Sunday, November 28, 2010
Update on deodorant
I now apply Alaffia Everyday Shea lotion to my underarms before applying my homemade deodorant. Itchy underarm problem solved!
Black Friday/Saturday, thrift store style
Ok, I admit it. I didn't join the "Buy Nothing" boycott, and instead I went after-Thanksgiving shopping on both Friday and Saturday.
A couple of my stops were to big box stores. I spent $43 at Walmart (yeah, I know) for two toys, one of which will be my daughter's Christmas present from Santa, and another for a toy drive for needy children I'm participating in. I also went to Casual Male Big & Tall to buy my 6'7" hubby much-needed socks, gloves and slippers.
But most of our shopping was done at Goodwill and Value Village, and the deals were awesome! I bought several things for the kitchen, including a dish drainer, a wooden snack tray, a pizza tray, a cookie sheet, a vegetable peeler, a gravy boat, and a mini loaf pan, all in "like new" condition. We bought seven picture frames to frame my daughter's school photos to give as presents to relatives. My daughter bought a butterfly blanket and a cute set of toy animals. And at Goodwill, where everything was 50% off, we bought at least a dozen learning and art activities for my daughter, including magnetic wooden letters, math, phonics and rhyming flash cards, gel markers, a "make your own journal" craft kit, a wooden tic-tac-toe board, and more. Total spent: $47 for 43 items. What other Black Friday deals could possibly be this good?
A couple of my stops were to big box stores. I spent $43 at Walmart (yeah, I know) for two toys, one of which will be my daughter's Christmas present from Santa, and another for a toy drive for needy children I'm participating in. I also went to Casual Male Big & Tall to buy my 6'7" hubby much-needed socks, gloves and slippers.
But most of our shopping was done at Goodwill and Value Village, and the deals were awesome! I bought several things for the kitchen, including a dish drainer, a wooden snack tray, a pizza tray, a cookie sheet, a vegetable peeler, a gravy boat, and a mini loaf pan, all in "like new" condition. We bought seven picture frames to frame my daughter's school photos to give as presents to relatives. My daughter bought a butterfly blanket and a cute set of toy animals. And at Goodwill, where everything was 50% off, we bought at least a dozen learning and art activities for my daughter, including magnetic wooden letters, math, phonics and rhyming flash cards, gel markers, a "make your own journal" craft kit, a wooden tic-tac-toe board, and more. Total spent: $47 for 43 items. What other Black Friday deals could possibly be this good?
Monday, November 8, 2010
If birds can't find your feeder, does it exist?
A while ago, I wrote about getting a bird feeder so my daughter could watch the birds, and then about having to get rid of the bird feeder, after a raccoon tried to abscond with it.
A year and a half later, we are trying again. My daughter saw an episode of Curious George in which he made a bird feeder (and had to fight off a pesky squirrel), after which some real kids gave instructions about making your own homemade bird feeder. She really wanted to try, so we cleaned out an empty 64-oz Epsom salt carton, cut a hole for an opening, filled it with bird seed, taped the top shut, and stuck a pencil through it for a perch.
Hubby had wired one of those big stakes for hanging tomato plants to the deck, and I thought this was the solution to our raccoon problem--the advice I've seen is that if it hangs higher than eight feet, the raccoon can't get to it. None of our trees are that tall, but the deck certainly is. Second, the stake allowed us to point the feeder outward, which would prevent bird droppings on the deck (hubby's concern).
So I bound the feeder to the stake and waited. And waited. And waited. I even added the shelled sunflower seeds that were so popular with the birds in the last feeder--and nothing.
Is it the weather? We've had some crappy windy rainy days, but also some beautiful sunny days, and on the latter, I still see birds around. (And amazingly, the stake seems to be strong--the feeder is just as secure as when I first mounted it).
Or is it that the birds don't know it's there? In our effort to post the feeder somewhere the raccoons can't get to it, did we put it someplace where the birds can't even fathom there's food?
A year and a half later, we are trying again. My daughter saw an episode of Curious George in which he made a bird feeder (and had to fight off a pesky squirrel), after which some real kids gave instructions about making your own homemade bird feeder. She really wanted to try, so we cleaned out an empty 64-oz Epsom salt carton, cut a hole for an opening, filled it with bird seed, taped the top shut, and stuck a pencil through it for a perch.
Hubby had wired one of those big stakes for hanging tomato plants to the deck, and I thought this was the solution to our raccoon problem--the advice I've seen is that if it hangs higher than eight feet, the raccoon can't get to it. None of our trees are that tall, but the deck certainly is. Second, the stake allowed us to point the feeder outward, which would prevent bird droppings on the deck (hubby's concern).
