EnviroMom

Swat! Non-toxic anti-mosquito measures

We're going camping this weekend with a great group of friends and surprisingly, I'm not in a tizzy getting ready. I think it's thanks to the collective wisdom of the bunch, and that there will be a pack of kids who all know and like one another and should play nicely together, and the fact that we'll be bringing lots of beer on ice. We 'car camp' about once per summer. Although last summer we flaked out at the last minute because it was the end of August, and by then we moms decided it was time for summer to be OVER and the work of planning and packing all the necessary gear sounded far too exhausting. I'm making it sound like we don't like camping, when that's not the case at all. We love camping for it's way of releasing the outdoor kid in all of us.

This particular trip has been in the works for a few months. Trying to get five or more families to commit to the same weekend during summer turned out to be next to impossible. Although we did have five registered at one point, one recently had to bow out. THEN it was discovered that the camp site we picked was horribly infested with recently hatched ravenous mosquitoes. Like an x-file (remember that show?)! The moms scrambled. We swapped sites in the hopes we will have fewer encounters with blood sucking insects. Regardless, we plan to come well armed: lotions, potions, sprays, wrist bands, vitamin supplements, high-pitched buzzing devices, citronella candles, camp-fire, thick clothing layers, you name it! Anything to keep the dreaded itchy-scratchy at bay. One of our moms offered to bring a bunch of the more natural, less toxic potions for all of us to sample. Please imagine me looking around, lowering my voice and making sure no one is hearing an EnviroMom say this next part: And some DEET-based option to use as a last resort. We are locked and loaded.

How do you keep the skeeters at bay as non-toxically as possible? Any products you love or hate? Please share!

(photo by phillyburbs.com/courier times)

Turning the wasteful Ready Mop into a reusable cleaning tool

We bought our first Clorox Ready Mop about 7-8 years ago, right when they first came out. I loved it for all the wrong reasons -- the disposable mop head (no messy sponge to rinse!), the built-in toxic cleaning fluid (no inconvenient bucket!), the trigger that sprayed the solution for me (no bending!). Then it stopped working after 3-4 years and we threw away the old one and bought the next generation Ready Mop, which worked even better. Then I woke up and realized it was no longer compatible with my lifestyle and set it aside for three years (and basically stopped washing the kitchen floor). Seriously. I knew at some point we'd be ripping out that old vinyl, but had no idea it would take three years. Ew.

Now I have a new Marmoleum kitchen floor and I love it. I want to keep it clean all the time. The minute I spill something I'm down with a sponge or towel, mopping it up. I'm going to take good care of this floor because I want it to last. So it was time to revisit the old Ready Mop, which was gathering dust in the garage. Luckily I hadn't tossed the empty cleaning solution bottle, so I filled it with 1/4 white vinegar and 3/4 water. For the mop head I used a washcloth. And guess what? It works perfectly, while still providing the convenience for which it was intended. Except now I toss the mop head into the laundry rather than the garbage. I think I was inspired to try this by a reader comment (wish I could find it) -- so thank you. I can't tell you how many times I've been inspired by you all!

I would not advise running out to buy a Ready Mop because it's still a cheap, plastic gadget. I have no faith that I'll be using it in another 3-4 years because, inevitably, it will break and be destined for the landfill. (I will one day replace it with something more durable.) But if you own one already or its Swiffer counterpart, you can resurrect it and use it safely and waste-freely once more.

Tidbits: sunscreen, cutting boards and ice cream

My family just got home last night from five days in the Ozarks and I have all that homecoming stuff to deal with: dirty clothes, dirty house, wilted garden, dehydrated hermit crab...you know, the usual.

--  I've had an opportunity to more thoroughly test out the Mexitan sunscreen that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago on a variety of skin complexions, and it does indeed leave a faint white zinc oxide-type sheen on one's skin (I've updated my post). I guess my kids were so pale when we first started using it that it wasn't obvious. However, I still really like it. It doesn't feel greasy or lotion-y on my skin, and it works. You definitely need to re-apply it if you spend any time in the water, however. I have the pink shoulders to prove it.

--  The perfect solution to my cutting board dilemma presented itself shortly after I wrote about it. My mom reads this blog, and she gave me a butcher block cutting board that my paternal grandfather made about 35-40 years ago! I'd completely forgotten about it. This is the cutting board I grew up with and it's seen much use and has held up beautifully over the years. I'm going to lightly sand it and give it a mineral oil treatment, and it will be ready for chopping! One side has the juice catcher, the other is smooth and it's the perfect size. I can't tell you how happy this heirloom has made me! (And I was thisclose to buying a new one...just goes to prove that sometimes it pays to wait for a better solution.)

