Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Pintesting - Chem-Free Cleaning - Laundry Detergent
The Christmas before my daughter was born my mother gave me a bottle of Dreft telling me that it was gold. Dreft, as it was explained to me was the laundry detergent I should be using to wash my little ones clothing. I was left with the impression that it was gentler and perhaps contained less of the harsh chemicals I was using on my husband and my own's clothing. Since that time I have been dutifully using Dreft to wash my little girls clothes.
But wait a minute! Why didn't I ever stop to think that if it wasn't so great for my little lamb to snuggle up in sheets washed in the same detergent I was using on my own, maybe the detergent I was using simply wasn't so great.
If you're using a chemical free laundry detergent there's should be no reason to have to do your childs' laundry in separate loads with and entirely different detergent. You're already saving money by only using one type of detergent rather than two.
Today's pin-test comes from the information I got here via this pin.
Grating Fel Naptha proved simpler than I expected. The soap is really soft so it grates quickly and easily. I was able to do it despite having a sprained wrist (on the side that would be holding the grater).
I opted to use empty containers from my husbands juice. He wasn't happy about this. Because the juices are so sweet he usually saves an old container and splits the juice equally between the containers and then adds water. When he realized there was really no talking me out of using his containers for a short while to make the new laundry detergent he told me what I already knew: to clean them very, very, very well because if I didn't and he mixed juice in a contaminated container he could get very, very, very sick. His faith in what I do and don't know is just amazing.
While I was constantly stirring the soap and water mixture there were more suds than I expected. I was pretty worried I'd already done it wrong. I soldiered on . . you know . . . for science (and because I can be a bit hard-headed and had nothing else to do anyway.)
The resulting pudding-like mixture left me feeling pretty satisfied and amused. I used a measuring cup to put the soap into the bottles. One cup in one bottle, One cup in the following, one cup in the last, one cup in the last, one cup in the center, and one cup in the first - then repeat until you run out of soap.
The tops of the bottles ended up getting a little messy.
I did my best to eyeball where the half-way point for the bottles was when I added the hot water.
Shaking up the mix was again, something that left me feeling more satisfied than I expected. It was a little bit fun.
Come morning I was hoping to find a gelatinous blob that would slide when I moved the bottle. My blob did not slide when you moved the bottle. I stuck a wooden spoon in and began breaking up the blob. Then I filled the bottles the rest of the way with hot water. You will need to do a lot of shaking to get your detergent to mix well. I thought my husband would have done well enough but when I began transferring the mix to an empty detergent container it was downright watery. The reason for this was that there was still quite a huge blob left untouched by the shaking. So really go to town on the shaking.
I actually ended up rendering two of the jugs (in my opinion) useless. My husband was cleaning out one of our very messy rooms and throwing things away. Wanting to see what he was throwing away with reckless abandon I headed out to our trash can to look through the boxes. Aside from a $300+ pair of jeans I found some shirts that would make perfect baby rompers and some rose scented laundry water.
Without checking the label I added the laundry water to two of my jugs. When I checked the label I saw that it contained "fragrance", which I now know is a synthetic, toxic, ingredient. I was still able to completely fill our emptied laundry detergent container. I'll need to make more to replace the Dreft but next I plan to replace our fabric softener.
But wait a minute! Why didn't I ever stop to think that if it wasn't so great for my little lamb to snuggle up in sheets washed in the same detergent I was using on my own, maybe the detergent I was using simply wasn't so great.
If you're using a chemical free laundry detergent there's should be no reason to have to do your childs' laundry in separate loads with and entirely different detergent. You're already saving money by only using one type of detergent rather than two.
Today's pin-test comes from the information I got here via this pin.
Grating Fel Naptha proved simpler than I expected. The soap is really soft so it grates quickly and easily. I was able to do it despite having a sprained wrist (on the side that would be holding the grater).
I opted to use empty containers from my husbands juice. He wasn't happy about this. Because the juices are so sweet he usually saves an old container and splits the juice equally between the containers and then adds water. When he realized there was really no talking me out of using his containers for a short while to make the new laundry detergent he told me what I already knew: to clean them very, very, very well because if I didn't and he mixed juice in a contaminated container he could get very, very, very sick. His faith in what I do and don't know is just amazing.
