Thirfty Green Thursday

The Green Baby Guide has begun a blog carnival to celebrate and share ways to save money and be green at the same time. My topic for this Thursday is the miracle cleaner:

Baking Soda & White Vinegar

Photo courtesy of jilldoughtie

I've got so used to this stuff that it wasn't until DH asked me where the toilet cleaner was that I realised that I needed to educate him on my current cleaning procedure.

Some time ago Janine posted about a book called Speed Cleaning by Shannon Lush. Great book! It has some excellent advice, one of which is the use of white vinegar and baking soda as an alternative to other cleaning products.

Now I'd known about white vinegar in particular because it is an excellent solution for neutralizing cat pee (and my mum has too many cats). I had also used baking soda as a cleanser for my pizza stone and clay pot (both of which you cannot use normal detergent on).

So I decided to get more serious about it. I put white vinegar+few drops of lavender oil in an old spray bottle. I went to the Binn Inn and bought a big bag of baking soda which is now stored in a container under the sink with a little scoop recycled from somewhere. I forget how much this cost me but I know it was less than a bottle of spray 'n' wipe.

My modus operandi is this. On the surface of the toilet bowl and seat I spray the white vinegar. Using the scoop I sprinkle over some baking soda which makes a very satisfying fizz when it hits the vinegar. I then use a dedicated toilet sponge to wipe over the seat, and the toilet brush for the bowl.

I also use this process on other surfaces like the bathroom vanity, the bath and the stainless steel bench.

Baking soda is a mild abrasive so is a good option for surfaces like the shower where crud builds up. You could even do it while having a shower!

Baking soda and cider vinegar can also be used as an alternative to shampoo. You can read about that on Amy's blog. I have tried this, and yes it works remarkably well! My hair felt really light after doing this.

One reason I like this way of cleaning is that I'm not washing stuff into our water ways that is going to harm the inhabitants. I'm thinking that when we go camping to the more primitive down to earth camping sites (like the DOC ones) then I'm not going to feel bad about washing my hair in the streams.

Why not give it a go? You might be surprised at how much cheaper (and how effective) this cleaner is.

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Now a plug for a new challenge.





My friend Amy is running a Ditch the Disposables challenge for the next couple of months. Run on over and check it out.

bikies!

For your edification ;-) I came around the fence corner into the drive and discovered DH waiting for me with the camera! LOL!

I have the Centric Safe seat on the bike because I prefer it to the ones that sit at the rear. My balance isn't the most perfect so this way my centre of gravity is localised. If DD wiggles a bit, I don't notice much. Also, I can see what she is doing.

It's hard to believe but DS has actually gone to sleep on the blue sloped bit at the front. He just lay his head down and dozed off. That is what it's for, but I didn't really think it would be used like that until it happened!

Ignore my butt. I hope to have buns of steel soon.

Pleased to see each other home.

The bus just didn't work. I really wanted it to! After all, they go right by the end of our street down to the bus stop outside my work place. But they didn't arrive at the time tabled time, so I was late for work. Then I waited an hour in the evening with no appearance of said time tabled bus - and gave up. DH came and got me.

So pedal power it is. It takes me 15 minutes to get from home to work. Fortunately for me, I can park my bike in the underground staff parking area so no Trevs can fiddle with it. (Not that it's a cool bike or anything but still, it's MINE).

Fortunately for my colleagues, there is a shower available for me to use in one of the buildings...

Yes it looks as if no one has cleaned it for the last 5 years but I'm trying to sort that out with the facilities manager.

And yes, the temperature is about 2 degree off flippin' freezing but it's very refreshing! *sucks in deep breath!*

One step closer to reducing my carbon footprint.

Bag and Good

Made this bag using this free pattern from Ottobre. I thought my Cuttle bug might fit in it but I'll need to adjust the pattern size a bit for that to happen. It does however, hold my dies, embossing folders and the sandwich layers at present.




















Found this new magazine in the supermarket the other week. It claims to be NZ's first carbon neutral magazine. It's a very interesting read for me since I like to find ways to live more sustainably. One thing I found from this magazine is a vege box outlet up at Kumeu (i.e. 20mins drive from here) that grow their own vegetables organically. So I'm going up to check out their shop and hopefully sign up for a box of seasonal organic vegetables. :-) Wellington & Wairarapa folks can sign up for something similar through the CSA program down that way.

Wanting a worm farm now....

Having a quickie

My online friend Amy is having a five-minute shower challenge which I've joined. You would think that water in New Zealand was not a resource we have to be concerned about when it seems like most of winter is a constant rain shower - at least here in Auckland anyway.

