Archive for the ‘Green Living’ Category

My Top 5 Earth-Friendly Cleaning Tips

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

~ Sweet Orange Essential Oil is an awesome adhesive remover. My husband gave it the ultimate test recently by using it on a soft cloth to remove the residue from all the dealership stickers he’d taken off his new car. Passed with flying colors!

~ Hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle has taken the place of bleach sprays for kitchen surfaces. I even clean my cutting boards with it before running them through the dishwasher.

~ Vinegar is my glass, surface and faucet cleaner of choice. It works well in the dishwasher additive reservoir to leave your glasses sparkling. It also makes a great tile floor cleaner that leaves no sticky residue behind to attract dirt. My husband hates the smell, so I just finish up with a spritz of Room Refresh!

~ Baking soda and salt take the place of scouring powder. For example, if there’s still discoloration on my cutting board after I use hydrogen peroxide on it, I use baking soda and salt to scour out any remaining residue food may have left behind. Then I put it in the dishwasher and give it a final spritz of hydrogen peroxide.

~ Water in a spray bottle and a soft rag have taken the place of aerosol dusting sprays and dusting wipes. Let’s face it. Dry dusting doesn’t work! But spritzing a soft rag with a little water works well and is safe to breathe.

~~Bonus tip: Conventional wisdom tells us to sort laundry first by color, then by soil level. Washing heavily soiled items with lightly soiled items causes unwanted soil transfer. I save my rags for a separate load from my regular laundry. When my husband comes in from mowing the yard, I take the dirty yardwork laundry and toss it in the wash with my rags to make a fuller load. This would also work great for sports uniforms or work uniforms if you happen to have those in your household.

Why Soy Candles?

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

People often ask me why I chose soy wax when I created our candle line.  Or, what are the benefits of 100% soy wax candles?

I have never made a paraffin candle.  I knew from the beginning that soy wax was the way I wanted to go.  It was gut instinct, it fit my philosophy and I’ve never looked back!

Unless labeled otherwise, candles are made from paraffin, an imported byproduct of the oil industry. Buying soy candles supports American farmers, creates U.S. jobs and helps reduce our nation’s dependency on crude oil. As an added bonus, soy wax burns longer and cleaner than paraffin wax.*

*According to the Iowa Soybean Association

Who inspires you to live green? Part Two: Companies who Make it Easy to Do

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

In my town, we have Captain Crud Day once a year where you can take all your residential hazardous materials, aerosol cans, paint, chemicals, batteries, pharmaceuticals, electronics–basically everything that I don’t want to end up in the landfill but is not accepted in our weekly recycling pickup.  The other 364 days of the year, the other option is to drive 20 miles or so to Fort Worth to one of the county facilities.  But there are all kinds of rules.  You have to make sure you take the waste to the correct facility because they specialize…not easy.  I combine this errand with other errands nearby to reduce my carbon footprint and save time, which means I’m always storing recyclables.

So when I run across businesses who make recycling easy for me, I’m thrilled!  For example, Interstate Batteries accepts all kinds of batteries for recycling and has many convenient locations.

Home Depot has a great national program to recycle CFL lightbulbs.  I love this because I don’t have to worry about storing fragile burned-out glass bulbs that could break and cause me to have a little mercury cleanup project on my hands between now and the next Captain Crud Day!  Now if they only would accept the 4 foot regular florescent bulbs, I’d be even more thrilled!

My friend Elaine Capers and her husband Murph own the Grapevine, TX franchise of Rapid Refill.  They put out really high quality recycled  ink and toner cartridges that are satisfaction guaranteed at a fraction of the cost of new ones.  But in addition to that, they reuse and recycle  ink and toner cartridges from the public.  So if you need ink, stop by to see them and be sure to bring your empties!

And I love stores like Sprouts Farmers Market and Target who reward me for using my own bags by giving .05 cents credit per bag saved.  (Target actually has several great new recycling initiatives I’m excited about.) CVS also has a Green Bag Tag program that pays $1 after every 4th time you bring your own bags and have them scan your tag after you purchase the tag for about $1. Sure, I do it regardless but it makes a statement about their values and I think we all enjoy doing business with companies whose values are similar to ours.  As an owner of an earth-friendly business, I know I do!

So today on Earth Day, I say “Thanks!” to all the companies making it easier for the average person to do the right thing when it comes to recycling.

Who Inspires You to Live Green? Part One: People who Inspire Me

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

As earth day approaches, I’ve been thinking about people in my life who inspire me to “go greener” as well as companies who make it easier for me to do it.

My sister got my attention at family gatherings by asking if discarded items would be recycled and if the answer was no, she’d take the items with her to recycle at home.  Call me competitive, but I don’t like the answer to ever be no at my house, LOL!  I’m really fortunate to live in a place that accepts plastic #s 1-7 as well as glass, aluminum, steel and paper.  When my husband and I moved into our first home and I got into recycling, I read that in 2002 our town diverted 3,545 tons of recyclable materials from area landfills.  That’s significant!  I knew I wanted to be part of that and I’ve never looked back.

My friend Audra Lewandowski, eco-chic interior designer and founder of ASL Design, is so passionate about green living that she started her own expo called Southlake Green Day.  This well-attended event has been embraced by the community and her third annual expo will be held in March of 2011.

My friend Rodney Geisler, home energy specialist and founder of Home Energy Doctors, was the first person to introduce me to CFL floodlight bulbs.  Sure, I’d seen and bought the typical corkscrew bulbs for my pantry, entryway, hall and laundry room, but what an impact to be able to replace my recessed lighting in my living room, kitchen and Barcelona Bath & Body workshop! 

Rodney does a fantastic 25-point home energy check-up to diagnose home energy loss.  Then he gives you a workup of everything you need to do to treat the energy loss.  I love that he’ll do all  the work if you want him to, but he’ll empower you with all the knowledge to do it yourself if you’re DIY-inclined.  After his check up, I had out my caulk gun to seal beneath gusty window casements, gradually replaced all those bulbs and my husband got in on the act with weather stripping the front door.

Today, I’m grateful for all the points in my life where inspiration and friendship meet.

“I can trust my friends. These people force me to examine, encourage me to grow.”   -Cher