Non-Toxic and Cheap Homemade Laundry Detergent

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I always wonder what this world would be like if we didn’t have to wear clothes. Did I make you spit up your morning coffee? Sorry.  Seriously, can you imagine all the clothing related industries that would become obsolete if we were allowed to run around with our birthday suits on? I say this to my daughter every time I iron her khakis, and she’d plug her ears with her [...]

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How to Make Dishwashing Liquid with Castile Soap

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As you might have guessed, I’m on a Castile Soap kick lately. I use it in my Dishwasher Detergent that makes my glass squeaky spotless clean and my wonderfully scrubby Soft Scrub. I think my upstate friend would be very jealous at how spotless my glasses come out. She has hard water and she says she has to use detergents with phosphate to make her glasses spotless. I wonder if [...]

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Non-Toxic and Cheap Dishwasher Detergent

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OK, the party is over. This middle aged, pampered, prima donna has to get back to doing the dishes after celebrating her 50th birthday. (And THANK YOU for all your birthday wishes. My “Fifty things to Remember” post received over 1100 page views! I feel so loved. ♥) And after my “AR” finished cooking – yes, he grilled this awesome Asian Citrus Salmon on my birthday and even brought home [...]

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7 Natural Stain Removers for Fabric

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I think someone should invent ONE stain remover for ALL stains. Period. Just one little bottle of magic solution that removes blood stain, wine, coffee, oil, grass, or whatever. Is that too much to ask? I know. I know. The chemical make up of these pesky stains are all different, ergo, different stains require different removers. Yeah, I get that. Well, I did some digging into the most common stains [...]

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Green Share and Earth Day

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I will be participating in an event again this year, called, “Green Share” I don’t know if you recall but Emily and I made seed packets last year and we distributed them to our neighbors. You can read about it here. We gave some to a neighbor who was packing to move to San Francisco. Hopefully, she planted the seeds and remembers us in the West Coast.  Since we shared [...]

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{Eco Tips} Decorate Sustainably

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If you are planning to re-decorate or renovate this spring, here are five sustainable tips. Conventional wallpaper often contains PVC. Look for papers made from renewable resources like pulp from bamboo. Check out these wall flats by Inhabitliving. Use recyclable carpet tiles so that you are not replacing the entire room when certain parts are stained. Use safe sealant on your particle board furniture to help keep the toxins from [...]

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{Eco Tips} 5 Ways to be Greener Today

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Here are today’s five ways to be greener: Use Smart Strip for your idling appliances. I know you unplug all your idling appliances but did you know that there is a power strip that turns off those appliances for you automatically? It’s called Smart Strip. It was even featured on Oprah! If you don’t have a low-flow toilet, put a half-gallon milk jug filled with water in the tank. Displacing [...]

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{Eco Tips} 5 Easy Ways To Be Greener Today

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If you think about being ‘green’ in a big monstrous scale, you’ll be overwhelmed. So I want to break them down into manageable chunks. You may already do many of these already, which means, you can see where you need to improve on and where you can feel good about yourself for being one step ahead. Avoid BPA. This might sound easy, but it’s not. This means, you shouldn’t take [...]

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10 Tips for Planning a Successful Garage Sale

Yes, folks. It will be spring soon. I promise. You couldn’t tell that from looking out my window right now as another doozy of a storm is well under way. But besides cleaning out the pantry and straightening out your thimble collection for the umteenth time, what you can do is plan a garage sale. Yes. Now. What else are you going to do with your time inside the house? [...]

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25 More Ways to Eat Sustainably

Hope you enjoyed the first 25 ways to eat sustainably. Here are 25 more ways. Save that Cooking Water – I have to admit, I never do this but what a great idea! When you blanch or steam vegetables, use the nutrient rich water to boil pasta or water the plant! (only if it doesn’t have oil or salt) EAT SAFER SEAFOOD! Any WILD fish from Alaska is SAFE to [...]

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25 Ways to Eat Sustainably

With my recent disappointment about genetically engineered salmon being pushed to be approved for food, I wanted to change my gear into thinking more positively and revisit the ways to eat more sustainably. Although I probably do most of it, I figured, it wouldn’t hurt to check the list again. This list, “50 ways to eat Sustainably” is from one of my favorite magazines, “Body and Soul “. 25 Ways [...]

