Drawing my eco-line at mice

Post From the Past:

Apparently mice like these

A lot! I guess the basket we kept in our pantry filled with Cliff bars was just too much for the mice to resist.

Last week my husband (luckily it was him and not my daughter or I cuz there would have been a lot of screaming and maybe even some tears) saw a mouse scurry out of our pantry, across our kitchen floor, and up under the cabinet. Ugh!

We removed everything from our pantry, cleaned the shelves, looked through all the food, discarded everything the mice had gotten into (apparently they also like wheat thins and 4 year old gingerbread houses), repacked as many items as we could into glass jars and plastic containers (that use to contain things like peanut butter & mustard but now contain things like beans & cheddar bunnies) and put everything back on the shelf.

On a positive note, my pantry shelves look great! Nice and clean and organized.

My husband then did the same in the garage.

I was hoping that by getting rid of their food source we would get rid of them. This was not the case.

So we went for the trap. (The non catch-and-release type trap)

I know what you are thinking and I will apologize now but I draw my eco-friendly line at disease infested rodents. Sorry. I just couldn't do it.

For those of you who may have a mouse problem but would prefer the catch-and-release traps I have since researched some and found this one:

Humane Mouse Trap

You use your own bottle with it (nice reuse of a bottle). I admit, I liked it cuz of the cute piece of cheese. I figured that if we/you are going to have a trap lying around it might as well be a cute one.


I also did some research on how to keep the mice from coming back (or at least try to keep them from coming back) and here is what I found out; steel wool and peppermint oil.
Apparently mice don’t like either of them (Unlike peanut butter. Which they love).
Spreading peppermint oil around areas that mice travel or leaving a cotton ball soaked in peppermint oil in places like a pantry will keep them out. Since peppermint oil smells good to me, I didn’t mind rubbing it on my pantry shelves. (Let’s hope it works). 

Plugging the holes under the cabinets with steel wool will prevent them from coming in (or out which, now that I think about it, might be a problem) because they don’t like the feel (or taste) of steel wool so they won’t chew through it.

I also found a nice blog posting about the same topic Eco-Friendly Mouse Control
 
If you have any tips you would like to share on how to keep a mouse out of a house (I love Dr. Seuss) please feel free to share.

Unsulphured vs Sulphured Molasses

Post from the Past:
 
When my son was younger he had low iron levels. His pediatrician gave us a list of foods that were high in iron to help increase his levels naturally. One of the foods on the list was molasses. I started putting full flavor (cuz it had a higher iron content) molasses into his morning oatmeal. As he grew up his iron level started to level out but I still continued to put molasses in his (and his sister's) oatmeal. (I figured that a little xtra iron would be good for them and molasses seems to be a better choice for sweetening oatmeal)

The first time that I shopped for molasses at the Natural Food store I saw that they had 2 kinds, organic sulphured and organic unsulphured .
Not knowing the difference I blindly bought the organic unsulphured kind simply because unsulphured seemed to be better than sulphured.

Of course I came home and googled it to see what the difference is. I am still not sure that I totally understand the difference but here is what I found out (Thanks to About.com and The World's Healthiest Foods respectively).

• Molasses is made from sugar cane.
• The two main tasks required to make molasses from sugar cane are to separate out the sugar cane juice from the pulp, and then to extract the sugar (mostly sucrose) from the juice.
• What's called molasses is the syrup that remains after the sugar has been extracted from the juice. It's not that easy to extract all of the sucrose from sugar cane juice.
• The lighter the molasses, the sweeter it is.
• After a first round of processing, which involves spinning the juice in a centrifuge and heating (boiling), you can get a lot of the sucrose out, but not all of it. The syrup that remains after this first round of processing is the light molasses you see in the grocery store. It's also called "first" molasses and has the mildest taste of any molasses.
• Another round of processing is needed to further extract more sucrose. (The removal of sucrose from the molasses syrup is not all that significant on the nutrition side of things, but it is important to the manufacturer on the economic side because the removed sucrose can be further processed and sold as table sugar). This second round of processing further concentrates the syrup and also darkens it, resulting in the dark molasses you find in most grocery stores. Dark molasses is also called second molasses. (This is they kind that I use to put in my son's oatmeal)
• A third round of processing is possible, and this is the round that results in the product known as blackstrap molasses (This is the kind that I put into my kids oatmeal now).

Blackstrap molasses is the thickest form of molasses, the darkest, and the most dense in terms of minerals.

