Treat The Earth Well

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 "Treat the earth well:

it is not given to you by your parents,

it is loaned to you by your children.

We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,

we borrow it from our Children."

 

(Ancient First Nations Proverb)

 

 

 

 

 

 We all want what's best for our children -- and that includes protecting the world they live in and the earth that they are growing up in. However, not all of us are able to give up our gasoline-powered cars or install solar panels in our home. Not yet anyway... As busy moms, we need ecoliving to be as viable as possible. And guess what? It is! It really only takes small changes and little bits of effort to make a difference. Here at mom2mom toronto, we aim to provide moms and families with tools and means for making these gradual changes. And believe us -- if we can do it, so can you!

 

Goodbye yellow incandescents! If you walk down our street at night, ours will be the home with glowing white-light-lit windows. We replaced all our incandescent bulbs with Energy Star compact fluorescent bulbs that we bought at Home Depot. They last longer (up to 10x longer!), use up to 75% less electricity, are brighter, emit less heat, and greatly reduce greenhouse gases. And just in case you're wondering what difference your switching to CFLs will really make in this world, Natural Resources Canada reports that "...if every household in Canada (is) to replace only one incandescent bulb per household with ENERGY STAR-qualified CFLs, Canadians could save more than $73 million in energy costs each year."

 

 

Walk, bike, hike or TTC it with your kids! Until we can buy a hybrid car, we continue to drive around in a gasoline-powered car. However, weather-permitting, we try to walk, bike, hike or TTC. Given that we adults need 10,000 steps a day for optimum health while our kids need 12,000 (6-12 year old girls) to 15,000 (6-12 year old boys), walking does more for us than get us from Point A to B. Make it an adventure or walk/bike towards a fun destination! By the time my daughter was 2 1/2, she had memorized all the subway stops on the Yonge line. Taking the train or the bus also allows for some quiet (avoid rush hour!) and quality time for us to talk with our kids too.

 

 

Say "NO, THANKS" to plastic bags! Bring your own canvas or cloth grocery bags or invest in the $0.99 bags that some ecologically-aware stores offer. Costco sells ginormous bags for $5.00...you get a free work-out too trying to haul the full bags back home! For a while there, I honestly tried to give recycling the plastic bags a try - but they were just coming in faster than I could use them for garbage, packing up shoes, lunches and whatnot... Take it a step further and say "NO, THANK YOU" to plastic bags from any shop -- most of us moms tote around bags big enough to hold our children anyway so we might as well stuff it with our shopping. To keep new clothes clean (as my bag is usually also home to snacks and fruit), I just ask for a piece of tissue to wrap the clothes in. Happily, our ontario government supports this initiative: "The provincial government wants ontarians to cut in half the number of plastic shopping bags they use over the next five years. ontario is one of many jurisdictions around the world trying to curb the growing number of plastic bags, which are made from petroleum products and take hundreds of years to break down." (Kerry Gillespie, The Star, May 9, 2007)

 

 

Pack bagless snacks and lunches! Use re-usable containers instead of plastic wrap, aluminum foil, parchment paper and Ziploc bags. Aside from eliminating waste and litter, sandwiches stay un-squished and so do pre-cut fruits and veggies. Best to use lead-free containers too!

 

 

Just a spoonful of dish detergent makes magic with vinegar and water! Cleaning has never been a passion of mine and before I discovered the non-toxic joys of using natural cleaners, I had a great excuse to clean sparingly. Try these earth-friendly and non-fumey alternatives:

 

• MIRRORS, BATHROOM, KITCHEN: 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar, and up to 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap or detergent in a spray bottle. (Vinegar kills bacteria, mold and fungus, and cuts grease too!)
• WALLS, FLOORS, TUBS: use plain old baking soda mixed with water
• RUGS, CARPETS: baking soda or cornstarch deodorizes and cleans
• LAUNDRY BLEACH ALTERNATIVE: fresh lemon juice

 

More homemade cleaning recipes from CBC NEWS MARKETPLACE!

 

 

Tips for non-toxic house cleaning

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There are many ingredients in your own kitchen or bathroom cupboard that could easily be substituted for cleaners.

More and more people are looking for natural ways of cleaning as their concerns grow over chemicals in cleaners that can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches and dizziness.

Many common household cleaners contain alcohol, ammonia, bleach, formaldehyde and lye, substances that can cause nausea, vomiting, inflammation and burning of the eyes and throat.

Environmentalists have linked these ingredients with neurological, liver and kidney damage, asthma and cancer.

There are hundreds of homegrown recipes for green cleaning, here are some of the basic ingredients and combinations you can try:

 

 

 

Five Basic Ingredients

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Any of these ingredients can be safely mixed together. Experiment and find out what works best for you. Store mixtures in spray bottles and label them.

1. White Vinegar: Mix with water and you can clean windows, any glass, countertops and tile.
2. Baking Soda: Mixed with water this becomes an all purpose cleaner. Scour sinks, tubs and even sprinkle over carpets as a deodorizer.
3. Salt: great as an abrasive for cleaning pots and pans.
4. Lemon Juice: use as bleach in laundry and on kitchen surfaces. Combine with vinegar and water and you have a nice de-clogger.
5. Olive oil: Mix with vinegar and use as furniture polish.

 

 

Cook up some green cleaners:

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Drain cleaner: Pour 125 ml of baking soda down the sink and add at least a cup of vinegar. Put the cover on the drain and wait a few minutes. Finish by rinsing through with a mixture of boiling water and salt.

 

Oven cleaner: Make a paste of baking soda and water. First, scratch off burnt spots with a scouring brush and then apply the paste and scrub.

 

Kitchen cleanser : Use baking soda on non-scratch surfaces and vinegar and water mixture on all others.

 

Window cleaner: Put 75 ml of vinegar for every litre of water in a spray bottle.

 

Glass cleaner: Blend 75 ml of vinegar, a spoonful of cornstarch and a litre of warm water. Apply with a sponge and wipe dry. No streaks!

 

Toilet bowl cleaner: Sprinkle baking soda around the inside of the toilet bowl and clean with toilet brush. Also drop some white vinegar into the bowl and let sit a few minutes before cleaning with the brush.

 

Tub and tile cleaner: Mix 400 ml baking soda, 125 ml liquid soap, 125 ml water and a few spoonfuls of vinegar. Apply, scrub and wipe.

 

Mildew remover: Vinegar and salt.

 

Silver polish: Put a sheet of aluminum foil into a plastic or glass bowl. Sprinkle the foil with salt and baking soda and fill bowl with warm water. Soak your silver in the bowl and tarnish migrates to the foil. Dry and buff.

 

Crystal: Try a mixture of vinegar, water and a small amount of baking soda. Pour on a soft cloth and rub.

 

Brass cleaner: Cut a lemon in half, sprinkle it with salt and rub the lemon on the metal. Buff with a cloth.

 

Copper cleaning: Make a paste with equal parts white vinegar, flour and salt, leave on for an hour and then buff with a cloth.

 

Rust removal: Vinegar can help remove rust on nuts and bolts and other mineral deposits such as calcium deposits

 

Toothpaste: Diminishes glass scratches, lifts crayon marks off the floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 http://www.mom2mom.ca/toronto/ecoliving.html

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