Green Tip Tuesday: Green Ways to Get Rid of the Clutter

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I'm buried here in Massachusetts and not just because of the blizzard.  I'm buried in STUFF.  Christmas is over and now all of those cheerful decorations are reading as *Clutter* to me now.  With the new gifts we received some stuff has to go.

So how to get rid of the clutter and decorations without filling up a landfill or just slinging it all into a box and stuffing it into that subterranean landfill I call "storage"?

It's easy: Donate.

Here's my plan:
First I'm going to take down the Christmas decorations.  There are a lot of items that I put up this year not because I liked them but because I'd always put them up and didn't have a good reason not to do so again.  Well, my good reason has arrived!  After searching a lot of decorating blogs AND reading my new Feng Shui book, I have decided that having anything, even something seasonal, that isn't useful, beautiful, or both is a BAD IDEA.  As I take the items down I am going to give each bobble a good scrutinizing to see if it goes into the 'Storage' box or the 'Donate' box.  No need to give away family heirlooms, but really?  The shiny gold bows I bought at Big Lots 20 years ago?  No, their time has come...and gone. 

My decor wasn't quite this cluttered, but this is how it feels now!

Luckily I also took my own advice and used a lot of natural decorating so the nuts, seeds, cranberries, pinecones, and clove oranges can all be tossed into the woods to become treasures for the woodland creatures.

Now let's talk about gifts.  Anything you received this year that you know, deep in your heart of hearts, just isn't for you and yours?  Don't store it, don't *intend* to do something with it, don't let it sit somewhere until it becomes part of the landscape.  Give it away.  Do it now.  Don't feel guilty.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with moving things that are not useful and/or beautiful to you on to someone who will love them.  What if the gift was given to you by someone who will a) notice it gone; b) be hurt that you don't love it; or c) spent a lot of time/money in the purchase or creation of the gift?  Thank them.  Thank them genuinely, lovingly, and earnestly.  Then load it in your car and take it to the donation station quickly, before you lose your nerve.

As for the rest of my stuff, these last few days of the year are an excellent opportunity to donate those sweaters that I still haven't worn even though the weather has been cold for 2 months.  To get rid of those platters that I still didn't use, even though I hosted a large party on Christmas Eve.  To help my daughter rid herself of unused Wii games, and my husband and I both need to do a good book purge (though I'll confess that of all the items I donate, books are the hardest with which to part). 

And the benefits of my hard work?  HUGE!  Cleaner house, less clutter, items that really reflect my decorating taste NOW not 10 years ago, tax deductions, good example for my daughter, lightening up is good for the mind, body, and soul, less to store, more room to invite into my life those items I would like now (I have a bedroom chair in mind, more on that later), and according to Feng Shui, my Chi'i should be off the charts with all the positive energy flow.

Sorry about the blur, but you get the idea.  Breathing room!

Simplify, simplify, simplify.  I feel lighter already.

How about you?

Green Tip Tuesday: Are you dreaming of a Green Christmas?

The greatest thing about going "green" during the holidays is that you can completely simplify your life, get out of doing a ton of work, save money, and blame it all on being a good steward of the planet.  Here are a few green tips that will free up your time for important things, like baking (eating) cookies, and help the planet.

1.  "Green" gift wrapping.  The best way to green up your gift wrapping is by not wrapping at all.  This is a completely new concept to me who has been weaned on a steady diet of Martha Stewart bow tutorials and the belief that the more elaborate, the better when it comes to wrapping paper.  I'm converted though.  For young children, how about setting up their gifts in fun and inviting groups?  For older children, like mine, I'm going for the Christmas morning scavenger hunt.  Instead of wrapping most of my daughter's gifts, I'm going to have them hidden around the house.  I'm spending the time I would ordinarily be wrapping making up clues for her to follow to find her gifts.  I'll still wrap a gift or two in recycled wrapping paper, but only a few instead of all of them.

2.  Green decorating means using natural items like pine garland, pine cones, acorns, strung popcorn, dried apples, cranberries, nuts, and colored candies.  Take a glass bowl, fill it with red hot candies, add in a white candle: instant candle scape and the candies will break down naturally when thrown away.   Fill a vase with candy canes (unwrapped).  Let fewer items have greater impact by using lush greens and lots of ribbon, which can be used again and again each year.

3.  E-cards.  Forget the addressing, the postage, the work, the money, and the huge carbon footprint.  Go green, send e-cards, and sit back and relax.  Think you'll miss seeing a bunch of cards hanging on the wall?  Well, me too so I'm just going to try it this year and see if I really do feel deprived.  I'm betting I won't.  Feel like you need to send a holiday letter?  Email it!  Want to give family/friends pictures of your kids?  Make an online photo album like the ones available from snapfish.com.  You can password protect them so only your family/friends can see the photos, they can order any prints they would like while still viewing the entire album.  Green, green, green.

4.  Green gift giving is easy when you make use of the online gift cards available from places like Amazon.com, and eBay.com.  You can procrastinate until the very last minute, they're always the right size, they're never out of stock, and your gift recipient is guaranteed to get something they'll want.

5.  Finally, the greenest thing we can do this year is resist the temptation to fill our families' stockings with ...junk.  I'm guilty, I have certainly picked up all sorts of little tchotchkes for my daughter, especially on impulse: tiny pads of paper with kittens on the front, cheap, chemical-infused lip glosses in 10 different flavors, plastic jewelry she's never worn, sugar-filled gum in kind of gross flavors, cheap plastic toys - I've bought it all just to "fill" the stocking.  This year I'm resisting.  I know, I know, it's easier for me because my child is almost 12 and I'm certainly not judging anyone's choices, I'm just suggesting.

I'm trying all these things this year, just to see how it goes.  I love a white Christmas, but I'm really hoping for a green one.

Green Tip Tuesday: How Green is your Car?

Can you believe it?  Another Green Tip Tuesday?  And just when you'd given up hope forever...

Today let's talk about cars.  Over the summer we traded in my big ol' gas guzzling Saturn Outlook (16.9 mpg)

I loved this car, but the gas mileage was awful

for an itty bitty Honda Insight Hybrid (45.6 mpg). 

Obviously no 7 passenger seating here, it was a trade-off

We made the trade because the lease on the Saturn was up anyway and we were looking to buy something less expensive, smaller, and great on gas mileage.  Fortunately you don't have to trade in your old vehicle to "green up" your car.  There are actually lots of little things we can all do that make a big impact.  Most of them involve unlearning what we were taught about cars.