• Three rounds of heating are the reason for the very dark color of blackstrap molasses, because even though many sugars have been removed from the syrup, the sugars that do remain get caramelized from three rounds of heating.
• Blackstrap refers to the color of the molasses, which is extremely dark. It has a very strong, somewhat bittersweet flavor with a heady aroma.
• It contains many of the nutrients left behind by refined sugar crystals. By measure, it is 55% sucrose, the least sweet of the varieties.
• Sometimes you'll only find blackstrap molasses in natural foods stores.
• You'll find significant amounts of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium and selenium in blackstrap molasses.

A secondary issue is related to the use of sulfur during sugar cane processing.

• Sulfur dioxide can be used for a variety of reasons during the processing of sugar cane or the production of molasses.
• Most commonly, sulfur dioxide is used to lighten the color of the molasses or to help extend its shelf life.
• It may also be used to help with the processing of sugar cane when the cane has been harvested at an early stage.
• In principle, it would seem that a sugar cane allowed to sun-ripen and develop would make for a more natural food product than a sugar cane that was harvested at an early stage.
• On the environmental side, sulfur dioxide is a primary component in the production of acid rain, and is a pollutant of enormous concern to environmental scientists. The idea of a sugar cane processing facility releasing more sulfur dioxide into the air is not environmental friendly.
  

All varieties can contain sulphur depending on the specific refining process used, but unsulphured products are available.

So after my extensive Internet searches that is what I know about unsulphured vs sulphured molasses.

I am not sure I am any wiser about unsulphured molasses but I do know that I will continue to add organic blackstrap molasses to my children's morning oatmeal cuz it seems like a healthy thing to do.

Original post of Over Coffee-the green edition. Not to be used or copied in any way without written permission.. 

Home-Made Toss Accross

My son recently had a homework assignment in which he had to make a toy that a child in the Pioneer days would have made and enjoyed. He decided to make a bean bag toss game.

He gathered up scraps of fabric and started sewing his bean bags.

My daughter was so enthralled with what her brother was doing that she decided to join in.

 

 After the bean bags were all sewn and filled he turned his attention to the circles made from rope. (shh, don't tell his teacher but the rope he used was made from recycled plastic bottles. 

I'm pretty sure they didn't have that kind of rope back then)

After he was finished he and his sister tried it out. They had so much fun playing it, in part because they made it.

Things were learned: 

• Felt is the best type of fabric to use because it is sturdy and easy to sew
• The bigger the beans the better. Smaller beans slip out & you will be finding them all over the house for days.

Original post of Over Coffee-the green edition. Not to be used or copied in any way without written permission.. 

My Adopt-A-Road Experience

Post from the Past:

This weekend I participated in my first Adopt-A-Road clean-up.
7 of us spent 3 hours picking up litter on a half a mile stretch of roadway. I have to say, this was a very positive, fulfilling, and eye-opening experience for me. One of the ladies compared it to vacuuming,“immediate gratification and satisfaction”. I thought that was a very good analogy!

Here are a few of the things I learned from my Adopt-A-Road experience:

Don’t wear too many layers of clothing: (bending over will be nearly impossible)

Wear boots and gloves that you don’t mind getting muddy and mucked up.

Spending 3 hours walking 0.5 miles up and down hills while carrying a bag of garbage and continually bending over then standing up again is very good exercise which will leave you sore the next day.

There are no “good” parts of town. We were in a part of town that many would consider “good” yet we still found 2 syringes.

Apparently smokers think that the side-of-the-road is their personal ashtray!

I was amazed by the number of cigarette butts we found within the first few steps we took so I started counting how many I picked up. My final tally = 1149. (This amount does not include what the other 6 people picked up)

 Let me repeat that I picked up 1149 cigarette butts in a half mile stretch.

Am I the only one who finds this incredibly disturbing? That means that over 1000 times a smoker drove by this small stretch of road and flicked their cigarette butt (undoubtedly still lite) out their window. Unbelievable!

We did not find bottles or glasses: My state has a deposit on these items and every grocery type store has recycling centers at their facility where you can bring these items back and get $ for them. (might I suggest instituting the same for cigarette butts)

It was a well spent 3 hours!

I was out in the fresh air, getting exercise, meeting new people, giving back to my community, making a difference, doing something that is good for the environment, animals, and people who live in the area. (we got a couple of Thank you's and a couple of honks with thumbs up)


Overall my experience was a very positive fulfilling one. I am glad that I participated and can’t wait to do it again. I would highly recommend participating in an Adopt-A-Road program in your area.

P.S. If you are a smoker and happen to be reading this blog posting, please don’t throw your cigarette butt out your car window! Pretty please!

