Household Cleaners That Go Green

With the changing of the seasons comes the settling of dust in once-clean nooks and crannies. Once summer turns to fall, many households also get restless and pick up shop to inhabit a new apartment or cozy dwelling. With all these uncovered dirt pockets also brings the need for a little touch-me-up cleaning. However, with the overabundance of green claims these days, which products are the healthiest and most environmentally-friendly?

While the scent of lemon or pine conveys a sense of cleanliness, we now know that smelling clean doesn’t necessarily mean something is sanitary. An easy clean also doesn’t make for environmentally-friendly cleaning either. How are you to make up your mind when browsing the endless aisles of marketing claims on the shelves? The Learning Channel offers some insight by discerning the degree of “lack of federal oversight.” For one thing, manufacturers are not obligated to tell consumers all the ingredients included in a product. This information is sealed tightly under a vague secret-sauce type of clause. TLC says, the “EPA only requires manufacturers to warn of toxicity.” Additionally, though no company can legally mislead the public, there is not an actual definable characteristic set for what constitutes a “green” product. If you can’t be pinned down for not actually being “green,” you can pretty much say anything but the most outrageous of claims regarding your eco-friendliness.

Treehugger suggests making your own household cleaning products stating, “most of your home can be cleaned with recipes that are a combination of hot water, vinegar and baking soda or washing soda; add a few drops of essential oil for scent if you prefer.” Personally, rose or lavender are always nice, homey scents for a well scrubbed floor. Note these alternative recipes, some incorporating that familiar aroma of lemons, from Green Living Magazine.

Stubborn drains are also a common problem in many older (quirky) houses. Sierra Club posted an at-home solution, originally from eHow.com:

• Mix 1/4 cup salt with 1 cup baking soda and pour down the drain. Let it sit for 3 to 6 hours.
• Boil 1 cup vinegar with 1 cup water in a microwave-safe measuring cup or bowl.
• Pour the boiling vinegar solution down the drain. The mixture will fizz, and quite a bit of foam may come up the drain and into the sink. Boil more of the mixture and repeat 1 to 2 more times after the fizzing stops.
• Turn on the faucet and flush the vinegar and baking soda out of the drain to avoid damage to the pipes from the acid solution.

Another resource to try is Eco Salon’s list of household products you probably already have on hand to help green up your home.

If making your own green cleaner does not interest you, give our Vermont Soap Organics Liquid Sunshine Non-Toxic Cleaner a try. Liquid Sunshine is an organic cleaner that is safe to use throughout your whole home! Use it for stain removal or laundry detergent, or clean bathrooms, carpets, cars, floors, walls, woodwork and counter tops with it.

Gabrielle’s Story

I recently stumbled across an online video called Gabrielle’s Story. It tells the story of one woman who looked back at the habits of prior generations in order to minimize her own footprint on the earth.

The story inspired me to reexamine my own consumption habits and to compare them with those of my mother and grandmothers. I sincerely hope it can have the same impact on you. The world has changed dramatically in the last 50 years, and the average person’s mindset has shifted in relation to consumption.

As evidenced by our use of plastic bags, disposable silverware and paper napkins, as well as the large amount of “stuff” we own, it is clear we live in a consumption-driven society.

According to the Sierra Club, the average American buys 53 times as many products as someone in China. Futhermore, one American’s consumption of resources is equal to that of 35 individuals from India.

How can we bridge this gap and learn how to be happy with less “stuff”?

Take a look at Gabrielle’s Story to see some of tips I drew from watching it. Then, please share your own tips in our comments section.

Here are some ideas of ways we can all make small adjustments in our lives and get back to our “grandma’s consumption habits”.

