Bountiful Baskets VS. Farmers Market

Most people have no idea what a Bountiful Basket is. Today I experienced it for the first time and found it to be interesting. Not what I expected it to be. I heard about this from a friend and it sounded good so I thought I would try it out. She said they are a group of volunteers that give out food in laundry baskets and they get there food locally. Anyway so I went online and ordered two Organic baskets which are twenty five dollars (non-organic is 15 dollars each). On their website they say that if you volunteer that you be there an hour early. So I brought #1 with me and we went at the volunteer time. I knew the food had to get there some how but it came on a huge freight truck which I was not expecting. Then the organic variety was all presorted and most of the non-organic food was labeled from Mexico and California, which was surprising. Anyway when I looked at what I got in the box it was more of the same, Mexico and California. It was just disappointing. Later another friend said maybe it is because it has been super dry here. I hope that is the only reason because I like the idea of volunteer based food system but I really want local.

I like going to the farmers markets here. I like being able to see who is growing my food and being able to ask questions. There is usually a lot of variety and sellers of other goods like bread and honey. There's still that unknown factor, is the food really pesticide free or are they just saying that to get you to buy their food. I've asked a few when I've gone and gotten the yes answer but in my gut I don't believe it. I do know that all the food there is local, that's what I like most, though it is pretty important to me to have pesticide and hormone free!

The point I am trying to make is that where you get your food from is important! I am going to the first best thing and that is to grow my own garden but until things are ready I need a second best and I think I might just stick to farmers markets. I like supporting my local farmer and I can bring my own bags and produce less trash. Prices are just as reasonable. Also if you go towards the end of the day you can get some really great deals.

P.S. I was going to buy a share of a CSA which is the very best second option to get your food but apparently I was to late in the game this year and all the shares were sold out to my favorite farms already when I tried to get it.

Recipes..Part One

I have many people emailing me asking me what my recipes are for my natural cleaning and personal care products. This post will be focused on giving those to you. I usually Google them and try them out before tweaking them to our specific needs.

There are a ton of recipes for laundry detergent, my favorite one come from http://www.homemadelaundrysoap.net/ and I kept this one just like it says, it works great and smells great. I think that my clothes come out brighter than with all of the other detergents we used. This is just for the liquid detergent, that's what I prefer to use and would recommend because I know it works.

What you need:
If you make a double batch of the liquid detergent you need a bucket, I recycled a cat litter bucket, worked great! You also need a greater and a large pan.

Where to Buy Ingredients:
Most of the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store in the laundry aisle and at some Walmarts and Targets. Some people have a difficult time Fels Naptha soap. If this happens, you can either try a substitute (such as Zote, Ivory or Sunlight bar soaps, or other low-scented soap) or buy it online at Amazon.com. I got the Borax at Target (76oz for 3.50) I got the washing soda (55oz for 4.50) and Fels Naptha (1 bar for 1.50) soap at Ace Hardware.

What to Store Your Soap In:
To keep your large batch of liquid laundry detergent in a 5-gallon bucket with lid and keep a large wooden spoon in it to stir it before each use. I reused two liquid laundry soap containers and just stirred before transferring it. I did wash them before using them and you do have to shake them before using.

Scented Soap:
"The detergent has a fairly strong scent right after you make it, but it fades quickly. After the clothes are washed, there is little, if any, scent on the clothes. If you’ve never tried a non-scented laundry detergent before, it might be hard for you to accept that the clothes are actually clean. They are, whether they smell like soap or not. But if it continues to bother you, you might want to try adding a liquid fabric softener to your wash or even adding your favorite essential oil to your preferred liquid laundry detergent recipe"

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap Recipe

This is about .0096 cent per load for 10 dollars you get 1041.66 loads. lol

Ingredients:
1/3 bar Fels Naptha Soap (1 full bar Ivory or 1/3 bar Zote will also work)
½ cup washing soda (
½ cup borax powder
2 gallons water

Instructions:

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda (NOT baking soda) and the borax. Stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into a 2-gallon bucket. Add soap mixture and stir. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours until it gels. Use a ½ cup detergent per load of laundry.

