Natural and Sustainable

Did you know manufacturers are not required to list all of their ingredients unless they are active disinfectants or known to be potentially hazardous. Unlike food package labels, when a cleaning product’s ingredients are listed, the order doesn’t necessarily represent relative amounts. The following steps can help:

1. Know The Warning Labels:

• “Danger”: refers to products that are corrosive, extremely flammable, hgihly toxic or poisonous. Commercial toilet bowl, oven and drain cleaners often have these labels on their containers.

• “Caution” or “warning”: Are all catchall terns for manu other hazords, so scan for specifics, such as “vapor harmful”, “causes burns” or “may be fatel if swallowed.”

• “Irritants”: Refer to substances that can cause injury or tissye inflammation on contact.

• “Corrosives”: Refer to chemicals that destroy tissue.

• “Sensitizers”: Are ingredients that can cause allergic reactions and chronic adverse health effects that become evident only after continuous exposure.

• “Chronic Health Hazards”: May include effects ranging from sterility and birth defects to cancer.

2. Avoid Harmful Ingredients:

• Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs)
• Anitbacterials
• Ammonia
• Chlorine Bleach (sodium hypochlorite)
• Diethanolamine (DEA)
• Trithanolamine (TEA):
• Hydrochloric Acid
• Ethylene Glycol Butyl Ether (EGBE)
• Phosphates
• Sodium Hydroxide (lye)

3. Don’t just assume that manufacturers’ environmental and health claims are true: Some maufacturers’ will add labels that are neither independently verified nor regulated. Among those claims on labels are the following.

• Natural
• Nontoxic
• Environmentally Friendly
• Biodegradeable

Some safe cleaners and choices to consider:

1. AFM SafeChoice
2. BioKleen
3. Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds
4. Ecover
5. Holy Cow
6. Mountain Green
7. Planet, Inc.
8. Seventh Generation

Just do your homework and find out if the label claims are true before assuming that the are true.

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*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Get on the list. Find out if your city pledged to meet Kyoto Protocol emissions targets; if not, contact your mayor or city council.

Mixing your own cleaners at home almost always will save you more money than buying then. You are not only paying for the cleaner, you are also paying for advertisment, packaging. Here is a list of cleaners everyone should have on hand to make yourself and save that extra money:

• Baking Soda: This mild alkaline powder can be used for a variety of household cleaning purposed, such as absorbing odors, cleaning the inside of the refrigerator, loosening baked-on food from pans, and removing stains from tile, glass, oven doors, and even fine china. It also acts as a stain remover for fruit juices and other mild acids.

• Castile Soap: A mild soap in liquid or bar from that can be used for general purpose cleaning. It was once only made from olive oil, but now might even include vegetable oils. It is a great cleaner because it is free of petroleum-based ingredients.

• Hydrogen Peroxide: A mild alternative to chlorine bleach, its oxidation abilities make it useful in stain removing and sterilizing.

• Lemon Juice: This familiar acidic ingredient can be used to lighten stains and cut grease. It also can be used to remove tarnish on brass, copper, bronze and aluminum. Never use it on silver or sterling silver though.

• Washing Soda: A stronger slternative to baking soda, washing soda can be used as a water softener in conjunction with laundry detergents (gloves are recommended as it may irritate the skin; do not use with solks, woolens or vinyl). It’s also good when trying to lift oil or grease.

• White Vinegar: Good for a variety of household cleaning tasks, vinegar may be used to help kill germs and deodorize, removes some carpet stains, and clean coffee makers, chrome, cookware and coutertops. It’s acidic enough to clear minor drain clogs. Vinegar has an odor when it’s wet, but once it’s dry the odor is gone. Don’t use vinegar on some delicate fabrics because it will eat the fabric.

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*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Buy Fair Trade products whenever you can. If you can’t buy Fair Trade, at least buy organicly grown products. It’s better for your health and the environment.

Scrubbing and shinning you home with green cleaning products can reduce your family’s exposure to dangerous chemicals considerably. But what happens when you kids head to school? To keep noxious industrial-strength cleaners away from students, the New York City-based grassroots group Wellness in the Schools (WITS) has persuaded more than 40 area schools to switch to healthier alternatives.

Kids spend most of their waking hours in school, and the buildings are being cleaned with toxic products that leave behind residue from the chemicals added to most cleaners that aren’t health-conscious. Most of these cleaners are made to do a specific duty and not have lung, heart and skin in mind when that is done.

