so I made dishwasher detergent
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I ran across this article last week about making your own dishwasher detergent. We were almost out of dishwasher tabs so I thought I would give it a try. Not only is it eco-friendly but it's super cost effective. The article estimates 50 loads cost 50 cents! Considering I pay probably around 8 dollars for 50 loads I was sold.
I found all of the ingredients at my grocery store. The only citric acid I could find at the store was the Fruit Fresh bottle in the canning aisle. That may have raised my cost per load. But I did a little research online and found that you can buy a 5 pound bottle on Amazon for $26.
I mixed up my first batch tonight. My dishes were just as clean as they were with the dishwasher tabs. It is suggested that you add vinegar to your rinse spout for best results. I gave the new detergent a try without the vinegar for the first run. My glasses were a little spotty so I'm guessing the vinegar would take care of that. When I run out of this batch I'm going to buy some citric acid online and continue to make my own. Two thumbs up to my new eco-friendly dishwashing method! posted by kimberly, 1/27/2010 11:05:00 PM
4 comments
| 
cloth diapers so far
Monday, December 08, 2008
Josh and I decided months before Jasper was born that we were going to use cloth diapers. We were given about two weeks worth of disposable diapers so of course, decided we would use them first. We ended up doing about four weeks of disposable before switching to the cloth and I'm really glad we did it that way. New parents tend to change diapers more often than necessary. Newborns dirty A LOT of diapers. And I don't know how many times Jasper would dirty a diaper as we put a clean one on.
After four weeks we switched to cloth diapers and haven't looked back. We absolutely love them! When I put that first diaper on him I knew we had made the right decision. They are so easy to use. We had a few leaks at first but switched to the regular liner instead of using the newborn liner. (Let's face it, Jasper hasn't been much of a typical newborn.) We haven't had any leaks since.
The diaper fits really well which still kind of amazes me. They seemed so big at first and yet they just worked. The Velcro is great because you can refasten the diaper really easily. The Velcro is so much better than that sticky stuff that masquerades as Velcro on disposables. When the diaper is dirty, you pull the liner out and dump both the outside shell and liner in the same pail. About every other day we do one load of diaper laundry. After the load is dry we go through and stuff the liners back into each individual shell which takes about 10 minutes. Josh and I usually do this while watching TV and it goes really quickly.
Even when we are out and about, using them isn't any more difficult. We have a lined bag to hold wet things. I just put the dirty diaper in there and empty it in the pail when we get home. I don't anticipate needing to use disposable for any reason.
I also feel a lot better about putting them on Jasper's skin. They seem so much softer and better for him. We also haven't had any diaper rash so far.
I would so recommend the Bum Genius diapers to anyone. (Although I would suggest doing disposable for a couple weeks.) They're cute and really easy to use. Really the only thing that is different is the laundry and that's not nearly as time consuming as one would think. Josh figures that by the end of the year the diapers will have paid for themselves. That's reason enough for me! posted by kimberly, 12/08/2008 07:30:00 AM
4 comments
|
the elastic was the kicker
Tuesday, September 23, 2008Labels: bakin' a bun, be green
Before I was even pregnant, I had been doing a lot of research on cloth diapers. We were still living in the apartment at the time and not sure if we'd have a house before Baby. Not having a washer and dryer at my disposal was really the only thing holding me back. So soon after we bought the house Josh and I both agreed that cloth diapers was the way to go for us. I was even a little surprised at how sure Josh was that we should go for it.
Some of the reasons:
1. It's WAY better for the environment. I have a hard time thinking about throwing away tons of non-biodegradable waste every day.
2. We're cheap...or rather frugal. We invested close to $500 in cloth diapers that will last until our kid is potty trained. On average people have figured you end up saving at least two grand with using cloth diapers.
3. I'm forgetful. I'm pretty sure that I would be one of those moms that was always forgetting to buy diapers. We would be running to Meijer at midnight to pick some up. Once we forgot to buy toilet paper every time we were at a store and I had to steal a couple rolls from my parent's. Hmm...actually I think that has happened more than once.
4. Cloth diapers are actually better for the baby. Disposable diapers contain all kinds of toxic chemicals I can't pronounce. I can pronounce cotton!
5. Supposedly there is less diaper rash, kids potty train sooner and the smell isn't as bad. Those I'll have to let you know on.
