Household items that Clean Effectively: Lemons

Recently I came across an article on RealSimple.com about All-Natural Cleaning Solutions. I am all about using natural items to clean my home, as it will be better for myself and the environment. But like many people say, you can't believe everything that is on the internet. What I decided to do was test out some of these cleaning solutions and report them back to you.

Lemons. I decided to try lemon juice versus real lemons squeezed. Here is the list suggested by RealSimple.com that lemon best cleans.

Counter-tops: Lemons make your counter top sparkle, and smell good too!
Cutting boards: You know how cutting boards have knife marks and sometimes within those a smell? Well lemons make it go away. I washed it in soap and water then Rubbed a quarter lemon on the plastic cutting board. It feels clean and new!
Dishes: You can definitely see the shine in my glasses. I sat one washed in lemon glass next to the one that was not and there was an amazing difference!! (Was not captured in the photo I tried taking)
Faucets: Make sure you wash off any lemon left over so that it does not stick on the faucet. I forgot to wash off a faucet, and luckily we didn't have an guests before I noticed it. It looked like boogers. But, if you do wash it off the faucet is shiny like new! I also used it on the drain in the sinks and tub. Worked wonderfully!  
Garbage disposal: Could not test - I don't have a garbage disposal. If anyone tries this out leave a comment!
Grout: It works!! :)
Hands: Since I don't touch raw fish, I decided to test this out with garlic. My hands did not have the leftover smell of garlic. It was so nice. You can also use metal to get rid of the smell.
Laundry: If anyone tries this out, let me know. I do my laundry at a laundry mat and didn't try it.
Plastic-food storage containers: It totally works!! I used lemon juice from a bottle mixed with water and let it sit, then washed it. Worked like a charm, all the tomato-based sauces are not stained on my containers anymore. I definitely recommend everyone does this, your containers will look like new!

Try these out! I used fresh lemons and lemon juice. They both work great. If you like the smell of fresh lemons, your bathroom and kitchen will smell so great every time you walk into the house! If you perfer the smell of grapefruit try these remedies with it as well!

Next time: I'll test out Vinegar.

Green Tips for April

1. Make your own Soap. Learn to make your own soap, chemical residues from non-natural soap go down our drains and impact the environment. Making an all natural soap can be fun and will be better for the environment. Check out TeachSoap.com to learn how to make homemade soap.  

2. Reduce your use of Styrofoam cups and take out-containers. Some studies show that Styrofoam will take thousands of years to break down. Instead of using it, try using paper cups and plates. These are recyclable.

3. Eat what you buy, buy what you need. Many people buy more than what they will eat and waste money and food. Plan out meals a head of time and only buy what you are planning on serving/eating. If you have leftovers use them for tomorrow's lunch or freeze them for another day.

4. Turn down your stove element. When the water starts boiling turn down the element. The water that is roaring boiling is the same temperature as light boiling water. It only requires a small amount of energy to keep water boiling.

5. Switch to digtial music. Not only is it easier to download digital music, but it also saves on plastics, packaging and transport costs, materials and Green House Gas emissions.

6. Reuse office materials. Keep bubble wrap and Styrofoam "peanuts" that can be reused. They may be helpful if you are moving, or doing arts and crafts with kids!

7. Steam clean the microwave. Instead of using chemical cleaners place a mug of water in the microwave and boil on high for three to four minutes. The steam will soften stuck on food, then it will be easy to wipe up with a reusable cloth.

8. Practice green financial planning. When it comes to planning future spending, use your money to buy into green energy investments.

9. Bookworms - try reading e-books! Book-sized digital readers are becoming more affordable, these are easy to carry around and contain dozens of books. This reduces the use of paper, packaging and transport of traditional book publishing.

10. Plan a low carbon wedding. If you are planning on tying the knot, plan for a low-carbon or carbon neutral wedding. For ideas on how to do that, Google "low-carbon wedding".

11. Visit your local recycling centre. Even if you have curbside recycling, visit your local centre and see if they take additional materials such as solvents and paints or reusable building supplies.

12. Wash bottles, cans and jars before recycling. Leaving food remnants in recyclables risks contaminating the rest of the recycling. This could force the entire lot to be thrown out. 

Green Tips for March

1. Burning candles emit greenhouse gases! Most candles are made from paraffin wax, which is a byproduct of oil refining. Earth-friendly candles can be purchased or you can make it yourself with soy or beeswax! Here are some websites with instructions: EHow, and Care2.com.These candles are available try Bluecorn Naturals and PureLightCandles.com.