Original post of Over Coffee-the green edition. Not to be used or copied in any way without written permission.. 

My first trip to an all natural store

Post from the Past:

This weekend was my first shopping trip at an all natural store.

Oh sure, I have popped into a Trader Joes once or twice before to pick up an item or two but never to do my grocery shopping. So this was an all new experience for me.

Walking up and down the aisles I was totally amazed at how many products they had to offer and at the variety of brands they carried. I was also intrigued by the totally different look and feel of the store. I can’t really explain it besides saying that it was different. The one thought that flashed through my mind was, “this must be how children feel the first time they step foot inside Toys-R-Us.”


After I got over the “ahh” factor I really started to look at the store in a pro-vs-con kind of way.

Pros: Healthier, organic, natural, lots of local products, 10 cents off for each reusable bag including reusable produce bags (all pretty obvious).

Then I started looking at the cons and the #1 con...the price.

I really don’t understand why organic, natural foods cost so much more than “regular” foods. I am willing to pay a little more for organic/natural products but these prices were way more.

Example: $5.95 for a dozen free range antibiotic free brown eggs.

It is really difficult for a family of 4 on a tight budget to be able to shop at this store on a regular basis.

When we got home my husband and I analyzed our purchases. We realized that we could buy some (definitely not all but some) of the same items at our local Wal-mart super store and for much less.

Example: $2.95 a dozen for the same brand of free range antibiotic free brown eggs.

Our Wal-mart does not have the organic apples, the local bread, or the organic cheese that we bought (and loved cuz they were so yummy and are already gone) so now the question becomes, do we shop at 2 different stores?

What about the time and gas that would be spent shopping at 2 different stores that happen to be across town from each other?

Is purchasing just a few items (yogurt, cheese, bread, fruit) at the all natural food store “good enough”?

Addition to Original Post:

I can not believe that it has been 3 yrs since I originally posted this. My, how time flies.
What is even funnier is that this post still holds true!
I still ooh and ahh when I walk down the aisles, I still gasp at the prices, and I still buy whatever organic items I can at chain grocery stores because the prices are lower.
What has changed is the number of organic items that are available at chain stores including generic brands and multiple brands. Now we have more choices! It is all a step in the right direction!

Original post of Over Coffee-the green edition. Not to be used or copied in any way without written permission.. 
   

Is hair really compostable?

The book that came with my composter says it is.

Every book, web-site, and article I have ever read about composting says it is.

Yet there it sits.
Intertwined in our beautiful composted soil.
Totally recognizable.
Totally unchanged.
Totally still hair.

I guess the real question I should be asking is How long does it take for hair to compost?

Apparently longer than all the other items we put into our composter.

Now I am faced with the question of what to do with this:

This is the bag that , much to my hubby's disgust, sits under our bathroom sink.

For the past couple of years now I have used this same bag to collect compostable material such as dead leafs, biodegradable wooden tooth picks and dental picks, dryer lint, and hair.
Lots and lots of hair.
Between my daughter and I there is never a shortage of "compostable" hair.

So now the question is what to do with that bag of compostable hair.

Do we keep composting it in our composter and ignore the strands of hair decorating the base of our tulips?

Do we put it in our compost pile and just keep piling debris over it?  (the out of sight out of mind approach)

Or do I throw it in the green bin for the professional compost facility to compost it?

I am not sure what to do with it?

While perusing the internet for my answer I came across this great link about composting.

How to make compost

Even though it says everything that I have read before I like the simplicity of the layout and bullet point instructions. It makes finding what you are looking for easy.

But alas, it does not answer my burning question: How long does it take for hair to compost?

Establishing an equipment exchange for youth sports

Before the start of each sports season the first stop my family and I make is to the thrift store.

We almost always find gear perfect for practice; baseball pants, cleats, football practice jersey, underarmor. Sometimes we even luck out and find items in game worthy condition; soccer shorts, basketball shorts, cleats.

Last year I even found some baseball mitts at the play-it-again sports store that were in perfect condition, (we gave these to the league for those kids that didn't have mitts)

I'm always so excited with these great finds!

So this year I decided to share my excitement by starting up an equipment share program for the youth baseball league my kiddos play in.

The thought was when parents came to register their kids for baseball/softball they could either rummage through the boxes of pants, cleats, & mitts and take items that would fit their kiddos or drop off items that no longer fit their kiddos or both.

I excitedly put together a couple of boxes, threw in some pants and cleats that did not fit my son anymore, sent the boxes with my hubby to registration, and eagerly waited to hear how my experiment went.

