I mean, Smutty Historical Novel) reading. My brain has been overwhelmed with all the serious reading I’ve been doing (No I haven’t forgotten my reading list… patience!).

So, K3 and I are in the library. I’m toting two novels by Nora Roberts. Not sure they are historical… but they should be plenty smutty. We venture into the kids section and I put K3 on a mission… find a book for self and one for each of your sisters and brother. I hit the search on the computer for a book I’m planning to buy… but would love to take home to read if it’s in… GREEN CHIC.

The book isn’t cataloged at this library, but is at several others in the county. I wander over to the nice librarian (in the children’s section mind you) and ask if she can put a hold/transfer on a book for me. Of course she is glad to help.

I hand over my library card and the title of the book GREEN CHICK. After a couple minutes, I look at her screen and say C. H. I. C not C.H.I.C.K. She says, “Oh you mean GREEN CHIC (Sheek)” Huh… guess I can go take my English Major and flush it down the toilet.

Okay, here is my thought process behind thinking it was GREEN CHICK (Spelled CHIC) and not CHIC pronounced SHEEK.

Around here, we use the word CHIC or CHICA a lot for well… CHICS… GIRLS… So, when I read the title “Green Chic” I’m thinking, yeah… cool, green and CHIC (Chick)… to me CHIC (Sheek) expresses class, I found this book more modern, hip and funny instead of yuppy and classy… so, to me it should be GREEN CHICK. (I’m not knocking… I’m GREEN, PSEUDO HIPPY, CLASSY, YUPPY and CHIC (both CHIC AND SHEEK… Thank you very much!).

Taken down by the children’s librarian… sigh.

Arriving back at the ball field, I am turning the giant, gas guzzling, monster of a truck, around so that I can park. I did a three point turn on a quiet, suburban street. Our truck faces straight at a house and its GREEN GREEN GREEN lawn… where a sprinkler is running. K3 pipes up from her booster in the middle of the backseat… “Mom, why is there a sprinkler going and no one is playing in it?” Good question K3!!!! I explained that the people who lived there were watering their grass. “Why are they watering the grass?” Another great question. Before long, she will also wonder why they would be watering the grass at two in the afternoon and therefore allowing a large amount of that water to EVAPORATE. I momentarily thought about parking right there and taking K3 up to the door to ask her questions of the owner. I restrained.

To round out the evening, two girlfriends and I went to a pre-opening at a California Pizza Kitchen. I’ve never been to one of these restaurants before… but hey, we are on “THE LIST” and everything is on the house. I’m in.

The staff was over-eager and NERVOUS. That’s expected when a restaurant is just opening with a lot of unseasoned staff. Our waiter was a kid of 19, his name tag claims the home state of Alaska. Welcome to Oregon and your new job at the California Pizza Kitchen. (Is it just me, or is that a bit odd? Shouldn’t it be Oregon Pizza Kitchen?)

It was a fun time, we ordered three entrees to share… Blue Crab Cakes with a Lemon Caper Pasta and Asparagus, Garlic Chicken Pizza and a Seafood Miso Salad. The pizza was AMAZING. The crab cakes were VERY GOOD… the lemon/caper pasta was not so good and the asparagus was overcooked… sad because its my favorite veggie. The Miso Salad was good, except ours came with chilled chicken instead of seafood.

A and H went on to the bars afterward (were they are drinking themselves into oblivion as I write this)… I hauled my over full self home to kick off my high heels. The girls laughed at my early need to retire… I advised that this Mommy would be up at 6am with the kids… Oh, the blissful days gone by of sleeping til noon!

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Tags: kids, funny things kids say, watering grass, being green, California Pizza Kitchen, Restaurant Opening, Library, Green Chic, Girls Night Out, GF Pancakes, Gluten Free Pancakes

 

Summer Reading List

I am frequently asked what I am reading, or more recently, what the kids are reading. Today I put together our proposed summer reading list (KIDS LIST)… All of these books have been previewed and hand selected by yours truly.