But anyone visiting the dams up in the Waitakere ranges can see that they are not full to the brim. Anyone living in the Waikato this past summer, or the South Island can say that water is something that is not a resource we can afford to squander.

According to The Big CleanUp Newsletter (my enbolding):

Last year, our daily water use in Auckland region was 303 litres gross per capita. Since 2003 we have increased the amount of water we use by 6 litres per person/perday. Individuals typically use between 130-230 litres per person per day. We only use 3% of this water for drinking or cooking even though it is treated to a drinkable standard. Other water use includes flushing our toilets, washing clothes, dishes and watering the garden.

I know that our water consumption has increased from last year - it's on our water bill. I think it's because we've got another child, and I wash my cloth nappies. It may go down a bit once DD is out of naps. In the meantime, I'm trying to cut down some of our water use by doing this challenge.

Other ways to save water can be found at New Zealand Water and Wastes Association or sustainability.govt.nz. One way could be to install a tank to catch rain water. Some local councils (e.g. Waitakere City Council) will give you a rebate on your water bill if you do this. Another way is to not over fill pots or kettles; only use as much water as you need. Use the microwave to steam your veges instead of the stove - not only do you use less water, but there is less nutrient loss in this form of cooking.

I will point out that Amy is in the other hemisphere so while the challenge is a "summer" challenge I am doing it in the winter. I just thought I would point that out. Because you know it's kind of cold here right now. So I'm not having nice hot, long showers anymore because of this challenge. Just so you know okay?

Actually, my normal "clean-only" shower is about 3 minutes. If I'm washing my hair it takes about 6 minutes so I need to work out how to cut that down. Turning off the water to do the lathering is not attractive, not to mention how much water it wastes because my shower takes a while to come back to the right temperature.

And it's winter you know.

Which makes it pointy-nipple cold if I turn off the water.

I think leave-in conditioner might be the answer.

Real Nappy Week

First of all - let me translate. Nappy=Diaper.

This week is Real Nappy Week in New Zealand so I'm bloggin' about one of my favourite green habits... using cloth nappies/diapers.

Why did I decide on cloth? Firstly, I wanted to save us some money. Cloth can be cheaper than using disposables. Secondly, I really dislike the idea of putting human waste into landfills. There is a place for human waste, and it is the sewerage treatment plant. Thirdly, I did hope that it would encourage early toilet training. That last one turned out not to work on DS! Maybe on DD it will be more successful! LOL!

I know some of my friends think I'm nuts to do cloth. But for me it has been very little bother once I have my "system" in place.

Two things are in my favour in terms of cloth usage a) I'm a SAHM and b) I usually do laundry every other day. I have a dry nappy bucket in the laundry where the naps waiting to be washed get stored. It's a sealed bucket, and I normally put a bit of white vinegar in it to help keep and odor at bay. As I do laundry at least every 2nd day, it rarely gets very full.

Washing cloth naps is simple. If I use a washable liner in them "#2 gets flicked in the loo" off the liner. Or if it is a disposable liner, the whole lot gets dumped in. I rinse if necessary. Naps get washed on a normal cycle with the household wash (though I do separate them from the tea towels). I use a fragrance free laundry powder (EcoStore is good but there are other options) and put white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. Fabric softener should not be used when washing cloth naps as it will spoil their ability to soak up moisture.

Naps are hung on the line and the sun bleaches them for me. :-) Occasionally I will use some Nappy soaking product to help bad stains.

This is part of my stash of cloth naps. Some of those in the top picture are now in my collection.
I use a mixture of nappy types. I make my own nappies (I made the ones in the top picture). I bought some from Nap-Naps and Snazzipants. I also have some pre-folds that were given to me by a friend. Each one has it's pros and cons, and so I can't really promote one over the other. It's good to have a mix in my experience.

Check out nappy stockists in NZ.

Check out the events happening in your region.

Just to really convince my friends I am nuts, I have actually made my own wet wipes too. I ran out one week and instead of making a trip to the supermarket I used some

• Aloe Vera juice (the plain liquid stuff - I drank it while I had chicken pox & had some left over. You can get it from the health section in the supermarket. I see you can buy the gel at the chemist).
• Liquid Baby soap
• A bunch of soft washies/muslin cloths

and put it all in the plastic wipe box I had already. It worked fine!

You can find other recipes for home made wipes here, and here.