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How to choose make-up for a teenager. Part 1

This guest post is written by my fifteen years old daughter Emily, who recently discovered what it’s like to buy make up for the first time. Her experience couldn’t be more timely as “The Story of Cosmetics” by Annie Leonard will be released today. See the video after the article. Many girls start to play around with make up when they are young. But when they become older in their [...]

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20 ways to save money while greening your life

I was honored to be asked to speak at a local High School’s Parent/Teacher/Student Association (PTSA) meeting on Wednesday on “How to save money while living green.” As you can imagine, I had so many ideas in my head whirling around, dying to be let out. I produced a comprehensive slide show and was able to keep the audience from falling asleep while I enthusiastically share my green ideas. I [...]

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Nontoxic way to polish your silverware

When I got married, my grandmother gave us a set of ‘his’ and ‘hers’ silver spoons and chopsticks. They came in a beautiful blue velvet case. I didn’t use them for over twenty years because, frankly, I was too lazy to clean them. But more than that, I hated the toxic silver polish that I had to use to clean them. I couldn’t fathom putting the spoon in my mouth [...]

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Green tips for after Christmas

Now that you are done with Christmas parties, family gatherings, meals, and exchanging gifts, think about these tips for greening your after- Christmas clean up. Recycle your Christmas tree Recycle Christmas lights if they are broken and if you don’t have LED lights, buy them now (they are probably on sale) for next year Recycle old batteries Buy rechargeable batteries Cut out gift tags from Christmas cards you don’t want [...]

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Green Gift Giving Tips

I know you have at least one or two people on your list that you have no stinking clue what to give this Christmas. They probably have everything and whatever they need, they can buy for themselves. Like your Uncle Bob or Aunt Ellen. What do you give to those kinds of people? How about sending them on a vacation where they can volunteer to work on an organic farm [...]

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Green Thanksgiving Part 2

If  you read my last post on Green Thanksgiving, you know that it’s a special holiday in my family and that I am planning to adopt a turkey this year. But besides that, I am looking into ways to make it a little more eco friendly this year. How? 1. I’m buying local and organic – that means, my vegetables, fruits, meats, and decorations will all come from local farmers [...]

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Green Thanksgiving Part 1

Thanksgiving is a special occasion in my family. My parents worked ten hours a day, six days a week, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. So my Mom never cooked a turkey in her life. Cooking turkey was my job. So I learned, early on, that a twenty-pound turkey can feed a family of five for three days, 5 lb bag of potatoes can make enough mashed potatoes to last five days, [...]

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The Ultimate Repurposing Part 2

Remember my post on Ultimate Repurposing? I am adding these to the list.

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Couch surfing; eco-friendly sport?

My husband loves college football and last weekend was his weekend of non-stop college football madness. At one point, he didn’t know which channel to flip to and which game to watch. But as he screamed with every passe and touch down, all I could think of was all the toxic plastic that went into making the astro turf that these kids were rolling around in and all the plastic [...]

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Saving Money while Being Green on The Mogul Mom

I am thrilled to tell you about my guest post,  “9 ways to be green and save money at the office”, on a popular business blog called The Mogul Mom. Heather Allard, who’s behind the site, is an awesome mentor for all mompreneurs (and dadpreneurs) who want to take their business to the next level. She built a successful copywriting business, developed two best selling products and sold them at [...]

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Green Halloween Tips

I confess. I don’t like Halloween. There. That wasn’t so bad. I guess you can call me Mrs. Halloween Scrooge. I just don’t like all the waste that this “unusual” holiday creates. Plastic pumpkins, candy wrappers, paper bags, plastic bags, and so on. Also, what other country in the world has a holiday where you dress up as a character, supposedly scary, and threaten people for candies? And then, throw [...]

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Ten Green (and Frugal) Driving Tips

Don’t have a Prius or a Highlander but you still want to save the planet? No, you don’t have to ride a bike (although that will save you a ton of gas) or walk (that will also save you a ton of gas and get a good cardio workout – an added bonus!) or buy a Prius (expensive initial investment but future savings AND it IS the car of choice [...]

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Veggie Trader

This is a short post about something I just discovered. You may have heard about it already since you are so savvy and I’m just not your average farmer but I got really excited about this website called Veggie Trader. And it’s FREE to join. Did you have a great farming season? Do you have an abundant tomato crop this year? How about kale? Carrots?  Or may be you didn’t [...]