Here it is:

It’s Not What You’ve Got! by Wayne W. Dyer with Kristina Tracy- Why we are reading this: Because the focus is that money doesn’t define us. This book takes a spiritual and uplifting approach to money.

Colorful World by Cece Winans, Keith Thomas and Alvie Love III- Why we are reading this: Because 6yo K3 has recently been asking why some people have brown skin… this is a great story (and musical CD) about our beautiful and colorful world.

The Journey of the One and Only Declaration of Independence by Judith St. George- Why we are reading this: Because Mommy LOVES history. This is a colorful and delightful book chronicling an important part of American History.

If The World Were a Village by David Smith- Why we are reading this: This book helps our children realize what life is like outside of America. We struggle with the kids understanding how privileged we are. It also takes the world’s populate of 6.2 billion and puts it in child friendly terms… a village of 100 people (each person represents 62 million!). Our kids take technology for granted… this book shows them that other kids never even get to use a computer. This book is geared to older children (third grade up). But we will be reading it aloud with our younger ones as well.

Martins Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport- Why we are reading this: That’s self-evident. The author makes this story very kid friendly and age appropriate.

A Child’s Introduction to the Environment by Michael Driscoll and Dennis Driscoll- Why we are reading this: It is a fun and entertaining lesson on our Earth (explores water, land and air) and gives fun activities and ideas kids can do to get involved and help protect the planet. Most age appropriate for third grade and up, we will use it with the younger kids as well, but may need to modify some activities. (By the way… the book is printed on recycled papers.)

The Greening Book by Ellen Sabin- Why we are reading this: It is a wonderful (work) book that encourages kids to appreciate our Earth and what it gives us. The activities help children see ways they can help. I knew we wanted it when I picked it up and the front cover says “The Greening Book by Ellen Sabin and ___________.” What better way to help our children explore and learn about protecting our great Earth than by giving them the power to do it!

I also have art projects planned to teach the kids about Claude Monet (and other artists to come) and outdoor activities planned to learn about trees (leaf etching) among many other things. The kids each will be given a journal, where they can write or draw what they are learning and exploring on each new outing.

My reading list is yet to come… stay posted.

Today’s Green Tip: Visit the library or used book store and get a book to teach your kids about our great Earth… its never too early.

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Tags: kids, reading, summer reading, summer reading for kids, kids books about Earth, kids books about environment, being green, being green for kids, helping kids be green, history, Martin Luther King Jr., Social Responsibility, Teaching Kids to be globally responsible, Our World, Diversity, Teaching kids about diversity, Summer activities, Summer activities for kids, making kids green

 

Who Killed The EV?

Last night, Oregon Dad and I watched the documentary, “Who Killed The Electric Car?”.  I highly suggest watching it. 

The big question:

Why aren’t we moving faster toward alternative automotive options?

And:

The technology is already present for electric cars, so why did it get squashed?

Hubby and I drive a Prius, he also carpools to work a couple times a week.  We feel the need to reduce our consumption of gasoline.  With gas prices estimated to top $4 a gallon this summer, can we afford not to look at other options?  (Isn’t a lot of GREEN-ness prompted by saving money?)

There is an estimated 100 Trillion dollars left to be made in foreign oil… I am sure the oil tycoons aren’t happy with any alternative vehicles, unless they can cash in on the fuel (like hydrogen).  They don’t want to lose their hold on the market, or lose out on any of the money yet to be made.  There is a big fat reason the electric vehicles  haven’t gained more ground and it’s color is green.  CASH.

Recently there has been a lot of hype regarding hydrogen vehicles.   Everyone (being the politicians and car makers) appear to be focusing all their alternative efforts on the hydrogen vehicle.  In reality, the hydrogen vehicle isn’t going to be readily available for many more years.  There is also the question… are hydrogen vehicles more efficient than an electric vehicle.  Today that answer is a resounding NO.