So I bound the feeder to the stake and waited. And waited. And waited. I even added the shelled sunflower seeds that were so popular with the birds in the last feeder--and nothing.
Is it the weather? We've had some crappy windy rainy days, but also some beautiful sunny days, and on the latter, I still see birds around. (And amazingly, the stake seems to be strong--the feeder is just as secure as when I first mounted it).
Or is it that the birds don't know it's there? In our effort to post the feeder somewhere the raccoons can't get to it, did we put it someplace where the birds can't even fathom there's food?
Friday, October 22, 2010
My deodorant's not working so well...
Sorry I haven't blogged lately. I started a new job at the beginning of October, one with a long commute, so my free time is much more limited.
So, the homemade deodorant I raved about a few months ago? Not working out so well.
Not because it's not effective. On the contrary, it still works better in preventing wetness and odor than most deodorants I've ever tried, natural or otherwise, and almost as well as most antiperspirants. (Antiperspirants are typically stronger than deodorants, because they stop you from sweating).
However, I started breaking out in a red, itchy rash under my arms a few weeks ago. After googling, "rash from homemade deodorant," I learned that it is a fairly common problem. The major culprit is the baking soda, which, as I discovered when I used to wash my hair with it,§ can be very drying to scalp and skin.
Here are the changes I've made, which have helped the problem, but not completely eliminated it yet:
Revised homemade deodorant recipe:
* Place 2 T of unrefined coconut oil and 2 T of unrefined shea butter in a pot and liquify over low-medium heat. This happens fairly quickly.
* Remove from heat and add other ingredients:
-- 5 T of corn starch (CHANGE: more corn starch)
-- Slightly less than 1 T of baking soda (CHANGE: much less baking soda)
-- 1 T of witch hazel
-- 1 T of pure aloe vera gel (CHANGE: added to improve moisture)
-- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint oil. (CHANGE: peppermint instead of orange, because citrus oils can irritate. Note: you can choose a different type of essential oil, based on whatever scent you prefer.)
* Stir continuously until smooth
* Pour into a 4 oz canning jar.
*Leave lid off until cool. Re-stir once cooled, as essential oils sometimes float to the top. Can refrigerate for a couple days to solidify.
======================
The other change I've made is that after showering, I apply some of my olive oil/shea butter facial moisturizer to my underarms before applying the deodorant. It has definitely helped--the rash and itch are much better, but not completely gone. I'll update again about this in a couple of months.
======================
§ This post describes how I currently wash and condition my hair, although now I generally wash with apple cider vinegar & water, and condition with olive oil/vodka/water.
So, the homemade deodorant I raved about a few months ago? Not working out so well.
Not because it's not effective. On the contrary, it still works better in preventing wetness and odor than most deodorants I've ever tried, natural or otherwise, and almost as well as most antiperspirants. (Antiperspirants are typically stronger than deodorants, because they stop you from sweating).
However, I started breaking out in a red, itchy rash under my arms a few weeks ago. After googling, "rash from homemade deodorant," I learned that it is a fairly common problem. The major culprit is the baking soda, which, as I discovered when I used to wash my hair with it,§ can be very drying to scalp and skin.
Here are the changes I've made, which have helped the problem, but not completely eliminated it yet:
Revised homemade deodorant recipe:
* Place 2 T of unrefined coconut oil and 2 T of unrefined shea butter in a pot and liquify over low-medium heat. This happens fairly quickly.
* Remove from heat and add other ingredients:
-- 5 T of corn starch (CHANGE: more corn starch)
-- Slightly less than 1 T of baking soda (CHANGE: much less baking soda)
-- 1 T of witch hazel
-- 1 T of pure aloe vera gel (CHANGE: added to improve moisture)
-- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint oil. (CHANGE: peppermint instead of orange, because citrus oils can irritate. Note: you can choose a different type of essential oil, based on whatever scent you prefer.)
* Stir continuously until smooth
* Pour into a 4 oz canning jar.
*Leave lid off until cool. Re-stir once cooled, as essential oils sometimes float to the top. Can refrigerate for a couple days to solidify.
======================
The other change I've made is that after showering, I apply some of my olive oil/shea butter facial moisturizer to my underarms before applying the deodorant. It has definitely helped--the rash and itch are much better, but not completely gone. I'll update again about this in a couple of months.
======================
§ This post describes how I currently wash and condition my hair, although now I generally wash with apple cider vinegar & water, and condition with olive oil/vodka/water.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Little things that make life easier, second-hand
One thing I love about thrift store and yard sale shopping is that I can find so many little things--things that I might never pay full price for, but that make life easier. Here are some recent example:
--A key case for 25 cents. I was tired of my keys piercing holes in my pockets and purses.