According to a post from Consumer's Report there were two mistakes I was making with my cars:

1.  Oil should be changed about every 3000 miles?  Nope.  That was true for cars 15 years ago, but most cars now are designed to go about 7500 miles between oil changes.  While changing the oil unnecessarily won't hurt the car, it certainly impacts the environment by adding a lot of hazardous waste (oil).  Save yourself some money and change your oil less often.

2.  You should let your engine warm up a few minutes before driving?  Absolutely not.  While my grandfather was right when he told me that, it's no longer true.  Now you are just wasting gas and adding unnecessary carbon monoxide into the air.

I further researched and found an interesting article on a government webpage (so it must be true) about keeping tires properly inflated as a way to save on gas and ensure proper braking.  Less gas = less dependance on petroleum = better for all of us.

Finally I have to mention washing your car.  My husband is a tiny bit fanatical about keeping our cars clean and he usually wants to wash them himself, by hand, in the driveway, regardless of the temperature.  Believe it or not, this is the least green way to go.

I prefer touchless so I don't have to worry about my paint being scratched

 Many car washes now recycle their water but even for those who don't most states require a proper drainage system so the dirty, soapy water doesn't go directly into the groundwater supply.  You can save a lot of water by going to a car wash instead of washing your car yourself.

Frequently I hear people say that they would love to be greener but it is so expensive.  Not true, I say!  You can use all the money you are saving on oil changes and extra gas from not idling your car to pay for your car wash and you'll still come out ahead.

My new car is silver, but it's a lot greener.

Green Tip Tuesday: Planning a "greener" yard next spring

Believe it or not now is the perfect time to begin planning for a more earth friendly yard next spring.  Have you ever heard of xeriscaping?  Xeriscaping is landscaping in a way that reduces your dependance upon watering.  While the use of native and drought tolerant plants is nothing new, the idea of planning my yard to make the most of those plants, while still attracting butterflies and bees, was a foreign concept to me.  I thought landscaping occurred by looking at what was already in my yard, adding some stuff to it that looked good, trying not to have too many planting beds so I didn't have to mulch a lot, and calling it a day.

I didn't know I was supposed to plan.

Well now I do and here are some tips I've learned:

1.  No matter where you live many drought-resistant plants have some characteristics in common: they have leaves which are small, thick, glossy, silver gray or fuzzy.  Look for these plants at your local nursery and be sure to ask the nursery attendant for more drought resistant plants.

Creeping phlox is perennial, gorgeous, and drought resistant

2.  Use native plants.  Trying to keep a tropical plant alive in my northeastern climate would require not only a tremendous amount of work, but also a tremendous amount of water.  Forget the exotic palm trees, I'm sticking with silver dogwoods which are, you guessed it, native to the northeast.

3.  Mulch.  Me and my black thumb thought that mulch was just to make the dirt look good for the neighbors.  I didn't realize how important mulch is to retaining soil moisture, insulating plants' roots, and regulating soil temperature.  Mulch layers should be several inches thick.  Beware: colored mulch is dyed mulch so many of the benefits of the mulch are reduced by the negatives of the dye.

4.  Weed your landscape beds.  Having a lot of weeds competing for water may pull water away from your landscape plants causing you to have to water more often.

5.  Use perennials when possible.  Perennials tend to be more drought resistant by their very nature.  Use annuals sparingly because in addition to requiring more water they frequently are not as hearty and require more fertilizer, pesticides, or plant food.

6.  Consider some hardscape:  landscape walls, rocks, gravel, benches, etc., can all be beautiful additions to your planting beds and require no water at all.  I'm not saying you should fill your lawn with garden gnomes (though you'll never hear me besmirch the gnome!), just a few well chosen implements can replace plants quite nicely.

The differing sizes of rocks and mulch fill in this area nicely

If you're lucky enough to have an irrigation system it's a great idea to install a moisture-sensitive monitor so the sprinklers only run when necessary.  If you're lucky enough to have a gardener then thank your lucky stars, give him or her a refreshing glass of lemonade, and go relax.  If you're me then you'll be out there this fall digging up the poorly-placed-too-big-for-the-bed-and-in-the-wrong-place-for-sun-requirements plants and finding new homes for them.

Now go play in the dirt!

Green Tip Tuesday: Being Green While You Sleep

Image from Gaiam.com

Today the Gaiam sale catalog arrived in the mail.  Now y'all know how inspired I get from my catalogs and Gaiam is my Green inspiration that's for sure.  Looking at the gorgeous organic sheet sets (on sale!) has inspired me to make quality, organic bedding a priority.

Sleeping is meant to be a time for healing, rejuvenation, renewal, and rest.  None of those things feel compatible with inhaling toxins, absorbing chemicals, irritating the immune system, or creating allergies but that's exactly what can happen night after night if we sleep is poorly ventilated rooms with chemical-filled bedding.

Imagine if you will a more peaceful scenario: you climb into bed, a bed softened with 250-thread-count organic cotton percale sheets.  Your skin is not going to absorb any dyes or chemicals from the sheets because none were used.  Your window and your door are both open, just slightly, for proper ventilation.  Your mattress is softened and protected  by a pure wool mattress topper or pad.  Your pajamas, if you choose to wear them, are loose, cotton, and chemical free.  Aren't you feeling more relaxed already?

Wool mattress topper from Gaiam.com

My bedroom is not all organic.  My bed is wood and veneers with plenty of glue, varnish, and other toxins I'm sure.  My blankets aren't organic cotton.  My mattress happens to be organic cotton only because we had to buy a new one last year and it wasn't any more expensive than a regular kind.  I don't have the money to replace all my furniture and bedding with chemical-free options and frankly, I'm not sure I need to.  As long as my room is ventilated throughout the day and while I sleep the toxins leaching from my bed don't have a chance to build up and I don't actually touch my bedframe while sleeping.  The only thing touching my skin at night are my pajamas and my sheets (and Steve against whom a pretty good arguement could be made that with all those pizza rolls in his system he is also a source of toxins, but I digress) and since I really need to buy some new sheets anyway, why not make them organic?

It was my Gaiam catalog with any size sheets set on sale for $39.99 (http://www.gaiam.com/) that inspired me, but I've also noticed places like Target, WalMart, Lands End, LLBean, and Pottery Barn carrying organic sheet sets.  My goal is to replace my sheets with an organic option, wash them in eco-friendly detergent, and perhaps, over time, invest in some organic cotton T-shirts and boxers for sleeping. 

A restful night.  Giving my body the opportunity to rejuvenate.  Less pesticides being used on our planet.  Less dyes and chemicals being put into our drinking water, soil, and bodies.  One small step that if we all take together adds up to one big step.

Now go get a good night's sleep.

