Green cleaning

I had a whole day on Sunday stuck in the education center, with many books at my disposal. I found some great simple cleaning supply recipes I wanted to share. I think people don't realize what sort of nasty chemicals are in many cleaning supplies, and why we still use them. A lot of cleaning supplies, such as bleach, were grandfathered in before safety testing was the norm. Now they are on the GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) list, but that doesn't mean they don't have any potential to cause reactions, it just means no one has reported one major consistent problem they can pinpoint back. Also, chemicals go down the drain into our water, so please remember that less is more when it comes to clean up supplies.

From Green Up Your Cleanup by Jill Potvin Smith:

All surface spray-
2 tsp borax
1/4 tsp castile soap
Hot water to fill the spray bottle

All purpose liquid cleaner-
1 gal hot water
1 Tbsp baking soda
2 Tbsp liquid soap or detergent

Glass soap-
1 cup white distilled vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 tsp dish soap (if glass is greasy)
3-8 drops essential oil (optional)

Dishwashing Powder-
1/4 c citric acid
1 1/2 c borax
15 drops essential oil (optional)

Disinfectant-
2 cups water
1/4 tsp tea tree oil (what I did my undergrad thesis on, it works!)
1/4 tsp lavender oil

Here is a link to a fantastic and all inclusive sustainability blog. It is very impressive, and you should look at more than just the page for cleaning products. http://www.sustainableeats.com/category/cleaning-products/. I am excited to get a chance to spend more time on it in the future. I'm also excited to try her hydrogen peroxide/lemon juice mildew cleaner on my bathroom ceiling.

And finally I wanted to plug a great book I just read. It is not as do-it-yourself as I like to recommend, but it does tell the best things to buy, and what you need to cut from your life to be more sustainable, plus it is a fun read. It is The Eco Chick Guide to Life by Starre Vartan. A fun read, I borrowed it from the ranger station, and you should make it part of your summer reading list.

May Project

So I was thinking about what sustainable area I'm weakest in, and by far it is reusing bags. I just forget to use my cloth bags. I decided to take advantage of May and make it my personal sustainability month. I'm going to put reusable bags and grocery bags in my car, in the pouch on the bike, and make a point of using them.

Why is plastic so bad? Well, it doesn't biodegrade, it pollutes the environment, and it leeches cancer-causing toxicants into our food. The best argument for me involves charismatic megafauna (big cute animals). Plastic bags end up in the ocean, and sea turtles eat them, thinking they are delicious jellyfish. More and more they are finding dead sea turtles with stomachs full of plastic. They aren't the only animal either. The US is the leading consumer of plastic in the world, so I'm hoping my readers will join me in reusing their bags, whether choosing to use cloth grocery bags, or just using last week's bags again and again. Cloth is a better choice, but feel free to ease into it. Whatever it takes to make the change. Otherwise, you are no better than those seagulls that snatch up the cute baby turtles in every nature documentary (you know, the part where you shut your eyes). At least the seagulls do it to survive.

My project for the month is going to be making reusable produce bags. As a vegetarian, I end up shopping the produce isle twice a week, which means I either use a ton of individual bags, or I let my produce roll loose around. I tend to do the latter, but it really isn't practical or convenient for the long haul.

What I have is this one reusable produce bag made out of mesh with a draw string. I'm going to use it as a template and make myself 5 or 6 of these so I can stop killing the sea turtles. I'll post results when I make the bags (probably wait until I have access to my mother's sewing machine). I'm excited for this change, and I hope it inspires a few others to start reusing bags. It really will make a difference.