2. Recycle clothes. Buy clothing from stores such as Value Village, and Frenchy's! Re-use can be applied to clothes recycling too. Also - if you can find local vendors whose clothes have somehow been recycled buy there too.

3. Use green and/or recycled building supplies for home improvement. Try using natural paints, and sustainable products such as bamboo. When renovating instead of tossing unwanted cabinets, plumbing fixtures or lumber, donate it so others can re-use them. Cabinets can also be used for storage in other parts of the home!

4. Improve your indoor air quality. By having live plants and a well ventilated home, this can help better the air quality of your home.

5. Understand the impact of your travel choices. Airlines have a bigger carbon footprint than train or bus, so when you can, choose a bus or train over an airplane. Also, try and use public transportation while traveling, you'll get to see how local people live.

6. When traveling, buy local. Support the small, family-run restaurants, businesses and attractions, instead of national or international franchises. Not only will this help the local economy, but you will get to experience something you can't get anywhere but there!

7. Improve indoor office air quality. Buy-energy effieicnt HEPA air filters and open windows (if possible) to improve circulation. Buy non-toxic furniture to aviod off-gassing.

8. Curb the electrical use in your office. Switch off, or put copiers, printers and faxes in "sleep mode" when they're not being used. Encourage your organization to buy energy-efficient machines. Unplug any chargers when they are not in use.

9. Use 'GOOS' paper. Old documents, reports and junk mail that are printed on one side only is called GOOS paper (Good On One Side). Before recycling, see how much GOOS paper you can re-use.

10. Learn about Canadian R-2000 homes. These homes are certified and offer amazing efficiency using 30 to 40% less energy than a regular home! They are more costly up front, but you will save a lot of money in the long-run and the resale value will go up as well! Visit the NRCan's website and learn more about the benefits of these homes.

Green Tips for February

1. While brushing your teeth turn off the water. You can save approximately 95 L of water a month just by following this simple task.

2. Suggest sustainability ideas to implement at work. Suggest some ideas at work to make your workplace more sustainable, ways to save energy, water, recycle, re-use, save office supplies! This could also save money. Check out these tips to make your office go green, how to make your businesses greener, how to inspire change at your office and making a more sustainable office (see list on the right-hand side).

3. Reduce amount of water in each flush. If you have a toilet that was installed before the early 90's then there is probably more water being used than needed. Look into putting a water displacement device in the tank.

4. Wash dark clothes and colours in cold water. This saves both energy and money, it also keeps the clothes' colours more vibrant.

5. Get rid of unused 'electronic gizmo'. Clocks that have digital timers, power chargers or standby modes are sucking energy (called 'phantom electricity') when it is not being used. When devices are not being used, unplug them.

6. Winter heating: allow sunlight in during the day for passive solar heating then close the blinds at night!

7. Buy energy saving appliances. These are often rated 'Energy Star'. Compare the energy savings when shopping for appliances. Some dishwashers and washing machines will also save litres of water per load!

8. Find out where your energy comes from. Check with your electric company, more energy is generated from coal - the fossil fuel that is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world!

Stay tuned for more green tips next week, until then stay green!

Green Tips of the Week - Jan 31

1. Insulate everywhere. By making sure that your entire house is insulated including but not limited to the roof, attic, floors, walls and basements this will help keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Plus it with save some money on heating too!

2. Battle germs and mold with a green disinfectant. You can buy some in stores or even make your own with common household products. Mix a solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide with two parts water in a spray bottle and use on areas to be disinfected.

3. Go for a walk. Instead of watching TV or booting up the computer every time you're bored take a walk outside! It will also be good for you and the planet.

4. Cut down on dish-washing. Designate yourself a glass for your drinking water or other beverages each day or use a refillable water bottle.
5. Shorten your shower. If you shorten your shower by a couple minutes you could save over 500 L of water/month. Showers use half the water a bath does!

6. Test your Toilet. Put food colouring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl without flushing, you have yourself a leak! If you fix it, you can save over 4,000 L a month!

Did you know?
Fossil fuels for example coal, oil and natural gas are "non-renewable" because they took million of years to form. Hydroelectricity, wind, solar, tidal and wood-biomass energy are "renewable" forms of energy.


Check back next week for some more Green Tips!

Green Tips of the Week - Jan 24

Here's this week's list of sustainability tips!  Go and make your life more green!

1. Eat meat-free meals once a week. Meat makes a person's eco-footprint much bigger as it takes more resources. However, chicken makes the smallest eco-footprint of all meats.