Green Tip Tuesday: Let's Talk about Toothbrushes

Oops, it looks like Green Tip Tuesday is once again being held on a Wednesday.  Sorry!  My last days of summer are kind of running together a bit.  Anyway, let's talk about toothbrushes!  If you're listening to your dentist you are throwing away your old toothbrush every six months or anytime you get sick.  That could add up to a lot of waste.   Luckily, there are some greener solutions.

Powered toothbrushes only replace the toothbrush head

The first solution is to use a rechargeable powered toothbrush.  These kinds of toothbrushes have a base that can be used for years with only the toothbrush head needing to be replaced.  I use an Oral B rechargeable and absolutely love it.  My teeth feel cleaner, I know I am brushing long enough because it has a self timer that tells me when 2 minutes is up, and because I am actually brushing for 2 minutes (instead of what feels like 2 minutes!) I am more apt to do a complete job.  You do have to be careful not to press too hard on your gums or you can cause sensitivity and pain.  The toothbrush head that gets replaced still generates waste, it simply generates less waste because of its size and the fact that a complete toothbrush doesn't have to be manufactured.  Of course my toothbrush base does get plugged into the wall so there is still a carbon footprint.  Also, it can be very hard to find eco-friendly replacement heads that fit the toothbrush.

These wooden toothbrushes are natural but not made from sustainable wood sources

Recycled yogurt containers make up these toothbrushes

Another solution is to buy a toothbrush made from recycled material.  There is an eco-friendly toothbrush manufactured by Recycline, Inc. in Waltham, Massachusetts.  The toothbrush base is made from recycled yogurt containers that are supplied by Stoneyfield Farm Yogurt.  It's a great option for manual toothbrush users because you are already re-using what has been re-cycled and re-purposed.  Pristineplanet.com carries a line of eco-friendly toothbrushes that are BPA free and phthalate free.  There is only one problem that I have with these toothbrushes: price. 

As you well know from my organic butter ($4.99/lb) I definitely pay a premium for what I consider to be superior products.  HOWEVER, at roughly $7.99 per toothbrush, if you have a bad winter of colds and flu you could bankrupt yourself just buying toothbrushes.  Not to mention that these toothbrushes are not widely available in stores and so you may encounter shipping costs when buying online.  Yikes!

Having said all that, you may want to make the toothbrush investment and here is why: most toothbrushes contain BPA, acrylic, nylon, and phthlalate.  Add to this a nice toxic chemical like fluoride that will help these substances to break down and you have your average teeth brushing experience.  If you're having problems with bleeding gums, mouth sores or ulcers, any kind of mouth, throat, or lip cancers, or have a suppressed immune system it may be worthwhile to consider a natural toothbrush.  Now I suppose the argument can be made that if you're having all those above listed problems you probably want to make a lot of lifestyle changes and your toothbrush may be the least of your concerns, but why add toxins, right?

For the Average Joe who doesn't have bleeding mouth ulcers there is something else to consider: if you have a toddler that likes to chew on toothbrushes invest in an eco-friendly toothbrush.  Wash it regularly to preserve it as long as possible and don't replace it until it is gnawed completely but don't let your babies ingest all those toxins.  Why bother to invest in the BPA free water bottle and then give your baby a toothbrush to chew on?

Whatever type of toothbrush you use the really important thing is to use it regularly.  Having a clean mouth reduces air pollution and that my friends, is Green.

Green Tip Tuesday: Surprising Areas of Waste & How to Be Greener

Being smug is fun, isn't it?  I'll admit it: as I walk around my house on freshly washed-with-vinegar floors wearing organic cotton socks that will later be washed with Earth-friendly detergent sometimes I just can't help but let that smug little smirk creep onto my face.  Oh yeah, I'm sooo much better than all those Mop-N-Glo-using-synthetic-sock-wearing-folks!  Right?  So my smug-little-self decides to take out the trash (of course a very small bag since environmental smugness and recycling go hand-in-hand) and would you looky here...Plastic baggies with zipper top, batteries, single use Keurig cups, banana peels, a peach pit, and a styrofoam meat tray all getting ready to go to the landfill.  And all completely unnecessary waste.  Perhaps I'm just a mere mortal after all...

So what are the options?  Well, what about trying this:

Most plastic bags can be recycled but they may have to go to a "special" recycling center which can be a pain to find.  I found out that the same recycling bin at my grocery store that will take the plastic grocery bags will also take sandwich style bags as long as the zipper is cut off.  I also know that some people wash and reuse their baggies.  I am  not a huge fan of this option because these bags were not made to be washed and reused.  Aside from the potential for harmful bacterial growth is the fact that the bags are breaking down with use leaching their petrochemicals into whatever you have in the bag.  The best option is to forego the bag completely and find a reusable container that will fit your needs.  This can be super challenging because who is going to pack a glass bowl in their child's lunch, right?  I have found that the reusable bags from snacktaxi (http://www.snacktaxi.com/) are a good option, as well as using recyclable plastic containers for dry goods (get a thermos if you're packing anything hot,like soup).

I keep meaning to make the investment in rechargeable batteries.  The problem is that when I remember I need batteries for something tends to be at the checkout when that conveniently placed little package of Duracells jogs my memory.   Despite all my good intentions those old batteries end up in the trash where they get to leach some good ol' heavy metals like mercury and nickel cadmium into the soil.   So if, like me, that rechargeable battery purchase hasn't materialized, be assured that it's actually getting easier to recycle batteries.  A lot of office supply stores are creating drop boxes for battery recycling, as well as bigger chain stores like WalMart.  The best information on how to recycle the battery may come from the packaging itself which frequently gives a website to go to for information.  My plan: hang a bag under the sink, label it 'Batteries', throw all the batteries in there instead of in the trash.  When the bag is full (which will take some time in most households) find a recycling center and take it there.  (Yes that solution did combine two of my favorite things: procrastinating and recycling!)

I'm guilty, guilty, guilty.  We even have the reusable Keurig insert that enables us to put coffee, tea, whatever, into the machine without using the single-use cup.  I don't believe we've ever used it.  Those little cups are so cute, convenient, have great flavors, I can't find my green chai tea in bulk, I've got dozens of reasons why I don't use the reusable cup.  None of them are Green.  The only option is for me to change my wicked ways and use the reusable filter giving the K-cup manufacturers time to develop recylable packaging.  In order to get the green chai tea I love I'm going to have to make it myself.  Here is the recipe:

1/3 c loose green tea
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom

Mix the ingredients together.  If using K-cup reusable filter, put 1 TBSP into the filter, store the remainder in an airtight (glass!) container.  I like to add rice or soy milk to my brewed cup, but that's just me.  Enjoy!