--A large bucket with a secure lid (this was the key feature) for $2.50, for soaking such things as my reusable menstrual pads without exposing them to others.
--Eight handkerchiefs for $4. This came in handy when I had a recent cold--I could use them with the five or so I already had, and wash them out each night. It was the first time I didn't need to rely on paper tissue when I was sick.
--My daughter's Halloween costume for $6. She wants to go as a doctor this year. At Goodwill, I found a plain women's white blouse with snaps down the front for $4 that, on my child, looks just like a doctor's jacket. Then I found both a real set and a toy set of a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. Both sets were $2 each. Knowing my daughter (who wants to be a doctor when she grows up), she'd want the real set to actually hear heartbeats and be able to puff up the blood pressure cuff on someone's arm, so that's what I bought. (FYI, I'm to go as her patient this year. She will cover me in bandages).
--A stainless steel covered cake plate (round) and an oblong covered casserole/cake pan, $5 each. Now I no longer have to cover cakes and other dishes with foil and hope the icing or food doesn't get stuck to it.
--Two little silicone trays for $1, each with 12 small pumpkin molds in them. I think these were to either create pumpkin-shaped candies or pumpkin-shaped pieces of ice. Nevertheless, I have my own use for them: so that my daughter can mix paint colors together. If I allowed my daughter unrestricted access to her Crayola paints, we'd end up with 10 jars of muddy brown color. Instead, I pour a little of each color paint into different pumpkin holes, and she can mix them together to her heart's content.
--A beautiful, small but sturdy covered picnic basket for $3. I start a new job on Monday, and I will use it to carry a lunch plate, glass, mug, utensils, place mat and cloth napkins for easy and discreet storage under or near my desk.
--A large glass casserole dish lid for $1.50, which we are now using to cover food in the microwave. Our previous options were a plastic microwave cover (which deteriorates over time), or using plates (not the best, since they smash your food and can get too hot to easily remove), cloth napkins (messy) or paper towels (wasteful). This lid is a better alternative than all of the above. It sits high enough not to touch the food, and has a handle for easy lifting.
Bonus yard sale discovery: I wrote a while ago about being frustrated that I couldn't find anyone who could repair my leather purses. I buy them used (usually for $4-6) and have several now sitting in my closet because I always break the strap. Otherwise, these bags are all in great condition, and it seems a waste to have them sitting there gathering dust.
At a recent yard sale I visited, I noticed a "Tailoring and Clothes Repair" sign in the window of the home. I asked the woman about it, and she told me to step inside and talk to her husband, who is the tailor. I described my purses and asked if he could repair leather--and he can! I'll post again after I've had a bag repaired (provided the price is reasonable!).
--A key case for 25 cents. I was tired of my keys piercing holes in my pockets and purses.
--A large bucket with a secure lid (this was the key feature) for $2.50, for soaking such things as my reusable menstrual pads without exposing them to others.
--Eight handkerchiefs for $4. This came in handy when I had a recent cold--I could use them with the five or so I already had, and wash them out each night. It was the first time I didn't need to rely on paper tissue when I was sick.
--My daughter's Halloween costume for $6. She wants to go as a doctor this year. At Goodwill, I found a plain women's white blouse with snaps down the front for $4 that, on my child, looks just like a doctor's jacket. Then I found both a real set and a toy set of a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. Both sets were $2 each. Knowing my daughter (who wants to be a doctor when she grows up), she'd want the real set to actually hear heartbeats and be able to puff up the blood pressure cuff on someone's arm, so that's what I bought. (FYI, I'm to go as her patient this year. She will cover me in bandages).
--A stainless steel covered cake plate (round) and an oblong covered casserole/cake pan, $5 each. Now I no longer have to cover cakes and other dishes with foil and hope the icing or food doesn't get stuck to it.
--Two little silicone trays for $1, each with 12 small pumpkin molds in them. I think these were to either create pumpkin-shaped candies or pumpkin-shaped pieces of ice. Nevertheless, I have my own use for them: so that my daughter can mix paint colors together. If I allowed my daughter unrestricted access to her Crayola paints, we'd end up with 10 jars of muddy brown color. Instead, I pour a little of each color paint into different pumpkin holes, and she can mix them together to her heart's content.
--A beautiful, small but sturdy covered picnic basket for $3. I start a new job on Monday, and I will use it to carry a lunch plate, glass, mug, utensils, place mat and cloth napkins for easy and discreet storage under or near my desk.
