In the spirit of Valentine’s Day I thought I would highlight some ways to keep date night a green affair. Date night is something I hope that all couples are able to take advantage of at least once a month. It is so easy to lose your identity as a lover and partner when you have kids, home, work, bills, and all that other stuff that takes over our lives. I know I certainly let myself forget how important it was to stay connected to my husband over the years. Heck we didn’t even celebrate our anniversaries anymore. My husband and I have always been best friends but we had lost sight of putting time together first and foremost. We forgot how to be a champion for each other and be that soft landing place when things got tough. We re-committed to making sure we had couples time as much as possible and it has been amazing for us. Just before I sat down to write this post I was on the phone planning date night for the month.

Like a lot folks though we have to keep in mind things like budget and time. We have to get creative. As a family seeking greener pastures and healthier lives we also have to keep in mind our impact on our bodies and planet. Here are some ideas in that regard.

The Main Event

Share the Shower – Okay so this might occur before the date but it’s a great way to start nonetheless. Conserve resources by showering together. If you get er… sidetracked, with some other stuff while in there, just turn the water off for a spell and then resume. We have a nifty showerhead that actually comes in handy in that regard… it has a pause control built in. ;)

In House Date Night – Due to time, money, or lack of childcare it may be necessary to stay in for the night and that is a great green option. Stream a movie via Netflix or rent one from RedBox. Send the kids to bed, grab some blankets, and lounge on the couch or floor as you watch. You could also have a late dinner together with soy candles and music. Cook a pizza shaped like a heart or grill some steaks while you sip wine. If the weather is nice you could take it outside even. Find ways to take the ordinary and change it up a bit to make it special.

Take a Couples Class - Many cities and towns offer special classes for adults through their parks and recreation department. You could take a class on cooking, bread baking, painting, dance, ceramics, martial arts, a foreign language, or even a sport. Many of these classes can be done on the weekends when childcare might be easier to arrange. You better yourself, you have fun, and you spend time together, it’s a win-win. Bonus points for staying close to home and perhaps carpooling with another couple.

Get Active Together – Many of us talk about how we want to get back to playing tennis, go jogging more, or perhaps take up a sport. Why not do it together? Buy or rent bicycles or roller blades and start exploring your immediate neighborhood together. You won’t feel so embarrassed to fall on your tush if your partner is there next to you falling on theirs. Spend an evening at a local skate rink. Play Frisbee or croquet in the yard. Think about those active things your younger self would have loved to do on a date and do those!

Go Shopping – Ethically – If you want to exchange gifts or wear something special for date night check out local thrift stores. My husband and I also enjoy thrifting together and will often make a date to go thrift shopping when the kids are all in school. You can find great, high quality stuff at second hands stores! We also like to hit up natural grocers and farmer’s markets together. We walk the isles chatting, reading food labels, and finding new foods that are local to our area. You could also spend an afternoon hitting up yard sales or go to an estate sale. You spend time together and you keep your impact low by shopping green.

House Tours – For weekend fun spend an afternoon touring Open Houses. Try to keep it within 5-10 miles of your house. This is more fun if you don’t currently own a home or if you plan to buy another soon. That way you get to think about, and dream about, your future nest.

Go Organic and Local – Scout out smaller restaurants and cafes that use local foods. Bonus points for organic and/or pastured. It is fun finding these little local gems and also trying them. You are supporting your local economy when you do. Though it may not be local you can also buy organic liquor.

The After Party

Greener Bedroom Decor – The bedroom area might need a little ambiance. LED twinkle lights are perfect for bedrooms and they are a greener option. If you can find red ones, even better. That is what I have. These heart shaped lights run on batteries, so remember to use rechargeable ones. Just remember to unplug them before you go to sleep. Candles are another nice option but they do contribute to indoor air pollution. If you want to forgo them try flameless LED candle lights. We love these. For sheets go with organic cotton or bamboo.

Planet Friendly Birth Control – The greenest birth control method if NFP, followed by sterilization probably. If you want to avoid pregnancy and do not feel comfortable with either of those options check out this post for other options.

Greener Sex Aids/Toys – You can get organic personal lubricants from Good Clean Love. They also make love oils using essential oils. Sliquid Organics Silk is another good one. For sex toys just say no to phthalates. They can cause cancer, impair fertility, and damage our reproductive organs. You can find plastic or silicone ones that vibrate and have no phthalates. If you don’t need battery power then go for wood or glass. The glass ones are beautiful! In fact check out all the green sex stuff at Eden Fantasies. Good stuff!

Eco Lingerie – Each year I see more and more organic and sustainable lingerie options. The go to place in my mind is Etsy. You get high quality lingerie and you support small business.

Are you ready for date night yet?

Valid December 12 and 13, 2011 only.

CamelBak Stainless Steel , 0.75L Reusable Water Bottle

CamelBak Stainless Steel, Kids 12 oz Water Bottle

I started reviewing Conscious Boxes last month and fell in love with them if you recall. This month I got their holiday box and I got it at a discounted rate through a group buy place called Organic Soul. It is no longer available there but I will be keeping an eye there for more great deals. You can go to the company site if you want your own holiday box or if you want to order one as a gift.

On to the goodies! Here is a quick view of this jam packed box:

Berryplus – Is it strange that the thing that excited me the most when I opened the box was the circular container of laundry soap. I just couldn’t get over the cute packaging (contained 2 tubes for 2 loads of laundry) and the wonderful smell!It is 95% berry-based and 100% plant-based. The formula sounds awesome but the little microdoses will mean you have to recycle lots of little plastic tubes.

Chimes Orange Ginger Chews – I am not a fan of ginger candy usually (too hot for me) but wow, I really liked these orange/ginger chews. My husband thought he would luck into the whole bag since ginger candy is a fave of his but not this time pal.

Yummy Earth Organic Lollipop – My 5 year old lollipop expert got to test run this one. The verdict? Most delicious. Mom thinks they might be a much better alternative than candy canes this season.

22 Days Daily Mocha Mantra bar - This is a gluten free, soy free (thank you!) vegan protein bar made with raw and organic superfoods. The concept is that it takes 22 days of eating these to break your dependence on some other, inferior, food product. I love soy free protein bars so it was a hit with me for that reason alone but it also tastes really good, although it has a very strong coffee taste that initially put me off. Took a few bites to get used to. ;) Since there is no soy, it is based upon hemp and rice protein.

Sparklehearts Sparkly Body Lotion - We haven’t used this yet but we will! My daughter adores lotions, potions, and sparkly stuff but mom often nixes this stuff due to its toxic ingredients. Yeah, I am a big meanie. Anyway this lotion is petroleum free, paraben free, and phthalate free, and 99.6% natural. It uses natural mica for the sparkles and while I “may” nix that ingredient in a powdered product I feel comfortable allowing it in lotion form for my girlie. We will test out our little sample soon and this may end up in her Christmas stocking if she likes it.

ORAC Green Superfood from Amazing Grass – I already have a long term love affair with Amazing Grass. Anything they make is going to get a thumbs from me. The whole family actually… we heart them. Remember this video?