Hydrogen has to be created to power these vehicles.  Hydrogen is a carrier of energy, not a source.  Therefore, conventional power plants will be needed to create the energy hydrogen carries. To produce hydrogen, you need two resources… WATER and ELECTRICITY (through a process called electrolysis).  If renewable energy is used in this process, then there would be no net carbon dioxide emission.  The reality is, other energy sources will be utilized to create the hydrogen fuel.  This could include natural gas or coal.  Still sapping our non-renewable reserves.  Coal must be burned to create energy… and that pollutes our air.  In regards to automobiles, hydrogen has been considered the most expensive and LEAST EFFICIENT replacement for gasoline. 

Huh… then why is our government dumping money into fuel cell vehicles?

“With a new national commitment …the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free. Join me in this important innovation to make our air significantly cleaner, and our country much less dependent on foreign sources of energy.” 

President Bush, State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003

I find this astounding.  Is the concept of hydrogen fueled vehicles a good one?  Yes.  Is it viable in our society? Maybe in 10 years.  Is it the best choice for our environment?  No.  Why you ask?  For one, these United States already have a well established electricity grid in place.  We can use that to power electric vehicles (EVs).  Renewable energy sources are available (solar, wind, damn) which further reduces the impact EVs have on the environment.  Creating hydrogen fueling stations will be expensive and must be readily accessible before the masses can own a hydrogen fuel vehicle.  If I am driving a car that I know has to be fueled in 100 miles.  Would I rather have one that I can simply plug in to any available power source… or one that I have to plan my trips around hydrogen fueling stations?

This is yet another example where consumers are being misled, or GREENWASHED.  Check out the Government’s Hydrogen Site, there are photos of Shell gas stations with hydrogen fuel pumps and partnerships with GM (General Motors) to create hydrogen vehicles to use in the postal service.  There’s some big money mixing with politics and initiatives here. 

Maybe, just maybe, the promise of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will keep us satisfied for another 10 years.  10 more years of relying on foreign oil… of oil companies make TRILLIONS of dollars off our dependency.  Are our politicians in the pockets of the large oil corporations and car makers?  Without a doubt.  Will this have a negative impact on our environment?  That’s likely.

So, where does that leave us?  Our government may not be making the initiatives it needs to in order to increase fuel efficiency (and yes, I believe they should make laws regarding fuel efficiency as they have in the past).  We as consumers still can do our part.  We can stay informed, get educated, don’t buy into the hogwash (yes, an electric vehicle is several times more efficient than a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle).  Get a hybrid.  The Prius is a great car.  It’s roomy and can comfortably hold a family of five with plenty of storage.  In the country we get 42-45 mpg and in town we average 55-60 mpg.  That just makes sense.  Toyota is working on a plug in hybrid Prius.  How awesome would it be to plug in my car at night (and not worry if I forgot to plug it in), then I could get 150 mpg or more for the first 50-60 miles that day (which is what the average person drives in a day anyway)… when the bonus from my overnight charge wears off, then I am back to my standard hybrid engine system.  Yes, I’d be using more electricity but less petroleum.  I can offset that by purchasing green power options (such as windpower) through the electric company.  Hopefully we will see the new Plug In Prius by 2009… just in time for us to upgrade.  We have 77k on our 2005 model and it will be ready for TeenGirl to drive to college by then.

What are you going to do about the rising gasoline prices?  Deal with it. Drive less. Get a more efficient car. Telecommute.  Carpool.  Bike. Write your legislature. Vote with an energy plan in mind. Be accountable.

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Tags: ElectricCar, Who Killed The Electric Car?, Hydrogen Vehicle, Hybrids, Gas prices, Reliance on foreign oil, being green,

 

GFCF Snack Bars and Indoor Air

Indoor air quality is a hot topic these days… it appears that the air we breath inside our home is 5 times dirtier than the air outside. Considering we cook, use chemical based cleaning products, burn petroleum based candles and furnish our homes with materials made with VOC’s, it’s no wonder we can’t breath clearly. There are things we can do to help. In addition to opening the windows frequently to circulate air, choosing low or no VOC paints (glues, flooring, etc…), using natural cleaning products and switching to soy based candles we can also introduce house plants to help clean up the air. This may be the easiest task of all.