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How to get FREE fabric and be eco friendly

That’s right. FREE! Read what I did recently. I stopped by a local upholstery fabric store last week. I can never afford anything in there but I like to peruse the aisles hoping something will be on, like, 90% off SALE . It doesn’t cost anything to wish or window shop, right? Well, I found this wicker basket on the floor, filled with $1 per piece fabric swatches. I dove [...]

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BPA in Sigg Water Bottles

Yep. You read it correctly. Just when you thought you were doing the right thing by buying reusable aluminum bottles to avoid BPA in plastic bottles, now the story hits the news about Sigg bottles having liners with trace amounts of BPA. What now? Well, according to the letter from the CEO of Sigg, Steve Wasik, these old aluminum Sigg bottles that were manufactured before 2008 were lined with epoxy [...]

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Backpack safety tips for children

Carrying heavy backpacks are common among school age children and that’s a problem. According to a study conducted by the Simmons College Graduate Program in Physical Therapy, over 55 percent of teenagers carry backpacks that are over 15% of their body weight, a limit that is recommended by American Chiropractic Association as well as American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. By the end of their teen years, for example, more than [...]

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Farmers Market vs. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

I’ve been enjoying Saturday morning’s ritual of going to a local farmers market with my family  this summer. We don’t stay in bed late, we don’t sit around in jammies foraging for breakfast food – we get ready early, and with market bags in hands, we run out the door  in order to make it to the local farmers market before fresh eggs and our favorite vegetables are sold out. [...]

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What’s under your kitchen sink?

I’ve been meaning to change the water filters under my kitchen sink since last week. If you remember one of my old articles, I showed you what my dirty filters look like. (*Wow..I like this photo framing and caption feature. Sorry, I digress.) Well, they looked pretty filthy last week and I was getting so frustrated with the trickling amount of cold water coming out of the faucet because they [...]

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Happy Fourth of July!

courtesy of Avlor Imprints I know many of you are BBQ’ing to celebrate this holiday and while you are enjoying the outdoor celebrations, think about these ways to ‘green’ your Fourth of July this weekend and future picnics this summer. 1. Stay locally for your celebration – I’m sure there are tons of celebration going on this weekend around your neighborhood. Check your local Park and Recreation Department for fireworks [...]

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How to dispose of CFL bulbs

I changed all my incandescent bulbs to CFL bulbs when they first came out. Luckily, I haven’t broke any but I know they contain mercury, albeit, very little but wondered how to dispose of them if they break. The instruction says not to just throw them away with the regular trash but to a designated place in your area. But if they break, say, in your living room, is there [...]

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Front Loading Washer Maintenance

I admit. I was drawn to the sleek and sexy look of the front-loading washing machines when they first came out. I always wanted one. Also, ergonomically, it made more sense for my back not to bend down repeatedly to load the washer, like the top loader. Then, the whole eco-friendly reasons for owning one started to make me want it even more. “You mean, I can save on electricity [...]

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Here comes the sun…little darling

It was ‘goy-geous’ today in NY. And the Beatles’ tune stayed in my head all day. I mean, I couldn’t have asked for a better weather. It was sunny, 80 degrees with clear blue skies with no humidity. And lucky for us, it will be like this, for the rest of the week. I used to love days like this but unlike another song, sunshine on my shoulders doesn’t make [...]

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iRecycle – Earth911.com iPhone App

Earth 911 is one of my favorite green websites. It announced recently that it created an application for iPhone to locate recycling centers near you. Read below for more details. iRecycle makes it easy to find recycling locations anywhere in the U.S. Find places to drop-off your old cell phone (or water bottle or motor oil or… well, you get the idea), get directions and find out what else they [...]

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Bad Guys for Beauty Part 3 – the good guys

This is the final part of the series, “Bad Guys for Beauty”. Now that the bad guys have been revealed, here are the good guys for you and where you can buy some good guys for your body on Etsy. Ascorbic Acid – Vitamin C Keeps products from spoiling, stimulates production of collagen, which slows as you age, and minimize fine lines. Organic Lavender Face Food Moisturizer-Paraben Free by Greensprings0 [...]

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Swine Flu – Update

Since the time I posted about Swine Flu this morning, World Health Organization has increased the alert level to Phase 5 – the second highest. Dr Margaret Chan, WHO’s Director-General, stated that “all countries should immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans.” This pandemic has gotten the attention of the biggest health organization in the world and has the world on notice about this influenza. But, again, this doesn’t mean run [...]

