Now that Fall is here, if you’re using mothballs to protect your woolen goods from pesky bugs, you might want to reconsider.
Mothballs usually contain either napthalene or paradichlorobenzene, which the Environmental Protection Agency considers to be carcinogens. Napthalene can cause cataracts and liver and neurological damage. Exposure to paradichlorobenzene can cause nausea, vomiting, and headaches (short-term) and anemia, skin lesions, appetite loss, and liver damage (long-term).
Eco storage solutions include storing your sweaters in cedar chests or cedar closets. Budget-friendly options include a number of herbs that repel moths, including cloves, fresh rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Place the scented material in an open-weave bag (like cheesecloth) and put it in drawers or hang it in your closet. Smells a lot better than toxins!
Tell the Eco Women: Are you happy or sad that fall is here? And, do you have a favorite sweater you reach for this time of year?
You can also get cedar discs or blocks to use in closets, drawers, mixed among your knitwear on shelves, or the discs can also be slipped over the neck of a hangar.
http://www.whateverworks.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=K8114X&srccode=NXCKC3
The nice thing about cedar is you can lightly sand it to refresh its scent.
I love this time of the year…the leaves will be changing soon and I love that! I don’t have a favorite sweater, but I do have a favorite sweat shirt…It is big and baggy and nice and comfy…I love wearing it, sitting on my back porch, drinking hot chocolate and looking at the beautiful colors in the trees…Happy Fall, Y’all…!
I like the cinnamon stick idea. I rarely bake with them, so I end up using one or two from a jar and then the rest sit on the spice rack.