Housekeeping with Natural Products

This week, as part of this month's One Small Change Challenge, I have been trying to make the move towards using more "green" and natural cleaning products. I had been contemplating this move for a while, but was a bit reluctant - so I finally took the plunge and tackled our family bathrooms, and for the most part, I was pleasantly surprised.

First, I had to actually purchase some "green" products. I've been wiping down our kitchen island with a mixture of water and vinegar for years, but that's as far as my "green-ness" went. I was in our local Big Box store this week, and purchased a box of Borax. I was surprised at the low cost - I got a 76 oz box for less than $5.00. Ounce per ounce, this was more expensive than Ajax Cleanser ($0.95 for 21 oz), the product I had been using to clean the commode, but according to the research I'd done, the Borax is much more versatile, so I deemed it worth the extra cost. (In addition to Ajax, I had been using SoftScrub to clean the other bathroom surfaces - because that's what my Mom uses :-)  )

I followed the directions on the box and used 1/4 cup of Borax to clean the toilet bowl. It was exactly like using Ajax, I just dumped in the powder, swished with a toilet brush, and then let it sit for about 45 minutes. While the Borax was doing its thing in the toilet bowls, I moved on to sinks and counter-tops. (I should explain that we have 2 bathrooms on the second floor - one in the master bedroom and one off the hall - I typically clean them both at the same time, since I've carried up all the cleaning stuff anyway). To clean the sink, counter-tops and faucets, I again referred to the box, and sprinkled a bit of powder onto a damp microfiber cloth and got to scrubbing. The Borax worked beautifully! I was really pleased with how well, and quickly it cleaned the vanities. What I especially appreciated was that the Borax leaves no residual odor - things smelled clean, but not like cleaning products - it was great!!

My only complaint was really a logistical one - how to best dispense the product out of a 4+ lb box? I found the box size really unwieldy, and I can't conveniently store it under a bathroom sink. And lets be honest, if the stuff isn't in the bathroom, then our bathrooms are going to get cleaned a lot less frequently - which is not a good thing! I posted this question to the Mothering.com discussion boards, and several folks suggested parmesan cheese shakers. I will see if I can't find a source for those - I'm hoping to have a few minutes to do a bit of thrift store shopping tomorrow, and I might get lucky!

A snowy day art project

In case you haven't heard, we've had an insane amount of snow here!! The back to back blizzards have tested my and DH's parenting skills - we've not been able to take the kids outside as much as we usually do - but we have been able to do a few cold weather projects.

One of Talker's favorites was making this sun catcher. (I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of us actually doing the project - I was distracted by the food dye and forgot to take shots of the work in progress!!)

I based our project on this idea from Family Fun Magazine. Talker put food coloring into an ice-cube tray while Happy Apple was sleeping. When the ice-cubes were frozen, he added them to a cake pan filled with ice water that had been sitting on the front steps. The water was cold enough that the cubes didn't melt much before we took it back outside. We filled one of Talkers drinking cups with water, which also ultimately froze, to serve as the hanging hole. The whole cake pan was left outside overnight to freeze, and then we hung it from the lamp post on Thursday morning (after DH dug through the drifts so we could reach the lamp post!)

Even as cold as it was, there was still a small amount of water in the cake pan when we brought it inside to unmold - so if you're going to try this, I recommend unmolding under the sink. Also, some water snuck in underneath the cup that created the hanging hole, so Talker popped it out with the handle of a butter knife. One good thump and it popped right out, but again, this was best done over the sink.

Overall, was a good pre-schooler project - Talker got to do a lot of pouring, and he enjoyed playing with the food coloring. It was a tad messy, but not overly so, and it kept us laughing through the snow, which was worth cleaning up a few colored drips from the kitchen floor. What kinds of things have you been doing with your littles if you've been housebound lately?

Very cute Baby Shoe Give Away

One of the blogs I follow, Moo said the Mama, is having the sweetest give away. Kari has made 3 beautiful sets of baby shoes in progressive sizes and is giving them away to blog followers. She's got pictures of all 3 sets up on her blog, and entries will be accepted until Feb 12 at midnight. Follow the link above and take a look!!

Time for my next change!

I'm a bit overdue with this post, but now that it's February, it's time for phase 2 of the One Small Change Challenge.

In January, I committed to using reusable grocery bags. This change worked out beautifully! I moved the bags from a hook by the basement stairs into the car, so they were readily accessible, and managed to only need 3 paper bags from Trader Joe's during the course of the month. (I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself!) A secondary benefit - aside from the obvious - is the major decline in clutter in my pantry closet. Bags had been stored there so I could take them back to the store for recycling, but now that I'm not bringing new bags into the house, I can use that space for something more constructive. I haven't decided what yet, but it's nice to have options.

As for this month, I'm a bit undecided as to what to do. I've been thinking about it, and I think this month's change will be moving away from disposable cleaning items - Swiffer Dusters, paper towels, Clorox toilet bowl cleaners, etc.- and using rags instead. I have been wiping down our counters with a water and vinegar solution for a long time, but I am going to try to make some more of my own cleaning solutions . February is also my second month trying to follow Fly Lady routines. I think this challenge will compliment that goal too!

Wish me luck!!

Awesome service project idea

I found this website for sending relief supplies to communities in need while I was reading another blog. I think that making these kits could make for an awesome service project!

The Health Kit looks like it could be extremely kid friendly - even for pretty little ones. Talker and Happy Apple have a playgroup that we attend every week or so. I think I'm going to use this as an activity the next time it's our turn to host. Each family could be responsible for a piece of the kit, and then we could lay all the materials out on the floor assembly line style and let each kid fill up a bag - or 2 or 3.

I also am really excited about this Birthing Kit! I think it would be a great thing to do as part of a mother blessing or baby shower. An amazing way to reach out to other mothers throughout the world! (I do think this one would have to be adults only though - as the kit contains razor blades)

Cute (and inexpensive) Valentine's Day decorations

In the spirit of the season, I did a bit of Valentine's Day decorating in our dining room today. It was crazy easy, and I think it looks pretty cute.

I bought these Sweet-tart candy hearts at the grocery store today. (sorry the picture is a bit weird, I forgot to take a shot before we opened the bag).

Talker poured the hearts into a candle hurricane, and then we put the candles back in. These hurricanes were a gift from my mother-in-law and we typically keep them on the dining room table. The whole project took about 30 seconds - 2 minutes if you count the time it took for me to clean the residual sugar from the bags off the table - the kids were excited. Here's the end result:

This is a technique I use all the time - red and green M&M's for Christmas, foil wrapped chocolate eggs for Easter, etc. It's fun and we get to eat the candy when the holiday is over. I need to find some kind of cute nibble for St. Patrick's Day! Anyone have any suggestions?

A new (for me) chicken recipe

I tried a new (to me) chicken recipe this evening. It was a Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe, which I typically have good luck with. I picked it because I had some leftover chipotles that I wanted to use and I liked the idea of a one pot dinner. I made a few changes - used some cherry tomatoes that I had on hand instead of the larger ones the recipe called for, I didn't use quite as much meat as the original recipe, and I used half a yellow onion instead of red because that's what I had.

Overall, this one is a keeper. 2 chipotles made it pretty hot. I like hot, but I think I'll cut back if I make this again. I might also swap out some chicken breasts instead of thighs. The thighs are cheaper (I can get organic for $2.89 a pound if I'm at the meat counter when they are marking them down), but I think breasts lend themselves to this style of cooking better.

Tomorrow I'm making white bean and rosemary soup in the Crock-Pot. It's a delicious recipe that I got out of a library cookbook and doctored a little bit. I'll post the recipe tomorrow.