The Math!

.04 per ounce borax

.08 per ounce washing soda

.50 per 1/3 bar Fels Naptha

.62 for 2 gallons of soap

16 cups in a gallon 

32 cups in a batch

1/2 cup per load

64 cups per batch

.0096 cents per load

Hair Spray

This is important to me and I found basically 2 recipes. One with lemons or oranges and one with water and sugar. I like my Hairspray to be extra extra hold so I combined the two and made my own.

Ingredients: 

2 cups water

1 orange cut in to pieces

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 ounce Vodka (preservative)

Sauce pan

Cheese cloth or similar (I used a wash cloth)

Instructions:

Put water and orange slices in sauce pan and boil until is reduced by half. Before adding slices squeeze juice into pan and throw slices in after. Strain with cloth in bowel. Add liquid back into pan and add sugar, stir until completely dissolved. Add vodka and let cool. put in a bottle with a fine mist. (should be good for 2 weeks or longer, I'm not sure exactly as I just made this)   I recycled a hairspray bottle.

The Math 
.50 cent vodka (Cheap is fine) you can even use rubbing alcohol. 
.25 cents orange
.003 cents sugar
.753 Per bottle  .503 if you use rubbing alcohol 

Red Robin...A Deliciously Wasteful Restaurant

Last night my husband took us to Red Robin for dinner, with a little protest as I don't think they are very healthy. I also want to mention that the other day as were planning to go there I called and asked where they get their meat from and if it is hormone free. The manager came to the phone and said that they get it from the Wolverine Packing Company in MI. He also stated that their meat does not or no longer has pink slime. Which I thought was good but I told him that that is not the same as hormones. I Googled Wolverine and called them the next day and asked them if they inject their cows with hormones and a guy told me no, I asked him how he could know that and he said they test the meat. I hung up the phone and was thinking that how could that really had been his answer? How could he just not tell me that they don't shoot up their cows with hormones? Now I may not be a super genus but I don't believe him. If he knew for sure that they don't, I think that's what he would've said.  I also called the main office of Red Robin in Greenwood Village near Denver and have not gotten a response yet.

 Anyway the main reason I wanted to write about this is because all I could think about while eating there is how wasteful it was. I asked to be seated outside as it was nice out and couldn't help but notice a family walk to their can and they had 3 balloons, the little girl, maybe 2 or 3 years old, accidently let go of hers. The family just stared up at it as it went into the sky. Right then and there I decided that my girls would not be getting anymore balloons, ever. They are so wasteful. Where do they end up? Popped somewhere, just laying there not biodegrading. What is there purpose anyway, they are useless, they don't clean anything, you can't really play with them, you just end up throwing them away and they are probably more toxic then we like to think about. The other wasteful thing was the napkins we of a ton of napkins and my husband asked for more, which we didn't use. They probably throw them away when they cleaned up our table. I decided to remedy this that I will be making napkins that we can take with us. I can just stick them in our diaper backpack for now and when I am no longer using that I will stick them in my purse. The 3rd thing was my fault I forgot to bring a dang container for leftovers and had to use their Styrofoam crap! Uhhggg!  I hate styrofoam! Not good for your health what so ever! Also terrible for our planet! I have been keeping all the styrofoam I have been accumulating and I am going to take it to the Denver to be recycled as I found out there is a place there that does it. Only one in the state. 

I want to mention that this is not intended to me a personal attack on Red Robin that this occurs in many restaurants. Consumers and restaurants need to be aware and help out! Red Robin DOES need to get rid of their balloons though! Also my husband did end up getting #1 a balloon, I was very disappointed and told why I didn't want her having them anymore. He told me that I was a meany and a  party pooper. After I explained how I felt they where super wasteful he didn't say anything back but hopefully we won't be that wasteful at a meal ever again!

I did a little research about balloons and the effect on the environment and there is evidence that they are biodegradable but not all of them. If you are interested just do a little google search and there is a ton of info on this. I personally would just like to avoid them and not be a part of a possible problem!

