Do-It-Yourself Cleaners

Whether you're tackling a big spring cleaning project or just going about your weekly cleaning routine, it's important that you use cleaning products safely, especially with young children or pets around your home or apartment.

I found some ideas in Better Homes and Garden magazine in their Living Green section for natural home cleaning products so you don't have to worry about all the chemicals.

You need 3 basic products:

Baking soda

This works best on proteins, grease, and animal messes. Because it's slightly abrasive, it can be used for scouring and, of course, it's a natural deodorizer.

Vinegar

This mild acid works on alkaline substances, dissolving scale, inhibiting mold, and cutting soap

scum. It's terrific for stains such as coffee, rust, and tea.

Soap

Try Castile soap made with olive oil, or vegetable based soap. Both attach to soil at the molecular level, so you can rinse dirt away with water.

THE RECIPES

Soft Scrub - Add enough soap to 1/8 cup baking soda to make a creamy mixture. Apply with sponge to clean; rinse the surface well. Use and discard.

Appliance Cleaner- Dry baking soda shines up small appliances and even removes bread wrappers burned onto the toaster. Try rubbing a teaspoon onto your grubby blender or food processor with a clean flannel cloth.

Toilet Cleaner/Deodorizer - Sprinkle toilet bowl with 1/4 cup baking soda. Drizzle with 1/4 cup vinegar, then scour with a toilet brush.

Oven Cleaner - Sprinkle oven with 1/2 cup baking soda (more if needed) and spray with water. Let sit for several hours or overnight before scraping up stains and spills. Rinse thoroughly with water.

Hardwood Floor Cleaner - In a pail or bucket, mix 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar in one gallon warm water. Mop wood or linoleum floors, then rinse with water, making sure not to leave large pools to dry.

Recipes are from the book Green Clean, by Linda Mason Hunter and Mikki Halpin

A Few Tips For You

Just by making a few small changes to your daily routine could really make an impact on the environment and could also save you some money.

ELECTRONICS - You know all of those electronics (like your cell phone, iPod, camera) that you can't live without? Keeping all their charges plugged in wastes a ton of energy. A great idea: Plug all of your chargers into one central power strip that can be turned off while you're out and on just when you need them.

CARS - Not only will keeping your car tuned up prevent it from breaking down, but it will also help improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. If 1 percent (yep, that's it) of car owners maintained their cars, almost a billion pounds of carbon dioxide would be kept out of the atmosphere.

CLOTH VS PAPER - Switch to cloth napkins. You can use them again and again before washing them in a full load, which save energy and is less damaging than the tree devastation that happens in order to make the paper kind.

LEAKING FAUCET - You know that drip...drip...drip sound that keeps you up all night long? Besides being really annoying, if the rate is 60 drops per minute, your leaky faucet is wasting as much as 2,700 gallons per year. Luckily, all you'll most likely have to do to fix it is replace the washer.

Excerpts taken from article found in Cosmopolitan Magazine. (May 2007 issue)

Recycling

FIND RECYCLING CENTERS IN YOUR AREA

If you aren't sure about what can be recycled or where to take your recycling then please refer to the link below. You can just enter your city and state and it will advise you on where to go.


There are a lot of sites that can provide this information, but this site seems to be the most comprehensive.

Business Reuse & Recycling Services

Annual Rain Barrel Sale

Annual Rain Barrel Sale
(Orders must be placed before April 12th)

Visit this link to find out the status of the water restrictions. City of Wilmington Water Restrictions

North Carolina is currently experiencing a severe drought with mandatory water restrictions in effect. As a result, Wilmington and other municipalities across the state have restrictions on lawn irrigation and many other activities that require large amounts of water.

Call the number below on how you can order a 65-gallon rain barrel made from 100% recycled material and cost $95. Rain barrels must be pre-ordered before April 12th.

Quantities are limited, so order early.
Brunswick County 253-4448 Ext 3 (New Hanover County ran out of their barrels, but to my knowledge Brunswick county still has some available)

EcoManor

Going green doesn't mean you have to sacrifice style. Featured here is EcoManor- a three story, 6,200 square foot home right here in the good old south. Located in Atlanta, this family home features beautiful details- all of which are either sustainable or recycled/antique. It has some really interesting features- the "Gray Water" system sounds intriguing- it "stores runoff water from the sink and uses it to flush the home's toilets." The property is also a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat. It's environmentally concious owners have tackled an ambitous project with beautiful results.

Check out the slide show for more great ideas, details, product links, and a link to the video tour.

via Domino Magazine