Mineral Fusion Mineral Body Lotion – We got the waterstone aroma and I am totally feeling as though I have entered some bizarre parallel universe. Between this Conscious Box and the last one I have slathered myself with more lotion than I had in 1 or 2 years combined I think. I kinda like it. And of course I love that it is natural and safe stuff.

drTungs Snap-On Toothbrush Sanitizer - This is a really interesting device. It supposedly releases all natural, anti bacterial vapors to kill germs and safely sanitize your toothbrush between brushings. You are supposed to replace after 60 days and it is also supposed to be 100% biodegradable though the packaging did not share what type of bioplastic it is made of. I will likely save this to use while traveling because we have a Violight to sanitize our toothbrushes and the whole family can use it.

Ostara Organics – Woot! This package had a small artist/mom biz feel to it. I also like the use of Ostara (Easter) in the name… has a pagan, earthy, goddess vibe and my oh my the included soy wax fragrance chunk smells good! The scent is “Colorado Holiday Wassail” I really wish I had a tart warmer so I could use it. May er.. have to buy one and keep this is stock.

Also loved the Lavender Mint Goatmilk Soap in this package.

Eat Cleaner Fruit + Vegetable Wipe - At first I thought these were handy wipes for kids but they are actually wipes for cleaning fruit and veggies before eating. I cannot see us using these but I will drop this one in my farmer’s market bag for when we can’t wait to to get home to sample the goodies.

Sacred Mountain Herbals Champa Vegan Soap – Infused with herbs and herbal tea and it smells delicious! Soaping up with this was a religious experience AND the paper that wraps it is seeded with wildflowers so we can save it and plant it in our garden. How fun is that?!! For pure magic and cleverness this may be my fave product in the box.

Uni-Fresh Cinnamon Air Freshener – This is made by Earth Friendly Products and it contains real cinnamon oils. The smell is yummy of course and it reminds me of the holidays. The timing for this was perfect because I was very sad this week to discover that my Aura Cacia Candy Cane spray was all gone and apparently discontinued.

Resveratrol from Reserveage Organics – Nice size bottle! I have heard some raves about this product but it not something I would have likely sprung for, even if I am “just” starting to get concerned about aging. It uses organic French red-wine grapes and wild crafted natural Polygonum cuspidatum root extract. This potent, rejuvenating blend with increased resveratrol levels, is supposed to maximize health benefits and reserve your youth naturally. Vegetarian and no soy (woot). I’ll give it try. Why not?

Yogi Tea – Got Bedtime and Green tea Kombucha blends. I am not a tea person but I am sure my hubby will drink these.

Justin’s Maple Almond Butter – oooh baby.. this is good. It splashes up a sliced apple for a great pre-workout meal. I cannot eat too much before I swim or run or I will get cramps but I still need fuel. Usually I just eat a small apple with some peanut butter but this product provides a nice change of pace.

Dropwise Aromatherapy Mister in Inspiration - 100% pure essential oil aromatherapy blend. Safe and gentle enough to use on your face. Spray it on your hair, your clothes, your linens, or just around you to cleanse the air and create an ambience. Smells very good!

Can you believe all of that was in this little box? Still lovin this concept…

So it goes to follow that if you use a negative-ion generator in your home you can benefit from the negative ions and the biochemical reaction they will create inside your body. Negative-ion generators also usually (from what I have seen) tend to be coupled with air purifiers. The air is cleaned of pollutants and allergens and it gets dosed with the happy molecules. I have been using air purifiers to do just that in my own home for well over a month now and have been VERY happy with the results.

I have two of the Permatech Ionizing Air Cleaners by Bionaire. With those we use Aer1 Ready Air Purifiers that get rid of germs and allergens. We have cleaner indoor air, it smells nice and clean in the house, allergens and germs are being filtered out, and optionally you can use the negative ion generator to fill the air with mood boosting negative ions. Typically I let the machine downstairs run for most of the day with the ion generator running for 3 to 4 hours in the morning. In the late evening I turn on the unit upstairs and we all breathe in fresh air while we sleep. They are slim units so we don’t worry about space. They have a washable pre-filter, which helps maximize filtration by the HEPA-Type filter, a filter service reminder, speed options, and a remote control. I can remember that I forgot to turn it on or off while I am sitting at my desk and just click the remote control to take care of that. Time to turn off the ionizer? Done in one click.

I think I have already seen a big improvement in my mood since using them but how to do verify something like that? Especially when you are also doing a variety of other things to combat moodiness as well. I can only say that I think they help. I KNOW they help with making the air cleaner and fresher though. We recently took a fake Christmas tree off the hands of some family members and it had been stored in their really musty basement. When we set it up at our house it stank to high heaven and made the whole house smell like rank basement. My first instinct was to break out the “birthday cake” soy candle and that worked only as long as it was lit, to mask the smell. Then I remembered (DUH!) that I could turn on the air purifier. Within 24 hours the smell was gone and I haven’t noticed it since. It was silly of me to forget because when we first moved to Ohio we were living in a 150 year old house and it smelled really old. My parents brought a similar but bigger air purifier into the house and within a few days all we smelled was clean air (no scent at all).

All in all, we are pleased as punch to have these purifiers. I had high expectations, hoping it would be a mood booster AND clean the air but it works on all counts, I am pleased to say. When we finally get a dog (my daughter is allergic) we will see just how well they filter out allergens too.

Disclosure: I received a free air purifier from Bionaire and Aer1 Filters (click for a filter coupon), plus several free filters to review, all words and opinions are mine of course. Many thanks to them for their generosity!

I got a great email question from a reader this week and decided to answer it on the blog. I think more and more people are wanting to transition from the Standard American Diet and easily available processed food to real, healthy, homemade goodness. The issue of course is that we find ourselves unprepared to cook real food because we are so used to heat and serve style meals. When we want to cook and bake from scratch we need the right tools so that we can stick with his new lifestyle and not decide that it is ultimately too much work. Our health will improve and so will our impact on the planet so it is important that we manage to set up our kitchen to make it easier to eat real food!

Here is what Danielle had to say:

Hello from Wisconsin. I have one daughter and trying for another. I have just recently become more aware of the choices I make for the my family and the impact it has on all of us. I started out by bringing my own bags to the grocery store, making my daughter her own baby food, getting rid of paper towels altogether, and a few other little changes. My goal for the new year is going to be making all our own food from scratch. Whether it’s snacks, dinner, smoothies, ect. With that being said, do you have any suggestions as to cookware and/or kitchen tools to help with doing so?

I have been trying to go back to a lot of your older posts and learning but as you probably know with having a little one I don’t get much time to do so. What are some of the best tips you could give me as to making my family and our house more green? As most of the people these days, we are on a budget. So I am hoping to make changes in small increments.

The following are some of the things I think a real food kitchen needs. As with anything you can start small and add things as you can. Also depending on what you are cooking some of these things may not apply to you but hopefully these ideas give you a place to start. Make sure to comment and add YOUR must have kitchen tool at the bottom of this page.

What You Need for a Real Foods Kitchen

Vita-Mix – My number #1 must have for the kitchen would have to be the Vita-Mix. I use mine literally all the time and have even joked that if the house were burning down I would run back inside to grab my camera and this amazing blender. We use it for making homemade nut butters, almond milk, butter, crackers, baby food (back in the day), popsicles, ice cream, sorbet, smoothies, mixed drinks, salsa, soup, raw cookies and desserts, and so much more. It is one of those gadgets that is always out on the counter because someone in the house will use it… at least 2 or 3 times each day. It is an expensive item but worth every penny and then some. If you have one you may not even need an immersion blender or a food processor plus you can buy a separate dry container for grinding your own flour.