6. They're really cute. It's true that this was a reason for going the cloth diaper route.
Some reasons that we (and others) hesitate:
1. That's a whole lot of laundry. We will be doing one load of laundry every other day. Once I started thinking about it though I realized it's not all that bad. I hate doing laundry that is a hodge podge of clothes, socks and everything. Folding sucks. Diapers though will be all of the same. Josh and I washed all twenty-four diapers the other night. We sat while watching crappy TV and had the inserts stuffed and the diapers folded in half in probably less than 10 minutes. Okay, so not the biggest time commitment I had originally thought.
2. You might have to touch poo. When using cloth diapers, you don't have the convenience of just wrapping up a diaper and tossing it in the trash. Once the baby is a little older you will have to shake the poo out of the diaper into the toilet. Not so bad...I mean, parents deal with baby poo every day. It reminds me of that part in the movie Baby Mama. The mom sees her little boy covered in something brown. She says, "Is that chocolate or poop?". No answer so she licks his hand. "It's chocolate". And the response, "what if that had been poop?".
3. They are inconvenient and awkward. Josh and I picked the BumGenius 3.0 diapers because they grow with your kid and they are super convenient. You literally just shove an insert into the pocket and go. They definitely aren't what most people picture when they think cloth diapers. I remember telling my mom early on about the cloth diaper decision and she didn't really say much. About halfway through my pregnancy we were talking about the baby and she said, "The only thing I think you might want to reconsider is the cloth diapers". When I asked why I could tell she was still thinking of the old fashioned prefolds with pins and rubber pants over. I started explaining the BumGenius kind that we had picked. Her face slowly lit up more and more. The kicker: I explained how there was even elastic around the legs. "Elastic???!?", she exclaimed. That's what sold her.
It's been fun for me to show people our cloth diapers and see the look of surprise. We've already converted one couple who is pregnant and another who just got married and isn't going to have kids for awhile. I'm excited about doing the whole cloth diaper thing and I'm glad we decided to go for it.
method free bag
Tuesday, October 30, 2007Labels: be green
Back in September, I read on Danny Seo's blog that Method was doing a promotion where you buy $20 worth of product and get a free reusable bag. Well you can bet that I was all over that. I can always use some Method product so it was easy to spend $20. I got laundry detergent, another microfiber cloth, tub + tile spray and some of the eucalyptus mint flushable wipes. Okay, so I probably spent over $20...but it was well worth it. I sent away for my bag and it came on Saturday. I was thrilled! It's super sturdy and even has a zippered pocket inside. I already tried it out and I love it.
I'm a big fan of the Method products. I have slowly switched to using pretty much all of their cleaning products. And we recently switched to their laundry detergent and really like it. Did you know that they have some holiday products? I can hardly wait to start using the Hollyberry hand soap. (I'm a sucker for anything Christmas related.)
Anyway, go buy some Method cleaning supplies, fill out this form and get a free bag. It's made of awesome.
blog action day
Monday, October 15, 2007"So called 'global warming' is just a secret ploy by wacko treehuggers to make America energy independent, clean our air and water, improve the fuel efficiency of our vehicles, kick-start 21st-century industries, and make our cities safer and more livable. Don't let them get away with it!" -Chip Giller, founder of grist.org Labels: be green
I almost missed Blog Action Day! Bloggers everywhere are writing about the environment today. I thought I should join in. A week ago the temperature reached a stifling 92 degrees. Josh and I were joking that morning about how anyone could think global warming didn't exist on a day like that. (92 in October in Central Illinois!) Of course, later that day Josh's younger cousin said the exact words that I couldn't understand. He said, "I don't believe in global warming". Are you serious? I was flabbergasted and utterly speechless. I honestly didn't know what to say. I think that upset me more than anything...that I didn't know how to respond to that. Today I ran across "How to talk to a climate skeptic". Eureka! That's exactly what I need. So I'm going to be studying that and hopefully learning how to respond to someone.
I have completely committed to not using plastic bags. It practically makes me sick if I have to use one because I forgot my Envirosax. Josh and I have also given up paper towels but we're still working on napkins. The thought of having to do more laundry hasn't allowed me to give those up yet. I have also been researching biodegradable garbage bags. I found these and these.