• Use non-disposable bags whenever shopping. Remember that all types of stores use plastic bags, not just grocery stores.
• Plant your own garden! Do you remember the days of walking through your grandma’s garden and picking vegetables and fruit right off the vines?
• Buy less. Remember when Grandma used to mend socks and jeans tears rather than go out and buy new pairs? It is this type of mentality we need to go back to in order to consume less. Sure, a new pair of jeans may be only $15, but you are still consuming more and wasting a mendable pair.
• Use cloth napkins.
• Use cloth handkerchiefs.
• Hang laundry outside to dry.
• Run short errands on your bicycle.
• Reuse old t-shirts and socks as cleaning rags.
• Support local farmers by shopping at farmers’ markets or joining a CSA organization. This will cut back on transportation pollutants and energy as well as packaging materials.
• Buy a reusable water bottle rather than plastic bottles.
• Don’t waste food.

We can all choose not to participate in the “throw-away” mentality prevalent in our society. As Gandhi once said: “Be the change.”

Dreamsacks Changes Name to Yala

DreamSacks, your #1 source for eco-friendly bamboo clothing, bedding and bath, has changed its name to Yala. The company was founded in 1987 by Nancy and Larry Morgan, two English teachers living and working in Fujian, China. While traveling throughout China together, Nancy created dreamsacks by stitching sheets together. The dreamsacks were used on their journeys and would become the cornerstone of their family business.

As all journeys evolve in unpredictable ways, DreamSacks has come to evolve as well, most recently with the name change to Yala.

Yala remains a company committed to upholding the highest environmental, fair trade and sustainability standards. Learn more about Yala and its mission to create high quality, sustainably-sourced clothing, bedding and bath towels on Organic Bug.

Here are a few of our favorite Yala products:

Green Your Clutter

Who ever thought that gutting out your space could make you greener? It seems that simplifying your life and clearing out the clutter can be a greening experience. By implementing simple lifestyle changes such as saying no to junk mail, using the library more for reading vs. buying books and simplifying grocery shopping to reduce waste are all great ideas.

Once you get in your home and see now what needs to be cleared out can be a daunting experience. Here are some simple ways to keep you focused for your road to liberation.

Get your boxes ready

Make sure that you have plenty of space to put the things that you are ready to get rid of. Go to your local grocery or liquor store and get their old boxes. They usually have them sitting outside or go to a clerk and ask them if they have anything in the back that you can use for your new liberation.

Recycle, donate, keep

When you are clearing out the crap make sure that you are prepared with your piles and make sure not to confuse any of them! Separate your piles into the recycle or toss pile, donation pile and your keep pile. This allows for you to just throw your items where they belong and to move on. For the recycling pile, not everything can be recycled. What you can move on to a recycling bin is preferred, but what you absolutely cant toss it!

Move on!

As hard as it may be parting with some of your items, know that not only are you doing well for yourself and your mind, but you are also doing well for your planet. By cutting the clutter and donating what is not used you are allowing for new space, new things, new ideas. But more importantly you are living hopefully a simpler life. By living this way you actually are reducing your carbon footprint in the fact that you are taking up less space (reduce), letting others use what you don’t need (reuse) and moving on the parts that you don’t need to better places (recycle)

To Burn or Not to Burn: Wood Burning Heaters

Generally, people think of burning wood as the villain of the renewable energy family. Although it is a renewable resource, it causes environmentalists to shake their heads. Mostly they worry that burning wood means cutting down precious trees for fuel and smoke pollution. Not to mention that wood stoves are not as technologically sexy as glittering solar panels and whirling wind turbines.

As much as some hate the burning of wood as an energy source, wood is a conditionally renewable fuel, period. And as all environmentalists and alternative energy aficionados know, there aren’t too many renewable options available–especially ones that aide in large amounts for the cold weather months. For some, relying on wood burning fuel as a source for heat is a must for survival.

There are many of us that would rather use wood burning heaters rather than electrical or gas heaters. For those select few, do your part for sustainability by purchasing wood that comes from a sustainable source. Firewood should be cut, split and stacked in an open area in early spring to be ready to burn in the fall. Very hard woods like oak may take longer to dry–especially in damp maritime climates. When it comes to burning other elements besides wood–steer clear. Burning waste paper and trash produces elevated emissions of toxic gasses.  Burn clean, dry, uncoated, untreated wood and just enough newspaper to light the fires.

