Media deception: You don't need 99% of the stuff "they" try to sell you!!!

Have you noticed how the media makes you think that you need stuff.  All kinds of stuff.  Some of it is useful but some of it is just silly!

These disposable hand towels are a perfect example of stuff that you don't need.  People have been using terrycloth towels in their bathrooms for decades and I have never heard of anyone becoming sick or dying from a disease contracted from a towel!  I don't even want to start with the environmental repercussions of this.  Not just the waste but also the carbon footprint from the factory.  I change my hand towel daily depending on use.  It adds about 5 to 7 small towels to my laundry that I am already washing anyway.  UGGGGH!  Just use a towel people don't buy into this unnecessary product.

I don't use paper towels in the kitchen either.  I think they are wasteful and again unnecessary.  I went on a quest for a inexpensive green alternative and was a bit disappointed because cloth napkins can be very expensive.  I was at the $.99 only store and came across packages of mens hankies.  They came 6 in a package and I bought 6 packages.  I put them into a half gallon mason jar and use them as napkins and for small messes in the kitchen.  If I have a big mess I use a dish cloth.  I toss them into a small basket under the sink and throw them into the wash.  They don't take up any more room or add any extra work except for cramming them into the jar once they are clean.  Works like a charm.  I do keep some paper towels on hand for biological animal happenings but that's all I use them for.  Oh and as far as my dish cloth being filled with germs as the media warns us about, I just use one per day let it dry out and toss it into the under the sink basket.  

These suckers are a HUGE pet peeve of mine!  Frozen PB&J are you kidding me?  I am sorry but you have to be a special kind of lazy if you can't get out a loaf of bread, peanut butter and jelly and make a sandwich for your kid. Seriously?  UGH!  Things make me so mad.  Not to mention the ingredients.  Subway's yoga mat bread, yup it's in there along with high fructose corn syrup and a myriad of other chemicals. This is lazy America at it's finest!!!  If you want cute shapes head over to your favorite big box store, they sell cute sandwich cutters and you can make your own!!!  

As far as what I use to clean my sink and stove?  I use baking soda and soap.  My grandmother did it.  It left our stovetop spotless when I was growing up and it does the same for my sink and stove today.  I found the little shaker at the dollar store.  You can use a parmesan cheese container too but the one I have is paper and the lid did not screw off so I just picked up the one at the store. Sprinkle a little in you sink or on your stove and put a little dish soap on your sponge and clean away!!!  No harsh chemicals is a bonus!!!

The media is just doing it's job.  The ad companies are just trying to make a buck.  You don't have to put money into their pockets.  Stop buying stuff that you don't need!  Save your money, the environment and keep chemicals out of your house and out of your body!  I read on a blog the other day, "Think before you buy, do I really need this?"  

Give it a try.  I am sure you have baking soda in you kitchen right now!  

What useless products do you avoid?  What is your "green" alternative?  Please share in the comments.

Remember: Stay Quirky my friend

Citrus Cleaner & Ant Begone!

About 2.5 weeks ago I came across this blog post from Kitchen Stewardship and decided to give it a try.  I am really shying away from chemical cleaners in my home since I had an allergic reaction to homemade laundry soap. I am amazed how well this stuff worked!!!  Not only did it clean my microwave, stove and counter tops but also I had an issue with tiny ants and they are gone too!  I used about a ratio of about 5:1 vinegar to water.  If you want it to disinfect add about 10-12 drops of tea tree oil.  I am truly amazed at the results.

Here's how to do it.

Fill a jar with orange, lemon, or grapefruit peels
Cover with distilled white vinegar
Set it on the counter for about 2 weeks
Shake when you think about it.

Add some to a spray bottle, top it off with water and spray.

It smells clean and fresh like oranges and even took off the grime under my stove vent!

Go ahead and give it a try.  It is so much more cost effective than those store bought natural cleaners and it works!  I would love to hear your results in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by,
Quirky Urban Girl

Soap Nuts & Dryer Balls

Laundry!  Can you think of anything more unfun?  Okay, I am sure you can but still its yuck with a capital Y! So time consuming and boring.  I hate it!  A few weeks ago I hated it even more.  I had been making my own laundry soap using 1 bar of Zote, 1 Cup Borax and 1 Cup Washing Soda and then something went wrong!  I developed an allergic reaction to the soap. Not the I have a rash, my skin is red and I itch reaction but the  lymph node swollen, joint pain, skin rash uncontrollable itching go to the hospital and get a bunch of IV meds kind.  I figured out that it was the laundry soap because I woke up one morning and had a smoothie, became cold, put on a jacket and WHAM! out popped the welts after just a few minutes.  I was relieved but frustrated because I had to buy new laundry soap and wash EVERYTHING I own.  I am 99% sure that it was the Zote soap that did it.  I am 100% sure that I never want to do it again so after reading several blogs and reviews I decided to give soap nuts a try.

What the heck is a soap nut you may ask?  Well apparently, according to Wikipedia it is the fruit of a small tree or shrub that has been used for cleaning things for cleaning things for thousands of years.

I ordered my soap nut sample on ebay here.  Not because of any particular reason except that they cost $2.99 and it was free shipping. So now onto the experiment.

After reading 2 blogs Kitchen Stewardship & Becoming Peculiar I learned that because I use cold water that it is best to put my little nuts in the sack and soak them in warm water before I commence laundry doing.

So after that I decided to squeeze them and see if they really do make "soap". Guess what?  They do!

I tossed them into the wash and started the machine.  I wasn't sure if I was supposed to remove them during the rinse cycle.  I still don't know but I think I removed them twice and one load I forgot all about them.

Wash, wash, rinse, rinse!  The load was finished and I took the clothes out and they looked clean and smelled like nothing.  Nothing is good.  I then tossed them in with my dryer balls.  Yup folks I said dryer balls.  They are felted wool balls that you can make yourself or buy.  I got mine here.  I use six. Just toss them in and my clothes dry so much faster and come out soft.  They still have static but I am not willing to chance it and use fabric sheets after my reaction to chemicals, I also toss in some distilled white viniger to the fabric softener dispenser.

After that more washing and more drying happened. I decided to test the soap nuts for effectiveness and how you do that is see if they still bubble up and they did after two loads.

Then it was time for the true test.  Stained handkerchiefs.  I use them like a non quirky person would use paper towels.  They have avocado and spirulina stains on them from smoothie making.

Into the washer they went and the result was...

Not perfect but not bad either.  I am not worried that they are still a little green.  They are my sustainable paper towels for Pete's sake.  They are as clean as they ever came using my old soap.  You can use an eco friendly pretreater or Oxyclean to help with stains.  I didn't because, like I said with these I am not that worried.

After I was finished with laundry I took the soap nuts out of the bag and dried both.  No one told me to do this I just thought it made sense.

So what do I think of soap nuts?  I like them so far.  I even bought some more from here to test them out even more.  I will post an update in a few weeks and let you know how it's going.  For now soap nuts get a thumbs up from this Quirky Urban Girl!

Have you used soap nuts?  Please post your results in the comments.