Knowing is half the battle!

For the record, I grew up in a very environmentally friendly home.  Most of my tips, like using baking soda as a cleaning agent, were from my mother.  My father was a huge proponent of recycling and we've been doing it for as long as I can remember.  We opt for reusable towels to clean up spills and clean counter tops rather than paper towels.  We've never run water when we're brushing our teeth and the rule in our house is if you're not using the light, shut it off.  We also leave the thermostat below 70 at all times, and the heat cycles, leaving the heat below 65 when no one's home and when we're all bundled up sleeping.  We're not perfect though, I have my moments when I run the water for longer than I should when I'm washing my face.  Occasionally a light is left on when no one's in the room and showers can last far too long especially in the winter.  However, being conscious about it is important. 

Being conscious of your output is important.  I'm not saying get rid of your car, never use a chemical again, don't eat red meat.  I'm saying sacrifice where you know it won't bother you too much.  There are certain places in my house that need a heavier cleaning job and so I have certain cleaners in my home for those areas.  Also, I have never been, nor will I ever be, a vegetarian.  I love red meat, but the cattle industry is pretty bad when it comes to greenhouse gases.



"When emissions from land use and land use change are included, the livestock sector accounts for 9 per cent of CO2 deriving from human-related activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful greenhouse gases. It generates 65 per cent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2. Most of this comes from manure."
29 November 2006, UN News Centre


So, if you cut down your red meat consumption to once a week it will not only help your health (big plus!) but it will be an environmentally friendly way to live.

The hard part of living in an environmentally friendly way is the frustration.  Firstly, one constant suggestion in the media is to buy your produce at farmers markets.  That's all well and good but if you live in the northern half of the country we don't always have that option.  Then we end up at the grocery store, buying produce from halfway around the world which isn't good, but do we really want to deal with no fruits and veggies all winter long?  I think not.  Also, if you're down to read meat once a week that means you need to get your protein elsewhere (and if you're not into tofu I'm right there with you) so that means chicken or fish.  Fish can be a problem because certain types of fish are being severely over-fished.  Here's a list of the good, bad, and the ugly in the fished population.  So being environmentally concious can be a pain, but knowing is half the battle.  Just being aware of how your dietary choices, and your daily household choices can affect your imprint on the environment!  I don't believe that environmentally friendly living should rule your life, but it should definitely be a part of it.

My second love...

I couldn't help myself from another entry, so here goes nothing...

I love baking soda and all, but I have another lovely natural thing that I love.  LEMONS!  They are the greatest!  Firstly, they come in handy when you're trying to clean.  One of the best tips I ever heard was from a friend of mine who suggested that I cut a lemon in half and microwave it in a microwave safe dish for a few minutes.  The steam from the lemon will make it easy to clean your microwave and it'll smell lemon-y fresh!

It is also one of the best things for a beauty remedy.  If you get dry scaly hands in the winter, a good thing to do is to take half a lemon and rub it all over your hands.  It'll burn a bit, but the citric acid will help dissolve the dead skin.  Apply a nice strong moisturizer and your hands should be feeling pretty good.  Another thing to try is to steam your face over a pot of boiling water with lemon slices in it.  Just boil the water and then when it's nice and hot, hang a towel over your head and let the steam do it's thing.  It'll open your pores up and it also helps if you're not feeling great and have a bit of congestion.  If you'd rather not shove your head over a pot (understandable) you can take a long hot steamy bath instead.  If you add slices of lemon, the citric acid helps get rid of dead skin as aforementioned.  Added bonus:

Brown Sugar and Honey Scrub
1/8 C brown sugar (dark or light, whatever you have on hand)
1/8 C honey
mix together, it'll be a bit thick

After you've soaked in the bath for a while, take small finger scoop of scrub and use circular motions over your entire body.  Take extra care at your very dry spots.  You can also use this scrub on your face.  After you rinse off make sure you coat yourself in body lotion or a body cream.  It should leave you looking shiny and new and feeling renewed!

Also, a good use for lemon is to just add it to your water.  It adds a little bit of crisp clean flavor to your water while adding a little bit more Vitamin C to your day!

It also helps to make some delectable desserts.  A good lemon cake can be a luscious addition to any picnic or party, and a lemon-ginger creme brulee is a fresh end to a hearty winter meal.  (Recipes to follow!)

AN ODE TO BAKING SODA: My new best friend.

For my first post, I am going to share one of my absolute favorite products in the entire world that I could not live without.  Baking Soda is my magical secret ingredient to a happy and clean life.  Firstly, baking soda acts as an abrasive, while also absorbing oils making it a perfect cleaning product for your kitchen counters, stoves, etc.  Also, I like to use it when scrubbing my tub.  More recently I had a serious problem with some moldly looking gross-ness in a corner of the tub and scrubbing it with some baking soda got rid of it.  YES you might use more elbow grease if you are using baking soda instead of one of those sprays.  HOWEVER, consider that replacing dirt and grime with chemicals on your counters may not be the best thing to do.  Article on accidental poisoning of kids in the U.S.. 

Another use of baking soda is to use it as a facial scrub.  It's fine enough that it won't irritate your skin and it will soak up alot of excess oils in your skin.  I would suggest only using this once or twice a week.  I personally like to just put the baking soda in my hands, add a little bit of water to make it into a runny paste and then work it around my skin.  If you'd rather you can add a little to your face wash.  Make sure you use a circular motion and you're not just rubbing it up and down, which will just irritate skin.  Also make sure that you moisturize after doing this, as anytime you scrub you should moisturize after. 

I also use baking soda in the fridge, to eliminate odors as is always seen in the commercials.  Plus you can add a scoop to your laundry to get rid of any added stink (we don't use scented laundry soap or any fabric softener in my house because of a friend's sensitivity to chemicals so this is a certain way to get rid of any unwanted smells). 

Also if you mix together equal parts baking soda and baby powder you can make an at-home dry shampoo.  It doesn't always work so well with darker shades (as a brunette, I've only used it once when I was recovering from surgery and didn't want to deal with the hassle of washing my hair), but for lighter shades it works quite conveniently.  I would definitely suggest this to anyone who has oily hair as a way to avoid overwashing your strands (as this can strip your hair of all natural oils and lead to breakage, split ends, and excessive purchases of shampoo and conditioner which can get expensive!).  I like to use a powder brush from my makeup collection and dust it over my strands, then brush it through with a natural bristle brush. 

These are just some of the ways that baking soda is a fantastic product that can be used in so many numerous ways.  Buy a huge box, get a container to keep it in and you'll have a product to keep your skin fresh, your hair oil free, and your house clean and smelly-free!