I also have a Blendtec but I like the Vita-mix better.

A Dutch Oven – You can buy many different types of Dutch Ovens from the posh and stylish Le Creuset to the uber affordable Lodge Logic. The latter option works swimmingly so unless looking at that French version will make you super happy you can just go with the cheaper option. I use my cast iron Lodge Logic oven for making soups and stews when I don’t have time for a crock-pot. And as you can see below I also use it to make whole wheat sourdough bread on occasion.

Pressure Cooker – Okay, so you planned things REALLY badly and you need to cook up something really fast but you want that slow cooked for hours taste. You need a pressure cooker. If you’re are a meat eater you can also turn out really tender and juicy dishes using traditionally tough cuts of meat and you can do it 20 minutes instead of 2 hours. Some units can be used as a canner as well. I have no personal experience with these but I hear I am getting one for Christmas!

Crock-pot – These are perfect for meals with long cooking times… think chicken noodle soup, meatloaf, or chili. You can use a dutch oven or pressure cooker to get the job done faster but you may not want to heat your oven (summer) or you may need to cook while away from home. Since crock-pots plug into the wall and don’t require a stove they are perfect for slow cooking meals while you are working. You can also put them on a timer and have them start cooking while you are sleeping… ala overnight oatmeal.

I use my crock-pot more often than my dutch oven simply because I like to do all the food prep while my kids are at school. It can get hectic in the evening to have to chop all the veggies and such. For meals that only need 30 minutes or so, like my Potato Leek Soup, I use the cast iron dutch oven. Can’t wait to see how the pressure cooker works itself into the equation.

Bean Pot – These awesome pots can be used to soak and also cook your beans. I have an antique one that I got as a gift but you can also buy them new.

Dehydrator – I have an Excalibur food dehydrator and it is almost essential if you enjoy raw foods. In mine I have made cookies, crackers, dried fruit, fruit rolls, almond flour from almond pulp, and many other raw food dishes. They are also great for campers and hikers because you can make home cooked meals and then dehydrate instead of buying those freeze dried packets at sporting goods stores. Being able to dry fruit is a great way to preserve foods for winter time consumption.

Rice Cooker – If you eat a lot of rice or quinoa (raising hand) then having one of these saves loads of time and you don’t have to worry about burning. Most of these have non-stick coatings though so I suggest clay or stainless steel. They are pricier than your $30 rice cookers at Walmart but you don’t have to worry about cooking your food in nasty chemicals.

Pizza Stone – In my mind there is no reason to order pizza out. It is super easy to make your own pizza and it is MUCH healthier. My kids eat pizza loaded with fresh basil and spinach and you won’t find that at Pizza Hut. If you do make pizza at home then having a good pizza stone is nice. You can use them in the oven in winter and on the grill in summer. Easy!! You can also use these for things like biscuits and cookies.

Waffle Maker and/or Griddle - If you like waffles ( I recommend sourdough waffles) then you will love a cast iron waffle maker. Don’t buy the conventional ones with a non-stick finish. Same goes for griddles. A cast iron griddle is perfect for cooking eggs, pancakes, and even homemade english muffins.

Cutting Boards – Nourished kitchens see lots of veggie action. As a result of this I seem to have a bit of a bamboo cutting board addiction. I have 2 regular ones, a cutting block style board, and one that has a nifty colander built in for cutting and rinsing over the sink. I also have a plastic one from my non-green days and I keep it around for cutting meat. I won’t let meat touch my wooden boards. I also have a glass cutting board.

Colander – Typical kitchens usually have one but just in case I love the metal ones that are designed to fit over the sink. Love, love, love them! Plus you can use them as baskets when not in use to hold potatoes, fruit, eggs, etc.

Mixers – I have wanted a good mixer with a dough hook for years. I cannot seem to rationalize the cost of a KitchenAid though when we don’t do that much baking or bread making. Maybe someday if we find an awesome deal I will finally get one.

Good Pots and Pans – I wrote an extensive post on healthy and green cookware already so you can refer to that for the ins and outs of cast iron, stainless, aluminum, copper, etc.

Yogurt Maker – You can make yogurt in a crock-pot if you make up large batches and you can even use a jar and a heating pad. I happen to prefer the ease of a yogurt maker and I use the same one today that my mom used when I was a kid. If you decide to get one look for ones that have glass containers, not plastic.

Ramekins – Love these for reasonable portions of things like pudding and ice cream but also for cooking. I love to toss a egg in one and then top with a slice of fresh tomato, a sprinkling of herbs, some bread crumbs, and some cheese. Meat eaters like some crumpled bacon. Cook in the oven until the eggs set and voila, an easy an delicious breakfast for the whole house. Love these colored Rachael Ray ramekins!

Casserole Dishes – Speaking of Rachael Ray I am also loving her Stoneware bake sets that can be used for casseroles. Her cooking gear started out very cheesy (and plastics heavy) but it has taken a turn for the better in recent months. I can see making a veggie casserole or sweet potato casserole in these.

Juicer – I used to have a juicer but decided that I ultimately enjoy drinking the pulp and fiber of a fruit rather than just the juice. But if you are into raw foods or you need the extra healing that fresh juicing can provide, then a good juicer is essential.

Water Purification – We use Brita pitchers for filtering our water and an Alkamate for alkaline water.

Ball Jars – I use Ball jars for tons of things around the kitchen. We use small ones as drink cups for the kids and quart sized ones for protein shakes and green smoothies for adults. I also use them to store flour, grains, quinoa, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, rice, dehydrated fruit, cereal, oats, etc. You can fill them from the bulk bin at your local grocer or you can buy packaged and then transfer it. It keeps things fresh, bug free, and I label the bottom of the jars so that I know what is in them. I put a sprouting lid on them and use them for sprouting seeds. The lid and jar combo can be used for sprinkling powdered cleaners, like my homemade scented scrubs to. I use them to make fermented foods like sourdough and kefir and store things in the fridge. They have a million uses!

Also, any glass jar will do. I just mostly use Ball jars because we don’t buy much food packaged in jars but I do have a couple Bubbies pickle jars in there to.

Below: Potato flakes, quinoa, brown rice, wild rice, coconut flour, quinoa flour, almond flour, flaxseed cereal, flaxseed meal, and some others I am likely forgetting.

Glass Refrigerator Dishes – As I mentioned above, I use Ball Jars for lots of my storage needs but when I have leftovers that won’t fit in jars I use glass refrigerator dishes. I have lots of vintage pyrex for this purpose as well as some Anchor Hocking glass dishes.

Storage Baskets – For food that stays outside the fridge like potatoes, onions, garlic, apples, bananas, lemons, bread, etc, we use baskets for easy storage and they go on a large metal shelving system that sits in our kitchen.

Chef’s Knives – Just like you need good cutting boards for all those fresh veggies you will be chopping, you need some good knives to.

Miscellaneous Stuff – An apple corer, wooden cooking utensils, wood and metal serving bowls, a hand crank mixer, a nut chopper (go vintage if you can!), spiral slicer, nut milk bags and cheesecloth, a kitchen scale, metal spatulas, a Tagine, and a fermenting crock.

Whew! Did I go a little crazy with this run down? What do you have to have in your kitchen?