--  One of the kitchen gadgets that is lurking in my cabinets (and I'm hoping to get rid of) is an ice cream maker that has been used once...because ice makers are a pain in the butt. If it takes 24+ hours to make ice cream, then something is very, very wrong. Today's Oregonian FOODday has recipes for homemade, machine-free ice cream that you mix once and then freeze for only 3-8 hours before you devour it. The chocolate ice cream recipe, originally published in Cook's Country magazine, is getting tested in my kitchen soon. 

Eco-friendly shelf paper

It's a little embarrassing to write that headline. I mean, it's shelf paper, people. Woo hoo! What a weird product category. Well, it's been on my mind lately -- I've been peeling off 50-year old shelf liners from my kitchen cabinets. (The more disturbing question: how have I lived with this nasty stuff for so long?) We're just about finished with our kitchen recession remodel, and I feel the need to make the inside of our cabinets as attractive as the rest of the space.

It's just killed me to do this, however. Our cabinets are original to our 1958 house and still in great condition (which is one reason we didn't replace them in the remodel). And as I've removed the crumbling shelf liners, I've discovered pristine wood beneath it, with the exception of the impossible-to-remove adhesive. So, let me get this straight: you put down shelf paper to protect the wood that you'll never see, ultimately ruining it with adhesive? Sigh. I scraped and sanded some of the shelves where we store food, and I love the look of the natural wood. I do see value in putting down a liner where dishes are stored, particularly if you're like me and tend to put still-wet dishes into the cupboards (lazy). And it's probably good for protecting stemware, too.

Mexitan wins the eco-friendly sunscreen test

Up until now I haven't tried any kind of eco-friendly sunscreen. We've had a cabinet full of Banana Boat and whatnot to use up, so it seemed a waste to get rid of it and try something new. Plus it seems like all of the reviews I'd read about non-toxic sunscreens were kind of 'eh.' Some people would love them, others would hate them (too greasy, too smelly, too sticky, etc). I'd obsess over the Skin Deep database, looking for potions that scored low, only to discover that no one really liked them that much. So I continued to use the old-school stuff.

And then one magical day an email from my friend Christy landed in my inbox. Christy and her family had gone to Florida and packed six sunscreens to test:

Soleo Organics All Natural Sunscreen (SPF 30)

TruKid Sunny Days Mineral Sunscreen (SPF 30)

Mexitan Water Resistant Sunscreen (SPF 30)

Jason Sunbrellas Mineral-Based Sunblock (SPF 30)

Badger Sunscreen (SPF 30)

California Baby (SPF 30)

Can we talk about cutting boards?

I know, riveting topic. But I'm not feeling great about my cutting boards:

My flexible veggie board in particular is full of cuts and is so misshapen that it's hard to chop anything, particularly little stuff like garlic. And I think the rigid plastic boards are harder to cut on -- not as clean-cutting. And I'm just not feeling great about plastic these days, anyway. So even though I recently ranted about all the stuff in my kitchen cabinets, I'd like to get rid of some or all of these and get one nice cutting board. But -- and bear with me if this seems a little obsessive, or possibly naive -- I'm trying to envision exactly what I need. I have questions:

How many cutting boards does a person need? Do you have one for veggies, one for raw meats, etc? What about cooked meats? Every time I cut into a cooked chicken I get juices all over the floor, so are those boards with the juice catchers along the edge worthwhile? Those boards are pretty big, so would that double as an everyday veggie-cutting board, too? (I chop veggies almost every day, particulary in the summer, so this is important. I need a decent-sized board for that alone.)

What about materials? Bamboo? Butcher block? You can find many 'green' boards online -- bamboo grown without pesticides, etc. Though this article points out that some are made with formaldehyde-based glues, so you need to watch out for that. Mostly I'd like something that's going to hold up for years and years, won't dull my knives and isn't so big that it's hard to wash. Bonus points for sustainable materials. Good gravy. I've spent more time thinking about cutting boards than I've ever spent actually planning a meal.

Eco-friendly window washing tips?