Another tip for burning wood users:  the not so beautiful wood piles that include wood from less desirable species tend to be more sustainable than perfect piles of maple or oak with regular pieces in the classic wedge shape. This is because straight lengths of these high value, slow growing species should be used for furniture, not wood heating. Ugly wood piles are created from a milieu of woods.

The bottom line on the argument of whether or not to burn wood is the cold hard facts. Wood is considered to be a renewable fuel and almost carbon dioxide neutral with the help of trees absorbing CO2. When trees mature and fall in the forest and decompose there, the same amount of CO2 is emitted as would be released if they were burned. When we heat our houses by burning wood, we are flowing along with the natural carbon cycle in which CO2 flows from the atmosphere to the forest and back.

Incorporate Local and Organic Food in Your Life

Eating healthy is so important, so finding local, organic and sustainable food is so vital when considering ones overall health. In a shaky economy, we must not only look out for our bankbooks but also for our health. Eating fresh and local organic food is a great way of supporting your local farmers, but more importantly supporting your body’s overall health and function. Local and organic food proves to provide a healthier and more responsible life for your body and soul.

The quickest and easiest way to dial into these delicious resources is by checking out LocalHarvest.org. This website provides a milieu of choices as to what kind of food/shops/farms/markets you are looking for in your community. It also lets you search by state, city or zip code to best get the results you are looking for.

On Local Harvest, there are a number of types of food stores that you can search for. To name a few,

CSA: Community Supported Agriculture, this type of business has individuals buy into shares on the farm to invest in the growth of local and seasonal, usually organic vegetables that you pick up to enjoy bi weekly.

Farms: Local farmers that sell directly to consumers and that do not go through stores, or a third party. The less hands that touch your food the fresher and the safer.

Local Restaurants: You may ask, what is the difference between a local and non local restaurant? Well its simple. Do they ship in food or do they buy from local farmers and support local agriculture? Are they a chain that is available all over the country or are they a local shop specific to your community? Local restaurants again bring your dollars back to the community and can many times buy from local and organic growers.

Grocery/Food Co-op: This is a fun and important part of every sustainable food community. Becoming a part of a co-op means that you are now a part of the solution for sustainable eating and living, not to mention are filling your fridge with local organic food. As a member, you are part owner of the store and have a say as to how things are handled.

Don’t ever forget: food is important! Where it comes from, how you get it, how it is grown are all things you should be concerned about. Using localharvest.org will not only connect you with your new community, but will also lead you down a road of long term health and sustainability.

Composting: Important or Not?

Most people understand that composting is a part of being green and sustainable. But if you asked them the reasons that it is important and the ways that it is beneficial to the environment, they don’t always know what to say. They may do the math and think that food that gets thrown away in the trash gets to the landfill and there gets composted on its own. And here they basically come to the conclusion that composting food is a waste of their energy. Wrong.

If and when food does biodegrade in a landfill, what comes of that biodegrading process does not benefit anything and even if it could, it would be contaminated otherwise by the elements surrounding it in the landfill. Usually people that compost food use the end product as a fertilizer, sometimes called “black gold”, an ultra plant healthy nutrient mix that naturally occurs and is created through the composting process.

Another consideration is that organic matter or food in this case, does not always break down in the same way. Bacteria have different ways of decomposing or digesting  its hosts. When in a landfill, things get buried and the environment surrounding the food becomes airless, therefore creating what is called an anaerobic decomposition. This kind of decomposition releases CO2, and methane– which are both powerful greenhouse gasses as we all know.

So next time you are rethinking your decision whether or not to compost your food, or even if you need to brush up on the info for friends who just don’t understand: composting is a vital part of our ecosystem and isn’t wasted energy but in fact the saving of it.

