Have you been looking at the light over your kitchen table and thinking that you’d like something a bit nicer or a bit more romantic? Check out this super easy project to make your own chandelier out of salvaged and recycled materials!
Posted in Uncategorized
Enviro-Girl has tried three new products in her Beautification Laboratory (AKA bathroom). Let’s see how the trials have gone for her.
Avalon Organics Lavendar Nourishing Shampoo Very satisfying lather, requiring just a small dollop to work through Enviro-Girl’s thick hair. The smell is light, fresh and doesn’t not linger long. It’s gentle enough for everyday use, but cleans her hair even if it’s super sweaty and grimey. At $9 a bottle, it’s a good buy and she’s satisfied that it leaves her hair as nice as her salon shampoo used to. (Enviro-Girl does NOT agree with Suave’s claims that you can’t tell if a person uses cheap shampoo.)
Alba Passion Fruit Nectar Lip Balm Alba’s products are “botanical” which doesn’t always mean “safe.” That said, the Skin Deep website gives it a score of 2 of 10–making it a pretty safe bet for one’s lips. Enviro-Girl loves how it stays and the Hawaiian Punch smell is pretty fruity and fun. This lip balm is superior to many of the others Enviro-Girl has tried, leaving her lips feeling healed and not requiring constant re-application.
Burt’s Bees Radiance Night Creme Enviro-Girl is skeptical of claims that a product will make her look younger. That said, she looks as old or as young as she did before using this product. This lightweight moisturizer doesn’t clog pores, leave skin feeling greasy or make her skin sting. Made of natural ingredients, it rated a 4 of 10 on the Skin Deep website–and at $18.00 a jar with mediocre results, Enviro-Girl will keep shopping around for a better moisturizer to slather on her cheeks at night.
Posted in health, personal care, Uncategorized
By Recycla
Mother’s Day is this Sunday, so if you haven’t thought of something for your mother, the Eco Women are here to save your day!
If you want to buy flowers, go to Organic Bouquet and start shopping! Proceeds from each purchase benefit various nonprofits, including the Nature Conservancy, PETA, the American Lung Association, and more! For more on organic flowers, please read this post.
Or what about helping Mom in her garden? If you’re a seasoned gardener, you already know what to do, but if you’re a novice, let the Eco Women guide you. Read this post and this post.
If Mom is a reader, what about perusing your local bookstore (not a Big Box store) for something she’ll like? If you’re not sure what she’d like, a gift card is always nice. Either way, you’re supporting a local business!
Eco Lassie likes Blue Avocado‘s Gro-Pak System of special reusable shopping bags that keep veggies fresh, milk cold, and groceries organized on a shopping trip — using these is the equivalent 15 plastic bags.
Eco Lassie also recommends Save Your World bath products, as they will donate money to the rainforest for every purchase made.
Enviro Girl suggests hanging plant baskets — they add color to a porch, but don’t add clutter. She also likes gift certificates for a spa day or mani/pedi and would love it if someone would give her tickets to a play or a museum or some other local event.
What about taking Mom out to brunch or lunch at a local restaurant? By “local”, the Eco Women mean a restaurant in your community that’s owned by someone who lives and works there, not a restaurant owned by a mega-corporation based somewhere else in the country.
Or, what about going to your farmers’ market on Saturday and buying some fresh local seasonal ingredients for a meal that you cook yourself? Depending on where you live, you could probably find lettuce for a salad, eggs and asparagus for an omelette, and strawberries for dessert — all in all, the makings of a delicious brunch!
If you want to give Mom a card, how about you support a small business owner and shop on Etsy? Even better, make one yourself with supplies you already own.
These are just a few ways to celebrate and Eco Mother’s Day. What are some other ideas?
Posted in eco holidays
Surprisingly, this is not a post about how to cook vegetables. It’s about saving money and energy while you cook. (Tips generously provided by we Energies).
1. Cook with small appliances–microwaves, toasters, electric kettles, electric skillets & crock pots all use less energy than a range.
2. Reduce the heat–keep the temperature high and once your liquid reaches the boiling point, turn it down. Slow boils cook the same as fast boils, but use less energy.
3. Don’t peek in the oven. Every time you open the door, the temperature drops 25 degrees F.
4. Use retained heat. Turn off cook tops or ovens a few minutes before the food has completed cooking. Retained heat will finish the job.
5. Put a lid on it. Cook/boil in a covered container whenever possible–this traps heat inside, using less energy.
6. Make sure your oven seals tightly. If you can move a dollar bill through the closed door, the seal is not tight enough. (This test works for refrigerator and freezer doors as well.)
7. Cook food together–if you’re baking a cake and a casserole for dinner put them in the oven together and run it once.
And finally, my favorite tip from Alton Brown’s Good Eats:
8. Boil your eggs in your electric teakettle. Place the eggs and water in, switch on. Remove eggs 15 minutes after the kettle has switched itself off. It works every time.