Eliminating The Trash...Part One

  This will be a series of posts as I am still in the process of reducing the amount of trash that we produce, including our recycles. My ultimate goal is to have no trash/recyclables. It is probably one of the most challenging things I have ever done. This should be easier but with all the things that are available to make your life "easier" it is a lot to have to replace or figure out another way. I took a long hard look at what it is that we are throwing away to figure out what I need to replace with reusables or need to make from scratch. I'm doing this in steps because it would just be to overwhelming to do it all at once and because it is expensive at first. Eventually I will save $ because I won't be buying these things anymore. 

So far I have discovered several things wrong with what we were doing besides all the waste. I didn't realize what I was doing to my family and I. The first thing was all the plastic. As you already know, if you've been following my blog, I've been getting rid of plastics. When I was thinking about the trash zip lock and grocery bags came to mind. We use these a lot and and they are so temporary. What I mean is you buy them, you use them, then just throw them away. Such a waste of money! Also no where on the box does it say BPA and phthalate free. So all those bags we where using for snacks and sandwiches probably were poisoning us. Anyway I got these reusable zipper bags made from nylon that is BPA and phthalate free. I love them! They are easy to clean, water resistant and airtight, so your sandwichs won't dry out. I also bought reusable produce bags which are made of cotton and have their weight listed on them. Most stores will take 10 cents off your bill for every bag you use. I put all the shopping bags on the front door handle so I don't forget to take them when I go shopping. This used to be something I often forget to do and when I would get to the check out I would get frustrated at myself for forgetting.

I am also trying to remember when we go out to eat to bring along a container to bring home leftovers in. I have yet to remember this, but I have faith that I will. I'm also in the process of making my own reusable paper towels. I am making them from birds eye fabric and surging the edges. The are super cute and can even wrap them around a paper towel holder to make them just as convenient as disposables. I am choosing to stop buying sponges as washcloths do a great job and I can wash those. I am keeping all the containers for my personal and cleaning items so I can put homemade products in them. I think that's all I've actually done so far. 

There is still a lot that I need to replace but I have done my homework on what and where I need to get.   For plastic wrap/ aluminium foil I found a great solution on Etsy. They are cloth waterproof container covers with elastic and for the oven silicone pan covers from reuseit.com. reuseit.com also has metal straws I would love to have. When we start seeing all the money savings I want to start getting royal crest milk to stop throwing all those away since they reuse them. I love love Swiffer because of how fast and easy it is to use. I am going to make pads for them that are washable. I will post these so you can see what they look like. I am also looking at getting these upcycled dryer pillows to replace clothes softener and dryer sheets.

I got the sandwich and shopping bags on Etsy. Below is the link to her store. She also sells produce bags and some other great items! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LoveForEarth

For Dryer Pillows

http://www.etsy.com/shop/zJayne

Luna Pads Rock!

These are my Luna Pads, I have had these for 2 years so yes they are a little worn but are still like new as far as for their performance. I love them! They work great, I never leak, not even once. They are comfortable, they feel like you are just wearing your underwear. Best of all they are cute. I know that it really doesn't matter what they look like and any guy who reads this will probably be like WTF? but I find comfort knowing that I have some thing totally cute down there. Oh and those of you who are concerned about the cleanliness factor, they don't smell as long as you change them regularly (as you should be doing anyway) and they are easy to clean. I wash mine like I would my own laundry with my all natural non bleach soap and dry on regular cycle. Just don't use fabric softener as it will prevent absorbentness.  

This is a tampon that a girl was about to use and it got knocked out of its applicator. If that had not happened then she would've never known that she was using a MOLDY tampon! Can you say gross! I couldn't believe my eyes today as I saw this on my facebook page (I have lunapads,com liked on there and it streams its blog there). What really gets me is that I used to be a tampon wearer. I couldn't be more glad that I switched. What really gets me is the idea that people wear these not knowing where the materials are from, what kind of place they are made in, how clean they really are and not to mention the fact they are covered in plastic that isn't labeled BPA or phthalate free. (ok, well not all are wrapped in plastic but some are). I really hope that those people who told me that I was gross for wanting my vagina to be healthier and natural takes a second look at those disposables and make the switch to something that they know about. I know where my stuff has been and how safe it is!

