DIY Extender Duster

I was mighty proud of myself for coming up with this contraption today to reach my vaulted ceilings for dusting. I'm sure many of you have already done this and are going to say "well duh!!" (Mom). I had been using my Dyson digital slim to vacuum the cobwebby ceiling corners, but after doing a few rooms and holding the vacuum up into the air for a few minutes at a time, my arms were really feeling it. Then it dawned on me, we have a lightweight yard stick and an already dirty Swiffer duster, so I could just rubber-band the duster onto the top of the yard stick... Don't judge me for using a disposable duster. The hubs and I both have HORRIBLE allergies, so trapping the dust and getting it out of the house is a must for us. It's the one and only not-so-eco-friendly cleaning thing I use. Anyways, here's a picture of the contraption:

I literally just folded a Swiffer duster pad in half, slid it onto the top of a yard stick, and rubber-banded it in place. This would also work with a broom handle and sock or any sort of cloth. Moral of the story: save yourself the $20 on the Swiffer Extender contraption thingy or whatever else they try to sell you to reach up into high places for dusting and just use what you have at your house. The environment will love you for it :) 

Reusable "Paper" Towel

Between having a baby, dog and husband, I use lots of paper towel to clean up messes. To be fair, I'm probably the worst offender with the kitchen mess making, especially when the blender is involved in the project. When I realized that we're literally using a roll a week, which is unbelievably wasteful, I decided that it was time to do something about it. Pinterest yet again delivered with ideas for reusable paper towel, modified to meet my needs :) Since my needs usually call for a half-sheet of paper towel, I made mine in half-sheet size. I finished this project early this week and started using the cloth towels, and let me tell you, they ROCK. One sheet of Bounty doesn't have anything on terry cloth! I also made a wet bag to hang on my stove and collect the dirty towels until it's time to wash them.

Reusable Paper Towel
Materials:
- 1 1/2 yards of terry cloth material
- 1 1/2 yards of cotton material or flannel
- matching thread
- sew-on velcro
- scissors
- sewing machine

Instructions:
1. Wash and dry both pieces of fabric.

2. Cut 24 6" by 11" rectangles out of both types of fabric. Set the extra fabric aside for the wet bag. If you want full-sheet sized towels, make your pieces 12" by 11" and only cut 12 of each fabric.

3. Match the rectangles up into pairs, one terry, one cotton. Place the printed side of the cotton face-up, pin together around the edges, then sew all of the way around the rectangles, leaving about a 1/8 allowance between the stitch and edge of the fabric.

4. Cut the velcro into 1" pieces. Lay the rectangle flat, cotton side up, short edges as top and bottom, and place two pieces of the same type of  velcro in the corners on the left side, one on the top corner, one on the bottom. Sew these on. Flip the towel over, place the opposite pieces of velcro in the corners on the left side of the terry cloth, sew on.

5. To make the wet bag, cut two 12" x 14" pieces of each type of fabric. Place one piece of terry cloth down, then a piece of cotton - print up on top of it. Set the other piece of cotton - face down onto the stack, then the other piece of terry cloth. Sew around 3 of the sides, then turn it inside out. Cut 4 16" x 3/4" strips of the cotton fabric. Roll each piece over onto itself 3 times, then sew it together. These will be the ties. Pin two ties into each side of the top of the bag. Sew the cotton to the terry around the top, securing the ties into the seem well.

6. Using an empty cardboard paper towel roll, mark where the velcro from the terry cloth side of the towels is. Glue the opposite type of velcro around the tube at both of the marks.

7. I had to rewash my towels at this point, since the terry cloth sheds a lot while cutting and sewing. If yours are ok, then you can attach your towels into a roll! Woohoo!

Tips for Sustainable Living - Baking Soda

Go ask your grandmother what she used to clean her house with before all of the commercial cleaners that we have today were available. I'll bet she'll say baking soda, among other products. I saw a pin on Pinterest that showed an oven door pre- and post-baking soda cleaning. By George, baking soda actually took the gunk off! Here's the deal, the cleaners that you find on a grocery store shelf are there because we are, as a society, extremely lazy. Harsh chemicals take the "work" out of cleaning, reducing the need for putting some extra elbow grease into cleaning. So, if you decide to use baking soda or vinegar as cleaning products, be aware that it will take some extra work on your part to yield the same results. But hey, some good hard scrubbing might be beneficial to you too by burning some extra calories! Good for the environment, good for the wallet, good for your body!