I know I'll probably get some comments about how cloth wasn't an option for you. That's okay - I'm not trying to condemn anyone here for using 'sposies. (Hey, I use them for overnight and if we're travelling -I just try and use the more environmentally friendly type).

My purpose in posting is to raise awareness of the possibilities. And they are so cute. Who wouldn't like to have cow print undies eh?

Freecycling

Do you know about this? I discovered it some time ago and have been enamored of the idea since. Just the other day I discovered that there is a local group of Freecyclers so I signed up.

Freecycle Network is a not for profit movement designed to keep stuff out of landfills. It's about reusing things that still have good use. It is totally free to join.

I have a number of baby oriented items that I need to move on now that the children are older. They aren't worth listing on Trade Me (my ambivalent feelings about that site aside) and yet somebody could use them. Most of the folks I know no longer need the items in question so I can't pass them on to a friend like I normally would.

So last week I put on an old LL Bean backpack we were given. It was worn, faded and hardly flash, but I had lots of interest in it. I also offered a baby recliner/rocker thing that we'd had for 4 years. Again - heaps of interest. It gave me a good feeling to choose someone to give these items to, and know that they would be used rather than go into landfill. Haven't managed to pas on my pile of maternity sewing patterns yet :-)

Why not see if there is a freecycling group in your area?

The types of things being offered are varied. So far I've seen fejoas, desks, laptops, fridges, freezers, plastic containers, wooden blinds, Kodak Camera dock and net curtains.
You can also ask for things. So far the wanted items have been varied too! Clothes, fridges, freezers, modems, fejoas for wine making, old copper hot water cylinder...

Give it a go!

The Unthinking Caterpillar

The Unthinking Caterpillar

No no no no no!
My car is NOT a good place to make your chrysalis!

I can't go anywhere until it's transformed. Then I might use some tweezers and move it somewhere safer. Still thinking about what to attach it with... glue?

I've had to transfer most of our population of caterpillars to the school swan plants because they've run out of leaves on ours.

Lara's Scraplift Challenge

After stuffing up my print job I managed to get only 1 LO done last night for the SBO Cybercrop challenges. This one was for Lara's challenge: scraplift one of the LOs in the gallery. I chose this one - probably because my subconscious latched on to the title. Heh heh!

Our fig tree has been fruiting very well and despite my fears the silver eyes would get them all, I have managed to make about 16 jars (or varying sizes) of jam. I do like fig jam (especially with ginger) but I'm not likely to eat 16 jars! Fortunately, I have plenty of friends and relatives to give jars away to. Hate to see all that fruit go to waste.

In addition I'm getting DH, my Dad and sister to sell some for me at their work to raise some money for DS's kindy. The kindy seems to be stuck on doing raffles for fund raising and I'm philosophically opposed to getting people to buy something they may not get any goods/services for. I sympathise with the need for fund raising but wish they would choose some other method! So this is my little rebellious solution. The kindy gets their money, and I salve my conscience. And get rid of excess jam.
The photo has been given Matt's 300 treatment.

I've also been making an eco-bag for a "happy mail" parcel. Some of you might guess who this one is for. *wink* More in the works....

Oh - and Shell asked what font I used in my banner. It's called Reprobate and I stretched it out a bit horizontally to make more space between the letters.

Lastly, but certainly not least, I discovered that I've been honoured by The Green Baby Guide who included me in their Best Green Baby Blog list. I'm highly flattered and delighted to be included! I also feel I better increase the posts about "green babyness"... um. Not sure what yet, but I will think about it.

Another eco-bag

Another eco-bag
See - they don't have to be plain calico :-)

Spotlight has these bolts of cool canvas prints for $15.00 a metre. Veeeeery tempted to go back and get some more.

This one is a slightly different design to the others.

Take an hour to help save the planet

from plastic bags! This bag will fold up and fit in a hand bag. Well, it fits in my hand bag. I suppose if you are Super-Efficient-Trendy-Woman it might be too big. In which case it will fit in your glove box. This bag takes me about an hour to make from cutting out to finished product.

Make Your Own Eco-Bag

You will need:
2 panels of material 34 cm x 38 cm (13"x15") for the front and back
2 strips of material 8 cm x 104 cm (3" x 41") for the side panels and handles
thread
sewing machine
stamps
stamp pads
scissors
pins

1. Cut out your bag. You can make the bag bigger if you like but it may not fit into your hand bag if you do that... which is not a problem if you don't want it to!














2. Stamp your images on the front and back panels. I used some Tia Bennet clear stamps to make the Eco-Bag title, and on the other side stamped a rondel stamp I got at Spotlight.