Some plants are better for improving indoor air quality than others… and some are easier to keep alive, if you like me are not a green thumb.

Here is what we are considering adding to our home…

Gerbera Daisies- Great for air quality and easy to care for. Also one of my favorites. You just can’t go wrong with those cheery blooms!

Bamboo Palm- We are adding at least one, maybe two flanking the fireplace (close to the slider door for sunlight). I like how big and green they are. Wondering… will I have to dust the fronds?

Peace Lily- Up in the air on this one… I think this is what I have used in the past with the cute fishy vases. Not sure if we will get some or not.

English Ivy- I know these are really easy to take care of… but for some reason they remind me of Grandma’s house… Maybe one in the kitchen?

Mums- Another bright flower… but I’m thinking not really our style.

Chinese Evergreen- I Love, love, love this plant as well. (This one is suppose to do well in low light areas and have low water needs… sounds like the plant for me!)

Snake Plants- If I can get beyond the name… we might be able to get one of these as well. They are kind of neat looking.

Now that I have decided on what varieties to bring into our home, the next question is how many? According to the NASA study on indoor air quality in the 1980’s a home under 2000 sq ft should have no less than 15 house plants to help clean up the air. Yikes. Where am I going to put all those? They should also be relatively large plants… in containers of no less than six inches in diameter.

Now that we have cleaned up the air you breath… let’s put something tasty in the belly!!!

I must confess, I had a Food Network dream about these bars… it went something like this:

PolkaDotMommy (that’d be yours truly) sitting on the bleachers at a baseball game, wearing my Oregon Ducks hat, I am holding an open container of these tasty treats and my youngest is sitting next to me munching on them. A hand reaches over my shoulder as a voice says, “Those look tasty” and grabs one out of the container. I look back as Alton Brown bites into a snack bar. I replied, “They are gluten free, dairy free and can be vegan as well.” He scrunches up his face as if to say… ick, and then, the line, “and they are Good Eats”. Pathetic I know. Why oh why am I dreaming about Food Network? Oh… maybe because I’d love to see some featured shows on alternative cooking. The numbers of us cooking Gluten free, Dairy Free, Allergy Free is rapidly growing. Isn’t it time someone paid attention?

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Snack Bars (And they taste so darn good!)

Makes approx 24 bars

1/2 c. white rice flour

1/2 c. brown rice flour

1/4c. coconut flour

1/4c. tapioca starch

1c. crunchy cereal flakes (we use sweet buckwheat flake cereal) crushed

1/4c. Wholesome Sweetners Evaporated Cane Sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c. maple syrup

1/4c. canola oil

1 egg or substitute

1 tsp. GF vanilla

1 organic pear peeled and grated

1 organic granny smith apple peeled and grated

1/2 c. organic dried cranberries

1/2c. enjoy life chocolate chips

1/4 c. almonds chopped or diced to your desired texture or sunflower seeds if you can’t do nuts

Oven on to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 insulated baking pan with parchment or wax paper, leave a “grip” edge over each end to lift out finished bars.

Combine all dry ingredients and cereal flakes in medium sized mixing bowl.

Add syrup, egg, oil and vanilla. Now add in grated fruit, cranberries, chocolate chips, nuts/seeds. Stir well.

Spread mixture into the pan and bake for 35 minutes, check to see if done by inserting a toothpick in the middle, it shouldn’t come out clean. Cool, lift out of pan by edges of paper and cut into bars using a pizza cutter.

We like to wrap these individually so they are ready for lunch boxes and afternoon snacks, then place them in a zippie bag or container with a lid and store in the refrigerator.

I will try to get some pictures of the next batch up here… the first batch didn’t last long enough to get the camera out!

Today’s Green Tip- It’s obvious…. Get some plants.

 

Who Are Your Bed Fellows?