I have been a gig fan of Bazura bags for a long time and just look at them… they are so darn clever! There is nothing inherently cute about juice bags and plastic waste but when recycled into these adorable bags I think it just works. It become stylish and functional.

My daughter has been taking the mini lunch box to school every day. It is the perfect size for child’s school lunch and she seems to enjoy it as well. The regular lunch tote is actually quite roomy. We took it with us hiking this past weekend and it held egg salad sandwiches and some extra water for a little post hike noshing (served 3 easily). Since it is insulated I felt comfortable keeping the sandwiches in the trunk while we hiked. It was nice to have a rewarding little picnic afterwards.

We probably have more than enough lunch boxes… we seem to collect them along with water bottles, but I think these two are permanent additions.

More about Bazura Bags:

• Made from recycled juice packs by a women’s co-op in the Philippines
• Very durable and well constructed
• Saves non-biodegradable juice containers from landfills
• Every one is handmade, colorful, and totally unique.

They also have coin purses and shopping bags. Plus I think the lunch totes double well as purses. ;) These would make excellent Christmas gifts for the eco savvy folk in your life.

Also available at Reuseit.

This month the Green Moms Carnival is addressing green pets. Why October? October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month and also National Pet Wellness month. I haven’t really blogged about green pets much… can only think of one or two other times that I have. Shameful I tell ya!

I guess the reason I don’t discuss pets all that often is because I don’t really have any. Yes, we have reptiles but those belong to my son and he pretty much does all the work in taking care of them. Since we rent our home we don’t want to pay a deposit and monthly fee for having a dog or cat. But when we do buy a house (still trying to figure out where we want to lay down some roots) then we will be getting a dog right quick and I have all sorts ideas and plans for how to keep it green. We are going to feed our pup organic raw foods and forgo the bags of unregulated, toxic dog food. We are going to buy green chew toys, use natural flea and tick repellents, and hopefully find our perfect companion at a shelter. In short, I am really, really excited to get a dog. Is this what happens when the children grow older and you can’t have more? You get a puppy and decide to mother it? ;)

In the mean time we keep it green with the pets we have and reptiles are actually pretty amazing in that regard. We have two Bearded Dragons, a female named Samantha and a male named Skyler. Also a Russian Tortoise named George Lopez.

They reside mostly in terrariums made of metal and glass. We got them second hand at an estate auction along with UVB lights and heat lamps. Decor for inside the tanks is really easy as well. We use crushed walnut shells substrate to line the bottom of the two tanks and there are other natural items like wood logs and rocks. My son sourced all of it from local woods.

Their diet is also very “natural”. We feed them the same greens and fruit that we eat along with bugs and worms (the beardies only). These things can be expensive if you buy them exclusively through pets stores so my son goes hunting for them in areas he is sure have not been sprayed with pesticides. He also breeds worms and crickets as needed. When we do have to go to the pet store we end up with plastic bags (crickets) which we won’t reuse because they had bugs in them and plastic tubs that hold worms. The plastic tubs get reused many times over for various things but it still brings more plastic into the home, so limiting that is important.

I find them to be excellent pets if you want to keep things minimal and green. It is really easy to find all the gear you need second hand at yard sales and on Craigslist because you can use reptile habitats as well as fish tanks. They do, however, require more electricity than your average pet because they need a UVB light and a heat lamp. The temperature in their tank has to be regulated and they need the the UVB light to remain healthy. We made this more manageable by putting these on timers so that nothing accidentally gets left on longer than it needs to be. We also have thermometers in the habitats as well as Timothy Grass for burrowing on colder evenings. During warm and sunny weather the tanks are put directly in front of windows so they can get natural UVB rays and the sun heats their tanks without a heat lamp too. If you live in a climate where it is always warm than you will have an even easier time caring for them.

They are actually quite fun too. GREAT for kids. They can explore the house and they love to sit on your lap or your chest while you watch TV, play on the computer, or do some other task. The beardies are really very friendly and like to be with their “people” and to play. The tortoise is less interested in people but he is very entertaining to watch. It is pretty easy to clean up after them too.

They do have a big downside though in that they aren’t animals that you can just pack up and board someplace unless you are lucky enough to have a place that boards reptiles nearby. If you want to go on vacation they cannot be left on their own for more than a day or so. You pretty much need to have a backup care giver you can take them to or a reputable pet sitting service available that specializes in reptiles. We aren’t looking forward to that situation when the times comes. Having these guys in the house has really curbed our wanderlust. But as far as pets go, they are pretty easy to care for, inexpensive, and they are wonderful pets for those who want something more lovable than fish but less work than a dog.

Do you have pets? How do you “keep it green”?

Part three of Recyclebank’s Green Your Back to School Challenge is all about keeping it green even after school is over for the day. It has lots of great info and more chances to earn points.

The first activity involves making a pledge to keep after school activities at school or nearby and to carpool with other parents. This isn’t much of an issue for me as I am not big on after school activities beyond playing.

After school snacks are discussed and they are just as important as what your child eats at lunch so the need is still there to make it healthy and sustainable to the best of our abilities.

There were some interesting stats on children who do homework at night versus those who do their homework while the sun is still out. We may need to make some changes in that regard. There is a quiz about how to keep it green while using a printer to print off assignments… another thing I need to look into, although for me and not for the kids! There were also some alarming stats on how much energy is consumed actually USING your computer compared to when it is just sitting idle.

This whole challenge has been fun and eye opening. Recyclebank has done a great job with it!

This post is part of a campaign sponsored by Recyclebank.

I have a small water bottle collection going on at my place. I have my water bottle that I take to the gym and another one for hiking. I have a couple glass water bottles for when I don’t have to worry so much about breakage. I have stainless steel water bottles that are perfect for the kids to take to school and now I have a nifty new bamboo water bottle from the Bamboo Bottle Company.

I have been using it in a variety of settings for a few weeks now and I like it well enough to give it a permanent home in my household. For starters the design is very sleek and beautiful as well as eco friendly. While it does have some plastic pieces, most water bottles do, even most stainless steel ones. This bottle has something that makes it uniquely different though… the outer shell is made of a silky smooth bamboo and the inner compartment that holds the water, is made of sturdy glass. Bamboo is eco friendly because it is fast growing (unlike wood) and sustainable. The glass used to make the bottle is comprised of 51% recycled glass and it remains remains 100% recyclable. The plastic pieces are BPA free. I love the fact that it looks like a wood bottle and that it is actually glass with a protective covering. One of my other glass bottles has a silicone protective cover and I prefer the look and style of the bamboo.

It works well for hiking and walking in the city park near my house, as well as drinking water around the house. I also take it to the gym occasionally but find it is a bit too hard to open and close at a fast pace. If I am in the midst of an aerobics class and I need a quick sip, this is not the bottle for me. That is really the only criticism I have about it though… it requires a bit of finesse to screw the lid back on each time. Oh and it is a bit too large for my car cup holders, but I have found that most water bottles are.

The cleaning is easy and you don’t have to worry about warping the bamboo. The bottle disassembles into 5 pieces for easy cleaning. Wipe down the bamboo cover with a damp cloth and the rest can be put in the dishwasher. I love easy it to clean because I am tremendously picky about having a clean, germ free water bottle and I wash mine 2-3 times a week.

The bamboo water bottle gets an A+ from me.