Aiming for a citywide move away from those conventioanl cleaners, which most have been shown to trigger asthma in chilkdren and possibly lead to chronis disease later in life, WITS promotes the use of products in lime with child-safety guidelines set by non-profit groups Grassroots Environmental Education.

If you want your child’s school to join in the green-clean movement, downloading WITS’s one-page cleaning supply purchaseing guide and passing in on to your child’s school administration is a great place to start.

The largest school system in the country was made to make the change so the smaller school systems should be eager to make the change. And since these are products that are both cost-effective and efficacious, why shouldn’t schools start replacing the old cleaners now.

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*Natural and Sustianable Living Tip: Use natural, not artificial fragrances. Use essential oils in an oil diffuser to help cut down on smells in your home. A good mixture is teatree, lemon and rosemary during the winter months to help cut back on colds and flus.

When rains rinse and refresh the outdoors, decks, patios and everything on them get a bath too. But, once it’s dry you see the remining film that stays: dirt, bird droppings, sticky tree sap and buds or whatever other debris that gets carried in the wind to land on your patio. These outdoor elements and others cause your furniture to stain, discolor and wear out much faster. Keeping patio furniture looking like new for a long period of time is not difficult. Proper cleaning and maintenance will extend the life of your furniture. Here are some tips to caring for your outdoor furniture everyday and especially during the winter months in a natural more earth friendly way:

• Wash it with a good cleaner at the beginning of the season and then once a week rinse off with a hose. Both dirt and chlorine in the water will deteriorate patio furniture.

• When cleaning viunyl patio furniture, never use a harsh brush or bleach. The brush may create pores in the vinyl, damaging it and causing it to lose its shape. Plus, the bleach will deteriorate the vinyl.

• Check to make sure that none of the bolts holding the furniture together are rusty. Replace them if they are, and tighten them throughly.

• If the paint on aluminum furniture is in poor condition, rub it gently with a piece of fine steel wool or sandpaper to smooth it out. Next, take some standard car-wash polish to buff the furniture back to tis original luster.

• Touch up wrought-iron furniture immediately if bare metal is exposed to prevent rusting. A rust-resistant primer on the spots will help the rust from spreading under the paint.

• Wicker furniture will stay looking its best if it is kept in the shade, as the sun tends to dry it out. If the wicker finish is damaged, bring it back to life by using a permanent marking pen that matches the color to blend away the exposed areas. To give a piece a whole new look, spray paint each piece with outdoor spray paint.

• Don’t forget to clean your glass patio table. Remove the glass top carefully, over the grass (so it doens’t shatter if you drop it).

• Put furniture, wood, metal and glass or plastic aways for the winter by covering it with plastic, and storing it in a dry basement or garage. If it must be kept outside, cover it with a tarp.

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*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Always wash your clothes in cold water. For stained or heavily dirty clothes, use warm or hot depending on the stain. All others should be washed in cold water. If you are washing bedding, wash it in cold and use color safe bleach to kill bed bugs and to get out stains and odors. Cold water gets out smells and everyday wear just as easy.

To alleviate cold germ induced allergies, turn to vitamins, herbs, yoga, omega-3s, and more.

1. Take Your C: Vitamin C has emerged as an anti-allergy agent for many years now and now you may need it more than ever. Allergy sufferers should take 200 milligrams of vitamin C daily. The presence of an antioxidant like vitamin C might therefore decrease the severity of allergy attacks and colds.

2. Dress For Success: Cotton and wool fabrics attract more tree pollen as the trees loose their leaves for the winter than a cotton-poly blends. Since pollen can collect on skin and hair, a post-outing shower will also reduce the level of allergens in your home.

3. Butter Up: An ingredient in butterbur (Petasites hybridus) inhibits histamines and leukotrienes (chemicals released after allergen exposure that make you itch, sneeze, or stuff up). Butterbur is as effective as cetirizine (Zyrtec®). 50 mg. of butterbur twice daily works as well as 180 mg daily of fexofenadine (Allegra®). Other herbs used for relief are infusions of nettle and elderflower (1 tsp. each to 2 cups water, taken daily for three months). For congestion, place five to 10 drops of chamomile essential oil in 3 cups of hot water, and inhale for 10 minutes.