3. Fold down the top of the front panel by 3 mm. Then fold again so the raw edge is inside the hem. Sew the hem. Repeat for the back panel.
























4. Take one of the side panels. Fold the strip in half so you have a 8cm x 52 cm side panel. Measure the height of your front panel and mark this on one edge of the side panel. Sew a french seam down from this mark.

To sew a french seam, join the wrong sides of the material together and sew. Clip the top of the seam to enable you to make a handle seam. Trim the seam fairly close to the stitches. Then fold the material so the right sides are together and the raw edges are contained inside the fold. Sew again, enclosing the raw edges. See here for better instructions.










I used french seams because they are strong, hard wearing seams. If you want, you could overlock the material and use a triple-stitch running stitch instead.









5. Now make the handle seams. At the clipped mark at the top of your french seam, fold over the edge 3mm, and then fold again.











Or you could make a rolled hem if you wish. Pin and sew the first edge of the handle seam.















6. Reinforce the base of handle by running a V shaped stitch line back and forth from the handle to the french seam.





























7. Repeat the folded/rolled hem for the other side. You will have to clip a little to enable you to make the folds on this side.











8. Take the other side panel and repeat steps 4-7.

9. Now join the side panels to the front and back panels. Again, I've used a french seam for these seams as well. The photo shows the side panel pinned to the front panel to begin sewing.











10. After sewing those 4 seams, you are ready to make the bottom hem. Fold the side panels inside the bag and line up the edges of the front/back panels. Pin and sew.







Trim the raw edge back close to the stitching line.

11. Fold the bag inside out and make sure the side panels are sitting nice and flat. Finish the french seam by sewing along the bottom edge, enclosing the raw edges. Turn the bag the right way out and voila! A finished bag.


I can fold mine up to about 10cm square.

The Mooncup Revealed (might be TMI for some)

Couple of you mentioned the Mooncup in your comments and CW has even got one waiting to use so I thought I'd address her questions publicly in case someone else was interested. There is also a handy FAQ here.

When I originally heard about it I thought it was kind of strange but was intrigued. The history of it is interesting.

Menstrual cups were developed in the 1930s and went on commercial sale at around the same time as the first tampon. In that early post-Victorian era it was not considered ‘proper’ for women to touch their vaginal area. The manufacturers of the tampon overcame this obstacle by providing those disposable applicators that can still be found floating in our toilet bowls today! Menstrual cups require a ‘hands on’ approach and were only purchased by the most liberal minded woman in those days.

Commercially, the tampon is a more viable product, as customers need to repurchase month after month In contrast menstrual cup manufacturers do not expect to make repeat sales to satisfied customers, only to their friends and relations! Sadly such intimate matters were not discussed in polite company back in the 1930s. Sales of tampons soared and massive advertising campaigns were launched. Disposable feminine hygiene products soon became established necessities in modern western society.

Then one of my friends bought one and I decided to do so too - bearing in mind that at the time they were offering money back guarantee if it didn't work.

Do you find it easy to use?
Yes - now I do. Not at first though because I was nervous. It did take me a few cycles to get the technique right in terms of insertion. At first I was all fingers and thumbs! I found it easiest to squat to insert it. I no longer need to do this - I think that is partly practice and partly because I've had another baby since.

Did it take you a while to get used to it?
I think I took about 2-3 cycles to trust it! LOL! Then it's a matter of learning when is good to empty it according to your own cycle. At first I tried to empty it every time I visited the lav - no point. Then I left it too long on a heavy day and had a major spill - not good. But now I've learnt when is good to empty. I used to wear a panty liner for heavy days but no longer need to do that even.

I did have to trim more off the stem than I thought I'd need to when I first got it.

Now I hardly notice it when it's in use. Unlike tampons which proclaim their presence via their irritating string, and pads which get hot, bulky and - lets be honest - stinky if you don't change them often enough, the Mooncup is simple and efficient. You no longer have to worry about disposing of used stuff in public toilets. So long as you remember to keep it in your bag you won't need to worry about whether you replaced that dodgy tampon at the bottom of your handbag along with the crumpled up receipts.

During use, I wash the Mooncup after emptying and at the end of my cycle it gets plunked in Milton to sterilise it. If I'm in a public toilet I make sure to wipe it clean before reinsertion and wash it later.

Any further questions? Please feel free to email me :)

Blog Action Day

In its inaugural year, Blog Action Day will be co-ordinating bloggers to tackle the issue of the environment.