I have been frustrated with the amount of packaging when ordering online. Living in a small rural area really limits the amount of items I can find local. I recently wrote a company after I was so disappointed with the crazy amount of plastic packaging. They wrote back and said that they would look into other packaging ideas but it should be noted that this could increase their price. Hm... It would nice if companies like Amazon had a green packaging option. You could chose it for a couple more dollars or something.
I truly believe that every little bit helps. Making one small change will lead to another and another and another...you get the idea. Try it!
meet the greens
Thursday, August 23, 2007Labels: be green
Check out The Greens at www.MeetTheGreens.org. A new kids' guide to looking after the planet. Watch this episode. Great summary of the problems going on with the environment and it's pretty cute!
pur water
Monday, August 20, 2007Labels: be green
After all of our talk about the Pur water filter, Josh and I just decided to go for it and buy one. I'm so glad that we did. And because we're big dorks, Josh and I set up a blind taste test for me. (I can always tell a difference in bottled waters.) So I tried our regular tap water, Pur-filtered water and the bottled water we had. I picked them all out without knowing which was which. I also decided that I liked the Pur-filtered water best.
Josh was just as happy about it as I was. He offered anyone who stopped by over the weekend a glass of Pur-filtered water!
small changes
Tuesday, August 14, 2007Labels: be green
Josh and I are slowly trying to change certain things we do to be more environmentally friendly. I realized that it's pretty discouraging if you feel like you have to change everything all at once. Little things though, can make a difference.
I finally got a Sigg bottle to replace using plastic water bottles. Next up we're hoping to get a faucet water filter, like the PUR faucet mounts. (We just have to have the money for it!) This would cut out the huge plastic bottles of water we buy a couple times a month.
Every time we go somewhere and use my Envirosax, we get comments on them. People want to know where we got them, how we like them... I'm getting less strange looks and more "I need those" looks.
I am currently reading The Lazy Environmentalist by Josh Dorfman. That is a wealth of information! I have also been bookmarking sites left and right. Here are some to check out.
"Plastic bags are killing us" Article on Salon News - Very interesting little video of a recycling center in San Francisco
Ecogeek - Updated daily with all kinds of geeky technological ways to save the environment
How can I recycle this? Suggestions for reusing and recycling just about anything
i love my envirosax
Tuesday, May 15, 2007Labels: be green
Josh and I got groceries last night and tried out my new Envirosax. I bought them from delight.com. I love them! I wasn't sure how much they'd hold or what the checkout person would say so I was a little anxious to use them. I got up to the checkout and the Walmart cashier got ready to put our first items in those yucky plastic bags. I stopped her and said that I had actually brought my own bags and was going to use them first. She looked slightly confused and then said, "Oh....oh!" I whipped out my first bag. The cashier would scan the items and just put them on top of the spinning thing that holds the bags. I just kept fitting more stuff into it each one. I'm guessing those five bags held about 16 to 18 plastic bags worth of food. It was crazy! After I paid I told the lady thanks and sorry if I slowed her down. She laughed and said that I was actually pretty good at packing.
I'm pretty excited about using these bags from now on. They roll up to a tiny size so I could even carry one in my purse. It really was so handy to use them...even carrying in our groceries was easier because we had less bags. I love when something that's good to do is actually less work!
i want to ride my bicycle
Monday, May 14, 2007Labels: be green, everything else
When my parents first got married, they bought matching bikes. Earlier this month they invested in some new bikes and decided to sell the old ones on our garage sale. I couldn't bare the thought of someone else riding my mom's old bike so I decided to take it. Last summer I was riding my custom bike that I got for $10. It basically started to fall apart by the end of the summer and we had to get rid of it.
Lately I've been really wishing I had a bike. With a husband who is obsessed with cycling, it's hard for some of that not to rub off. Plus it bothers me to drive my car 7 blocks to and from work everyday when I could save on gas and carbon emissions by riding a bike. So now I'm riding this rockin' bike!
eco-friendly sleep talking
Tuesday, May 01, 2007For as long as I can remember, I have always slept-talk. Not every night and not even that often but I still would sleep talk. When I was younger I usually was looking for my little brother or speaking gibberish. My parents still get a kick about bringing that up when we're all there. In college I would regularly freak my roommate Jess out by looking under the bed for things and asking her where something was. And now that I'm married I provide Josh with something to laugh at in the middle of the night.
More times than not my sleep talking is just incoherent babble. However I am happy to report that my subconscious is becoming environmentally friendly.