Banana peels and peach pits.  If I had a compost pile these would be excellent candidates to go on that pile.  In the past I haven't felt too bad about throwing away things that will naturally break down because, well, they naturally break down.  They don't clog up landfills for years and years, they self-compost.  Unfortunately this thinking is pretty flawed.  First of all they do clog up landfills because it's not like they break down instantly, it takes time.  Secondly that plastic bag they are stored in isn't exactly breaking down quickly (if at all) either so what good does it do to have some quality compost trapped in plastic for the next millenium?  My quick fix has been to throw a lot of my peels and pits over my deck and into the woods behind my house.  (Note, I own the part I'm using as a personal landfill so no neighbors' rights are being infringed upon).  However creating a heap of rotting food in my backyard isn't exactly composting, so again, not ideal.  I looked it up and composting is actually easy!  Here's what to do:

Choose a shady spot.  Put down your green compost (coffee grounds, fruit and veggie waste,  grass clippings).  Now add your browns (twigs, branches, etc.).  Now add a little water to moisten.  Keep doing this.  Keep a shovel or pitchfork nearby to mix things up every once in a while and make sure to keep it moist.  Your compost will be ready in a few months.  Note: don't let your pile get too large or get too much sun.

Now this is rudimentary composting, at best, but it will work (according to the EPA website) and so I'm going to give it a shot.

Finally the styrofoam meat tray.  The solution to this one is easy: get your meat from the meat counter instead of what's already been packaged and put on the shelf.  You'll get exactly the amount you want, the cut you want, it's fresher, and it will be wrapped in recyclable paper, not stored in styrofoam.

See how easy it is to be Green?  (And think how unbearably smug I can be once I have accomplished all this Greenness!)

Green Tip Tuesday: Don't Track Those Muddy Shoes in my House!

Shoes really do belong outside

It turns out Mom was right: it really is a bad idea to track muddy, or really any kinds of shoes, into the house.  The Asian cultures have known this for centuries and have always insisted that shoes be left at the door, but it's kind of a new phenomenon here in the west. 

There are a lot of pollutants that get stuck on the soles of our shoes: dirt, pesticides, fecal matter, and dust (which provides a wonderful biosphere environment for dust mites, mold, viruses, and germs to breed) all ride in with us whenever we walk in the door.  It's especially bad if you have carpeting which acts like a gigantic doormat sucking up all the pollutants it can from your shoes.  The problem isn't so much the gunk we track in, it's the chemicals we're forced to use to get it back out.  Carpet cleaners, bleaches, harsh chemicals, and dry cleaning (for winter coats) are regularly used throughout our homes as we try to combat all the dirt that has been drug in.

Keeping your house clean can be as simple as removing your shoes as soon as, or right before, you walk in the door.  Now for me this is a bit of a challenge.  Our home doesn't really have a foyer.  Or a mud room.  Or a convenient place to leave shoes.  We usually enter from the garage so our shoes get taken off as soon as we enter the house through the dining room.  This means that our dining room always has an empty shoe tray with 4 or 5 pairs of shoes scattered around it.  And the shoe tray always has a nice layer of sand, cut grass, and dust to make it look especially appealing, being as it's in a dining room and all.

I'd be happy if the shoes would just make it on the tray!

We have shoe racks in the hall closet but that closet is on the other side of the dining room in the non-existent foyer and so the shoes have never made the journey quite that far.  I personally have been lobbying to do away with our formal dining room and turn that space into a proper mudroom.  Since the garage and the basement both open into the dining room it's already kind of an awkward arrangement. 

My husband is not yet convinced.

This is my vision: The dining room is a perfect square so we put a big comfy chair with ottoman angled in one corner.  (We already have the chair, it lives in the basement waiting to be rediscovered).  That provides a perfect spot for putting on/taking off shoes.  Then we line the back wall with those gorgeous cubbies from Pottery Barn (or a knock off from Target, you know how I love Target), add a round rug in the center of the room and call it a day.

Is it just me or is this anyone else's idea of perfection?

My husband is not yet convinced.

I like the idea of a proper place to put all our shoes.  I like the idea of coats, backpacks, purses, umbrellas, briefcases, and lunch bags having a permanent home as well.  All of those "outdoor" items that get tossed on the floor, drug across the classroom, dropped on the floor of the car, and thrown into the corner of the office pick up a lot of dirt and germs.  Finding a spot, preferably close to where you enter your house, for these items to live means containing a lot of dirt and germs, which makes cleaning a lot easier.  It also means less wear and tear on your carpet.  Which means you'll replace your carpet less frequently.  Which means less waste going into a landfill.  Which is green.  Or you can use gentler cleaners on your hardwood floors.  Like good old vinegar and hot water.  Which is green.  And y'all know how much I like to be green!

Green Tip Tuesday: Hosting a "Green" Cookout

I love grilling out!

I love grilling out.  I love the smell.  I love how the food tastes.  I love the excitement that I can't help but feel about the whole process.  Until I learned a little more about cooking out I was (mistakenly) thinking that it wasn't a very "green" option.  It turns out, cooking out can be quite environmentally friendly.

This is how we used to grill out

Most important is the choice of grill.  We have a gas grill.  Up until last year we had a charcoal grill.  I thought the charcoal grill was "greener" because charcoal is a renewable resource but unfortunately the emissions are so high from burning charcoal that it apparently cancels out all the potential good.  I read here a pretty good arguement for gas grilling.  There are also electric grills.  Sadly these grills tend to not be very efficient, especially when grilling multiple food items, thus the good done by their reduced emissions is negated by the amount of energy it takes to completely cook a meal.  Finally there is lump charcoal.  Lump charcoal is free of the additives found in traditional charcoal that create the noxious emissions but it is not readily available from local sources creating the need to ship it great distances.  The transportation emissions far exceed the "good" done by using this type of energy.

Gas grilling is more environmentally friendly than charcoal grilling

The point is that unless you are choosing a raw-food-lifestyle you're going to be cooking your food in some form or fashion.  The smallest carbon footprint comes from gas grilling.  Something about grilling seems to inspire us to invite our friends and families to join us, thus making for an even greener cooking experience as more people are fed from the same amount of energy consumed.  Heating up a grill is far greener than heating up an oven.

I love veggie kabobs, especially marinated with a little Italian dressing!

