I'm an unapologetic reader of thrillers and romance. Currently, I am obsessed with finishing this pile. So far, it's been relaxing and so fun, because it's a different pace from my crafting and sewing. I'm almost through the pile, so I believe I will get back to my projects very soon!Oh, on a different stream of thoughts, I believe that I am a totally conflicted in my efforts to be more eco-conscious.
On one hand, I compost, plant my own vegetables in the summer, collect rainwater,recycle, am generally careful about reducing waste, reuse fabric from old clothes, and try to reduce my family's consumption of electricity and water.On the other hand, I drive a minivan (don't get me started on how much I would rather drive a teeny honda civic instead), live in the suburbs and use all sorts of appliances to make life more fun and convenient for me.
Yeah, it's not going to happen, people. I'm not going to be the "green" person I'd like to be.
However, I guess, we do little things here and there.
- I'd like to report that we've been successfully making homemade clothes detergent, and it's been going well. The clothings are still clean(cleaner?), and we are definitely using less packaging.
- I don't buy all-purpose cleaners for my kitchen counter tops anymore. Instead I fill a spray bottle with water and about 10-20 drops of tea tree oil. Sometimes I add a little white vinegar to the solution. The tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic that has an astringent smell to it that is not altogether unpleasant. Less chemicals, saving money and the environment? That's all good.
- My husband was so impressed with the laundry detergent, that he wanted to make dishwasher powder. Mainly because he can't stand the amount of detergent we go through, and he was certain that the commercial brands have all sorts of unnecessary fillers and chemicals in them. I was initially very wary about washing our dishes with this mixture. I did a lot of geeky reading of chemical sheets and toxicity of various chemicals that go into the mixture, to make sure we were not going to be poisoning ourselves. There was no indication that recipe is bad for health. No worse than commercial cleaners, even the eco-friendly ones, anyway. Well, we do eat off the dishes after all.
The recipe:
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of Washing Soda (not baking soda)
1/4 cup of Kosher Salt
1/4 cup of citric acid
Shake it all up, and store in an airtight container. We use about a tablespoon per wash. And yes, it works like a charm.
edit:
Some information on Borax for you reading pleasure.
http://greenliving.about.com/od/naturalcleaning/f/BoraxDishes.htm
http://www.greenfootsteps.com/borax-information.html
And Washing Soda
http://www.greenfootsteps.com/washing-soda.html
8 comments:
Haha fellow Dean Koontz lover. :D I love love love the Odd series.
Thanks for these eco tips. Been considering the whole homemade (baking soda) shampoo myself.
that's great - but WHERE do you buy BORAX?? or do you have to order it online?
THANKS
Just found your blog yesterday when I was googling 'homemade modelling clay' (which I made with my 4 year old, thanks!)
We use that very same laundry soap recipe, and I have been trying to find a good dishwashing powder recipe. Thanks for posting this, I am going to give it a try.
Also, you've inspired me to pull out the sewing machine from my basement, and try to learn to sew.
Great blog!
@star - Borax (and washing soda) can be found in the laundry aisle. I got my citric acid powder from a natural food store, but my husband tells me that they sell them at the wine-making stores. Oh, and some people substitute the citric acid with unsweetened lemon koolaid.
Good Luck!
Oh, I must try this, Su! Thanks!
But yeah, I know what you mean about not becoming as green as you'd like to be. I'm struggling with that too. We're going to have to go with a minivan soon, as much as I'd love to have another small car like my beloved Tercel.
OMG, I completely forgot about the book challenge I did on my blog! Your stack of books just reminded me. I need to check in with all of you on how you did. Me? I totally sucked. Didn't read a thing. Maybe I should do it again this year. Maybe. :)
I'll have to try the salt- I use just borax and baking soda, sometimes add the Koolaid. It doesn't always rinse clean, and it bugs me :)
I love Dean Koontz.Years ago I read every book he had at the time. I'm reading Johanna Lindsay romance novels right now. sexy
Su, I made this detergent last night and it's great. I didn't have time to search for citric acid (we have a winemaking shop downtown, but it was too far to hike in the rain) so I asked my husband to pick up lemon Kool-Aid as suggested... he could only find lemon-lime, but as it still had ascorbic acid in the ingredients, I went with it. It turned a bit green when it came in contact with the drops of water inside the machine, but it rinsed away just fine. Clean, sparkling dishes, and way fewer creepy chemicals than the commercial stuff. And it's cheap. Hooray!
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