2. Reuse water. Collect the water used to rinse food like fruits and veggies, then re-use that water to houseplants! You can easily collect water in the summertime - just get some buckets to collect rain water.

3. Try to be "carbon neutral". Air traveling and driving all have GHG effects.  "Here's how it works: if you add polluting emissions to the atmosphere, you can effectively subtract them by purchasing carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are simply credits for emission reductions achieved by projects such as wind farms, solar installations, or energy efficiency retrofits. You can purchase these credits and apply them to your own emissions to reduce your net climate impact." - Check out more from www.davidsuzuki.org.

4. Install a water-efficient showerhead. If your shower fills a 4L bucket in less than 20 seconds, replace the shower head with a water efficient model. At Canadian Tire you can get a "low-flow showerhead" for as low as $5.99.

5. Plastic #2, #4 and #5. These are the safest kinds of plastic to reuse. Then you can check and see if #1, #3, #6 and #7 are recycled in your province! Check out About.com's information about recycling plastics.

One last fact: Canadians and Americans are the heaviest users of energy in the WORLD, on a per capita basis.

Now head back into your daily life and go green :)

Green tips of the week- Jan 15

Here are some Green Tips for this week!

1. Host a clothing-swap. My sister and I do this a lot, as do my best friend and I. If you are sick of some of your clothes, go through your closet and put the ones you don't want anymore aside. Tell some of your friends to do the same, then get together and swap clothes! It's a great way to get new clothes (new-to-you) and be sustainable. Any leftovers can be donated to Big Brothers and Big Sisters!

2. Reduce your carbon footprint. There are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint - this includes using your car less or buying a more fuel efficient vehicle.  You can calculate your carbon footprint here: http://tiny.cc/49cd1

3.  Always carry reusable bags. This is one I really want to start working on, because Scott and I always forget our reusable bags at home! Some reusable bags fold up and fit in any size purse great. Invest in a few of those and you'll always have a bag on hand! Plastic bags can take from 50 to 1,000 years to decompose!!

4. Use biodegradable detergents for your laundry and dishes. Many chemicals used to make detergents "more powerful" cause damage to our Earth. By using biodegradable detergents we are helping out the Earth! It's also a good idea to use vinegar and water to clean the kitchen and bathroom. Vinegar acts as a cleaner for pipes, so not only will it clean those spaces but it will help clean your pipes also!

5. When printing documents - use recycled, non-bleached paper.  The number of trees cut down can be reduced and the chemicals used to making paper so white can also be reduced. Staples sells recycled paper, check it out: http://tiny.cc/qv7jj.

6. Buy local! For all of you who had Mrs. MacDonald for grade 12 geography can't you remember her telling us, "Local, local, local". She always tried to drill in our head how fantastic it was to buy local. Now I totally understand this reduces the shipping because it is not coming from far away! And we are able to support our local farmers.

Here are your tips for the week! Try them out and let me know how they're working out for you.

Green Tips of the Week

I have a new desk calendar in my living room which gives daily sustainability tips. So I have decided to share some of the best tips weekly!

1. Make a resolution to 'go green'. Read books about going green, follow blogs, or research information about being sustainable.

2. Stay fit by jogging, biking, walking or skating outdoors. By spending time outdoors you will develop an appreciation for nature. Since it is winter one often finds it harder to get outdoors, so skating, skiing or sledding are great ways to keep fit while spending time outdoors.

3. Wash your clothes in cold water. Not only will this save money but, lower energy consumption reduces greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere. However, things like dishcloths and towels should still be washed in hot or warm/cold water.

4. Repair your clothes. Instead of throwing out clothes that have gotten a hole etc., repair those clothes. Extending the life of your clothes makes it so you "buy less, save money and put less demand on the environment". If you can't sew, try and learn or find someone who can help you out.

5. Drink tap water, not bottled water. In North America most cities have water that is just as good - or better than - bottled water. This also reduces the plastic waste that is filling up our landfills. If you are on a well and do not want to consume your water - try buying a filter to attach to your tap.

6. Use baking soda as a cleaner. Not only can baking soda help your fridge stay fresh, but it can clean the tub, the toilet or even your carpet and rugs! By using baking soda instead of harsh chemical cleaners it is better to send those down the drain. Also, by sprinkling baking soda on carpet, rugs or your fabric couches and letting it sit can help clean it!

7. Compost! Composting naturally breaks down organic matter, not only does composting reduce what goes in our landfills but it also can provide soil for a garden!

Try these out and next week I will post more tips to make your life more sustainable!