As if I don’t have enough obsessions, we can now officially add one more to the list… Dust Mites (Bed Bugs or whatever you want to call them). Ick. We have Oregon Dad and “Squeaky Green, The Method Guide to Detoxing Your Home” to thank for this latest addition to my (already abundant) compulsions.

I was given this green manual for Mother’s Day. Hubby claims to have had a momentary twinge of conscious at gifting me with a cleaning book for Mums Day… I am sure it passed quickly I had pointed out the book on an outing one day… he remembered and got it for me. We must give credit where it’s due because I never want things…. which makes gift giving a bit difficult for him.

Back to mites. Just thinking about them gives me the heebies. I read the entire manual on Sunday. Hubby told me to pace myself. I advised that this is the kind of book one reads through, then returns to often for reference. So, no worries, it won’t be meeting the recycling bin anytime soon (or making its way to a new home).

Sections 1 and 2 grossed me out plenty… thinking about all the things my kids are crawling around with on the floor. Ew. Ew. Ew. The Skoy cloths in the kitchen went into the microwave for the second time today and the scrubby brush came out of the sink and went into a bowl of boiling water. It was section three (sleeping with the enemy) that threw me for a loop… dust mites, bed bugs and dead skin cells. All the icky things hanging out in your sheets, pillows, blankets, mattress and lurking in the dark corners under your bed.

It’s not like I have never heard of this stuff before. I’ve just never had it presented in this perspective before. Every morning I wake up stuffy nosed with itchy eyes and blame it on allergies. It probably is allergies… to DUST MITES. Gross. I don’t want to think about tiny bugs living in my pillows, mattress and covers. To top it off, this book goes one step further and explains how they feast on all the dead skin cells that lurk in your dust bunnies under the bed. Bleh.

Today’s mission is to clean out every unessential item lurking in my bedroom. Every little thing that is under the bed. I am getting rid of all the books I will never read again, old papers and magazines… whatever is hanging out under there collecting dust. I am vacuuming the heck out of every corner of the carpet (don’t even get me started on the carpet… I’ve been dieing to replace it with marmoleum or bamboo for months, must.save.the.green.first.) Before I can tackle all that vacuuming, I must get my machine up to par (since I cannot yet replace it with a Halo -kills everything with an ultraviolet light… yippee to no bugs???) So, that means taking the darn thing apart (outside to protect our indoor breathing air… don’t get me started on that!), replace the HEPA filter and use my blow dryer to clean out all the dust particles lurking inside. Luckily this isn’t a frequent requirement… since I have done it exactly, NEVER, its probably something I should tackle. Once the vacuum is clean, the nether regions known as under the bed are clear and every corner of my carpet is sucked clear of dust mites and all the things they feast on… then I must strip my bed, wash the linens and vacuum my mattress. Wondering if sticking the pillows in the dryer might be a good idea as well. I found these organic cotton dust mite pillow covers online… must order now. And a mattress cover as well… remember cost per use factors in and when you divide this price over its lifetime, it’s not too bad, especially when you can sleep free of thinking about little mites feasting on your skin and dancing in your hair. *shivers* So many things to do. Must make a list. I am such a type A… and I want to do everything right this instant. My list is in process. I am starting with my bedroom… then moving on to the kids rooms, one at a time. Then I will tackle the living room, kitchen and other living areas. As if I need more to do… now I am haunted every time I sit down or close my eyes by the thought of what is lurking in my home. Ew. And Geeze Oh Pete don’t use antibacterial cleaners… we don’t need to kill… we need to clean. Evidently OFTEN.

This really put a whole new perspective on things for me. I have been obsessed with getting the chemicals out of our house. And I have done good. *Pats self on back* We are switching to soy based candles with lead free wicks to clear the air, opening windows for frequent ventilation and adding house plants. I hadn’t even started to think about the need for clearing dust mites and itsy bitsy microbes that might be hanging out in the kitchen (okay, yes I have thought about it… but now I am going crazy thinking about it!) Oh… and as if I didn’t love this book, here is a reason to. Evidently the authors detest chlorine bleach as much as I. They talk about it several times (in an non-endearing way). Did you know, that for bleach to sanitize it must stay on the (pre-cleaned) surface for 30 minutes! What busy mom has time to clean the counter, spray it down and then not touch it or allow anything to touch it for 30 minutes! Then you gotta dry it completely or you’re asking to have bacteria start growing in the moisture.