After our kitchen recession remodel is over, I am going to wash the windows (or possibly splurge and hire someone). But they are loooong overdue. Particularly now, with the tremendous amount of dust coating our house, it makes all of the smeary fingerprints and winter residue that much more noticeable. Seriously, I think we will double the amount of light getting into our house just by washing those windows!

Typically I tackle them twice a year. Initially they look great. I can't believe what an amazing window washer I am! No streaks! No smearing! But a couple of days later, particularly when the sun hits them just right, I am appalled by how bad they actually look. My technique (if you can call it that) is to wash them with warm water and vinegar applied with a sponge and then dry it off using newspapers, which is supposed to eliminate the streaking. Not so much.

We've had them washed professionally once, and the guy used a touch of Dawn dish soap (which I'm not interested in purchasing), but he said the secret was to use a squeegee embedded with a razor blade to finish it off. This is probably only something a professional should try (I can just imagine the scratches I might inflict). Now, I have no illusions of replicating a professional job myself, but I'd like to at least feel good about the hours of labor spent on windows! Have any eco-friendly window-washing tips to share?

Lost and then found: my sense of smell

Lately I'm getting reacquainted with my nose. Apparently my nose has been AWOL, and I didn't even know it. Really, I can't believe my husband or Heather didn't say anything... But this isn't one of those physical nose travesties like Michael Jackson has inflicted upon himself, more of a disappearance then reappearance of my sense of smell.

Way back when we started the greening of ourselves via launching EnviroMom and forming a GreenGroup, one of the first things I got was a list of The Green Guide's Dirty Dozen: 12 ingredients to avoid in personal care products: with fragrance/phthalates being one that really jumped out at me. Honestly, I remember thinking "Well geez. That's a bummer. All those clean, fresh, breezy smelling scents! I love those!!"

Dishwasher woes with phosphate-free detergents? Try this...

Look familiar? Sink full of dirty dishes just waitin' to be loaded into the dishwasher! I confess, sometimes my dishes sit there for most of the day. And for a good reason. They need to soak.

Long before I became aware of the evils of phosphate-containing detergents, I'd buy stuff like Cascade. No joke, that stuff gets the job done. Every dirty old dish just can be stuck straight into the dishwasher, where the crust sits for days while we fill the dishwasher to capacity. Then I learned about phosphates -- wreaking havoc on ecosystems, the algae thriving, fish and the oxygen they need no where to be found.

I was distressed when I read this news item about residents of Spokane, Washington driving to Idaho to buy phosphate-containing dishwasher detergents. Grrrr! This makes me crazy: "Everybody does it." Or that they have to use the pots-and-pans cycle of the dishwasher to get the everyday dishes washed (which uses an extra 5 gallons of water). Arghhh!!!

Introducing the EnviroMom store!

I know. I KNOW. We're in the midst of a recession and we're opening a store? An e-store on AMAZON of all the behemoth places? Insanity! Why would we do this? Well, there are a few reasons:

1) We often get asked for product recommendations, and there's really no good place to compile that list. But an e-store is a good spot to pull it all together. For instance, both Renee and I LOVE Biokleen cleaning products, and we've written about that deep, abiding love several times. (Hello, Biokleen? You owe us.) Anyhoo, a lot of you probably don't have Biokleen stocked on your grocery shelves, so here's a way to try it. (And yes, we realize it's totally bizarre that Amazon only carries some stuff, like the laundry detergent, in packs of six. It would take you years to use up a six-pack because it's so concentrated. But if you had five friends...) And, lookee there! It's my beloved merino wool underwear! Right there in the store! Because if I can't share my love of merino wool undergarments with the World Wide Internets, then I could very well lose my membership in the Public Relations Society of Sheep, Lambs, Ewes and Other Fuzzy Animals.

2) We were really surprised and quite delighted that Amazon is selling such a good variety of green, non-toxic products on its site. Who knew? We'll be adding more as we troll its virtual aisles. And that might take years. Gee whiz Amazon is a big place.

3) We're too lazy to operate our own store.

Now don't get the wrong idea here -- Renee and I are loyal customers and hugely supportive of locally-owned stores. Please shop yours before you shop here. But if you just don't have access to many good ones, then there's an alternative. And that 5 cents we make off of your purchase will go to our childrens' clown college fund. (Actually, I know people who have been to clown college, and they are very funny. I would be delighted if my children chose this career path because, frankly, this world needs more educated clowns. I digress.)

So there it is, the EnviroMom store. Your feedback is always welcome. Thanks for shopping, and have a great day!