While I was constantly stirring the soap and water mixture there were more suds than I expected. I was pretty worried I'd already done it wrong. I soldiered on . . you know . . . for science (and because I can be a bit hard-headed and had nothing else to do anyway.)
The resulting pudding-like mixture left me feeling pretty satisfied and amused. I used a measuring cup to put the soap into the bottles. One cup in one bottle, One cup in the following, one cup in the last, one cup in the last, one cup in the center, and one cup in the first - then repeat until you run out of soap.
The tops of the bottles ended up getting a little messy.
I did my best to eyeball where the half-way point for the bottles was when I added the hot water.
Shaking up the mix was again, something that left me feeling more satisfied than I expected. It was a little bit fun.
Come morning I was hoping to find a gelatinous blob that would slide when I moved the bottle. My blob did not slide when you moved the bottle. I stuck a wooden spoon in and began breaking up the blob. Then I filled the bottles the rest of the way with hot water. You will need to do a lot of shaking to get your detergent to mix well. I thought my husband would have done well enough but when I began transferring the mix to an empty detergent container it was downright watery. The reason for this was that there was still quite a huge blob left untouched by the shaking. So really go to town on the shaking.
I actually ended up rendering two of the jugs (in my opinion) useless. My husband was cleaning out one of our very messy rooms and throwing things away. Wanting to see what he was throwing away with reckless abandon I headed out to our trash can to look through the boxes. Aside from a $300+ pair of jeans I found some shirts that would make perfect baby rompers and some rose scented laundry water.
Without checking the label I added the laundry water to two of my jugs. When I checked the label I saw that it contained "fragrance", which I now know is a synthetic, toxic, ingredient. I was still able to completely fill our emptied laundry detergent container. I'll need to make more to replace the Dreft but next I plan to replace our fabric softener.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Pintested - Chem-Free Cleaning - Pans
Even after my last two cleanings and a trip through the dish washer my husbands pan was still just not clean enough for me.
Today's pin-test comes from this pin, all the info you need is actually right there on the pin.
I filled the pan with 2 cups of cold water and then added 3 tablespoons of kosher salt. Knowing that if I just left the pan sitting in the sink I moved it into the laundry room to sit overnight (actually I filled the pan that afternoon instead of that evening but this pan needed help!) I also made sure to spread the salt over the problem areas.
Here's what the pan looked like the next morning.
Not a whole lot of change if any. Not feeling too confident this would actually work I put the pan on the stove and heated it on medium - or as close to that as I can assume it is since I have a gas stove.
The only thing this experiment accomplished was creating a hot, salty crust around the edge of my pan. The treatment did nothing for the pan. The pin says that this can take a few tries but I feel unconvinced that multiple tries would result in a nice, clean pan.
Would I say this is worth trying? No, save yourself the time and effort.
Today's pin-test comes from this pin, all the info you need is actually right there on the pin.
I filled the pan with 2 cups of cold water and then added 3 tablespoons of kosher salt. Knowing that if I just left the pan sitting in the sink I moved it into the laundry room to sit overnight (actually I filled the pan that afternoon instead of that evening but this pan needed help!) I also made sure to spread the salt over the problem areas.
Not a whole lot of change if any. Not feeling too confident this would actually work I put the pan on the stove and heated it on medium - or as close to that as I can assume it is since I have a gas stove.
The only thing this experiment accomplished was creating a hot, salty crust around the edge of my pan. The treatment did nothing for the pan. The pin says that this can take a few tries but I feel unconvinced that multiple tries would result in a nice, clean pan.
Would I say this is worth trying? No, save yourself the time and effort.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Pintested - Chemical-Free Cleaning - Microwave
I'm thankful to be able to tell you that my microwave is not regularly a hang-my-head-in-shame mess. But I do periodically find myself with a larger share of splattered food than I'd like in there.
Somehow it seems there's a lot of people who aren't aware of the problem this mess poses in relation to how well your microwave cooks food. The short and sweet explanation of what I mean by this is: when you have a microwave coated with food splatters, each time you use it, your microwave will expend a portion of its energy to once again cook those food splatters. More splatters - less even or concentrated cooking.
Today's pin-test comes from the info I found here as a result of following this pin.
My microwave was already "acceptably" clean but it had once again been a while since it's last cleaning.
I assembled the things I would need to begin cleaning. Once they were I jumped right in.