Just get the book and clean your house. Then we can all be squeaky green and a bit healthier. (I just like the sound of that… say it with me, “squeaky green”… that’s the real reason I wanted the book.)

Today’s Green Tip- Change your air filters… it increases efficiency of your furnaces and improves indoor air quality.

 

In Search of…Safe Products for the Family and the Environment- A Mom’s Journey

Today’s Guest Writer is Megan Torrini- Writer, Mother, Employee and Owner of The Earth Friendly Shoppe

In Search of… Safe Products for the Family and the Environment- A Mom’s Journey

By Megan Torrini

I have no time. Zero. Zilch. Na Da.

It is my own doing, I know. It is my choice to be employed outside the home (PT and telecommute), I write for a local online mom’s magazine and I also own an online business offering earth friendly products. Oh, and did I forget to mention- I have 2 kids under 3, a hubby and 2 Siberian Huskies who seem to purposely taunt me all day long- let me in, let me out, let me in, let me out and on and on it goes. Believe me, the dogs own me, it’s not the other way around. Have you ever heard the howling and the woo woo of a husky when they don’t get their way? Yeah, it was cute once, when they were puppies. For like a minute.

As if Moms don’t have enough going on in their lives, now we have to constantly struggle with educating ourselves to find products that are not only safe for our children, but safe for Mama Earth as well. And being easy on the bank account would be an awesome bonus as well

Wouldn’t it be nice to go into any store and know that any product you pick up is safe? The amount of time it takes to research, gain the knowledge and retain that knowledge is overwhelming. It is the equivalent to obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Safe Product Studies. Health issues such as toys with lead paint, pesticide residue in our food, toxic chemicals from our container are enough to make an already stressful moms’ head spin. Then you have the socially conscious aspect of it all- of course loving mothers (and fathers) see the need to buy fair trade items and support local merchants, it’s the right thing to do. But then you also have to provide for the family- and all of this stuff gets expensive.

I believe, if you have information that can help others, even save them a little time, then by all means, share it.

Greenwashing

Don’t always believe what you read. Greenwashing is a term that is used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. The term is generally used when significantly more money or time has been spent advertising being green rather than spending resources on environmentally sound practices.

Fair Trade
We hear a lot about “fair trade” and “fair trade organic” these days. But still, people aren’t quite sure what it is. Fair trade is an organized social movement that promotes the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods.

It’s simple. No one human becomes obscenely rich by making another human disgracefully poor.

Fair trade advocates create opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers- they generate payment of a fair price, enforce gender equality where men and women are properly valued and rewarded, implement safe and healthy working environments for producers, and are required to follow environmental protection guidelines.

Unfortunately, the benefits of fair trade are not reaching all fair trade farmers because of insufficient demand for their crops. Producers sell an average of 20% of their crop at fair trade terms; the rest goes through the world market at much lower prices. That is why we need to build a market for fair trade in the U.S.

For an item to be considered fair trade certified in the U.S., a certification system was designed to allow consumers to easily identify goods that meet those standards. Products that bear the “Fair Trade Certified” label, guarantee that every step of the product’s production has followed the international fair trade criteria.

Organic
According to US Government regulations, to be certified as organic, the product must be manufactured or produced without the use of synthetic fertilizers, most pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, irradiation and gene modification. Foods labeled 100% organic must contain at least 95% organic materials and the remaining 5% of the ingredients must be on the approved list for use in organic food.

Bisphenol-A (BPA)

If you use plastic water bottles, plastic baby bottles, have dental sealants, consume canned soups, veggies, fruits, organic or not, you also may be swallowing residues of a controversial chemical called bisphenol A (BPA).