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Swine Flu – Closer Look

My husband has a sinus infection, complicated by seasonal allergy. But when he said he wasn’t feeling well and looked like he had a fever, we all panicked and asked, “Do you have the Swine Flu?” We’ve been inundated by the news about Swine Flu and of course, that was the first thing that came to our minds. And the word “Pandemic” doesn’t help our nerves either. Just this morning, [...]

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Whole Living and Country Living

Do you feel like 24 hours in a day is never enough? Can you use another day in a week? Do you have a pile of magazines and newspaper sections that you save to read ‘later’ when you have the ‘time’? I do too. But there are two magazines that I always read cover to cover before they hit the ‘pile’ as I carry them from the mailbox. One talks [...]

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Eco-Friendly Supplies

When I want to create something from scratch and not upcycle from existing resources, I always look for supplies that are eco-friendly and sustainable. For example, I’ll buy organic and bamboo yarns whenever I can; when they are on sale, when I see colors I like and only when I need them. So I thought I’d list the supplies I use and would like to use in the future here. [...]

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Eco-Friendly Shipping

In an attempt to make my shop appear little bit more quaint but eco-friendly, I decided to use stamped paper tags to attach to my items when I ship. But I didn’t want to order custom printed virgin or recycled paper tags that I’d have to reorder all the time. I wanted to use my own ink and stamp them. So I ordered a stamp from a shop on Etsy [...]

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When to buy organic – Dirty Dozen and Clean 15

I try to buy organic products as much as possible. But lately, with frugality being the name of the game, I tend to question, “Can I get away with buying non-organic for this one?” before I pick up a bag of oranges or potatoes. So I researched to see what I can get away with. According to Consumer Reports….. Buy these items organic as often as possible Apples, bell peppers, [...]

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Save money while saving the environment

I’m sorry it’s so late in the day but I had no electricity today as it’s been windy and we’ve been having kinda weird weather pattern since yesterday. But you’ll like this post as it’s about saving money AND the environment. You know how my Mom and Mother-In-Law inspired me to be a recycler? Well, they might have always reused and recycled things because they were being frugal and not [...]

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The Ultimate Repurposing Ideas

Stilleto –> Planter Snitary Napkin –> Soothing Eye Mask Bikini –> Carryall Miniskirt –> Lampshade Courtesy of More Magazine

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Bathroom Talk. Really.

What? There is a “wrong” way to hang toilet paper?” “Give me a break”,  you say? Read on. Why? Because…. According to Current Configuration, the natural curve of the over-hung method allows the roll to stand fast after a one-handed tear, but the under-hung method creates a tendency in the roll. This tendency can only lead to this: Wasted paper, frustration, the destruction of our forests results when toilet paper [...]

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What to do with used tea bags

I started to drink more tea lately since there is so much information on how great tea is and how it’s with loaded antioxidants. Here is an excerpt from Harvard Health Publication’s article titled, Benefit of drinking green tea: The proof is in — drinking tea is healthy, says Harvard Women’s Health Watch. Tea’s health benefits are largely due to its high content of flavonoids — plant-derived compounds that are [...]

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Eco IQ Quiz

I thought this would start the week right……by taking a short pop quiz. Hold on, you’ll do fine. Besides, no one will know how you did. Take this short quiz to test your eco-IQ when it comes to buying and using environmentally friendly products. (Don’t cheat but the answers are below.) What makes the air in U.S. homes an average of 2-5 times more polluted than the air outside? A [...]

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Organic Watchdog Cornucopia Institute

I don’t like grocery shopping. I am always in a hurry and I sometimes buy items that I didn’t mean to buy or forget to buy something because I didn’t see it on the right shelf. So when I go to a local supermarket or Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, I, sometimes, find myself frustrated because “Organic” items are mixed in with “Conventional”. I have to read every label and [...]

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Recycled Valentines Day

Valentine’s Day is just four days away. But it’s still not too late to shop for that “love” of your life. Whether it’s your partner, daughter, mother, or a friend, I thought these will make great gifts. These are all from my Etsy shop made with upcycled or recycled materials. The felt material used in the embroidery frame and ornament are from recycled post consumer plastic products, the cotton yarns [...]

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Say ‘No’ to Paper Cups

I realized today that I haven’t bought paper cups in awhile. I run my dishwasher once every two days and I noticed there’s been more cups in it. And then, it occurred to me that I haven’t bought paper cups in a while and we’ve been using glasses. When my kids were younger, we used paper cups and plastic cups instead of glass for obvious safety reasons. I’ll admit, it [...]

