My Fav All Natural ... All Purpose Cleaner

I was cleaning the house earlier and ran out of all purpose cleaner. Since I needed to whip up a new batch I thought it was a good moment to share this recipe for a safe, effective, all purpose cleaning solution.

 

You only need 3 ingredients  Castile Soap ( I like the lavender scented), white vinegar, and water.  You will also need an  empty spray bottle.

 

 All Purpose Cleaner:

1/4 cup Castile Soap

3 cups water

1  cup vinegar

 

 

Add the 1/4 cup castile soap to the spray bottle, add water, and mix.

add 1/4 cup castile soap

 

NOTE it is important to add the water BEFORE adding the vinegar. If you add the vinegar first if will  react with the soap and cause the soap to curdle as in the below picture:

 

we don't want to add an acid directly to a base!

 

Add the 1 cup of vinegar to the soap/ water solution  and qs with water to fill the rest of your spray bottle.

add 1 cup white vinegar

That's it! A simple, all natural, & effective all natural cleaning solution for your home.

A Scarf Obsession....

Lately I have just been obsessed with scarfs. With spring here and flowers in bloom a bright colorful scarf is the perfect cheery accessory.. & it helps against a springtime breeze! 

I am dreaming of purchasing these ones.

Sukan on Etsy's handwoven ikat silk scarf

Nancy's Gone Green Eco Boutique  Social Butterfly silk scarf

Eileen Fisher  organic cotton stripe scarf

 I love wearing scarves because there are so many different ways to wear them!  Below is an image with just a of the styles you can create with 1 scarf. Just googling how to tie a scarf gives you so many different options & new ways to wear them!

From: Second Chance blog

How do you wear your scarf! I would love to know =)

5 Festive & Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap Ideas for this Christmas

1. Gift Card Snow globes... 

reuse empty Jars from your kitchen to present gift cards in this adorable way!

diy @ One Charming Party

from: The Creative Mama

2. Wrap it up with the news...

Recycle the news by wrapping up gifts with your old newspapers...Don't forget to get creative with the bows

from: Country Living

3. Use a scarf...

A beautiful scarf can become a lovely & reusable way to wrap a small present or bottle of wine with this Japanese inspired gift wrap idea. You could use a scarf you already have or purchase one from the Bobo Wrapping Scarf site...

from: BoboWrap.com

4. Inside Out Potato Chip Bag...

  Wash, dry,  and cut open the left over potato chip bags  to reveal the silver lining before wrapping up a gift with this up-cycled idea....

from: Martha Stewart Living

5. Cereal Box Gift Boxes...

Up-cycle an old Cereal Box into one of these gorgeous gift boxes anyone would be delighted to get a gift in!

diy @ Creative Jewish Mom

 

June's Conscious Box

I just received June's Conscious Box in the mail. 

If you are not familiar with conscious box it is a monthly subscription sample box. Each month the send out a selection of ecofriendly, organic, and healthy products. I personally really enjoy getting this particular box. The reason being that  I am introduced to products that I would not normally purchase when out shopping because of the often higher price of organic product and me not being sure that I would like the product. This way I get to try out samples (usually generously sized) and decide if i really like them before committing to purchasing the full size product.

 

What the box looked liked when I opened it up. That is a pretty postcard lying on the very top.

This months theme seems to center around vitamin supplements and energy bars.  Products included:

 LaraBar, 

Kelp Krunch  Bar

eBoost Energy Shot

Vega One Nutrition Shake

Sattva Cashew Butter

Mighty Leaf Tea  (2 flavors Earl Gray & Jasmine)

Natural Newborn Bug Stopper Soap

KO Lotion

Nuti-Masu Life Ocean Salt (mix into a sport drink)

Natural Vitality 28 Energy Supplement

Overall I am excited to try these samples out. I did take that Kelp Krunch sesame bar in my lunch today & it was surprisingly yummy. As I was eating it I turned it over to read the ingredients which were: Sesame seeds, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, kelp.... That is all! Additionally they donate a portion of their profits to Allied Whale. I think I may have to purchase some more of these. The bar was gluten free which will be great to offer to my friends who  have gluten issues.

Icky Business... the cat box

So this post is just downright icky & that I absolutley HATE to deal with!!! The cat box. Ewwwww! But I love my kitties so having one is not optional. So in the spirit of going green I am blogging about it.

About a month or so after getting my chico bags and putting them to some good use I ran into a big problem. I used to use all those plastic bags that I would bring home from the grocery store for the daily scooping of the cat box. However... the supply had run short. I had no more bags left. Yeahh for the chico bag use..... Boo for cleaning the cat box. I had to BUY! bags....