I was sadly disappointed.

Although my son's items quickly disappeared no one contributed any items to the boxes.

None. Zero. Zilch. Not a single item.

The league had advertised the equipment exchanged and people had asked about the exchange but still, there the boxes sat. Empty. For 2 weeks straight.

Needless to say I was a bit discouraged and somewhat surprised. I thought for sure this would be something other parents would participate in.

But alas they did not.

I can't help but wonder if they just saw the hand-me-down part of it and not the eco-friendly, cost saving part of it.

My husband was very encouraging and reminded me that it takes time for new ideas to catch on.

Good Point Hubby!

So even though my spirit was dampened I am going to try it again next year and see if maybe, just maybe, I can get a few parents to participate.

Have you had success starting up these kinds of exchange programs? If so, I would love to hear your story and any pointers you may have!

Original post of Over Coffee-the green edition. Not to be used or copied in any way without written permission..

Method + TerraCycle = a grand idea

You can imagine how excited I was when I learned that two of my favorite Eco companies had joined forces:

TerraCycle is now upcycling Method's refill pouches.

How cool is that!?!


No surprise that I immediately signed up for the Method Refill brigade and so can you! There are still 200 slots open.

Here is what TerraCycle has to say about the Method brigade:

Each year, more than one million Method® refill pouches are needlessly discarded and end up in our landfills. TerraCycle is proud to partner with Method® to create a second life for these used refill pouches.
Every time you refill your soap dispenser, all you have to do is save the refill pouch and send it in. Then we’ll up-cycle the material into fun and innovative products.
For each approved item received, your Collection Location will be awarded two TerraCycle points which can be redeemed for a variety of charity gifts or for a payment of $0.02 to the non-profit organization or school of your choice. Please click here to learn more about the TerraCycle Points Program!
Participation in the Method® Refill Brigade is simple and totally FREE – all costs and shipping are covered by Method®. It’s as easy as this:

1. Sign-up to participate in the Method® Refill Brigade. (you can print out posters and other materials to help collections as well as pre-paid shipping labels online).
2. Collect at least 20 Method® refill pouches and put them into an empty box you have on hand.
3. Affix the pre–paid postage label and drop it off at a UPS location. We will check in the box once it arrives at TerraCycle, and then you can track your shipments online.
4. Affix the pre–paid postage label and drop it off at a UPS location. We will check in the box once it arrives at TerraCycle, and then you can track your shipments online.

Now I have 6  boxes lining my garage wall, one for each brigade I am a part of (drink pouches, breakfast bar wrappers, cookie wrappers, glue containers, coffee bags, & now Method refills!)

I highly recommend that you click on over and join the Brigade fun! There is sure to be a brigade that fits you.

Recycle your used tennis shoes

Post from the Past:

My son’s tennis shoes never last through the whole school year. Mid way through I always end up buying him a new pair. More times than not, those old shoes are way too trashed for anyone else to use so they end up in the garbage. I should say; they use to end up in the garbage. This year those stinky, smelly, worn out tennis shoes were deposited in the recycling bin at the Nike store.

Nike has a great program called Reuse-a-shoe:








“Where worn-out athletic shoes of any brand are collected, processed and recycled into material used in sports surfaces like basketball courts, tennis courts, athletic fields, running tracks and playgrounds for young people around the world.”

So instead of adding to the landfill we can help build a playground! I don’t know about your kids but mine would much rather play on a structure surrounded by recycled rubber than by bark chips, sand, or even grass.

If your family has some old athletic shoes that you were thinking of throwing away, take them to Nike instead (Find a location near you) and let your shoes build a basketball court instead of becoming part of an already over crowded land fill. To make it even easier, Nike even accepts shoes through the mail!

When I first learned of the Reuse-a-shoe program I was so excited about it that I told everyone I knew, including my son's principle. She agreed to let me place an empty box at school to gather used shoes throughout the year. So far we are on box #4!

(Addition to original post: This recycle box has been at my son's school for 2 years now and I have deposited approximately 24 garbage bags full of shoes into the Nike Reuse-a-shoe bin!)

Go Green: Recycle your old tennis shoes. While you’re at it, recycle your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers shoes too!

Original post of Over Coffee-the green edition. Not to be used or copied in any way without written permission.. 

Ending my blogging hiatus

Why hello there strangers!

It is so nice to see all of you again!

Oh how I've missed you.

I never imagined that I would miss blogging as much as I have?!?

I know it has been awhile and I have dabbled with coming back before but this time I really mean it!

