Seventh Generation

As nice as it is to be able to have home-made cleaning products ( because they are so cheap ) sometimes it is just easier to buy products already made up and packaged. I am really liking Seventh Generation and Method products right now.

I purchased SG dishwashing detergent and Method triple concentrated liquid laundry detergent a few weeks ago and have been really pleased with both of their performance. The dish detergent has gotten all of my dishes clean; sparkling even! I have found also that I don't have to use as much of the powder as I had to of the 'gel' I was using before. As for the laundry, the soap has gotten stains out, has a nice scent and uses SO LITTLE to clean. These products are a little pricey but to me, the value is in the performance and earth friendliness of the cleansers.

Affordable Solar Power!

I get an e- newsletter everyday from the Sierra Club updating me on all things green. I love opening the email to see what interresting things they have to say today. Sometimes they are useless to me, others are very practical. Just like everything in life, you take the good with the dumb : )
Today's news had a link to a very cool new product called a HYmini. It is a solar and wind powered battery charger for your cell phone, MP3 Player, PDA, hand-held games, etc. Pretty much any 5V appliance you have can be recharged using this little device.
First, you charge the battery of the HYmini. There are a few ways to charge it such as setting out the solar panel ( looks about 3x5 in), setting the device out in the wind ( it takes about 9mph wind to start generating a charge. You can also strap it to your arm when you run, hook it to your bike when you take a ride somewhere which as we know will create wind resistance ) or you can plug it into the wall. When the battery has enough charge you can hook up your appliance to it and recharge away! This is portable, so it would be great for camping or people who are always on the move.
Recharging our 'stuff' takes quite a bit more electricity than we think it does, and then the tendancy is just to leave the charger in the wall ( like I used to do with my cell phone ) which leaches more electricity. This little power generator which is about $80 for both solar and wind capabilities (including adaptor accessories) could easily pay for itself over the course of a year. Not to mention being able to charge your phone or MP3 player ANYWHERE you go! For more information go to hymini.com.

Martha Stewart's Green Pan

Call me a geek, but for my birthday I asked for a skillet. Not just any skillet though, the new Green Pan from Martha Stewart's line at Macy's. This new pan is non-stick without using Teflon. In the last few years a lot of noise has been made about the toxicity of Teflon especially when at high temperatures. Being an EXTREME violator of the temperature standards for this product ( I like things to get hot and cook fast! ) I thought maybe this pan would be a great alternative to my Wearever pan and also be a lighter option to my cast iron skillet. Needless to say I love it! The enamel coating on the heavy aluminum is as non-stick as you can get. Food just slides around in the pan making it healthier fat wise too because you don't have to use oils. The construction of the pan also makes it cook evenly and is oven safe to 650 degrees.

It is a thing of beauty! : ) For under $40 you can get this GREAT pan at Macy's and feel better about what you are cooking your family's meals in. I also recommend the trusty old cast iron skillet that I mentioned earlier. It takes a little finesse to use cast iron, which is why I would say to use this pan if you are a novice chef, but if you can get a good season on your cast iron it will work just as well as the Green Pan plus you get the added benefit of small amounts of iron leaching in your food ( this is a good leaching! ). If you are in the market for a new pan, looking for a wedding or housewarming gift this pan is perfect. Even our cooking utensils can be environmentally friendly!

Old Fashioned Fashions

During our last 'heat wave' we took advantage of nature's gift and hung our laundry outside. I had bought this laundry rack a few months ago getting prepared for such warm weather. Coincidentally we also got our natural gas bill during this same time. YIKES is all we could say!! We found out that not only are our fireplace and water heater gas, but our dryer is too! We devised some plans to help cut down on our gas usage and one of them was using the drying rack whenever possible. Hopefully this will save us money by lessening our electricity and gas usage in our laundry drying.

Grandma had a good thing going when she put the clothes out on the line!