Many thanks to the Bamboo Bottle Company for sending this bottle my way.

Last week I completed the Recyclebank challenge to green my school supplies shopping and prep. This week Recyclebank is challenging us to green the first day of school.

Luckily we did not have to get up at 6:00 a.m. like the mom in the challenge. Yikes! Our day started at 7:00 a.m. I got up and showered about a few minutes before that and then woke my daughter so she could shower next. She has to have time for her waist length hair to dry. ;) My oldest boy was already up and ready by this time, dressed in his khakis and polo uniform. He ran out the door at 7:30 when the car service his school uses arrived. On a normal day his sister would be catching a bus about 15 minutes  later but today both parents had to be at the school for the first day so she drove with us. My husband had the task of getting our youngest up and dressed while I contemplated breakfast and lunch. All three kiddos will be taking buses or a carpool to get to school/therapy so definitely the greenest option, other than our own two feet. Honestly we do like that our house is outside of the walk zone. I totally admit that. When we did the walking thing the year before last it was very good most of the time but the coldest parts of winter were pretty bad, especially when neighbors and even the school itself did not regularly shovel walks. We like the bus after that experience. We get 10 points via Recyclebank for doing so…

Although it was not smooth sailing for my youngest kiddo and his speech classes. The bus never came to pick him up and when I called the transportation department so ask what was up. They were like “duh” the bus ins’t there so take him to school yourself. The guy literally told me to stop bugging him since he was busy. Oh and he would “try” to put him on a bus home. Can I take 10 points away from that heinous anus transportation director? Grrr!

Anyway… more points were to be had for considering what you can do to green your child’s classroom, study habits, and their lunch experience. I pledged to serve some leftovers in school lunches so that less resources are used. That is easy enough for me since I already do that. During the school year dinners are planned specifically to make leftover lunches easy.

Most of the challenge in greening your school year is done in the planning and shopping phase but there is still much to be done on the first day to. I came home with a bunch of useless paper so I am off to see how much can go in my printer and how much can be used as scrap paper for my little artists. How did your first day of school go?

If you take a look at most any interior decorating book, magazine, or website you usually come away rather discouraged at the amount of money that it takes to achieve the look you want your home to have. It seems that anything resembling that glossy magazine photo is going to cost some serious green. But quite frankly there is a simple and effective method for attaining the look that you want without spending a fortune; all it takes is a solid knowledge of the style you have in mind, an empty car trunk, and a free Saturday morning for yard sales, thrifting, and time to pick up some Craigslist booty.

I do not happen to have the desire to turn my house into a magazine photo. There is nothing wrong with that but it just isn’t my thing. I like simple decor that screams “a family lives here” not “I have an interior decorator”. Plus my tastes are eclectic… I like farmhouse decor, modern, retro, bohemian, and new age and I am not afraid to mix, LOL. Either way you decide to go though… second hand shopping can get the job done. Garage and yard sales particularly are a great source for second hand items, but don’t overlook second hand shops and thrift stores as well as moving or estate sales or auctions that you can find advertised in your local newspaper. In fact, you never know where you are going to find awesome second hand objects and sometimes friends, neighbors and family will be more than willing to give you items they are looking to get rid of or that have been taking up much-needed storage space for years.

Avoidance Issues - There are plenty of people who shy away from decorating their homes with second hand furnishings or decorations because they somehow feel that purchasing something second hand will somehow give them a negative reputation; that somehow people looking at an object will know that it was purchased second hand. Success means having the money to buy the best and buy it brand new right? Whatever…

There are still others who won’t consider second hand decorating for reasons that range from quality to safety, but for those who can get past their aversion to having something in their home that once belonged to (or was used by) someone else, the benefits of decorating your home with second hand items is fairly self-explanatory.

The Benefits of Second Hand Decorating

The primary reason to purchase second hand furnishings and decorations is fairly obvious; price. Buying second hand items almost always costs less than it would to purchase the item new (unless you’re dealing with an antique – in which case all bets are off). Not only can you save yourself a great deal of money, you can also find high quality, even unique, one-of-a-kind items at a fraction of the cost they would cost you in a regular store. Items that would normally cost you hundreds of dollars can be had for a bargain; especially if the individual selling them is anxious to be rid of them. When we moved into our current house almost a year ago we had no kitchen table. Our previous one (which we had since we got married) bit the dust in the move. Anyway I knew I wanted either a farmhouse table or a vintage table from the 50s/60s. The farmhouse tables were over $800 used and the vintage ones were hard to find. I saw new vintage-style tables like I wanted for around $500 but I had serious doubts if the quality would be the same. So I waited almost a year but eventually I got what I wanted at an estate auction and the cost could not be beat… ready for it… $1.00. Yes, I said one dollar! It is a retro/vintage kitchen table set from the 60s I would say. I LOVE it!!!

This baby is metal and sturdy as heck. The color combo is brown/beige/mustard which also pleases me. But the table will match many different cushion colors so someday I might redo the cushions to mint and butter yellow. Some of the chair fabric is ripped or otherwise I wouldn’t even bother. It also fits the space better. Who was I trying to fool thinking a  farmhouse table would even fit there or look good? I am not Martha Stewart and I don’t have a farmhouse near a vineyard. I live in a rented duplex that kisses the outskirts of a large city. This table is me… simple, practical, no frills.

A few weeks back we got a white leather recliner from a sale for $5. We got it home and quickly realized why it had been sold so cheap. The cushion from inside was disintegrating and throwing up everywhere. Every morning it looked like someone had thrown popcorn all over the place. So, we freecycled that one and found another the same day via Craigslist for $15. It is even better suited to us and our brown couch… olive green, cushy, and cloth covered. The lady who sold it to us also gave us a nice metal filing cabinet and sold us two large dressers for $5. An older find is this old time school desk that was only $3 and serves as a homeschool nook for us:

I LOVE second hand stuff!

One of the least recognized benefits of purchasing items second hand is in knowing that what you are purchasing has already ‘proved’ itself. If the item is still usable and looks good after having been used for a length of time, chances are that it will serve you will and not wear out or fall apart as so many ‘new’ things tend to do fairly quickly after being purchased.

For art work we have purchased second hand of course but since I take pictures I like to hang my own art. To make that cheaper I use Group deal sites like Groupon and MamaSource and get them half price. When you refer friends you get credit too and all three of the canvas photos on my family room wall were FREE. I like that price!

It really isn’t hard to decorate your home, even if you are on a shoestring budget, it just takes a little creativity and a willingness to consider purchasing items from places you normally might not consider buying them, but by thinking outside of the box you can make your home into a truly original work of art.

Why Do We Need to Kill Bacteria?

No one likes the idea of bacteria and germs laying in wait around our homes. We’ve been conditioned to think they are bad and that we must get rid of them to maintain health. It is true that some bacteria can cause disease, illness and food poisoning. And with that in mind it is easy to see why we gravitate towards a product, like antibacterial cleaners, that promise to kill around 99% of bacteria. After all, we all want to protect ourselves and our family from getting sick.

So Why Are Antibacterial Cleaners Bad for Our Health?

Many bad things happen when we try to get around nature’s design. Just look at how whole foods become unhealthy when we process and fragment them. Look at how a natural substance found in the earth can wreak havoc on the planet when processed as fuels and used to the extreme by the population. Antibacterial cleaners are not as good for us as they may initially seem. In the short term, their ingredients are known to irritate or even damage the skin (this is more of a problem with those that have been developed for cleaning purposes).

