Green at Home

Home Made Cleansers

Submitted by DorothyBirch on June 4, 2007 - 5:26pm.
So for years I used ketchup and pennies as a demonstration lesson for children about acid rain.  It didn't occur to me until last summer that if ketchup cleaned the pennies so well, I could use it to clean the copper I had at home.  I haven't wasted any more money on copper polish!  Just a layer of ketchup and a few minutes and the copper comes out pink and shiny.  Fantastic!
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Great Candles

Submitted by DorothyBirch on June 2, 2007 - 5:57pm.
After learning how paraffin is made and all of the toxins that paraffin candles emit, I've switched to buying either soy or beeswax candles.  The beeswax candles really do last longer and the light honey scent they emit is much better than the over-scented candles available in the store.  I bought them online from a small farm.  I've also purchased a soy-wax tarte burner from a local shop called C & N soy candles.  It scents the house beautifully and with no smoke stains!  I love supporting small and environmental businesses, too.
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Welcome message: 

Hello All! 

I'm always looking for ways to "vote with my dollars" to improve our planet.  What do you buy (or not buy) or do to reduce your carbon footprint, landfill tonnage, and toxic output?  What companies do you love to buy from because they have great products AND great ethics?  What are your favorite recipes for home cleansers, garden products, bath and beauty products, or anything else you can make at home and save money (and the planet) by not purchasing?

Let's keep the focus on the positive.  At my best friend's university, their college paper published weekly "Pins and Darts" - pins for positive comments, darts for well-deserved dressings-down.  I love the idea of Green Pins and Darts, but hope we'll discuss pins, primarily.  There are tons of companies and practices out there that we could rant on about for years, and I hope I'll see occasional darts and links to news posts about companies or products that we need to stay away from in order to cast our dollars' "vote" against them.  But the best way, I think, to spend our time and energy is promoting the ones that deserve a pat on the back instead.

I'll start by adding some Green Pins of my own in the next post.  Here's to using our green to protect our green!

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