After a brief lay-off, long hours of working a not-so-swell job, a scary bout of pneumonia that landed me in the hospital and life in general I am finally ready to enter back into the world of blogging.

My how the blogging world has changed and grown since I've been gone.

Bloggers that I followed/befriend have gotten married, had babies, grown into HUGE blogging successes, and sadly, have even passed away. (you will be missed prissy green)

I have thought a lot about how I want to do this and I have decided that I want to stay "old school"

I first started this green blog because I was so excited about the journey that my family and I were embarking on. We were just learning what it meant to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle, discovering new products, learning about organic foods, entering into (what seemed like) a whole new world.

I started this blog because I wanted to share that world and my excitement about entering into it with others. I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, I could persuade others to take that journey with us.

As much as I would love lots of people to read my blog I just don't want to go down the road of sponsors, advertisements, contacts, etc. If this means that I have only a hand-full of readers then so be it.  We will become a small close nit group of eco journeyers ;-)

With that said,when I find a product/company I love I will still do reviews and I will still gladly  host give-a-ways (when I am fortunate enough to be asked to do so by wonderful eco companies!)

To all those readers who stuck around I would like to say Thank-You!

I will gladly 2nd that Thank You with an extra entry on the 1st 2 give-a-ways that I host.

Just leave a comment here or send me an e-mail. I would love to hear from you!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled eco-journey

Post from the past: Switching to LED Christmas Lights

This year we purchased LED lights for our Christmas tree.

The first thing I noticed is how bright the new lights are (our whole living room is aglow)

The second thing I noticed is that they don’t get hot.
This is a huge bonus. No more worrying about:

• Ornaments being placed too close to the hot lights
• The kids accidentally burning themselves on the hot lights
• Presents being placed too close to the hot lights
• The tree catching on fire

National Geographic has a great blog post on all the benefits of switching to LED Christmas lights.

As excited as I was about our new lights I was a bit distracted by what we should do with all our regular lights from Christmas past. Then I found this: Holiday LEDs.com Christmas Light Recycling Program

What a great offer! Now I can feel good about my “old” lights getting recycled while at the same time I can get a discount on new “greener” lights.

I see some front yard LED light decorating in my husband’s future…

Post from the past: Buying recycled paper towels

My family and I are not big paper towel users. About the only thing we use paper towels for is to soak up the grease from the tortillas when we make tacos. (That is seriously all we use them for)
So it was not at all difficult for us to switch from regular paper towels to recycled ones.
When we came to the end of the roll of our regular ones I purchased the jumbo roll of 2 ply brown, unbleached 100% recycled paper towels from Seventh Generation. They work just as well soaking up the tortilla grease as the other ones did except these ones save trees.

I am a girl who loves facts and lists so needless to say I spent a long time reading my paper towel wrapper (which BTW is recyclable) and here are a few of the things I learned:

• Seventh Generation paper towels are made from 100% recycled material; 90% post-consumer + 10% pre-consumer materials = 100%.
  
• The brown coloring is the natural color of recycled products. White paper towels are somehow treated (usually bleached or dyed) to be white (even Seventh Generation whitens theirs although they say they are whitened without chemicals containing chlorine which leads me to believe that they still use chemicals of some kind. I will have to look into this more)
  

Jumbo rolls reduce waste by:

• Utilizing less packaging per sheet
• Using fewer cores than regular rolls
• Enabling more product to be shipped on each truck = reduction in fuel consumption.

Also, untreated paper towels can be added to compost piles.

Seventh Generation periodically offers coupons for paper towels on their website (which is something I would suggest watching for since a roll of recycled paper towels is quite a bit more expensive than a regular roll).

When you are tempted to purchase the “cheaper” paper towels remember this:

Post from the past: Music to my ears

Whenever I take something to someone’s house I always take it in a reusable bag and then I leave the bag there.

This is my sneaky way of getting others to use reusable bags.

I figure that if it is there they will use it and then they will discover how much easier and nicer reusable bags are to use than plastic bags and then they will be hooked.

I think my plan may have worked, at least with one of my friends. Here is the e-mail that I received from her shortly after I left her 2 bags,

"Hey, I used the grocery bags you left me. I love them. I’m addicted now."

It seems my plan is working….

Plastic Bag Top Facts - Consumption (according to reusablebags.com)

• Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)

Plastic Bag Top Facts - Environmental Impact (according to reusablebags.com)

• Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.
• Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade - breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
• Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.

Go Green: Give a reusable bag to someone you know or even to someone you don’t know!

