BLULOW (All About Living Green)

I was looking around the internet for a recipe for natural air fresheners. Let’s face it; we all have those occasions where we would like to clear the air, if you get my drift.

Rather than using the grocery store aerosol sprays, I would prefer something a bit more natural. Sometimes potpourri doesn’t cut it. Imagine my surprise when I saw the recipe for ‘Air Care Room Spray’ found on the Rainforest Organics site. It calls for ¼ cup of distilled water, ¼ cup of vodka and 25 drops of natural oils.

The instructions say “combine an enjoy.” Hmmm, do I spray it or drink it. Let’s face it, after throwing back a few shots of the room spray, who cares how the room smells?

I came across an article today on How to Make a Homemade Solar Oven.

It got me to thinking.  That would be a nice project to keep the kids busy.  Not only that, it’s a great lesson on how to utilize reusable energy (not to mention that if it works, it’s a great toy).

I managed to save money and trash over the holiday weekend by making my own coleslaw. My laziness almost sucked me into purchasing the bag of pre-cut cabbage and carrot to make coleslaw, but my frugal nerve got very irritated when I saw that it would cost $4 for a bag that wasn’t big enough to serve a half a person in my household. I would have to buy minimum 2 bags but more like 3 or 4.

Incensed about the price of the bagged coleslaw, I walked over to the cabbage display and bought a cabbage. The cabbage was .49 a pound and I bought one that was 2 ½ pounds (cost me all of $1.23). I picked up some banana peppers and an onion and went home to slice my cabbage and make my own coleslaw.

Not only did it cost less, but also tasted better and I didn’t have to worry about how to recycle the plastic bags the pre-cut coleslaw came in. I think that’s a win-win.

As I always say, it’s not easy living green, but it sure is rewarding.

Yet another use for baking soda. I’ve found that mixing equal parts of baking soda and dish detergent (whether its homemade or store bought) to the dishwasher dispenser has produced spotlessly clean dishes. No more water spots on the glasses or the silverware.

The silverware is so shiny that depending on how it catches the light; sometimes I’ve got to wear sunglasses when emptying the dishwasher. Er…well, that’s a slight exaggeration but you get my drift.

I pre-mix equal parts of baking soda and dish washing detergent in a plastic container (a recycled container of course), so when I need to use it it’s ready to go. I place 2 tablespoons of the mixture in the dish detergent compartment and 1 tablespoon in the pre-wash compartment and wash the dishes as usual.

I’m no scientist, but from what I understand the baking soda raises the pH level of the water, which helps the soap to do its job better. Honestly, I don’t care what the reason, I’m just happy to report that I’ve got very clean spotless dishes.

6/3/08 UPDATE: Play around with the amount of baking soda.  I found that my ratio of 1 to 1 didn’t allow all of the baking soda to fully dissolve, and it left a few white spots (GASP!).  I adjusted the ratio and reduced the amount of baking soda and now my dishes are spotless again.

I am not what you would call an outdoors type of person. It’s not that I’m against the outdoors, but there’s something about the spiders, mosquitoes and the unidentifiable bugs that, well…bug me. My little bug problem tends to put a damper on my gardening experiences.

While I enjoy a home-grown fruit or vegetables just as much as the next person, losing argument with the squirrels and deer caused me to abandon my back to Eden notion of growing my own food.

Not one to totally give up, I’ve decided to grow my garden indoors. I’m starting small with basil. Basil is my most favorite herb. I try to put it in just about everything I cook. However, every time I go to the grocery store to buy dried basil, I gasp because each time I go the price gets higher and higher.

Determined to blulow my life, I went to my local home gardening store and spent about a buck and a half on basil seeds. My daughter planted them I a clay pot with organic soil. While my thumb is not the greenest of thumbs, the basil has sprouted above the soil (an indication that I’m doing something right).

Over time, I hope to dry and preserve some of the leaves while using fresh basil as I see fit. If all goes well, I’ll try something a little more challenging like parsley, then maybe tomatoes, then carrots, then potatoes, then watermelon, then….

I guess I got a little carried away. I should wait for my basil to grow first before I take on more than I’m able to handle. Let’s face it, I just recently figured out how to keep my houseplants alive.