I really want to be able to tell you that I walked down the hallway and smelled the magnificent aroma of vanilla wafting towards me but no such thing happened.
Did the dirt/grime/grease/food residue just wipe right off as websites with similar solutions boast? Not really. However, this one did at least tell you how long to microwave the water. I've seen some that just tell you to microwave whatever the mixture is and not tell you mixture amounts of microwave times.
Here is what the microwave looked like after merely wiping it down after doing as instructed.
Although some things did seem to wipe away with ease, I didn't get the end result I was hoping for. What's a pinner to do? Dip your UnPaper towel into the warm vanilla water mixture and scrub the microwave with it.
Although I saw more positive results there's definitely still some residue left that will need to be removed.
Somehow it seems there's a lot of people who aren't aware of the problem this mess poses in relation to how well your microwave cooks food. The short and sweet explanation of what I mean by this is: when you have a microwave coated with food splatters, each time you use it, your microwave will expend a portion of its energy to once again cook those food splatters. More splatters - less even or concentrated cooking.
Today's pin-test comes from the info I found here as a result of following this pin.
My microwave was already "acceptably" clean but it had once again been a while since it's last cleaning.
I assembled the things I would need to begin cleaning. Once they were I jumped right in.
I really want to be able to tell you that I walked down the hallway and smelled the magnificent aroma of vanilla wafting towards me but no such thing happened.
Did the dirt/grime/grease/food residue just wipe right off as websites with similar solutions boast? Not really. However, this one did at least tell you how long to microwave the water. I've seen some that just tell you to microwave whatever the mixture is and not tell you mixture amounts of microwave times.
Here is what the microwave looked like after merely wiping it down after doing as instructed.
Although some things did seem to wipe away with ease, I didn't get the end result I was hoping for. What's a pinner to do? Dip your UnPaper towel into the warm vanilla water mixture and scrub the microwave with it.
Although I saw more positive results there's definitely still some residue left that will need to be removed.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Trade Tuesday - The Green Haven
Today's trade comes to me via Megan of The Green Haven and continues along with my UnPaper towel obsession.
20 year-old Megan is a student at Frostburg State University in Maryland, yet another state I have a soft spot for because I've spent a significant amount of time in my life in Maryland. This green Etsyian is majoring in early childhood education and minoring in marketing, which I think really shows through with the uncommon distance she goes in the name of customer service. With your order comes something I have yet to experience from any other seller. After placing my order Megan created a Facebook album with my basic order info, sent me the link to the album, and told me that I would be able to track the progress of my towels there. That's service!
Below is the same information you will find on any of Megans listings for her reusable UnPaper towels:
Reusable paper towels, also known as unpaper towels, are ideal for leaving traditional paper towels behind. Reusable Paper Towels are convenient and ready to use right out of the package like paper towels, but unlike paper towels you can use them again and again. Reusable paper towels fit on an old paper towel roll and can be placed on a paper towel holder.
~ This listing is for 1 set of reusable paper towels in (insert proper name of fabric here) fabric. Each set contains 12 individual towels, that snap together to form a roll of towels. Each towel measures 10" wide by 11" tall, making them about the same size as a paper towel. Towels are backed with 100% cotton terry cloth. Terry cloth is super soft and very absorbent.
~ Each towel is equipped with three sets of snaps, one more than is needed. This extra snap, the middle snap, is to provided extra support for the roll of towels. The middle snap prevents your roll of towels from sagging or drooping by helping support the extra weight of the towels.
~ Each set of towels is made with professional grade equipment, and is sewn with close attention to detail. The edges are surged with a professional surger, and the snaps are professional grade set using an industrial press. The snaps are made to hold up to much snapping and unsnapping as well as the washing machine, yet are gentle enough not to scratch when cleaning.
~ Reusable "paper" towels are machine washable, they may also be put in the dryer. I do not recommend using fabric softener on any of my products. Fabric softener can lessen the towels absorbency over time, making your "paper" towels less effective. Don't feel right not using a softener? Try using vinegar instead, its also a great way to eliminate odors, you can even place it in a downy ball!
Etsy Eco-Tip: Worldwide, 13 billion paper towels are used every day.The average person uses 3-4 paper towels each time you reach for the roll, using about a roll every day to day and a half. Switching your family to reusable "paper" towels can save countless paper towels, eliminating paper towels saves 4-6 rolls a week!