Finally it's important to note the types of food being grilled.  You could go for the heart attack special: steaks, brats, burgers, hot dogs,  mayonnaise-laden potatoe salad, macaroni salad, jello "salad", some creamy cole slaw all topped off with s'mores for dessert.  You could eat that way.  I certainly have in the past.  Now I choose black bean burgers, grilled vegetables, vegetable kabobs, grilled portabella mushrooms, and grilled corn-on-the-cob.  And s'mores.  It's best not to "char" food when grilling, in fact the shorter cooking time for veggies, the better because many nutrients are destroyed by heat. 

Pineapples and apples grill up nicely

Grilling food is an excellent opportunity to try out new foods.  Not sure if you like summer squash?  What about adding it to your kabob? Haven't ever tried grilled fruit?  Well peaches are in season and they grill up beautifully, as do blueberries, blackberries, and pears.  You could even go for more nutrients and eat the fruit raw, like in strawberry shortcake.

Who am I kidding?  Grilled fruit?

I still eat the s'mores.

Green Tip Tuesday: Repair or Replace?

Yesterday I was talking with my friend Chellie and she was telling me the story of her camera falling off its hook and breaking.  I began immediately asking her questions about how she was going to replace it.  "We may replace it," she said "if we can get one on eBay for the same amount or cheaper than it costs to repair it."

Repair it?  I felt embarrassed because I hadn't even considered trying to repair it.  The fact is we live in a throw-away society where frequently, replacing something rather than repairing it, is cheaper, easier, and more exciting.  I can remember when my grandmother's vaccuum cleaner broke and I rode along with her to take it to get repaired.  I remember my mom had Sears come out to repair something gone awry with her Lady Kenmore washing machine and dryer that she had for nearly 20 years.  I am stunned to realize that I have gone through 4 vaccuum cleaners in the 20 years I've lived on my own and not once did I even consider repairing one when it stopped working.

I just bought something new.  Something better.  Something with bells, whistles, lights, and sounds.

My father-in-law has an entire cottage industry going in his garage: finding lawn mowers people put out in their trash, repairing them, and then selling them at the flea market.   He reduces, reuses, recycles, and makes money all in one.

So, as with all things I blog about, I decided to try out this phenomenom first.  I have a sewing maching that hasn't worked in years.  I have been seriously considering asking for a new sewing maching for Christmas but now I am going to try repairing this one first.

I went down to the basement.  Unboxed the broken machine, got out the manual and began following the maintenance instructions and troubleshooting guide.

I took it apart.  I oiled it.  I put it back together and tightened all the screws. 

I plugged it in and held my breath.  Maybe I'll have to call in a professional, I thought, but at least I'm trying.  I slid a remnant under the presser foot, turned on the machine, and voila!  It worked!  I have left that poor machine in a box for 4 years with the intention to replace it and all it needed was oil and its screws tightened!

Sometimes items need to be replaced.  Sometimes it's just time for something new and the old can be recycled.

But sometimes a little elbow grease will save money and reduce waste too.  Now that's what I call Green.

Green Tip Tuesday: Staying Cool yet Staying Green

We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave...

Record high temps in Massachusetts and around the country have me thinking about ways to stay cool in environmentally friendly ways.  I don't have central air conditioning in my home (a fact much bemoaned by my poor husband) so I'm not going to go on and on about turning the air conditioner temp up just a degree or two, or running the air conditioning only at certain hours, etc., etc.  We've heard those things before and frankly, in this heat, people are going to run that air conditioner as hard as they can, I would too if I had one!

I found some great tips for keeping your body cool by eating.  Yes, eating.  There are actually cooling foods: any high water content food helps to keep you hydrated and a hydrated body runs more efficiently and therefore cooler.  You probably knew that.  But did you know that high water content and raw foods actually use less digestive "fire" and thus keep you cooler in that way too?

I feel cooler just looking at this picture

Foods like watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, berries, cucumber, celery, carrots, lettuce, green peppers, tomatoes, all citrus fruits, and processed foods like yogurt and ice cream contain a lot of water.  Unlike cooked foods which need a lot of enzymes to be broken down and digested, raw, high water content foods contain their own enzymes.  Less work digesting means more available energy for doing things like...say...regulating your core temperature.  Less work digesting also means less heat being generated internally.  Less work digesting also means more available quick energy so that you'll have energy even when the heat and humidity are oppressive.

Mint, lemon, plenty of ice...mmmm

There are "cooling" waters you can make too: herbs like mint added to water actually produce a cooling sensation.  Adding lemon to water is so refreshing that it may also be perceived as cooling.  Days like this are a great time to experiment with flavoring waters, using cookie cutters to make fun melon shapes, peeling grapes, and making your own popsicles with juice, an ice cube tray, and toothpicks.

Think shade, think lots of water, and think cool.  Mother Nature will provide the rest.

Green Tip Tuesday: Alternatives to the car

Yesterday we took my visiting mother-in-law into "the city" (I mean Boston, of course!) for the day.  We did what many people do when they go into Boston: we parked our car at the Alewife garage and took the subway the rest of the way.  We walked poor Grandma's legs off as we went on the Freedom Trail, to Faneuil Hall, on a Duck Tour, to the public garden, to Boston Commons, the Prudential Center, to the North End for a fabulous Italian Dinner, and finally back to Alewife.

If you know anything about Boston you know that we criss-crossed that entire city.  We walked a lot of it, but we also took a lot of subways, in fact we took all the subway lines except the silver line which only goes to the airport.  Even our Boston Duck Boat was retro-fitted to run on vegetable oil.  It was a Green Day.

Now as a Midwestern girl up until 2 years ago, I didn't even know mass transit like this existed except on TV.  I didn't know anything about subways, trains, or buses.  In fact my only experience with the public bus was getting on the wrong one to go home from the mall when I was 12 and ending up in the "wrong part of town", trying to find a pay phone, and having a tearful conversation with my mom as I begged her to come get me.  Since I've moved to Massachusetts it's a whole different story. 

First of all I live in town which means I can walk or bike to the library, post office, dry cleaner, pretty much anywhere I want except the grocery store which is too far away and on a wicked busy street.

Secondly I now regularly go into a big city with an advanced, practical, easy, cheap, and reliable mass transit system.

Thirdly I live in an area of teeny tiny little towns that have to be self sufficient because they are so small and so scattered and so walking and biking is more common as opposed to the midwestern suburban sprawl I was used to.

All of this has me wondering if all of this dependance upon mass transit, my own legs, or my bike are a result of my new geography or of a growing shift in perception about the way we travel?

What do you think? In your area are there viable alternatives to your car?  Have you considered alternatives to your car in the past, oh say 2 years or so?  If you have considered alternatives, is it because of gas prices?  Car prices?  The environment?  All of the above?