Post from the past: No more tummy aches

For the past few months my daughter has been complaining of stomach aches on a regular basis. We used a food log to see if we could find a connection between what she was eating and the stomach aches but we couldn’t find one.

Even though my daughter’s diet consisted of quite a bit of organic foods there was still a lot room for improvement. Over the past month we have slowly transitioned her diet to about 80% organic/natural foods.

She now consumes:

• Organic milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, juice, peanut butter & fruit
• All natural bread and snacks
• Gluten free breakfast bars and cereal

Since doing this she has not had one stomach ache!

Even though I can’t say for sure that the change in diet relieved her of stomach aches, it seems like an awfully big coincidence.

The Neti Pot

Last winter, after trying every allergy medicine on the market, both prescription and non-proscription, without feeling any relief my husband finally gave in and tried The Neti Pot.

He could hardly believe the wonderful relief he felt after just 1 use. From that moment on, The Neti Pot has been in regular use at our house.

My 9 yr old son actually uses it too, with daddy's help of course, and will even ask for it when he feels like he needs it.

The first time we ever saw/heard of this little contraption was on the HBO show Six Feet Under. Of course we giggled about using a tea-pot looking contraption to pour salt water through nostrils, I mean who wouldn't?!?

That is literally all you do.

Mix up a warm salt water solution, slowly pour half of the solution through one nostril, yucky stuff drains out the other side, then switch sides. After the solution is all gone, you blow your nose like crazy the breath freely for days.

My son is usually good to go for about a week while my hubby is good for about 3 days.

We still giggle about it but we also tell everyone we know how well it works! We even convinced my SIL to try it. She reluctantly did so and is glad she did! After years of migraines and sinus headaches she too has found relief.

Here are a few excepts from Web MD about The Neti Pot:

• Many sinus sufferers have turned to nasal saline irrigation, a therapy that uses a salt and water solution to flush out the nasal cavity.
• Although nasal irrigation using the Neti pot has been around for centuries, its use is on the rise in the U.S., thanks to an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show and a fair amount of news coverage.
• The Neti pot originally comes from the Ayurvedic/yoga medical tradition.
• Many patients with chronic sinus symptoms from bacterial infections, allergies, and environmental irritants also have begun to regularly use the Neti pot or other nasal irrigation devices, claiming that these devices alleviate congestion, facial pain and pressure, and reduce the need for antibiotics and nasal sprays.
• Research backs up these claims, finding that nasal irrigation can be an effective way to relieve sinus symptoms when used along with standard sinus treatments.
• The basic explanation of how the Neti pot works is that it thins mucus to help flush it out of the nasal passages
• Saline solution can help increase the speed and improve coordination of the cilia so that they may more effectively remove the bacteria, allergens, and other irritants that cause sinus problems

It is very important to properly and thoroughly clean the Neti Pot after every use to prevent infection.

The one that we bought came with 50 packets and detailed instructions on how to use and clean it.

Most stores now sell the Neti Pot and refill packets next to all the sinus relief medicines.

Now that the cold dry weather is coming back so is our Neti Pot!

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

This is the first year that we grew tomatoes and I could not believe how much our 1 little plant produced. (Holy Moly! Glad we decided to just try 1 plant)

Our first harvest went for salsa while our second harvest went to spaghetti sauce.

We kind of used a modified recipe but it came out delicious!

My husband actually did all the hard work while I picked the tomatoes, prepared some of the ingredients and poured the final product into glass jars. Total team work ;-)

Ingredients:

• 35 ounces tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped carrot
• 4 cloves finely chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Salt to taste

Directions:

• Crush the tomatoes with a masher or the back of a spoon
• Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat
• Add the onion, carrot, & garlic
• Cook stirring until the onions and garlic have wilted
• Add remaining ingredients
• Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stir once
• Remove cover and simmer for ~ 45 minutes, stir occasionally

Modifications/What we learned:

• We did not peel the tomatoes so after mushing them we removed the bigger pieces of skin
• Knowing that our children would not eat the sauce if they could identify any ingredient we put it in the food processor for a couple of blends before cooking it
• We let the sauce simmer uncovered for a couple of hours to get it to the consistency we wanted
• The recipe said that it makes 6 cups. I poured it into 4 spaghetti size glass jars and froze those (Actually I froze 3 and used one the following day for dinner. We all loved it. Very Yummy!)
• The recipe actually called for 2 35 ounce cans of plum tomatoes. It also said to reserve 1 cup of the juice. Since we used fresh tomatoes we used 1/2 a cup of water instead
• It took a lot more time to make than anticipated but was well worth it.