Sometime early Monday morning I informed Josh in my sleep, "This is an eco-friendly shower head". posted by kimberly, 5/01/2007 07:41:00 AM
1 comments
|
reduce, reuse, recycle
Monday, April 23, 2007Labels: be green
Yesterday was Earth Day so I thought I would post some ideas of ways to help our environment.
- Back in October I switched my web hosting service to ThinkHost. They actually just planted a tree for me and all of their other clients. Every hosting plan they offer is covered under their carbon neutral green program.
- Undo your contribution to global warming with TerraPass. You can erase your carbon footprint from your car. When you buy a TerraPass, the money funds renewable energy projects such as wind farms. For Earth Day, Josh and I purchased a TerraPass for my car.
- Last week I also did something that I've wanted to do for three years. I started a recycling program at work. With the boss's permission I purchased recycle bins for everyone's desk and a large one for cans, plastic and glass. It's a good feeling to know that instead of throwing away all of that paper we will now be recycling it.
- Pledge to switch to Compact Fluorescent Lights from Incandescent light bulbs. Here's a test Popular Mechanics did rating the best fluorescent light bulbs.
- Don't use those annoying plastic bags at Walmart and other places. Take your own tote bags to put your groceries in. We're trying to use our $.59 IKEA bag or check out Reusable Bags for some nice alternatives.
- Set up a clothes line and line dry your laundry. Our clothes were flapping in the wind for most of Saturday.
Once you start it becomes almost a challenge to find ways to be environmentally friendly. Josh and I are constantly looking at other ways we can make a difference. We're even hoping to get a hybrid when we're finally able to replace his car in a year or so. Every little bit helps.
the magical land of IKEA
Tuesday, April 17, 2007Be Brave, Not Beige Labels: apartment living, be green, retail therapy
Last week I randomly suggested Josh and I should make a trip to IKEA. Josh was thrilled; you would have thought that I just told him he was getting a brand new bicycle. He was so excited that he spent the next 2 hours scouring the IKEA website. We hadn't been in forever and after all this talk of redoing our bedroom...well, I decided we should go.
I'm not sure why so many people turn up their noses at IKEA furniture and such. I guess because it's cheap. I really like the style of a lot of their stuff. I don't care that it doesn't cost that much. In fact, that makes me like it even more! Come on, let's bring style to the masses. It's like Target doing the designer clothes. "Design for All"...way to go, Target.
We made it in about two hours only going about 5 minutes out of our way after missing the I-355 exit. Watch out for that construction, folks. It was nuts. We arrived so excited to get in there and started! I'm always floored by just how big that place is. And it's amazing the number of people coming in and out of it...it is so busy.
The first thing we saw when we got there was the Poang chair that Josh has wanted for 3 years. We hadn't really planned on buying it but it was added to our sheet, just in case. I had brought a list of things I wanted to make sure I looked at, like the nightstands. By the end of the trip, we ended up filling our cart and one of those trolleys.
I was so excited to get these three little vases. They were $1.99 a piece and so very Jonathan Adler, don't you think?
Got this little teapot for $4.99. So cute and much cheaper than anything I had found around here. It's perfect for heating water for our French press.
We also got three Malma mirrors for $1.99 each. I got just the naked wood ones so I can paint them white or yellow and put them in our bedroom when it's done. And a few other things I found:
We did also get our nightstands and Josh's chair (which he had put together in like 10 minutes because he was so excited about it).
One thing I was very excited about is IKEA's new "Bag the Plastic Bag" program. For 59 cents you can buy a flippin' huge reusable bag instead of using plastic bags. The bag filled up the bottom of the cart...it was that big! IKEA is starting to charge five cents for every plastic bag you use. Instead we just bought one of the reusable bags. For the first year of the blue bag program, they are going to donate all proceeds to American Forests. I think I'm going to start taking that bag to Meijer with us and just have them put our groceries or whatever in that. I'm a big fan of IKEA's position on environmental issues.
It was such a good day and we felt like we really got some cool stuff. I really am a big fan of IKEA. (Few more photos on Flickr.)
treehugger
Monday, October 30, 2006I switched hosting service to Thinkhost this past weekend. They are 100% earth friendly, powered by the sun and wind. Their customer service has been awesome so far. (I have contacted them three times already and they have gone above and beyond!) Labels: be green
Everything should be up and going. If you notice anything weird, please let me know! (There have been a few minor quirks...sorry!)