Spotlight: AASHE-Connecting Sustainable Education Nationwide

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, or AASHE, is really making a big impact on the nation. AASHE is a membership driven–501(c)(3) institution that is leading the way in empowering sustainable colleges and universities by connecting and standardizing sustainability practice on campuses nationwide.

Being apart of the AASHE network grants resources, programs and professional development for those involved. The most important factor that AASHE contributes is its ability to unite colleges and universities that lead in sustainability transformation. By working with campus faculty, students, administrators and staff alike, they provide a professional home for sustainability in higher education.

There are two ways to get involved. As a student, AASHE offers a variety of professional development programs and resources to its members including conferences, webinars, workshops, conference calls and the wide network that it is connected to. As a business, it connects them with their communities and aligns themselves with green leaders by becoming a business partner.

More than anything, AASHE is designed to help higher education practice sustainability as a norm, not as an exception. They achieve this by encouraging collaborations and helping facilitate the generating and achievement of goals for the campus as a whole.

There are many ways of getting involved in AASHE. Whether you are a business looking to become a partner, or a student that is already a member of AASHE,  a student looking to getting their college involved, or a K-12 school—AASHE is attempting to connecting and transform the everyday standards of our educational system as we know it.

If you are interested in inquiring whether your school is or should be involved, please contact AASHE

Fair Trade 101

A lot of people wonder how fair trade is mixed in with the green attitude and sustainable lifestyle. According to Wikipedia’s definition, “fair trade is an organized social movement and market based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability”. If you haven’t experienced any A-HA moments yet trying to understand fair trade system, don’t worry, we’re about to dive a little deeper.

My best definition would be along the lines of paying a just and fair amount for products rather than taking advantage of the economic situation of where that product is coming from.  It is a system of trade where living wages and employment opportunities are offered for the goods that are produced in developing countries. Fair trade is an equal exchange program where the money you pay for a product reaches the communities delivering it. Basically, it is a way for you to know that the money you are spend on products of fair trade are not being intercepted by middlemen but actually reach the people growing it.  Take a look at the Equal Exchange Coffee Chain image; the distribution of money will make more sense.

Goods, such as chocolate or coffee can be certified by fair trade by organizations like Fair Trade Labeling Organization which affiliates in 17 countries. Producers partner up with international organizations that help them build better skills to market and sell goods. All products that meet fair trade standards do so under strict values that will benefit the people and country the products come from.

So now that you know a little bit more about fair trade products, look for them in your local supermarket, food co-op or café. Perhaps you work somewhere where you can support fair trade products and we highly encourage you to do so. Remember that your actions as a buyer support or discourage actions by businesses. By becoming a conscious consumer you are making the decision to provide better standards of living for artisans all over the world, which is especially important in developing countries.

Plus, it is just another way of knowing that the businesses you support are doing their part in creating a better tomorrow for people who may less fortunate. Hopefully, this helps you understand the need to support fair trade and what it does for our interdependent earth, look for the Fair Trade icon for products that are committed to helping developing countries.

Become an Earth Friendly Drinker

You should not be too surprised when you hear about how people everywhere are going through extreme measures to become more conscious wine drinkers. Biodynamic farming is becoming more and more respected and known. Basically, the farm is respected as a self contained organism with unique qualities, for example, livestock rather than chemical fertilizer is used to enhance soil fertilization.

Also, there are particular agriculture homeopathy preparations that are used to wake up the plants; they work to stimulate their natural abilities in order to meet environmental challenges. Biodynamic farms are based on the farmer’s knowledge around respecting the natural rhythm to irrigate, prune, harvest on the most effective days. Although organic wine is here, it may not taste the same as the conventional wines you may be used to, but over time you should be able to appreciate the subtle qualities and you may even find that it is hard to consume conventional wines after becoming used to biodynamic wines.

Next time you are wine shopping, look for wines produced from biodynamical organic grown grapes because now you know that this is a clear indication that the wine will not contain any pesticide residues and is in fact produced wholesome. You can look forward to reading more about how to select eco friendly packaged wines another time but for the time being, stay away from heavy bottles!