My UnPaper towels showed up much faster than I anticipated given Megans guestimation on how long it could take to get them out to me. Despite the fact that her paper towels are shown in a roll they are shipped flat
and come with a quick explanation of how to attach your towels to an empty paper towel roll.
Because I drastically cut our use of paper towels I still have some on the roll on my kitchen.
Etsyians come in all shapes, sizes, races, and ages and it just tickles me green to see any of the younger generations making an effort to help reduce waste. In fact, I was so happy about it that I just felt I had to ask her about what influenced her to begin making changes in her own life and what some of them may be.
"Going green is a slow and steady process in our house. My fiance isn't quite hooked on it yet! I use almost all of the items I sell in my shop. I carry a coffee cozy in my purse, have a set of reusable paper towels in my craft room, I have a lunch bag for road trips and a few sandwich and snack bags, and I have a plastic bag holder in the kitchen. We try to recycle everything we can, currently I'm looking into getting a rain barrel!
Over the summer we can't drink the water in our "summer home", the house we have when we aren't at school. So we have to buy water, which means water bottles. I like to re-purpose them here at the house when I can, I have one for water for my paint brushes, the top of another is used as a funnel for the rice in my boo boo bags, and various others around the house. And what I can't re-purpose I recycle.
My newest "green effort" was making my own ribbon spools. I have TONS of ribbon and most of them aren't on spools, so I need to find a way to make them. I had my fiance's mom save paper towel rolls for me, and I had an old poster from a school project. So I used the towel roll for the middle and the poster board for the sides. while they aren't the prettiest they certainly work well!
I never really decided to go green per-say. Back before going green was popular, I thought I would try my hand at making reusable sandwich and snack bags. Most people had no idea what they were! So I started making other products, more recognizable ones, that people didn't even realize were small steps in going green. And I found out the best way to get people to recognize you and see your products was to use them yourself. And that's how it all started."
As she mentioned she doesn't only sell UnPaper towels; she also sells Boo Boo Bags
Drink Cozies
Plastic Bag Holders
Sandwich Bags
Snack Bags
Lunch Bag Sets
At this point I want to point out that her bags are not lined with PUL fabric. Many well-meaning sellers line their "green" products with PUL, and while reusable is good, PUL is not. PUL is not food safe - please check to make sure you know what your products are being made with before purchase. The same efforts we're applying at the grocery stores and farmers markets apply in other areas of our lives.
Paper towel info/links:
Buzzle - paper towel facts
Buzzle - facts about paper towels
LIVESTRONG - INFORMATION AND FACTS ABOUT PAPER TOWELS
Information about going paper towel-less:
Going paper towel-less
20 year-old Megan is a student at Frostburg State University in Maryland, yet another state I have a soft spot for because I've spent a significant amount of time in my life in Maryland. This green Etsyian is majoring in early childhood education and minoring in marketing, which I think really shows through with the uncommon distance she goes in the name of customer service. With your order comes something I have yet to experience from any other seller. After placing my order Megan created a Facebook album with my basic order info, sent me the link to the album, and told me that I would be able to track the progress of my towels there. That's service!
Below is the same information you will find on any of Megans listings for her reusable UnPaper towels:
Reusable paper towels, also known as unpaper towels, are ideal for leaving traditional paper towels behind. Reusable Paper Towels are convenient and ready to use right out of the package like paper towels, but unlike paper towels you can use them again and again. Reusable paper towels fit on an old paper towel roll and can be placed on a paper towel holder.
~ This listing is for 1 set of reusable paper towels in (insert proper name of fabric here) fabric. Each set contains 12 individual towels, that snap together to form a roll of towels. Each towel measures 10" wide by 11" tall, making them about the same size as a paper towel. Towels are backed with 100% cotton terry cloth. Terry cloth is super soft and very absorbent.
~ Each towel is equipped with three sets of snaps, one more than is needed. This extra snap, the middle snap, is to provided extra support for the roll of towels. The middle snap prevents your roll of towels from sagging or drooping by helping support the extra weight of the towels.
~ Each set of towels is made with professional grade equipment, and is sewn with close attention to detail. The edges are surged with a professional surger, and the snaps are professional grade set using an industrial press. The snaps are made to hold up to much snapping and unsnapping as well as the washing machine, yet are gentle enough not to scratch when cleaning.