--A large glass casserole dish lid for $1.50, which we are now using to cover food in the microwave. Our previous options were a plastic microwave cover (which deteriorates over time), or using plates (not the best, since they smash your food and can get too hot to easily remove), cloth napkins (messy) or paper towels (wasteful). This lid is a better alternative than all of the above. It sits high enough not to touch the food, and has a handle for easy lifting.
Bonus yard sale discovery: I wrote a while ago about being frustrated that I couldn't find anyone who could repair my leather purses. I buy them used (usually for $4-6) and have several now sitting in my closet because I always break the strap. Otherwise, these bags are all in great condition, and it seems a waste to have them sitting there gathering dust.
At a recent yard sale I visited, I noticed a "Tailoring and Clothes Repair" sign in the window of the home. I asked the woman about it, and she told me to step inside and talk to her husband, who is the tailor. I described my purses and asked if he could repair leather--and he can! I'll post again after I've had a bag repaired (provided the price is reasonable!).
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Cheap green tip: toilet cleaning
I have mentioned before that one of the drawbacks to the "yellow, let it mellow" method of saving water (in other words, not flushing after #1, unless the bowl is filling up with paper or we have guests) is that your toilet bowl gets dirty pretty quickly and needs to be cleaned every couple of days.
I had heard about the method of using baking soda and vinegar to clean a toilet bowl. As anyone who has ever made a "volcano" in fourth grade science class knows, mixing these two items together produces quite a reaction.
I was skeptical, however, because I have found the mix of these two to be less than effective in another often-recommended green household tip: freeing clogged drains. The idea is to add one cup of vinegar and one cup of baking soda to the drain, wait 15 minutes, and then pour in a kettle of boiling water. When I've tried this, water may begin to trickle down what had been impassable pipes, but the drain never completely clears. This method might be good as a way to regularly maintain your drains and prevent clogs, but clearing already existing ones? Not so much.
So, how to clean my toilet? I've tried several homemade tricks: using baking soda alone, using vinegar alone, and using a baking soda and hydrogen peroxide mix. None of these works very well. I read a list of the best "green" toilet cleaners, and Clorox Greenworks was recommended. I've tried it, and it does work. However, with every other day cleaning, you can go through a bottle very quickly, so it's not very cost effective.
This week, I found myself out of Clorox Greenworks toilet bowl cleaner and a dirty bowl, so I thought, why not try the baking soda and vinegar method? It couldn't be any worse than anything else I'd tried. Here's the method: add 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/2 cup of baking soda to your toilet bowl. Wait about 10 minutes until the two stop reacting, and then scrub your bowl with a toilet brush.
It worked! My toilet bowl was sparkling afterward. My guess is that the chemical reaction between the two helps scrub the stains, in a way that vinegar alone or baking soda alone can't do. Best of all, this method is cheap!
Update: The baking soda and vinegar method even cleaned the ring around the toilet bowl in our second bathroom. This ring had been there since before we lived there, I think because my in-laws rarely used that toilet. And now it's gone! The natural method strikes again!
I had heard about the method of using baking soda and vinegar to clean a toilet bowl. As anyone who has ever made a "volcano" in fourth grade science class knows, mixing these two items together produces quite a reaction.
I was skeptical, however, because I have found the mix of these two to be less than effective in another often-recommended green household tip: freeing clogged drains. The idea is to add one cup of vinegar and one cup of baking soda to the drain, wait 15 minutes, and then pour in a kettle of boiling water. When I've tried this, water may begin to trickle down what had been impassable pipes, but the drain never completely clears. This method might be good as a way to regularly maintain your drains and prevent clogs, but clearing already existing ones? Not so much.
So, how to clean my toilet? I've tried several homemade tricks: using baking soda alone, using vinegar alone, and using a baking soda and hydrogen peroxide mix. None of these works very well. I read a list of the best "green" toilet cleaners, and Clorox Greenworks was recommended. I've tried it, and it does work. However, with every other day cleaning, you can go through a bottle very quickly, so it's not very cost effective.
This week, I found myself out of Clorox Greenworks toilet bowl cleaner and a dirty bowl, so I thought, why not try the baking soda and vinegar method? It couldn't be any worse than anything else I'd tried. Here's the method: add 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/2 cup of baking soda to your toilet bowl. Wait about 10 minutes until the two stop reacting, and then scrub your bowl with a toilet brush.
It worked! My toilet bowl was sparkling afterward. My guess is that the chemical reaction between the two helps scrub the stains, in a way that vinegar alone or baking soda alone can't do. Best of all, this method is cheap!