So I decided to do a little research on greening the cat box and found out that the average cat box is not very eco-friendly. Apparently by sealing all that litter in regular plastic bags it never degrades and the actual litter itself is not very good for the environment. I used the petco store brand litter ( you know the one you can refill yourself) and thought I was pretty green because I reused the same plastic container each time... not so much.

Apparently that clay litter is strip mined in a very damaging process to the earth. This means that acres of land that could be used for other purposes are having their top layer stripped off to get to the diatomaceous earth”, (sodium bentonite) clay layer beneath the top layer of the soil. While the clay itself is natural, the land that it is stripped from is destroyed in the process. Also, have you noticed that when you pour your cat litter into the box there is a cloud of dust? This dust is not so great for you or your kitty. These dust particles are silica derivatives of the "bentonite" molecules in the clay. Guess what? They are carcinogenic!

So what are some better options out there for you & your kitty? Luckily there are quite a few good brands of natural options that will biodegrade over time. Swheat Scoop is made from wheat. Feline pine is made from waste of the lumber industry (I like the feline pine SCOOP not the pellets**), Worlds Best Cat litter made from corn. I have tried all of these and my 2 kittys have made a firm decision that what they want is the Swheat Scoop. They will use the feline pine scoop and the Worlds Best Cat litter, but when given a choice between a litter box full of those or the swheat scoop they always go for the Swheat Scoop. I have found all of these 3 options to absorb & clump well, and have good odor control.


IF you decide that you want to switch your kitties over to a natural cat litter be sure to do it slowly. Cats don't like change too much. First place a 1" layer of your new cat litter in the box then on top of that place a 2" layer of your old cat litter. As your cat uses the box she will mix the two litters together and begin to get used to the new litter. The next time you change out the cat box place a 2" layer of the new litter and a 1" layer of the old litter on top. Again kitty will mix everything together and get used to the new textures & smells. Finally on your next litter change you can only use the new litter. This process should take several weeks and help kitty get adjusted to her new green litter.



Now what about litter box liners & the scooping bags??? I don't personally use litter box liners but a lot of people do. Luckily BioBag has a great biodegradable option. I also use BioBag's large dog poop bags to scoop into. This way the litter is not sealed inside of plastic and both the bag, the waste, and the litter will all naturally biodegrade. **



A couple important side notes:

** I just want to mention DO NOT COMPOST your cat litter or FLUSH your cat litter down the toilet (even if the brand says you can, toximplasmosis cannot be filtered out of the water) Cats can carry a micro-org called Toxiplasmosis that can cause sickness in humans and birth defects in babies. An indoor cat is unlikely to have this but just to be safe do not flush or compost cat waste.


**I haven't tried the feline pine pellets option (the original) because my cats try to dig to china to cover up after themselves & pellets just wouldn't cut it for them. They needed a sandy option. The house cat evolved in an sand environment and the closer the litter option is to sand the more success you will have with your cat adapting to a new litter. They like the feel of fine granules on their paws.

My favorite eyeliner & mascara

After learning about how dangerous parabens, phthalates, and fragrance were to your body I swore off any makeup that had them in it. Which was great until i realized that was ALL my makeup! uhh-ohhh. I then had to hunt for new makeup that without those nasty little chemicals. I was able to find eyeshadow at the local drugstore. Physician's formula has a line of makeup called Organic wear and Almay has a line of makeup called Pure Blends. Both of these lines are fantastic for affordable, easy to find everyday makeup. You can get them at your local Target. However eyeliner and mascara gave me trouble. I spent quite a bit of money and tried several different kinds from my local whole foods natural beauty section. But they eyeliners were transparent and the mascaras gave no boost to my lashes. I wanted something more vibrant along with those thick lashes you see gracing the covers of beauty magazines!

Then I found out that Tarte was eco-friendly! I was already famliar with the brand and had no idea that they had paraben, phthalate, sulfate, and fragrance free eyeshadows. There tag line is Heath Couture and they state that " Health Couture™ is all about pure style:
the marriage between fashion and nature." To read more about there eco-line go here. I was so excited find this out. I love dark purple eyeliner because it just gives your eyes a little more "pop" than plain black and they have this great liquid eyeliner and eyeshadow stick called Indelible wink. Totally recommend that eyeliner. It comes in black, brown, grey, and purple. There mascara is also fantastic. Great definition and it is waterproof. To make the deal even sweeter their packaging is make from recycled paper and printed with soy ink. Also they have a great recycling program where if you send them your empty makeup containers you can recieve 15% off your next purchase. Be green & save green!!!

Check out their website www.tartecosmetics.com you can also purchase Tarte at Sephora too.