To see the article “Eww” By Kotex

 http://lunapads.com/blog/

Those cute little Dandelions

I've heard about eating dandelions but never had the guts to actually try one, after all they are weeds. Well the other day I noticed that there was a few growing in the back yard. Well, with my new found greenness I wanted to try it so while nursing #2 I looked it up and apparently you can eat the whole dang plant including the flowers. After that I went out and harvested about seven of them I washed and sauteed them. Turned out to be pretty good food. I can't understand why people try and kill these plants instead of eating them, they are everywhere, free and delicious! 

"With all of the recent focus on eating locally for the sakes of our health and the environment, we may be overlooking one of the easiest and most wholesome vegetables available. The Dandelion is a highly nutritious and versatile wild food that has been harvested for ages, dating back to a time when our winter diets were heavy in fats and starches, and sorely lacked the lush, seasonal greens that we can now buy at the grocery store year-'round.   
Dandelion greens are rich in vitamins and minerals. Half a cup of leaves contains more calcium than a glass of milk, and they boast even more iron than spinach. Plus, they're packed with protein, inulin (a natural fiber) and pectin (which has been reported to lower cholesterol). And when you start looking at Dandelion greens as lunch, you'll be glad that they're so easy to come by. Unlike several other wild edibles, there's no need to worry about confusing Dandelions with poisonous look-alikes because there aren't any.ust be sure to avoid plants that may have been sprayed with chemicals by those who have yet to discover that Dandelions are delectable." (http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/newsletter/10/march/dandelion.php)

Removing plastics

I just watched a documentary, Plastics. I also did some of my own research. After doing so I realized that we have a ton of plastic in our house. This probably doesn't seem like a big deal, right? Well then I started really looking around and what did I see? Almost all of my kids dishes and toys are plastic! What do my kids do?, they put these in their mouths! I couldn't believe it. First thing I went down to the thrift store and bought ceramic and wood dishes for the girls. I went to Target and got new metal sippy cups and silverware. I also started listing all of their plastic toys on Craigslist so that I can afford to replace them with non-plastic toys.

Why am I doing all of this? Well most of the dishes where labeled BPA free but not phthalate free. Almost all of their toys were not either BPA or phthalate free. Below is part of an article that I found when doing research.

"Health Effects

Immediate Health Effects If SWALLOWED, phthalates is Slightly Toxic
If ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN, phthalates is Moderately Toxic
If INHALED (SNIFFED OR BREATHED IN), phthalates is Slightly Toxic

Longterm or Delayed Health Effects This chemical is likely to cause cancer. It is considered a Probable Carcinogen by the World Health Organization, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or another agency. Allergen Suspected Endocrine Disruptor = May interfere with, mimic or block hormones Development Toxicant = Can interfere with normal development of a fetus or child Reproductive Toxicant = Can harm reproductive system Other Birth defects, including cleft palate and in male reproductive organs, due to prenatal exposure. In laboratory animals, exposure to some phthalates prior to or after birth caused damaged, shrunken, undescended, or atrophied testicles; reduced sperm production; destruction of Sertoli cells, which produce sperm; lowered testosterone levels in offspring and ovarian abnormalities. In humans, some studies have found decreased sperm counts and damaged sperm in men with higher levels of some phthalates. Prenatal exposure may increase a child’s risk of developing behavioral problems in childhood. Some indication that a mother’s exposure to phthalates may shorten her pregnancy by one week. DEHP causes liver cancer in laboratory animals and the EPA considers it a carcinogen. Phthalates have been found in breast milk and may contribute to altered hormone levels in infants. At high doses some phthalates have damaged the liver and kidneys of laboratory animals. Respiratory difficulties in children with bronchial obstruction (such as asthma)." (http://healthychild.org/issues/chemical-pop/phthalates/)

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