~ Reusable "paper" towels are machine washable, they may also be put in the dryer. I do not recommend using fabric softener on any of my products. Fabric softener can lessen the towels absorbency over time, making your "paper" towels less effective. Don't feel right not using a softener? Try using vinegar instead, its also a great way to eliminate odors, you can even place it in a downy ball!
Etsy Eco-Tip: Worldwide, 13 billion paper towels are used every day.The average person uses 3-4 paper towels each time you reach for the roll, using about a roll every day to day and a half. Switching your family to reusable "paper" towels can save countless paper towels, eliminating paper towels saves 4-6 rolls a week!
My UnPaper towels showed up much faster than I anticipated given Megans guestimation on how long it could take to get them out to me. Despite the fact that her paper towels are shown in a roll they are shipped flat
and come with a quick explanation of how to attach your towels to an empty paper towel roll.
Because I drastically cut our use of paper towels I still have some on the roll on my kitchen.
Etsyians come in all shapes, sizes, races, and ages and it just tickles me green to see any of the younger generations making an effort to help reduce waste. In fact, I was so happy about it that I just felt I had to ask her about what influenced her to begin making changes in her own life and what some of them may be.
"Going green is a slow and steady process in our house. My fiance isn't quite hooked on it yet! I use almost all of the items I sell in my shop. I carry a coffee cozy in my purse, have a set of reusable paper towels in my craft room, I have a lunch bag for road trips and a few sandwich and snack bags, and I have a plastic bag holder in the kitchen. We try to recycle everything we can, currently I'm looking into getting a rain barrel!
Over the summer we can't drink the water in our "summer home", the house we have when we aren't at school. So we have to buy water, which means water bottles. I like to re-purpose them here at the house when I can, I have one for water for my paint brushes, the top of another is used as a funnel for the rice in my boo boo bags, and various others around the house. And what I can't re-purpose I recycle.
My newest "green effort" was making my own ribbon spools. I have TONS of ribbon and most of them aren't on spools, so I need to find a way to make them. I had my fiance's mom save paper towel rolls for me, and I had an old poster from a school project. So I used the towel roll for the middle and the poster board for the sides. while they aren't the prettiest they certainly work well!
I never really decided to go green per-say. Back before going green was popular, I thought I would try my hand at making reusable sandwich and snack bags. Most people had no idea what they were! So I started making other products, more recognizable ones, that people didn't even realize were small steps in going green. And I found out the best way to get people to recognize you and see your products was to use them yourself. And that's how it all started."
As she mentioned she doesn't only sell UnPaper towels; she also sells Boo Boo Bags
Drink Cozies
Plastic Bag Holders
Sandwich Bags
Snack Bags
Lunch Bag Sets
At this point I want to point out that her bags are not lined with PUL fabric. Many well-meaning sellers line their "green" products with PUL, and while reusable is good, PUL is not. PUL is not food safe - please check to make sure you know what your products are being made with before purchase. The same efforts we're applying at the grocery stores and farmers markets apply in other areas of our lives.
Paper towel info/links:
Buzzle - paper towel facts
Buzzle - facts about paper towels
LIVESTRONG - INFORMATION AND FACTS ABOUT PAPER TOWELS
Information about going paper towel-less:
Going paper towel-less
Monday, September 3, 2012
Chemical to Chemical-Free
My little girl has reached the point where I find her looking in all cabinets within reach so I really can't think of a better time to just jump in and replace all those dangerous chemicals.
First I collected 99% of our cleaners and toxic chemicals (I decided to go ahead and finish up the bottles of laundry detergent and children's laundry detergent. I may dispose of what's left of the cleaners or just finish using them. My end game plan is to reuse the containers.)
Then I went to the store and returned all of the unopened containers and exchanged them for greener options. It's not a perfect system putting those toxins right back out there but I don't really have too many pennies to spare.
Now to begin making at-home chemical-free cleaners.
First I collected 99% of our cleaners and toxic chemicals (I decided to go ahead and finish up the bottles of laundry detergent and children's laundry detergent. I may dispose of what's left of the cleaners or just finish using them. My end game plan is to reuse the containers.)
Then I went to the store and returned all of the unopened containers and exchanged them for greener options. It's not a perfect system putting those toxins right back out there but I don't really have too many pennies to spare.
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