The FDA is currently looking into one of the major ingredients of antibacterial soaps: triclosan. Although the evidence isn’t cut and dry yet, it suggests it may have a harmful effect on humans  and especially children. In the past, the FDA has also stated that there are no extra health benefits to using antibacterial soaps over regular soap and water. If there is no added benefit and the ingredients are even slightly suspect then why the use them?

A long term result of using antibacterial products is that they make bacteria more resistant. This means that, over time, these antibacterial products will no longer be able to kill the germs they set out to kill in the first place. We are essentially taking normal strains of bacteria and and giving the the means to get more powerful and potentially more harmful.

You simply don’t need to make your home sterile to protect yourself and your family. Bacteria is all around us, and being exposed to small amounts of it is what our body needs in order to build up its defenses against stronger bacteria. Studies have shown that sterile environments in childhood can actually lead to more allergies and other problems later in life.

The American Medical Associated (AMA) has warned against extensive use of such antibacterial cleaners for these reasons. When it comes to killing germs, simple measures like washing your hands often with traditional soap, is the best way to protect against germs… and the safest.

Instead of having a bottle of antibacterial soap next to the sink try a bar of Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap. For cleaning household surfaces the liquid version is amazingly effective. Combine that with a homemade disinfectant with vinegar, water, and tea tree oil mix in a spray bottle and you will be set. If you need a quirt bottle for meeting the demands of school supplies lists try Clean Well All Natural Antibacterial soaps. They have no triclosan.

Easy, safe, and green.

Just saw this morning that the awesome glass water bottles that usually accompany me outside for summer play are on sale for only $7.95. Just had to share a deal that good! Enjoy!

Canning and preserving food is no longer the necessity that it used to be before the age of grocery stores and pre-packaged convenience foods. In fact, there are plenty of people who look down on the art of canning and preserving as being unnecessary, time consuming and pointless. However, for those families who understand the cost and health benefits of preparing your own foods; learning to can and preserve can go a long ways towards cutting costs and keeping your family eating healthy, even during the winter when fresh foods aren’t available. Food preservation is especially important for families that like to keep it green by eating local.

What Exactly IS Canning?

The concept of canning food is simple enough; you put food in jars and then subject the filled jars to very high temperatures for a long period of time. This process kills all sorts of nasty microorganisms and puts a halt on a whole host of enzymes that can cause your food to spoil. During the heating of the jars also drives the air out of the jar causing a vacuum seal as the food in the jars cools, keeping the food inside as fresh as when it was processed.

There are dozens of websites and books that provide excellent directions and recipes for canning different kinds of foods, but there are a few things to keep in mind before starting any sort of canning or preserving project. For further reference I happen to like The Art of Preserving and Preserving Nature’s Bounty.

Canning and Preserving Tips

Choose Your Foods. Just about any kind of food can be subjected to canning or preserving, but your best bet for both cost effectiveness as well as health benefits is to preserve the foods fresh (both fruits and vegetables) when they are in season, so that you can benefit from having 100% natural foods year round.

Know Your Process. Be aware of what sort of method you are going to want to use when canning or preserving your produce. Do you want to preserve the produce in its uncooked or raw state? There are preserving processes specifically designed for ‘raw packing’ your foods. If you want to hot pack your foods (heat your food before it is put into jars) then you will find that there is a whole different set of steps you will need to follow.

Make Sure You Have the Right Equipment. Canning requires some specialized equipment. First off, you will need a canner (The kind of canner you need will depend on what foods you will be canning so be sure to check which sort of canner is recommended for which kind of food), canning jars, new lids and rings, a jar lifter, a funnel (preferably stainless steel).

Start Small. If you are just starting out with canning and preserving, don’t get over-ambitious to start with. Begin small; simple vegetable or fruit canning can be an excellent (and easy) way to start and will give you much needed practice. As you become more comfortable you can move on to more complicated methods. Make as much as you can your first year without feeling overwhelmed and keep track of how long it took you to eat those items. Then the next year if you went through all 10 jars of jam by October then you know that you need to double the amount you preserve the following year.

Other Preservation Methods

Ice is Nice. If you have a large freezer or even a dedicated stand alone freezer then you have the perfect opportunity to freeze your seasonal fruits and veggies as you buy them for later use. Look for tips online specific to eat type of produce. That way you will know how to freeze strawberries and blueberries for instance, without having them stick to each other in one frozen lump. Once again make a checklist so that you know you started the year with 3 bags of green beans and see how long they lasted so you know how many you will need next year. Freezing is probably the easiest preservation method but sadly it relies quite a bit on plastic bags. I have frozen food in glass ball jars though with much success.

Vacuum Pack. I have never tried this myself but I know many moms who swear by their FoodSavers. I imagine though that most of what they seal still ends up in the freezer, as above.

Salt Preservation – I have a copy of the book Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning and it highlights ways to preserve meats with salt in lieu of nitrates and nitrites. I love this book but have never tried that particular method. My husband, however, would love to try preserving fish with salt.

Cold Storage – Some produce can be preserved simply by keeping it in your root cellar or another suitable place for cold storage. Some things that do well with this method are potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets, apples, and onions. Some need to be stored in specific ways though. I know some put carrots in barrels full of sand and apples are often individually wrapped in newspaper.

Dry Your Foods. Using a dehydrator to preserve food is actually pretty simple if you have a good dehydrator. I recommend the Excalibur with its is nifty trays and temperature controls. It allows me to dehydrate foods at low temperatures so that technically they are still living, raw foods. You can dry lots of fresh fruits and veggies and put them in jars for snacking all year long. Healthy school lunches are MUCH easier to pack when you have dehydrated goodies on hand. You can also dehydrate goodies for camping and backbacking trips. Whole meals can be made for this purpose so that you only need to add water at the camp site.

What is YOUR favorite thing to preserve?

Americans are notorious for wasting food. While over 1 billion people on our planet do not have enough to eat per day Americans throw away approximately 1,400 calories of food per person per day. Put another way, America throws out 40% of the food that it produces.

Not only is this fact about waste disturbing in relation to those around the globe who are starving to death, but when you consider the volatility of the economy and how expensive food is becoming at the grocery store you would think that it would make more sense for people to guard against waste.

Think about the last time you cleaned out your refrigerator. Did you throw out moldy cheese, produce bags gone gooey, or bowls of leftovers that now resemble some sort of science experiment? Did the leftovers even make it to the fridge or did you just toss them out right from the start?

The problem is, our society has become so immune to the concept of waste; so used to throwing things away, that perhaps part of the problem is in not understanding how to avoid food waste. When we throw out that bag of spinach that has gone bad we know that the next bag is only as far away as the nearest grocery store. We won’t go hungry because we bought too much and/or failed to eat what we had on hand. How can we re-train ourselves to be more conscious of food waste? Here are seven basic tips that can be followed which, when taken together, will significantly avoid the amount of food wasted in your household each day.

1. Only make what you need. One of the biggest problems with food waste is that we often make more food than you need for each meal. If you are in doubt as to how much constitutes a serving, check online. You should be able to gauge how much you will need to make for the number of people you will be cooking for. Cooking only what you need will cut down on leftovers and potential waste. And if you do decide to cook extras make it a family rule that lunch the next day is leftovers from the evening before.