So here's my post possums...

If I was to classify myself I'd probably say I'm a pragmatic greenie. I am concerned about sustainability, conservation and the impact human beings have on the environment. I can't say I have all the answers though! But I do believe we've been given stewardship of the earth so it behoves me to try and be a good steward. That doesn't mean I have to wear a kaftan and meditate in my backyard naked.

I can make some lifestyle choices that reduce my ecological footprint though.

Actually I wasn't sure what to post so I decided to interview myself using the questions the Herald uses to grill various "famous" people.

What are you doing personally to make a difference?

I try to reduce the amount of waste our household produces. To this end I compost all our vegetable waste, lawn clippings, hedge clippings and other bits and pieces (e.g. contents of my hair brush). We recycle through the local council's recycling initiatives (paper, plastic, glass, cans, tins etc).

I use cloth nappies (diapers) on DD almost exclusively. I do admit to putting her in disposables at night though - that means I don't have to wake her up totally by changing her. Any mum who has kids who don't sleep through will understand how maintaining every precious skerrick of sleep is to me!

I personally use a Mooncup instead of disposable sanitary products. It can be purchased in New Zealand from Embrace. Viva recently reviewed menstrual cups and their verdict was "Eeeuuw!" My reaction to the reviewers would be an eye roll and a "Get over it!" comment. I find the thought of putting sanitary product waste into landfills more disgusting than emptying the Mooncup. I suppose rabid followers of Viva fashion, who happily spend NZ$500 on a pair of shoes might struggle a bit with the idea of their own humanity. Admittedly, if you are nervous about touching your girl bits you might find it weird but hey - this is the enlightened age isn't it? No more bathing in your nightie, embrace your womanhood, know your ... uh ... fanny and all that.

I try to use reusable bags.

I also try to buy local produce and mostly seasonal stuff (although tomatoes and bananas are a weakness of mine). I'd love to buy organic food exclusively but we can't afford to do this all the time. I like to use "eco" cleaning products too e.g laundry powder, dishwasher powder, washing up liquid etc. Eco-store has some really nice stuff that works and it lasts for ages.

We're growing some of our own veges and fruit and we try to do this in the most "green" way we can. One of my favourite organic garden products is Neem which helps to protect my tomatoes etc from sucking bugs and some soil pests. I do some companion planting to confuse the baddies and attract the goodies. My simple method for dealing with aphids is *don't read this if you're Bhuddist* to use the old manual-squish-and-squirt procedure. That is squish the infestation and squirt it with the hose at high pressure. That's why my gardening gloves have green fingers! ;-) Alternatively, a strong infusion of chillies and garlic sprayed onto the plant works not too badly either. Unfortunately, I've yet to find a good solution to the slug/snail issue. Apart from ducks/chooks of course. But living in suburbia, they would bring their own problems.

I try to walk to get errands done - or at least combine trips so that I use the car less. Online banking etc has made this so much easier.

Simple things like picking up rubbish when I go to a beach makes me feel like I'm helping.

What more could you do?

If I could afford it I'd do a lot more in terms of my purchasing power. Eat organic/sustainable food, buy organic/sustainable products, avoid products made out of the Australasia area, buy organic cotton clothes and so on.

I would like to bike/walk more and avoid using my car. I used to bike to work and really enjoyed it. DS loved sitting in his Wee Ride seat - he even went to sleep in it. Perhaps if I got some panniers I could use my bike more often to do some basic shopping trips. Once DS can ride his own 2-wheeler I will be able to get one of those Trail-Gator things.

I would like to be more energy efficient. If we could afford to install it, I would like to use things like solar heating and roof run off for grey water. If we ever built a new house I would seriously consider such a thing.

I would like to be able to afford to donate to conservation efforts for NZ native animals, plants and habitats.

What is your biggest environmental sin?

Probably my car. *sigh*

Living at the bottom of the world means we import a lot of things too, and I do think it a real shame that some of the big NZ firms are out sourcing their factories to Asia. I wish NZ could grow cocoa beans and coffee beans... avoiding the food miles there.

Global warming: true or false?
I think it is true that our climate is changing. What I find confusing and cannot decide on is whether this is part of a natural cycle or if humans are the sole cause. I do think humans can influence the climate though, and through choices about our lifestyles I think we could learn to live within the bounds of our environment.

Hope this doesn't sound preachy or pompous... these are just my choices that have worked for me with very little to no inconvenience to my life. As for my death - I think one of these would be good.