Update: The baking soda and vinegar method even cleaned the ring around the toilet bowl in our second bathroom. This ring had been there since before we lived there, I think because my in-laws rarely used that toilet. And now it's gone! The natural method strikes again!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Gourd watch and garden update
Nada. Yup, that's what my experiment in growing squash plants has produced.
This year, we kept all of our plants in pots on the deck, except for the few that like to spread long and wide: the mints, the cucumbers, pumpkin, zucchini and butternut squash.
As I had noted in an earlier post, for some reason the deer had left our yard alone this year. Until my birthday in late August, that is. We were celebrating on the deck when a deer decided to visit. Hubby scared it off, and I then told him he needed to make his "deer-be-gone" again (a mixture of urine, garlic and cayenne).
It was too late, however. The next morning, everything except the mints and the pumpkin were gone. The rest of the vines were completely stripped of all leaves, bulbs and flowers.
Why the deer left the pumpkin alone, I don't know. And now I know that if we try to plant pumpkin again next year, I do need to hand-pollinate (here is a handy set of instructions, complete with photos), since the pumpkin plants produced flowers but no fruits.
Nevertheless, I think we still had a pretty good year for the garden. We successfully grew spearmint and peppermint in the yard (not hard at all--mints grow like weeds), and in pots on the deck, we've grown tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, basil, collard greens, and for a short while, Swiss chard. Surprisingly, we've even picked a few cucumbers from the yard--apparently the deer missed a few. As a result, fresh salads have been a favorite meal for us this summer.
We did fail at growing a few other random herbs and once again, spinach. However, on a visit a month ago to an otherwise verdant urban community farm, I noticed that their withered spinach patch looked much like my poor spinach pot. A farm staffer informed me that spinach is very tough to grow, so I don't feel so bad about it.
Add to this the joy of discovering fresh blueberries, blackberries and plums growing in our yard this year. The plums, sadly, were ripe for only about two weeks and then withered into prunes right on the branches. The blackberry bush, I have also learned, is considered an extremely invasive plant that can easily choke out other plants growing around it, so we may at some point have to try to get rid of it. Still, eating freshly picked fruit all summer has been wonderful.
I know we have a long way to go in being gardeners--for example, we have yet to grow enough to not only feed our family but to share with neighbors or food pantries; grow a winter crop; or learn how to preserve/can foods and save seeds. Still, for year 2, after being afraid I couldn't grow anything during year 1, I'm pretty satisfied.
This year, we kept all of our plants in pots on the deck, except for the few that like to spread long and wide: the mints, the cucumbers, pumpkin, zucchini and butternut squash.
As I had noted in an earlier post, for some reason the deer had left our yard alone this year. Until my birthday in late August, that is. We were celebrating on the deck when a deer decided to visit. Hubby scared it off, and I then told him he needed to make his "deer-be-gone" again (a mixture of urine, garlic and cayenne).
It was too late, however. The next morning, everything except the mints and the pumpkin were gone. The rest of the vines were completely stripped of all leaves, bulbs and flowers.
Why the deer left the pumpkin alone, I don't know. And now I know that if we try to plant pumpkin again next year, I do need to hand-pollinate (here is a handy set of instructions, complete with photos), since the pumpkin plants produced flowers but no fruits.
Nevertheless, I think we still had a pretty good year for the garden. We successfully grew spearmint and peppermint in the yard (not hard at all--mints grow like weeds), and in pots on the deck, we've grown tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, basil, collard greens, and for a short while, Swiss chard. Surprisingly, we've even picked a few cucumbers from the yard--apparently the deer missed a few. As a result, fresh salads have been a favorite meal for us this summer.
We did fail at growing a few other random herbs and once again, spinach. However, on a visit a month ago to an otherwise verdant urban community farm, I noticed that their withered spinach patch looked much like my poor spinach pot. A farm staffer informed me that spinach is very tough to grow, so I don't feel so bad about it.
Add to this the joy of discovering fresh blueberries, blackberries and plums growing in our yard this year. The plums, sadly, were ripe for only about two weeks and then withered into prunes right on the branches. The blackberry bush, I have also learned, is considered an extremely invasive plant that can easily choke out other plants growing around it, so we may at some point have to try to get rid of it. Still, eating freshly picked fruit all summer has been wonderful.
I know we have a long way to go in being gardeners--for example, we have yet to grow enough to not only feed our family but to share with neighbors or food pantries; grow a winter crop; or learn how to preserve/can foods and save seeds. Still, for year 2, after being afraid I couldn't grow anything during year 1, I'm pretty satisfied.
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