My legs are t-i-r-e-d tired from yesterday's jaunt, but my heart is happy.  We spent 10 hours traipsing around Boston leaving lots of footprints on the old bricks.  But our carbon footprint?  Pretty small.

Green Tip Tuesday: Snack TAXI

School is out, the sun is actually shining today and the air is warm!  For this Midwestern girl turned New Englander this change of season can mean only one thing: it's BEACH TIME!  Most of the beaches we tend to frequent do not have boardwalks so I spend a lot of time packing up a cooler so we can stay for the day.  Recently my friend Chellie turned me on to snack TAXI, a Massachusetts based company that makes adorable reusable bags for sandwiches and snacks.

Okay, how cute are these bags??

A sandwich bag with happy veggies?  Adorable!

Their sports-themed sandwich bags are sure to be a hit

Snack TAXI meets all of my criteria for being "green": they use local labor and materials, the bags are washable made of 100% cotton on the outside and phthalate-free nylon on the inside, and the aim of the company is to reduce waste produced by millions of baggies each year by producing a safe, viable alternative.  The bags are now being carried at many retailers around the U.S. or you can order online at http://www.snacktaxi.com/.

I like them because they are a great alternative to (petroleum based!) baggies, they are sturdy enough to keep your sandwich from being mushed but flexible enough to fit in a lunch box (unlike rigid-petroleum-based-plastic containers), and they are so darn cute even my what-will-my-friends-think? 11 yr old will use them. 

As always, my opinion is completely my own and I have not been compensated by snack TAXI in any way. 

Reduce your exposure to petroleum, your waste, and up the cuteness factor all in one bag, what a great way to go green this summer!

Green Tip Tuesday: Natural Citrus Solvent

In the world of cleaning up after using oil based primers or paints there are really only 2 products that are going to do the job.  Traditional mineral spirits and the new generation of citrus oil solvents.

This is the product I have been using to clean my brushes and skin

Mineral spirits, developed in the early 1920s for the dry cleaning industry, are the product of gasoline refining.   As far as toxicity goes, they are as dangerous as any petroleum based products for skin irritation and allergic reaction, but they have the added bonus of being a lung and mucus irritant when inhaled.  Petroleum products are nerve agents, long-term, repeated exposure will probably cause some level of irritation and/or nerve damage and in cases of extreme exposure: organ damage.  You may recall that I warned against using petroleum products in this post and again, it all comes down to quantifying your exposure.  If I'm using a petroleum lip balm and a petroleum lotion on my heels and petroleum based detergents to wash my clothes and I get some clothes dry cleaned and then I do a big paint project and use a petroleum cleaner to clean my brushes how well can I really quantify my exposure to that toxic chemical?  Luckily, there is another option.

Citrus oil solvents are safer than mineral spirits

There are a group of solvents called citrus solvents.  Not unlike their popular cousins Orange Glo, Fast Orange, and Citrus Magic, these cleaners use the oil extracted from pressed orange peel to cut grease, dissolve oils, and remove oil residue.  They should still be treated with caution as they are powerful cleaners and many have "helper" detergents added during processing, but they are not petroleum based, they do not contain lung and mucus membrane irritants, and they won't damage your nerves or organs.  The orange smell is actually pretty pleasant.  I have just found out about these cleaners so I can't give a testimonial as to their effectiveness on removing oil based primer from paintbrushes, rollers, and skin, but I will keep you updated.

'Cause believe me, I've got a lot of primer that needs removin'...especially from  my driveway... 

Green Tip Tuesday: Sometimes it's Greener not to Go Green

I do love watching decorating shows and now the buzz phrase on many shows is to "Go Green" when doing a remodel.  Well it all sounds good but I have been a little confused by the execution.  For example on a recent Dear Genevieve the homeowners needed a kitchen remodel and they wanted to use the "greenest products" available/affordable.  Very noble concept indeed.  That's why I was so confused when I saw the homeowners and crew energetically taking sledge hammers to the old cabinets and countertops.  Perhaps I am the exception, but I have never had a garage or laundry room that I felt had enough cabinets.  Is there a reason that those kitchen cabinets couldn't have been recycled as garage or laundry room storage?  The homeowner thought they were too dark and some of them had doors that wouldn't close but does that mean the whole group had to be smashed to smithereens?  What about painting them a lighter color?  Adding magnets to the doors that won't close?  I think the reason for the dramatic cabinet and countertop smash up is that it makes good TV.  But don't be fooled: creating waste like that is not green, no matter how green the replacement products may be.

Unfortunately a typical scene from many decorating shows

Lots of decorating shows feature the designer enthusiastically ripping up carpet, discarding furniture into giant dumpsters, laying down new flooring, and building new pieces often using medium density fiberboard (MDF).  I hope the homeowners like caring for plants because it's going to take a lot of spider plants to neutralize the toxins being emitted by new carpeting, glued or veneered hardwood floors, and MDF furniture.  And then they throw in a reclaimed wood mantel and call the makeover "green"?  Really?  And how about the bathroom makeovers?  Since when is hammering to death a "dated" looking vanity and sink a green way to go?  Has no one ever heard of tub resurfacing on these shows?  How is it that the designers are always extolling the virtues of the re-sale shop for finding one of a kind vintage pieces yet they don't appear to be contributing to re-sale shops, only landfills?

To their credit, many shows, especially the ones geared toward quickly selling your home, do show designers painting or re-working existing pieces.  I'd like to see more shows featuring designers re-purposing items that are no longer being used in the room receiving the makeover.  Wouldn't you be interested to see how the kitchen cabinets were hung in the garage and part of the countertop reused to form a garage workspace?  I know I'd love to see creative ways to put some storage in my teeny-tiny laundry closet (can't be called a room because it's not) by using pieces cast off from other parts of the house.  I know those talented TLC and HGTV designers could do it.

I don't have a lot of "green" elements to my home.  I have hardwood floors throughout the home but they are not made of renewable cork or bamboo.  I am certainly not going to rip up these floors and replace them with renewable wood because that would be creating waste and still using new resources.  The foremost idea of being "green" is to lessen the amount of waste generated.  The appliances that we had to replace because they were broken were replaced with Energy Star appliances but I am not about to replace my perfectly good stove just to get one with an Energy Star rating.  That would be wasteful.  Before I discovered more natural cleaning products I had a closet full of Lysol, Scrubbing Bubbles, Comet scouring powder, and Soft Scrub.  My laundry room held Tide, Shout, and Downy, and I always dusted with Pledge.  I am all for reducing toxins in the home but to throw out all those cleaning products would be wasteful both financially and environmentally.  Instead I slowly replaced each product with its "greener" option once the product was empty.  Some products, like the Lysol, I still keep around for emergencies like a child with the stomach flu at 4 a.m. when you and I both know there's no way I'll be hauling out my steam cleaner to sanitize the bathroom floor naturally. 

