Too Busy Being in Love

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Green Packing?

We're moving again. After a lovely 8 month visit up north with the family, British Columbia is calling our hearts home. So we are back in packing mode.

I've been trying to think about how to pack 'greenly'. And if its possible.

While I can't get away from cardboard boxes and packing tape, there are a few things that are making it greener.

First of all, I guess the best way we are "recycling" things is by getting all our boxes from the grocery stores. They have certain days where locals can come get as many boxes as they want, in all sizes so we've been doing that. Thankfully, they have lots of small ones. Being 8 months pregnant, I'm doing very VERY little lifting so the smaller I can pack things like books & movies, the better.

Also, while I'll use some newspaper to wrap things in, I'm using a lot of our clothing & blankets to pack fragile items in. The clothing is all getting packed anyways, so why not use a tshirt to wrap a pie plate, or a towel to put in the bottom of glass items?! Its working great and at least this way I don't get my hands all black from newsprint!

Its just two small things that most anyone can think of but if you imagine what an impact all new boxes and all new packing paper would produce then its the small things that make a difference!

Need some new changes

I can't say I've made any NEW small steps lately. I guess life has been pretty routine so I haven't had to wonder what else I can do to make changes.

This time of year, the produce is still pretty sad, and all the food is imported. How I'm longing for fresh garden produce!!

We are looking to relocate either very soon or by summer so I don't think I'll be able to plant my own garden this year. With a baby due in 6 weeks, it will be very difficult to do anyways. But where we are relocating to is VERY eco-friendly, lots of organic farmers, lots of recycling options, and general green & crunchy people. I can't wait.

Lots of mamas cloth diaper & wear their babies & practice organic living. There are farmers markets of veggies, fruits, meats, eggs & even milk available all over there so I'm longing to immerse myself in that new & wonderful culture.

But for the weeks or months that we remain here, I'm just glad that the sun is finally starting to melt the mounds & mounds of snow, we are able to open the windows for fresh air & get outside to splash in the slush puddles.

There isn't a place to hang a clothes line and because we are moving I don't want to install a new one so tomorrow I will head to the store & get 2 drying racks, one for each mini porch on the back of my home that faces the sun all day long. I'm eager to to hang my diapers again, and once I can have a real clothes line, my sheets & blankets will get a good dose of sunlight & UV rays to freshen them up from being cooped up for a MUCH TOO LONG winter!!

Yay for the coming of spring!!

Ohhhh, the things that make me angry

News that makes me angry on a Friday morning: Free-range egg ban shuts bed and breakfast

So this story is on CBC news this morning and I'm sitting here reading while eating my breakfast. It you don't have time to read it, its about a Bed & Breakfast that has been in business for decades, who also operate their own organic farm... definitely a B&B I would prefer staying & eating at. Now the government is telling them that they can't use their own organic eggs to serve in their breakfasts and they must purchase "federally inspected eggs"... you know, from those poor chickens who never see light of day, are fed chemicals & hormones... etc.

These organic farmers sell their fantastic products at local farmers markets but aren't allowed to serve them in their own kitchens if its considered a "business".

So instead of complying to buy these artificial eggs, they have decided to shut down their B&B. I don't blame them one bit.

Instead of encouraging & supporting small & organic farmers, the government is doing everything in its power to thwart, squash, bad-mouth & disestablish them all. Just so they get to make all the money and we are forced to choose these FAR INFERIOR products instead of natural, organic, healthy, un-modified, healthful products.

Is it time for me to have my own farm yet?? I think so!

Household cleaners & toddlers

I have to add another "HOORAY" for using vinegar as a cleaner (or baking soda)  My son has recently decided that LICKING things is funny. Especially the windows! Ew, right! But, while I chase him away from doing so, I am not horrified because I know, I only washed that window with vinegar, not some toxic chemical cleaner.
While I'm pretty sure licking a vinegar-washed window shouldn't taste good either, it hasn't slowed him down... so I'll be washing them a bit more often with vinegar to get the drooly tongue prints off :)

A product like Windex isn't the worst product you could be using in your house. While it is deemed safe by World Health Organizations & the like, some environmentalists note that it can be known to cause skin irritation as well as potential damage to kidneys & liver.

Windex is also a common suggestion to aim at pesky bugs like ants & roaches... supposed to kill them on contact!? Anything with chemical warnings, symbols or that sort of "killing" potential usually sets off lil red flags for me.   Happy to stick with my vinegar!

Vinegar on windows!!

Just wanted to post to say I used a vinegar & water mix in a spray bottle (with some lemon juice) yesterday to clean my windows & mirrors and it worked great!! I had read that vinegar can sometimes be streaky on the windows but I knew this morning would reveal the truth.

As the morning sun shines thru my giant livingroom window, no longer do I see a million hand prints, just sparkly clean. No streaks either!

Score one more for cleaning with vinegar!!!

Clorox comes clean... about what is IN their products

Clorox took the path less travelled in chemical cleaning world & decided to disclose WHAT is in their products. While it is a positive step in letting us know just what we are exposing ourselves to, the information was far from "good news".

Just in scents alone, over 1,200 ingredients are used in fragrances alone!! Shocking really!

This article on enviroblog summarizes some of the worst finds of the chemicals listed.

Hopefully in the future Clorox might offer some of their products fragrance-free to cut down on the shocking amount of chemicals they use.

I for one won't be rushing out to check their labels... nothing a little vinegar, lemon & baking soda can't take care of anyways.