BPA was thrust into the spotlight by a laboratory mishap. In August 1998, geneticist Patricia Hunt, Ph.D., now at Washington State University in Pullman, noticed that chromosomal errors in the mouse cells she was studying had shot up—from 1 or 2 percent to 40 percent, as published in the April 2003 Current Biology. Hunt traced the effect to polycarbonate cages and water bottles that had been washed with a harsh detergent. When her team replaced all the caging materials with non-polycarbonate plastics, the cell division returned to normal.

Plastic bottles and containers that are used for packaging food should all be labeled with a recycle code. This is a number (between 1 and 7) that is surrounded by a small graphic of three arrows pointing at one another in a triangle. These numbers tell the recycle center what kind of plastic the container is made of and they also tell the consumer whether there is a known potential health hazard.

Bear in mind that simply because there is a known “potential” health hazard, it does not mean that you are going to be immediately ill if you find you have been using a product in that category. In fact, for some of the chemicals to leach out of these “dangerous” plastics, the container must have been heated with the food or liquid inside; sometimes the level of heat required is greater than the boiling point. However, we should all be aware of what we are using and what it may mean. Likewise, simply because there are no “known” health hazards does not mean that a plastic is always going to be completely safe under all conditions.

The point here is not to frighten, simply to remind us that when dealing with artificial chemical products we must always be open-minded and educated.

The following plastics have no known health hazards:

Code 1: Polyethylene Terephthalate, or PET / PETE

Code 2: High Density Polyethylene, or HDPE

Code 4: Low Density Polyethylene, or LDPE

Code 5: Polypropylene, or PP

The following plastics do have known potential health hazards:

Code 3: Polyvinyl Chloride, or PVC / Vinyl.

This material, used often in flooring and shower curtains, as well as household water pipes (primarily for evacuation only - they should never be used to bring fresh water into the home), used to be used in cling wraps. The plastics industry is adamant that the type of PVC currently used in cling wraps does not contain the phthalates that are known endocrine disrupters. However, these phthalates may still be present in PVC bottles and toys. There was recent information that many baby teethers were also made from PVC, due to its soft flexibility. PVC or vinyl items should never be given to a baby or child who may put them in his or her mouth.

Code 6: Polystyrene, or PS / Styrofoam.

As well as being another endocrine disrupter, styrene is also believed to be a carcinogen. This plastic is used to make some types of disposable forks, spoons and knives and also the “foam” cups such as those sold under the name Styrofoam. Hot liquid can cause the styrene to leach out of these products, as can fatty oils or alcohol.

Code 7: Other “resins” and Polycarbonate, or PC.

This one has been hotly contested by the plastics industry because of the high heat required for the endocrine disruptor, Bisphenol - A (BPA), to be released. However, BPA is a primary component of PC plastics and is a verifiably dangerous compound. PC is largely used for water bottles of the type used for delivery services (multi-gallon containers) that fit on the “water cooler” at home or office.

Many clear baby bottles are made of PC and there is much in the news about the controversy of these bottles not being labeled with any code so that consumers cannot tell what type of plastic is used. With baby bottles, this is a real concern, as many people boil the bottles with formula or milk inside them. PC is also used in food cans with a plastic lining. Whenever possible, it is recommended that these plastics not be exposed to high temperatures. The plastics industry insists that they are completely stable under most conditions but some studies suggest that leaching still occurs.

Now these are just a few bits of information I’ve compiled, but there is so much more. As busy as I am, I try my best to make healthy and socially conscious choices and that is all I can do. Even during the times that I cannot be as green as I want to be, I don’t stress about it. At the end of the day I am comforted in the fact that I did the best I could.

****Note- Bottles labeled with #7 are for other plastics which may contain BPA and other controversial chemicals. To be safe, use bottles that are BPA free or opt for stainless steel bottles, like the Klean Kanteen.

Today’s Green Tip- Educate yourself, a healthier (greener) home starts with education!