unsulphured vs sulphured molasses

When my son was younger he had low iron levels. His pediatrician gave us a list of foods that were high in iron to help increase his levels naturally. One of the foods on the list was molasses. I started putting full flavor (cuz it had a higher iron content) molasses into his morning oatmeal. As he grew up his iron level started to level out but I still continued to put molasses in his (and his sister's) oatmeal. (I figured that a little xtra iron would be good for them and molasses seems to be a better choice for sweetening oatmeal)

The first time that I shopped for molasses at the Natural Food store I saw that they had 2 kinds, organic sulphured and organic unsulphured .
Not knowing the difference I blindly bought the organic unsulphured kind simply because unsulphured seemed to be better than sulphured.

Of course I came home and googled it to see what the difference is. I am still not sure that I totally understand the difference but here is what I found out (Thanks to About.com and The World's Healthiest Foods respectively).

• Molasses is made from sugar cane.
• The two main tasks required to make molasses from sugar cane are to separate out the sugar cane juice from the pulp, and then to extract the sugar (mostly sucrose) from the juice.
• What's called molasses is the syrup that remains after the sugar has been extracted from the juice. It's not that easy to extract all of the sucrose from sugar cane juice.
• The lighter the molasses, the sweeter it is.
• After a first round of processing, which involves spinning the juice in a centrifuge and heating (boiling), you can get a lot of the sucrose out, but not all of it. The syrup that remains after this first round of processing is the light molasses you see in the grocery store. It's also called "first" molasses and has the mildest taste of any molasses.
• Another round of processing is needed to further extract more sucrose. (The removal of sucrose from the molasses syrup is not all that significant on the nutrition side of things, but it is important to the manufacturer on the economic side because the removed sucrose can be further processed and sold as table sugar). This second round of processing further concentrates the syrup and also darkens it, resulting in the dark molasses you find in most grocery stores. Dark molasses is also called second molasses. (This is they kind that I use to put in my son's oatmeal)
• A third round of processing is possible, and this is the round that results in the product known as blackstrap molasses (This is the kind that I put into my kids oatmeal now).

Blackstrap molasses is the thickest form of molasses, the darkest, and the most dense in terms of minerals.

• Three rounds of heating are the reason for the very dark color of blackstrap molasses, because even though many sugars have been removed from the syrup, the sugars that do remain get caramelized from three rounds of heating.
• Blackstrap refers to the color of the molasses, which is extremely dark. It has a very strong, somewhat bittersweet flavor with a heady aroma.
• It contains many of the nutrients left behind by refined sugar crystals. By measure, it is 55% sucrose, the least sweet of the varieties.
• Sometimes you'll only find blackstrap molasses in natural foods stores.
• You'll find significant amounts of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium and selenium in blackstrap molasses.

A secondary issue is related to the use of sulfur during sugar cane processing.

• Sulfur dioxide can be used for a variety of reasons during the processing of sugar cane or the production of molasses.
• Most commonly, sulfur dioxide is used to lighten the color of the molasses or to help extend its shelf life.
• It may also be used to help with the processing of sugar cane when the cane has been harvested at an early stage.
• In principle, it would seem that a sugar cane allowed to sun-ripen and develop would make for a more natural food product than a sugar cane that was harvested at an early stage.
• On the environmental side, sulfur dioxide is a primary component in the production of acid rain, and is a pollutant of enormous concern to environmental scientists. The idea of a sugar cane processing facility releasing more sulfur dioxide into the air is not environmental friendly.
  

All varieties can contain sulphur depending on the specific refining process used, but unsulphured products are available.

So after my extensive Internet searches that is what I know about unsulphured vs sulphured molasses.

I am not sure I am any wiser about unsulphured molasses but I do know that I will continue to add organic blackstrap molasses to my children's morning oatmeal cuz it seems like a healthy thing to do.

I’m pretty sure that I bought a green washed product

I have tried very hard to reduce the amount of plastic that my family uses, specifically the amount of plastic bags we use.

We pack lunches in reusable containers, we save and reuse glass jars as storage containers, we shop with reusable bags (including reusable produce bags), when possible we wrap items in aluminum foil, and we save and reuse plastic bags that items (such as grapes) come in.
As much as we have reduced our plastic bag consumption we have not eliminated it all together.

This is especially true for 1 gallon Ziploc® bags (which we mainly use for freezing).

I will say that we have dramatically decreased the amount of Ziploc® bags we use. Our last box of 20 bags lasted ~9 months (compare to the box a month we were going through before our eco-friendly adventure started).

