Giveaway.... in honor of Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day to all in our beautiful Universe! In honor of this very special day, little Butterfly and I have 'recycled' a giveaway prize just for you. To enter, simply subscribe to our blog and leave a comment regarding Earth Day and don't forget to vote by clicking link in top right corner banner. I'd love for you to share your ideas of what you are doing to help save our gorgeous planet. Or, maybe you have inspiration on how to teach our children about Earth Day??? How about a local story from your community celebrating Earth Day. I look forward to reading your comments and sharing your tips! THANK YOU! We'll leave the comments through the weekend to give our friends all over the Earth a chance to enter. Winner will be randomly drawn this Sunday. Please make sure you leave a way (email or blog address) for me to contact you if you should win.

Earth Day recycled prize includes 2 skeins of Red Heart yarn (left over from a Halloween knit bag project but unused.) 1 Green skein of Anna's Choice (left over from holiday scarfs unused.) 1 Knitting book and Butterfly Girl is proudly contributing 2 of her gently used Dr. Seuss books!!! Good LUCK, we're off to hug a tree. :)

Alternative Household Cleaners and Recipes

Time to turn on the music and have a cup of Joe...

Saturday is a good day for deep cleaning.  I don't like using harsh, toxic chemicals with my human toddler and puppy children following me around.  Here are a few alternative ingredients that allow you to clean safely with little fingers and paws present...

Ingredients:

Baking Soda

Essential Eucalyptus Oil 

Essential Lemon Oil (or whatever scent you love)

White Vinegar

Borax

Liquid soap (castile, peppermint)

Corn Starch

Olive Oil

Water

Empty Spray bottle

In an Aromatherapy Diffuser, mix water with a few drops of (your choice) Eucalyptus Oil for a fresh, clean and motivating environment to work in.

Do a little cleaning dance, and begin with the bathrooms.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner Recipe:

Sprinkle generous amounts of baking soda in your toilets and cover with white vinegar and a dash of essential oil of your choice.  Let sit and...

Whip up a great general household cleaner recipe... grab an empty spray bottle pour in 1/2 c. borax, either a few (5-10)  drops of essential lemon oil or lemon juice or squeeze lemon, or grapefruit, or orange (whatever is on hand), 2 tsp. liquid soap, 1/2 c. vinegar, 1/2 c. baking soda, 4c. warm water and gently shake.

Now go back to toilet and use brush to scrub a sparkly clean bowl and flush.    

With your homemade cleaning spray go to town saturating entire shower, ceiling, walls, counter tops, anything that needs a good wipe down.  Move to kitchen and use on cupboards, counters, sinks, etc.

Naturally Unclog Drain Recipe:

Cover drain with baking soda, pour white vinegar, let sit several minutes and flush with hot water.

Oven Grease Cleaner Recipe:

Make paste with baking soda and water with some fresh squeezed lemon.  Let soak in for a few minutes and scrub with sponge.  Rinse away grease!

Dusting Furniture Polish Recipe:

Mix 1 part lemon juice and 2 parts olive oil in spray bottle.  With soft cloth rub in wood let set for a while before wiping off.

Window Cleaner Recipe:

In an empt spray bottle mix equal parts white vinegar and water or 1/3 borax and 2/3 warm water. Wipe clean with recycled newspaper for streak-free shine.

Random ideas:

Baking soda makes a terrific paste, salt or sugar helps gently scrub too.   

Corn Starch works great to lift fresh stains from carpet.  Just sprinkle and let dry then vacuum up.

Baking soda is also a great teeth whitener just don't swallow.  For a minty fresh mouth mix some Essential Tea Tree Oil with water and swish around, be sure not to swallow!

Essential Eucalyptus Oil soaked cotton balls or washcloth will rub out stains, safe on white fabric too.  Leaves a great fresh scent.

For clean humidifiers, add white vinegar and leave on during day.  Rinse well and fill with fresh water and a drop or two of Eucalyptus Oil.  (I'm kind of obsessed with the stuff).  

For fresh and clean garbage disposals, throw in a bit of ice and lemon, orange or grapefruit peels and grind.

Ground coffee right out of the bag, grinder, or jar is a terrific odor eliminator and leaves a delicious scent.  Just put some ground coffee in a bowl and set out.  You can sprinkle on rugs too but careful to vacuum up soon so it won't stain carpet.  Put some ground coffee in a glass and leave in your car, I like French Vanilla flavor.

Leaving a small glass of white vinegar out is another way to absorb yucky odor, great for kitchen after cooking fish.

Homemade Shampoo and Conditioner

My BFF and I have been discussing our passions for creating a healthier home environment for our families. Kermit the frog was really on to something with the whole being "Green" thing. Eco friendly is in! Now that I'm a parent, it means so much more to me to provide my family with the safest products and the fact that you can do them yourself for much cheaper is a thrill. I'll regretfully admit I was an Aqua Net spraying teen and have always been a massive consumer of the latest and greatest beauty treatments. After reading this post http://autumnwindcreation.blogspot.com/2009/05/thinkingway-too-much.html I became inspired to try my own shampoo and conditioner. The basic recipe...

Shampoo Base
1 c. warm water
2 tbsp. baking soda

Conditioner Base
Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

I added a handful of loose Green tea and Mandarin leaves and a few drops of essential Tea tree oil to the shampoo. You shake it up and it makes a nice lather. Just put it in a recycled shampoo bottle and voila, enjoy. For the conditioner I added almost a Tbsp. of Olive oil and a few drops of essential Lavender oil.

I tried the new shampoo and conditioner on myself and Butterfly... WOW. I was hesitant about the results but extremely impressed with the outcome. Our hair feels so clean and is shiny and soft. It's better than the most expensive salon products I've tried. It feels great knowing that the ingredients are safe! I've been running my fingers through our hair all day. You can do this yourself and get creative adding your own custom natural ingredients. Feel free to share recipes you enjoy too! Happy Hair Washing!!!