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Time for Popcorn!

The schools are closed and the kids are home from a Snow Day today. There’s about a foot of snow on the ground already. It’s kind of a sipping hot cocoa and watching a good holiday movie kind of a day. And, of course, we can’t forget popcorn. We haven’t had microwavable popcorn in our house for years. Originally, I stopped buying them because of Teflon coated popcorn bags. I [...]

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Save money while saving energy

My husband is a Mr. Gadget. He loves the latest, the fastest, the sleekest, and the coolest electronic gadgets that come off the assembly line. But utility cost and how much energy they consume are on our minds when we purchase these fancy electronic gismos. Read below and compare energy costs and how much actual energy they consume when you are considering buying them as gifts this year. This chart [...]

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My Favorite Green Products

It’s only been recent that I have been able to find “natural” cleaning products in the local supermarket aisles. I don’t have to go to the “Green Market” to find them anymore. What’s even better, the prices have come down too. Even Clorox makes its own line of “Green Works” now. The big guns are catching up. Finally, they noticed what we want. This is a list of products I’ve [...]

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Wake up and smell the coffee

Single Cup Coffee Machines If you are like me, I can’t start the day without a strong cup of coffee. We bought the fancy Single Cup Coffee maker about five years ago when it didn’t even hit the stores yet. It was so much fun to make the coffee that I would drink day and night, just to play with the machine. But, I soon realized how wasteful those single [...]

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Freecycle

If you are like me, you have things that you can’t use but you can’t even think about throwing them out either. You can always donate to Goodwill but can’t haul it to the store or can’t seem to get your act together to make arrangements to have them be picked up. Well, an organization called Freecycle.org is your answer. You can list your item, find a person who wants [...]

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Christmas Sale and Eco Tips on Gift Wrapping

Now that you had your Thanksgiving turkey and are thinking about Christmas, I just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to drive and waste gas to go shopping for gifts. You can do all your Christmas shopping on Etsy. It’s a great place to buy handmade goods, support artisans all over the world, and find some great deals. I am offering FREE SHIPPING until Christmas on all U.S. [...]

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Funding Factory – recycle and raise money???

How would you like to recycle and raise funds for your favorite charity or a school? I found this company called the Funding Factory that donates money to a non-profit organization or a school of your choice for every ink cartridge or cell phone you send them. Your kids can get involved and they’ll feel great about recycling even more. You can set up a program, better yet, your kids [...]

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Help! I’m hooked on reusable bags

I went to one of those wholesale clubs yesterday. I love those places because I can buy in bulk, which means, less packaging. And they don’t give out bags so you can reuse their empty boxes to pack them in or bring your own bags. What a concept. When I first went to one years ago, I thought, “How rude that they don’t pack them for you in bags…like in [...]

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Upcycled Garbage Box for the Car

Do you have a garbage can or a bag in the car? Try using an empty garbage bag box. It’s little bigger than a tissue box and when it fills up, you can throw away the whole box or if it’s still in shape and not wet, you can reuse it. You don’t have to buy a garbage can or one of those plastic lined garbage bag for the car. [...]

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Paper or Plastic? Neither

No doubt about it, plastic can be a lifesaver. Or at least make life convenient. But it can be lethal too. The latest plastic news that hit the media was relating to Bi Phenol – A (BPA) found in popular Nalgene water bottles and baby bottles. But it’s also in places that we can’t even imagine….like on the lining of milk cartons and on organic banana stems!! Even the famous [...]

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Cleaning with Vinegar and Baking Soda

Silly me, I talked about vinegar and baking soda and didn’t tell you the formula. I have spray bottles under every sink in my house, filled with 50/50 vinegar and water solution. I spritz with the bottle whenever I see marks on the mirror or on the counter top. For tougher stains I use 100% vinegar. The smell will dissipate within seconds so don’t be scared with the initial odor. [...]

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Green Cleaning with Vinegar and Baking Soda

I enjoy cleaning. It’s therapy. But gagging or holding my breath because of the toxic fumes from the commercial cleansers when I’m cleaning is not therapeutic. So, I use all natural, your average household items that I find in the cupboards to clean. What’s my secret? White vinegar and baking soda!! They are inexpensive and time tested gem of cleaners. Vinegar has so many uses in our daily lives that [...]

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