With that said, 1 gallon bags were on my shopping list.

I had every intention of buying 1 gallon biodegradable bags at the Natural Food Store but when I got there they were all sold out.

I weighed my options; wait and buy them on-line (too expensive when shipping is factored in plus the carbon waste of having them shipped to me plus we needed them now), wait for the store to get another shipment (better option. I would check back the following week and hope they had some but what about our immediate need?)

I decided to wait. That is until I went to the next store.....

The minute I picked it up I knew that it was green washing but I bought it anyway.

Introducing Ziploc® evolve™ Sandwich and Storage Bags—These ultralight bags are made with 25% less plastic* and manufactured using wind power.

*Compared to regular Ziploc® Sandwich and Storage Bags.

Why is Ziploc® evolve™ Better for the Environment? (According to Ziploc® FAQs page:)

• Made from a new resin blend using 25% less plastic.*
• Using less plastic means using fewer limited resources to make our bags.
• Manufactured with less energy.
• Using less energy is a step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Manufactured using approximately 50% renewable wind energy.
• The makers of Ziploc® brand products have partnered with a wind energy supplier to support renewable wind energy. Every year, Ziploc® purchases approximately 50% of the estimated energy involved in manufacturing Ziploc® evolve™ in the form of renewable energy to be put back on the electrical grid.
• Packaged in a 100% recycled paperboard carton, with a minimum of 35% postconsumer content.
• Using recycled paperboard means conserving more trees.

Then why did I buy them if I knew that it they are still bad for the environment? (i.e. will take many years to photodegrade which means breaking apart into chemicals)

Because we "needed" them, they were less expensive than the biodegradable ones ($1 for 20 bags), and they were readily available (the main reason).

Like The Impulsive Buy said, "It is a step in the right direction" albeit a baby step (I am still pretty sure it is green washing and I don't feel 25% less guilty about buying them)

Post from the past: New-To-You Halloween Costumes

New-To-You Halloween Costumes

Originally posted on the Healthy Bliss channel of Blissfully Domestic.com

If your children are anything like mine, they start talking about what they are going to be for Halloween next year while they are sitting around the kitchen table dressed in their Halloween costumes eating their Trick-or-Treat candy this year.

As much as this discussion makes me roll my eyes and smile at the same time, it is also a blessing in disguise. It gives me plenty of time to gather ideas, as well as items, for next year’s costume.

The first place I visit is my Sister-in-Law’s closet.
She has a bin full of Halloween costumes and accessories that her kids have used over the years. There is a pretty good chance that I will find at least one cute thing there that my children will wear.

The second place I look is around our own house:
I look through all the dress-up items that we have gathered through the years from various birthday parties, Christmas presents, and other unknown occasions that required my kids to wear cowboy hats, bandannas, and ride stick ponies.

I look through our own bin of previously worn Halloween Costumes to see if we can mix and match…create something new, re-wear a costume, or see if the younger one can fit into any costumes the older one has out-grown.

I look through closets, drawers, craft area, and toy bins for items that can be made into costumes, such as old sports outfits and torn clothes.

The third place I look is Goodwill.
Not only can you find many complete, in perfect condition Halloween costumes that have been donated, you can also find bits and pieces of costumes and accessories that you can add to items you already have.

Creating New-To-You Halloween costumes is a fun way to get the kids imagination and creativity flowing while at the same time teaching them about saving $ and resources by Reducing and Reusing rather than consuming new.

Do you have Halloween costume ideas you would like to share? I am always looking for new and fun costume ideas for my kids and would love to hear yours. Leave me your ideas in the comment section.

A Creative Reuse....

From toilet tissue holder to spirit stick!

While attending a local high school football game one of the cheerleaders threw a “spirit stick” to my daughter. She was so excited about catching it (with a little help from mom) that she immediately started shaking it. That is when she realized that it was not just a “spirit stick”.

She quickly began to unwrap it and found that underneath the pretty colored tissue paper & ribbons was….. a plain old toilet tissue holder. (The look of sadness on her face was quite priceless)

I encouraged her to look inside the plain old toilet tissue holder and sure enough, hidden inside were 2 suckers (talk about turning a frown upside down!)

She held onto those two suckers throughout the game and talked about all the places she was going to hide her brother’s sucker; in his shoe, under his pillow, under the mess on his desk, etc, etc, etc.

The cheerleaders said that they have been collecting the toilet tissue holders all summer and turning them into spirit sticks. I thought that was a very creative way to reuse toilet tissue holders not to mention bring a whole lot of joy to a bored little girl who has to sit through yet another football game.