Once a product has been made the resource has been used.  Whether that resource is renewable or not it doesn't make a lot of sense to throw that product into a landfill so it can be replaced with a "greener" version unless the product has truly lost its usefulness.

I love decorating shows.  I especially love "green" episodes of decorating shows.  But being green is a verb, not a soundbite.

Green Tip Tuesday: Melamine is not just in your dishes

Beautiful to look at, but use with caution

Aren't those plates just gorgeous?  And how about these from kaboodle.com?

So pretty, so inexpensive, so potentially dangerous...

Melamine comes in such a variety of colors, patterns, shapes, and styles and is so inexpensive and break-proof that it has been heralded as the go-to-for-summer-cookouts-and-backyard-party-dishware. Oh, and it is used almost exclusively for baby dishes.


Melamine is a nearly-indestructible plastic that is chemically part cyanide compound, part formaldehyde, and parts carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen to form a super-hard resin.  All of that sounds horrible and dangerous but it mostly isn't...unless you heat it, that is. 
 
Ah, heat!  Heat is the nemesis of any coating, resin, or compound that has toxins to release, and melamine is no exception.  Melamine dishes cannot be microwaved, safely put in the dishwasher on the 'heated dry' cycle, and cannot be used for acidic foods such as tomatoes, tomato sauces, lemons, or vinegar based salad dressings.  I don't know about you, but tomatoes, lemons, and vinegar-based dressings pretty much makes up my list of ingredients for any salad I will make this summer.  And that's the problem.

Did you know that melamine dishes weren't at all microwave safe and not completely dishwasher safe?  I didn't until a few years ago when I was washing my oh-so-cute-for-using-on-the-deck plates and noticed that the plate was stamped Dishwasher Safe (which isn't entirely true) but not microwave safe.  I googled 'melamine' just out of curiosity and am now sharing what I found out.  It certainly doesn't advertise that fact on the packaging.  What happens when melamine is heated is the resin begins to microscopically break down.  Gases are released and these gases contain formaldehyde which is a poison, a known poison that causes cancer with long-term exposure and skin irritation and inflammation of the mucous membranes with short term exposure.  I have warned against formaldehyde exposure before because it is in most paints, resins, glues, film, and is found in abundance in our polluted air.  It is imperative that we limit our exposure to formaldehyde whenever we can.  I prefer not to be embalmed before I am dead.

The safe way to use melamine dishware is to only put non-acidic foods on it and hand wash it in warm, not hot, water.  If you're putting it in the dishwasher make sure the 'heated dry' cycle is not on and do be aware that using the dishwasher is shortening the safe lifespan of the dishes.  Once you can see small lines running through the dishes the resin has been compromised and that dish is now leaking formaldehyde.

Luckily we can avoid melamine exposure completely by simply not using the dishes, right?  Hmm, if only that were true.  Melamine in its powder form is sometimes added to food to increase its protein.  When I say food, I specifically mean baby formula!  I found this on Scientific American's website:

The FDA found tiny amounts of melamine in Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron, according to the news service. FDA tests also turned up melamine in two nutritional supplements for kids, Nestle's Peptamen Junior and Nutren Junior-Fiber. Cyanuric acid, a byproduct of melamine, was found in another Nestle product, Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron, the AP says. The FDA says that the toxicity of cyanuric acid is being studied, but it's thought to be as powerful as melamine, according to the news wire.

Oh, and it's an ingredient in the soy-based feed we import from China that is fed to chickens.  And cows.  And dogs.  And cats.  And goats and farm-raised-fish and farm-raised-shrimp too.

This is the problem.  Poisons are so pervasive in our diet that when we can identify a source it is really crucial to limit exposure.  Poisons are being deliberately fed to our children.  So please, when you pull out those melamine dishes, check them for scratches, pitch them if they're compromised, don't cut on them, don't serve acidic foods on them, and hand wash them. 


Or maybe just use glass?

Green Tip Tuesday: Cream of Tartar

Cook with it, clean with it, make it yourself in your vineyard...

On any given day do you have to clean a stubborn stain from your tub, discourage ants in your yard, and whip up a delicious meringue?  Yep, that's my life too.  Luckily I have cream of tartar in my spice cabinet because it can do all three.

Cream of tartar mixed with hydrogen peroxide to form a paste is an invaluable stain remover.  It can be used on tubs to get rid of hard water and soap scum.  I used to use the 'scrubbing bubbles' to combat our super-hard-water and my husband's affinity for Irish Spring.  The can looks cute, but the smell gave me a headache, the chemical cocktail makes me cringe, the packaging is not recyclable, and it was never really thick enough to stay where needed on the side of the tub.  Plus I always felt a little nervous bathing my daughter after using such a variety of toxic chemicals.  You won't have any of those problems with cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide.  They're dirt cheap too.  They're also perfect for removing that brownish-tinge my sink gets after tapping off my excess mineral makeup day after day.  You can even use water mixed with cream of tartar to form a paste to remove a laundry stain.  It all comes down to chemistry: you need an acid (like cream of tartar, lemon juice, or vinegar) combined with a base (water, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide) to create a chemical reaction.  As the base molecules absorb the acid molecules they release a lot of hydrogen molecules.  It's this process that dissolves a stain.  Commercial cleaners aren't doing anything different to dissolve stains they are simply using more corrosive (harmful) acids, adding in a lot of unnecessary (and harmful) additives to preserve the mixture, add fragrance, make it foamy, and oh yeah, charging a lot more too.  If you mix up the chemical reaction in a fresh batch you'll actually get quicker results.  (And Mr. Ruehl my sophomore chemistry teacher, I really wish I'd paid more attention to you instead of mocking your goggles and playing with the Bunson burners).

Ants don't seem to like cream of tartar at all so if you get tired of picking your lemon peels up off the ground to prevent ants, try sprinkling cream of tartar around the outside of their ant hole.  (I can't seem to make that sentence not sound a little bit dirty...)

And how about that tasty lemon meringue pie?  Your poor meringue would never stand up without the stabilizing effects of cream of tartar!  It turns out that you can even make your own baking powder by mixing baking soda and cream of tartar together.

And where does this little miracle acid come from?  Well I'm glad you asked because it turns out that cream of tartar is a naturally occurring byproduct of fermenting grapes.  Scrape out the wine casks and you have cream of tartar.  Drop that little gem of trivia at your next wine-tasting party why don't you!