2. Prepare your food correctly. Many today are so used to pre-cooked and prepared food items that they don’t know how to prepare fresh food properly. They may buy up some fresh foods hoping to make some old family favorites they had as a child but since their cooking skills have fallen by the wayside in favor of boxed mac and cheese the foods may sit and go bad. Many times people waste large portions of these items because they don’t understand how to prepare them or they don’t have the confidence that they can do so. Now though, you can look up recipes online and get step by step pictures even. If you buy the food, put the effort into actually making it.

3. Cook your favorites. You know what you and your family members like so come up with a list of favorites that you can cook from scratch and cook well. Serve those meals once or twice a week and make a habit of buying the items you need to make them. When you see those familiar ingredients in the fridge you know what you need to make before things go bad. Occasionally I make a vegetarian version of chicken scallopini for instance and it uses white wine and cream (2 things I usually don’t buy or use). I will often make this meal 2-3 times in a single week until I use the wine and cream up. I do the same thing with Potato Leek soup when I have potatoes and leeks to use up.

4. Use your leftovers. Leftovers have a bad habit of sitting morosely in the refrigerator until they sprout mold and have to be thrown out. No one seems to want to take the time to put the items together to make a new dish. A key to avoiding waste is to devise new meals out of leftover items. There are lots of websites that give ideas for dishes that can be made out of common leftovers and if you get creative I’m sure that you’ll find a way to make something new out of something old. Produce that you know you won’t use in a meal can often be used in green smoothies too.

5. Get Creative – Freeze your cutting board scraps like onion skins, carrots, celery, garlic, mushroom stems, etc and reserve them to make your own veggie broth. Produce that is about to go bad can also be used for this purpose. Stale bread can be used for bread crumbs and coutons.

6. Do a pantry/fridge challenge once a month. This means you avoid going to the store and figure out what you can eat from what you have. Spending a week or more eating this way gets rid of older foods before they can go bad and it saves money too!

7. Compost. As a last resort, compost all the biodegradable items that you are not able to eat or use. While technically this IS waste, it is waste that is being reused for something productive; in this case fertilizer for your garden and is not entering the standard waste/recycling system. We had had great success with our Worm Factory Compost Bin.

By following these seven simple steps you can significantly reduce the amount of waste in your household and, hopefully, will serve as an example to your children about curbing food waste.

The chair you see in the photo above is a new and much loved fixture on my back deck. I have long been in love with Adirondack chairs but I wasn’t willing to buy plastic ones and the wooden ones are actually quite a bit of work to maintain. Every year it seems you need to sand and paint them or end up with splinters in your derriere and a pretty sad looking chair.

So when Trex Outdoor Furniture contacted me and asked to me review one of their recycled plastic Adirondack chairs I was… well, let’s just say I was VERY happy. I could see myself getting some daily sun in this chair… watching my kids play while I enjoyed a good book, and generally just finding more mom time in my own personal chair. Lucky for me it is as perfect as I hoped and I can heartily endorse this furniture.

The actual chair is their Cape Cod Adirondack and each one is made from 240 recycled milk jugs. The actual ratio of recycled plastic versus new plastic is pretty darn impressive… 90%. Often times when we think of recycled materials we think of down-cycled products like children’s toys and such but this is definitely up-cycled… meaning they took the plastic and turned it into something of better quality or a higher environmental value. The design is also fabulous. It doesn’t look like plastic at all. The faux wood grain makes it look like a luxurious wood chair but unlike wood this chair doesn’t retain water, get overly dirty, splinter, require painting, or I would wager look dingy after its first summer or two. It is an absolutely gorgeous chair.

It comes in  variety of colors too. I got the classic white but I they also offer it in dark green, brown, tan, sand, stone, and black. You can get the chair as a stand alone or with the matching Cape Cod Ottoman. And of course they also offer chair seat cushions. The beauty above is their Bravada Salsa cushion. Orange may just be my fave color so of course I had to have it. Their web site does not indicate that the cushion is made of recycled materials but you can always make your own if you want.

I have only had it for a few weeks now I but I seem to find reasons to go out and sit in it several times a day. It is super comfortable as well as super durable. Seeing it on my back deck is a reminder that my sad looking deck needs sanded and painted, LOL. It just goes to show that recycled plastic products can be an amazing convenience for us. We are taking plastics and giving them a new and useful life AND making our lives easier by purchasing products that will not require the care and upkeep that wood does.

The shipping aspect was also quite nice. It arrived on a big truck fully assembled. Plus my kids loved the giant box and played with it for days before they tore it asunder. The only tricky aspect was carrying this HEAVY chair to the back yard but it was well worth it. Doesn’t my mom space (above) look cozy? Yep! Now I can grab a book and my glass water bottle and chill for a bit each day while the kids play. It is the perfect summer furniture option in my opinion.

The giveaway winner has now been chosen at random! It is Alicia Bayer, congrats! Thanks to everyone for entering.

Cooks know that as the temperatures outside increases, the desire to cook decreases. It has already hit me full force… I don’t want to heat the kitchen by using my oven at all. And it isn’t due to lack of wanting to cook I just have the need to keep our home as cool as possible. We don’t run our air conditioner willy nilly because we don’t want to be energy hogs.. or spend extra money on energy bills. This is why baking is done mostly in the winter months and cool dishes are served during the summer. Who wants to heat their house up with the oven only to have to pay higher bills to cool it back down again? Not me!

Keeping cool in the kitchen doesn’t automatically mean eating a cold sandwich and watermelon every day… although that’s cool if you want to. We have such a wide variety of cooking appliances to choose from though, we can serve wonderful meals for our families without heating up our homes. Here are just a few of the gadgets you can choose from.

Crockpot – They aren’t just for soups and stews.. although those are so easy why not? Slow cookers or crockpots are wonderful for recipes which typically take a long time to prepare. You can cook anything from lasagna to bake potatoes in a crockpot. I personally like to use up our local produce by throwing them in a crockpot with some beans. Sometimes I have some pretty wild creations but they are all yum. Slow cooked goodness without heating the house and you can keep it green and safe by using a clay crockpot. I have a VitaClay and LOVE it.

If meatless meals are your thing but you are not a pro with veg based slow cooker recipes try: Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker: Simple and Sophisticated Meals from Around the World. Going meatless saves money too!

Microwave – If getting in and out of the kitchen quickly is important to you, there’s always the microwave. I personally don’t use one or own one because I think their safety is in question. But for those that like them you can cook nearly anything in a microwave in much less time than conventional cooking.

Wok – Oriental cooking is prepared at high temperatures in the wok but the foods cook quickly. If you don’t have a wok, you can make similar meals using a normal skillet. Just toss some veggies and sprouts in there and mix with some Asian sauce and you are good to go.

Pressure Cooker – The pressure cooker was once a staple in every country kitchen. They aren’t used quite as often any longer but they can still be used to cook a meal in less time, and therefore less heat, than other methods. A meal that might cook 4-5 hours in your dutch oven might take only an 1 hour in a pressure cooker.

Another way you can keep the kitchen cool this summer is to begin preparing meals earlier in the day. Plan the major part of your cooking early in the day while it is still cool. Once the cooked items are prepared, you can allow them to cool and place them in the refrigerator to add other items to when it’s time to get the meal on the table.