Handy Recycling

Living in an apartment has it's advantages ( I don't have to do my own yard work, maintenance or pay for water/sewer/garbage or cable : ) ) but one of the disadvantages is that the recycling bins are all the way down at the garbage corral at the end of our building. Me and my roomies wanted to start recycling but were a little put off by having to walk a quarter of a mile to take a can out. While you may not have to walk this far, is the location of your recycling bins/cans keeping you from recycling as much as you could?

I purchased these bins from Target for $15 in order to aid in our recycling. It resides on our patio just outside of the dining room. The location is convenient as well as the fact that it has wheels that make it easy to move. The lid is nice too so that you can store things on top. I also like that they are plastic and smaller than traditional bins so it makes them easy to clean!

If you are looking for a simple solution that can be placed in your pantry, outside the garage door or on the patio, I recommend these bins!

Back in the game again

Hello! I have finally been able to get back in to Blogger after having some more 'technical issues'. I decided to write a little bit about my recent experiences with my local farmers market.

First off, I love the farmers market! In Vancouver we have one that begins in the early spring and ends in early fall, giving us plenty of opportunities to support local agriculture and crafts vendors. Being 'green' isn't all about just going organic and recycling; it is also about supporting local economy by buying from the 'little guys' whenever you have a chance. There is also a great dietary benefit from shopping locally. You get to eat fresher foods, and a greater variety than you would find in the grocery store. There will be varieties of peppers, eggplant, zuccini, apples, tomatoes that you have never seen. Buy some and try them out! You never know what you will enjoy until you try it!

Here are some tips for shopping an outdoor market:

• Take cash. Most of these guys don't accept plastic, so you will need to stop by an ATM on the way over.


• Leave your purse at home or in your trunk. Take as little with you as possible ( so just your ID, cell phone, keys and cash) because you have to haul all of your purchases out.


• Come hungry! There are always a lot of samples to try and yummy food vendors.


• Get to know the vendors/farmers who are set up. Are they there every week? Are they just 'seasonal'? What crops/items will they have in the future? This will not only allow you to make a new friend, but gives you insight into what you can expect from this person down the road. I found a farmer last year who didn't have much to offer in the spring, but told me that his summer and early fall crops were his biggest and best. I kept on going back and sure enough - he had the best peaches, berries and apples of all the market!


• Talk to people along the way! Step out of your comfort zone and meet some new people. Word of mouth is the best advertising!


• My dog Maggie loves the market. If you have a four legged friend who is well behaved and walks well on a leash, take them with you! They will have fun eating scraps of food off the street and making friends of their own.

Here is a little sampling of what I got last week at the market:

Hydroponic, organic tomatoes, rhubarb, chinese broccoli, sweet onion, organic asparagus, and the hugest carrot I have ever seen : )

I hope you will look in your community for opportunities to visit a farmer's market. Have fun shopping and trying new things!

Container Conundrum

After reading my last blog about cleaning, my friend Rachel commented about shopping in the bulk section of the grocery store. This is truely a money saving tip, as well as a green one. By purchasing from our bulk sections, we are getting the things we need without all of the unnecessary packaging. Think of the packaging that you see in the supermarket - styrofoam, plastic, metal, cardboard, celophane, etc. Some of these things cannot be avoided because you cannot purchase them in bulk or are 'impossible' to make from scratch. However, if you take a good look at the offerings in the big bins you may find that many of the pantry staples are right there. Of course what comes with buying in bulk and passing on the excess packaging is the need to contain the product somehow. Rachel told a story of her pickle jar experience, and this sparked my curiosity into what I already have in my house. I have started my own collection of butter, sour cream, cream cheese, spaghetti sauce and baby food containers. I wash out the containers ( and in the case of the spaghetti sauce, rinse with baking soda to get rid of the herb smell ) and put them right into the cupboard with the other food storage items. This will help me to avoid buying plastic containers ( though the plastic containers ARE recycleable, why buy something new when I already have a glass or plastic item I can use? ) and use two of the three R's of environmental stewardship - Reuse and Reduce. I encourage you to look around your kitchen to see what containers you can reuse for storing extra food or bulk items. Here's to being creative, frugal and resourceful! :)