Green Tip Tuesday: The Yard Sale

(I apologize that Green Tip Tuesday is being held on Wednesday...that's how life is going right now!)

In New England they say Yard Sale.  In the Midwest it's a Garage Sale.  In a church it's a Rummage Sale.  To a techie it's eBay.  Yuppies go Antique-ing.  Whatever you call it it's recycling.

On any given weekend a sign like the one on the left can be found somewhere in my neighborhood.  Anything and everything is for sale and usually at rock bottom prices as long as you have cash and can take it with you. It's one of the greenest traditions we have.

Buying things new-to-you sometimes takes a bit of a mental shift.  For years I couldn't quite get past the idea of wearing, sleeping in or on, or cooking with something that has been used by somebody else.  What if they were gross?  I'll never get all the dead skin cells out of that sweater!  I don't want to wear somebody else's dead skin cells!  That purse is gorgeous but it probably has someone else's purse crumbs in the bottom.  Or old gum wrappers.  Surely I can't be expected to use a previously-gum-wrappered-purse?  What a little snob I was.  The truth is that I'm more likely to spend time swimming around in other people's dead skin cells in a movie theater seat than I am in clothing/bedding I can wash.  And gum wrappers?  How about throwing them out, putting in a little baking soda, letting it sit for a few hours and then vacuuming out the purse to reveal a fresh interior and a beautiful new bag?

I have a deviled egg platter that I bought years ago.  The price tag is still on the box: $18.95.  I use that egg platter once every..oh..say 3 years.  I don't think I've ever gone to a yard sale where I failed to see an egg platter, usually around $1.00.  I spent $17.95 (plus tax!!)  I didn't need to spend.  Dishes, cookware, gadgets, tchotchkes, the minutiae of life that costs so much to buy new, both in dollars and environmental impact, can all be found at the yard sale.

About that environmental impact...according to the box my egg platter was made in (wait for it...) China.  Big surprise, right?  That platter had to be manufactured, boxed, and shipped all the way from China to where I purchased it in Ohio.  It probably went by boat rom China to a port in the United States where it was then trucked to a distribution center where it was then scanned, inventoried, stored, then ultimately trucked again to the store where it was once again scanned, inventoried, shelved, then finally sold to me who drove it home and stored it for 18 years.  Every time it's on a boat or truck it is using oil and every time it is being scanned and stored it's using electricity.  That's a pretty big carbon footprint for something I have used 6 times in the  years I've owned it.  And with the advent of eBay, forgeddaboutit!  There's no excuse for not being able to find absolutely anything you need no matter how obscure, probably from several different sellers!

I've really gotten off easy since my daughter was born because my in-laws are avid garage-salers and pretty much kept her outfitted in her baby years with their finds.  Toys, clothes, books, they found everything for me so I didn't have to look myself.  Now that we live so far apart it's up to me to become more recycle savvy and seek out used options first.  It's virgin territory for me and I'll let you know how I do with it.  My first order of business will be picture frames.  I am embarrassed to admit how much I have spent on picture frames at Target.  And napkin rings.  And throw pillows.  All things that I could have easily found used.

Also I'd like to acknowledge the people who take the time to have a yard sale as opposed to simply throwing away what they are no longer using.  I'm more of a leave-it-on-the-front-porch-for-the-charity-truck-in-the-neighborhood-to-pick-up kind of girl but perhaps one day I too will find myself with a  few tables set up on my driveway and my no-longer-needed household contents artfully arrayed.

Hey!  I bet I could even wear my apron with the big center pocket!

Green Tip Tuesday: The Mighty Lemon

Take advantage of the most acidic ingredient in your kitchen.

My cutting board smells like garlic, my laundry could use a good bleaching, my refrigerator has a weird smell, and my microwave has a greasy residue leftover from cooking bacon.  Good thing I have lemons!  The simple lemon will take care of all of those problems, leave a fresh smell, and if I don't use the whole thing I can cook with the leftovers - how often can you say that about your cleaning products?

I love lemons.  I love the way they look, the way they smell, the way they clean, and I've never met a lemon square I didn't like.  Or lemon poppyseed muffin.  Or lemonade.  But more than just being great for cooking, lemons are a super cheap, super effective way to get things clean.  Lemons are an acid and that acid kills bacteria which is what causes bad smells.  That means that lemon juice will also work quite effectively on a cut (squeeze it fresh and then take a deep breath because you're gonna feel it!), and it will sanitize any surface.  Usually I am waxing poetic about the virtues of vinegar for these same types of things and I still do love me my vinegar but let's face it, lemon juice smells better and sometimes it's nice to mix things up a bit.  To clean anything simply cut the lemon in half and rub the cut end directly on...whatever: the cutting board, the counter top, the pan, etc.  Rinse well to avoid a sticky residue.  To clean a microwave add 3 TBSP lemon juice to 1/2 c. water and microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Wipe out your now sanitized and fresh smelling microwave.  To use in a refrigerator in addition to, or in place of baking soda, saturate a cotton ball with lemon juice and leave in the refrigerator for a few hours.  Or just cut a lemon and leave the slices in the refrigerator.  Or near the litter box.  Or in the bathroom (Warning: your family may wonder at your sanity with this last one.  My family is used to weird stuff like this but you may need to warn yours..).

Lemon juice is also fantastic in the laundry as a natural bleach.  Squeeze a cup of lemon juice and pour it right in with your regular water and detergent.  It whitens clothes but won't harm them.  The bleaching action also works on hair, nails, and skin but because of the acidic nature of the lemon limit any time on your skin to no more than 15 minutes.  Your hair can handle a longer time but it's a good idea to dilute the lemon juice - about half and half - with water and use it as a rinse.  

I am all about using fresh lemons because the acid is nice and strong, the scent is fantastic, and the peel can be put right down your disposal to clean your drains.  Or thrown into your yard to feed the wildlife yet discourage ants from coming near your home.  Or used as a natural pumice on your heels.  And of course using a fresh lemon means not buying lemon juice in a plastic bottle and not buying plastic reduces your dependance on petroleum products!  (Oh yes, I'm still on that kick!) 

Having all those fresh lemons around inspires my cooking too.  I never would have made a lemon cake with lemon glaze had I not had a few extra lemons hanging around.  I know for a fact I wouldn't have attempted to learn how to make real lemonade, lemon sherbet, or lemon-mint water had I not been inspired by Martha Stewart and the sight of those gorgeous lemons.   There's just something about spring/summer and lemons that seem to go together.  Fall/winter feel like cinnamon to me (a future post?  You bet!), spring and summer belong to lemons.

Want to go green? Think yellow.