Offer your family plenty of cold foods when the temperatures soar. Cold fruit salads, tossed green salads, green smoothies, vegetable trays and homemade ice cream are sure to keep the kitchen and your family cool when it is hot outside. During the summer months my hubby and I will often take the kids and go to our local artisan ice cream shop for our evening “meal”. Rhubarb and Lime Cardamom Yogurt for dinner… heck yes!

Finally, if you want to keep your kitchen cool but aren’t afraid of a little heat, strike a match and get to grilling! You don’t have to stand in front of the grill while the food is cooking and the taste will be out of this world. Grill some veggie kabobs, corn on the cob, and Portabella mushrooms. Best of all, you will see keeping cool in the kitchen when it is hot outside is not only possible, it can also be delicious!

Last year I mostly used a homemade Borax and maple syrup trap and that didn’t work very well. Vinegar worked for a short time and then they would be back. I wash my entire kitchen floor weekly with vinegar and they still came calling. This year I will try other methods and maybe change up my old methods a bit.

Natural Ant Deterrents:

• Borax mixed with jelly/jam
• Vinegar infused with tea tree oil (will disinfect the kitchen as well)
• Cloves put near the entrance where they are coming in
• Sprinkle cayenne pepper, cinnamon, or black pepper at the entrance and along their typical “route”
• Cotton balls sprinkled with a minty essential oil or a citrus oil
• Baby powder/ chalk line at entrance
• Cucumber or Citrus peels near entrance

One thing that really seemed to work last week was spraying them with the Trader Joe’s Next To Godliness Multi-Purpose Cleaner. I bought the bottle awhile back and don’t use it much because I hate the smell. It is supposed to have Cedarwood and Clary Sage oils but it smells artifical to me. Anyway the ants don’t like it either. It killed the ones I sprayed and then they haven’t been back… but I need to clean the kitchen floor badly now so I imagine once it is washed away they might come back. It is still nice to have a fast, easy recourse though that is pretty natural.

How have you deterred ants from the home?

A source of clutter my in my home that has long bothered me is the shoe rack inside our door. Rather than tucking the shoes neatly inside an available space my kids usually just thrown them into a pile on the top shelf until they spill onto the floor. The shoe rack was a step up from the basket we used at our old place but that was cluttered and messing looking too. I am still looking for a way to hide the shoe clutter but we won’t budge on having that designated space because the shoes come off first thing after entering the house. And while it does keep mad searches for shoes to a minimum we do this to keep nasties out of the house.

When you walk around inside the house with shoes you just wore outside you are likely bringing with you dust, dirt, lawn and garden pesticides (even if you don’t use them yourself), industrial toxins, animal feces, dust mites, and allergens. The dust and dirt is reason enough for me to make sure we are all taking off our shoes when entering but the idea of pesticides all over our floor when we already try to minimize this my nixing those products, is kind of scary. A report from a few years back called The Door Mat Study also shows us that lead contaminated soil from outside the home is being transported into our homes in the form of lead dust. I have also heard that somewhere between 80 and 85% of the dirt in our homes was brought into the home via our shoes and considering what we may have stepped on, that is just gross!

Our first line of defense is a good door mat where all family members need to wipe their feet. It is pretty easy to find ones made of recycled materials like tires or even flip-flops. Scrape or shake off as much of the dirt and dust from your shoes as possible. Then the second line of defense it to take your shoes off and keep them somewhere near the door so you never have to trek around the house in shoes. A simple shoe rack or even a shoe bench which also has seating is nice. To ensure space we have to rotate the shoes between seasons because few benches can handle everyone’s summer and winter shoes all at the same time. And we have to remind our kids that roller blades are not meant for this space… put those in the garage or carry those up to your room… do NOT roller blade to your bedroom!

When you have visitors it is up to you on how to handle this. You can ask them to remove their shoes or let them wear them in the house. We usually make exceptions for visitors. Babies and little children can be used as a great excuse to ask people to remove shoes though, aka “We would appreciate it if everyone removed their shoes.. we have a little one who likes to crawl on the floor and we want to keep it clean.” That same study I mentioned earlier claimed that a door mat and taking shoes off got rid of 98% of toxic dust over a 5 month period. Now if only I could keep the shoe area from looking so cluttered!

How do you handle the shoe situation?

The above picture shows some of the greener laundry products I have been testing lately. Laundry is one of those chores I absolutely despise. I wish green gadgets could change that but they don’t. The only thing they do is make the process a little more planet friendly and that at times seems like a stretch in my opinion. Most “green” laundry detergents come in plastic bottles and that isn’t so green at all. Soap nuts have to travel from around the world and they don’t last long. Lots of laundry aids are most commonly found in plastic… baskets, hangers, etc. The dryer sheets have loads of chemicals. So it seems we often have to get comfortable with whatever we consider to be the lesser of several evils.

The Planet Hugger line of laundry aids are what we typically see in green laundry products. They still come in wasteful plastic bottles but the ingredients are slightly better than conventional laundry products… safer for us and for our water. These particular products, the laundry detergent and the dryer sheets, have plant based surfactants or softening agents and essential oils for fragrance. I liked them well enough but it is hard for me to view any product that requires me to buy dozens of plastic containers as eco friendly.

The hands down winner was the next one I tried and what I refer to as a smart plastic… aka one of those sturdy plastic products that prevents you from having to buy more plastic. In this case it is the SmartKlean Laundry Ball. It is made of plastic but it lasts for one year and takes the place of laundry detergent. And get this.. it really works. I have been using mine for about a month now and it gets the laundry clean and fresh smelling without any added detergent. Even my gym towel and swim suits which have a tendency to get musty smelling in our humid Ohio weather, smell fresh and clean after washing with this laundry ball.

You need to pre-treat anything that is stained, if you actually bother with that.. I must confess that I am too lazy to care much about stains. You also need to be careful not to overfill since the ball needs to be able to move around between the clothes so only 3/4 full. You can also leave it in the washing machine between washes. The ball itself contains 4 types of mineral ceramic pellets that help the surrounding water clean the clothes. It elevates the pH to levels similar to that of detergents and soaps, it increases molecular motion to ensure sterilization, eliminates mold and bacteria, eliminates chloride compounds in the water, and it beats the clothes as it agitates to wash dirt away. Once a month you need to let it sit out in the sun for an hour to regenerate the mineral pellets in the ball. Pretty darn easy!

For reference I have a top loader. We chose not to drop a grand on a fancy front loader and just went with a used Craigslist find instead. Works great in our machine but you can use it with any kind. The price is about $50 w/shipping and you would spend that in only a couple months with detergent bottles. That might even be cheaper than making your own laundry detergent in the long run. There are some cheaper ones by another company on Amazon too. They look almost identical.

Another product I have and have yet to review is the Practecol 4 Line Retractable Clothesline. I plan to have my husband set that up on our back deck soon and put it too work so we can reduce our energy costs for summer.

What I REALLY need is a product that will make our enormous dirty laundry pile (see below) just go away but in the meantime I have been happy to make the job a little easier with some of these green products.

PS this was taken before the kids and I emptied our hampers. It is now 5 times that size! Perhaps the greenest thing to do would be to downsize our wardrobes!

Many thanks to the companies who donated these products to me for review.