I've recently started using baking soda in my cleaning tasks. Combined with a little bit of vinegar (a la elementary school science fair volcano style) it can be very powerful. Just ask my mildewy shower door track. Add a little bit of water to some baking soda to make a paste and you have a powerful scrub! Here are some ideas of where you can use baking soda in your home:

- Clean the inside of your dirty oven. Create a baking soda paste and SCRUB. I tried this in my oven after an unfortunate lasagna explosion last month left me choking on an aerosol oven cleaner. I didn't want to suffocate, so I tossed the can aside and made a baking soda paste. It took some serious scrubbing, but my oven was baked on tomato sauce free!

- Dinner stuck to your pots and pans while it was cooking but you don't want to scratch your pans trying to remove the stuck on food? Baking soda paste and SCRUB. Pretty sure this trick has saved me from being banned from using our new pots and pans!

- Dog peed on the carpet? Drop some baking soda on it with a little bit of water, scrub it and let it dry. Drop some dry baking soda on the spot, let it sit for a few hours then vacuum it up. No stain, no pee smell. it's a win for everyone.

- Ceramic oven top with charred on food/liquids? This is a daily occurrence in my house. Baking soda paste and scrub. Works like a charm.

- Husband's shoes or work clothes stinking up your closet? Open up a small box of baking soda and stick it in a corner of the closet. It will absorb the bad smell. This works for fridges too. Heck, it works pretty much everywhere.

- Dirty toilet bowl. Drop baking soda on the edges, scrub with toilet brush. Flush. Done.

- Bathroom or kitchen counter has stuck on nastiness? Baking soda paste and scrub.

- Bee sting? Remove the stinger first (if it's in there), and assuming that the stingee isn't allergic to bees and doesn't need to go to the ER, make a baking soda paste and apply it to the sting. Let it dry completely, then wash it off gently under running water. It takes the sting away from the skin and makes your 7 year old summer camp kids stop crying.

There are SO many uses for baking soda other than baking, and since it's very inexpensive AND completely non-toxic, it's kind of a no brainer. Do yourself and the environment a favor and use some baking soda to do the job. 

Tips for Sustainable Living - Vinegar

Lately, it seems like "green" is all the rage. The words "organic," "eco," and "natural" are popping up on products everywhere. Little do most consumers know, there are no standards or guidelines for content in a product to be able to be labeled with one of these deceivingly attractive words. Be a smart consumer and read the ingredients in these products, then decide for yourself if the product is really "natural," or if it is just being labeled as such because it has a few natural ingredients mixed in with the artificial. Some of the worst offenders in this new, misleading trend are cleaning products. We only use cleaning products which are derived from 100% plant based materials and are biodegradable, but I've quickly learned that household white vinegar can be used for the exact same tasks and is much more budget friendly. Vinegar is a totally natural, ecologically friendly and sustainable substance. It can be diluted with water to different concentrations for different uses. The pungent smell dissipates quickly, so don't let that keep you away from tapping this 99% antifungal, 95% antibacterial product.

Some ideas for using vinegar around your house in place of harsh chemicals:

•  Equal parts vinegar and water mixed in a spray bottle make a great all-purpose cleaner. I use this in my bathroom on all surfaces, in the kitchen on the counters, to clean my linoleum floors, and even to sanitize Baby Bear's toys (which I rinse the crap out of afterwards to remove any remnants so she doesn't taste it).
•  Hard water? Remove limescale with vinegar. Either soak the item in pure vinegar or pour some pure vinegar on the area, then scrub and rinse thoroughly with water. I did this on our shower doors and track to get the mildew and build up from the previous tenants off. I also use pure vinegar to descale my coffee maker, tea pot, and Baby Bear's bottle warmer. 
• A dilution of 1 part vinegar, 2 parts water can also be used to wash dirty walls, baseboards, windows, and blinds. This worked great to clean our rental house (I have before and after pictures if anyone wants to see them), and it was a thrifty and safer alternative to chemical products like Mr. Clean.
• Soaking paint brushes in vinegar will also remove any paint or sticky residue. I tend to forget to rinse them out after projects, so I refresh my brushes with an overnight vinegar soak.

The possibilities for vinegar are endless. The best part - it's safe to put into our sewer systems. Next time you're in the cleaning product aisle picking up a new bottle of 409 or Scrubbing Bubbles, think about if you could use white vinegar to do the same task instead. Priced at about $3 per gallon, you'll save yourself money while minimizing your ecological footprint on the earth.