4. Rinse Out: The passages in the nose are quite narrow and the lining is very tender; therefore, it takes only minor swelling and irritation or a little extra mucus to plug you up. Nasal irrigation rinses mucus and debris out of the nose and clears the passages. Use a spouted Neti Pot to apply a saline solution of 1/4 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of baking soda dissolved in 8 ounces of lukewarm water; you can buy the pot (with instructiuons) at health-food stores. If you find the technique tricky, try Nasopurek, a product that supplies the saline solution in a squeeze bottle for easier application.

5. Breathe and Pose: Yogic breathing methods held clear mucus from the nose. Also, Yoga reduces asthma attacks and improves pulmonary function. Using medication, chest-opening postures, and breathing techniques have been found to lead to better results then beathing along. Attacking the problem from three angles, relaxation, the mechanics of how the chest wall works, and learning to be a more effective breather, seems to make more sense. Yoga for Asthma, and interactive CD-ROM by yoga master B.K.S. Lyengar, can be use by people with allergies or winter cold sufferers.

6. Hide Inside: Cold and allergy suferers are advised to stay insdie with doors and windows closed furing peak pollen hours (usually 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Equip your ventaliation system with an allergy-grade filter to resude exposure and symptoms. Air cleaners ar ledd effetive by can still heko; choose one with a sustantioal colume of sirglow and a HEPA (high-efficiency particalate air) filter.

7. Eat Your 3s: Certain foods like vegetable oils and baked or fried goods provoke an inflammatory response, potentially exacerbating allergies. But a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids (cold water fish, flaxseeds) seems to reduce that chain reaction.

These natural responsees can reduce allergic reactions and colds and flus. Because chronic conditons can and may lead to asthma, consult a specailist if symptoms continue or get worse. To find an allergist near you, visit American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology. You can also sign up with the National Allergy Bureau to receive e-mail alerts about pollenb and mold couts in your area.

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*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Use greener cleaners in your how, car and RV or boat. Baking soda and viegar will clean just about anything. Use the “old school” method and put a little elbow grease into your cleaning. Your family and pets will be healthier and your furniture and fixtures will last longer too.

• Take clothing, shoes, and purses to the local Salvation Army or Goodwill stores.

• Sell your books back to the bookstore after you have read them.

• Teach your kids the importance about recycling.

• Have wicker or plastic bins set up to put your paper, plastic, glass and aluminum in.

• Recycle your rainwater.

• Use a canvas tote to put your groceries in from the store.

• Use less water. In one day, the average person uses up to 183 gallons of water for drinking, cooking, bathing, flushing, and watering plants.

• Try wrapping some packages with yesterday’s news. Try the funny pages for a kids birthday, or even an old map.

• Call 1-800-CLEANUP for information about recycling in your community.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: To fix a slow dran, try this homemade remedy: pour 1/2 cup baking soda, followed by 1/2 cup white vinegar down the drain. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then add 2 quarts boiling water. And kiss your toxic cleaners goodbye.

Try Eco-Cleaners for just about anything in your home.

Earth Friendly Products Earth Enzymes, $8.39

The Natural Oven Cleaner, $22

ECover All-Purpose Cleaner, $3.59

Mrs. Meyer’s Window Spray, $4.99

Seventh Generation Natural Citrus Shower Cleaner, $3
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You can make Natural Formulas right in your own home to clean your house with and here’s how: (Source: Natural Living)

•Bathroom Mildew=Dip a rag into white vinegar and simply wipe off. For stubborn mildew spray on vinegar, let sit for a few minutes and then wipe off.

•Windows & Mirrors=Fill a spray bottle with 1 cup of water plus 1 tbs. lemon juice; or just spray on white vinegar.

•All-Purpose Cleaning=Fill a spray bottle with equal parts water with either white vinegar or lemon juice and a few drops of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap.

•Ovens=Mix 2 tbs. dish soap, 2 tsp. Borax, and 1 qt. warm water. Spread mixture inside oven. Let sit for 20 minutes. Then scrub with a scouring pad.

•Drains=Pour 1/2 cup baking soda into drain followed by 1 cup white vinegar. Once the fizzing stops, pour in boiling water to finish the job.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Looking for some late-summer reading? Pick up Ellen Sandbeck’s Organic Housekeeping: Clean Less. She states in her book, “that most people actually clean too often and use too much of the products,”

“When you do clean, rely mostly on good-old-fashioned elbow grease and choose nontoxic cleaners that attack grime without releasing strong fumes. Read labels and avoid harmful ingredients like chlorine, phosphates, and antibacterial agents.”