Warning: Spell check is not working for some reason... Pardon any mistakes. :)
Before you read the interesting part of this blog, because today I'm posting "green" household tips we use frequently, you must know this about me: I despise "fads". They annoy me along with the people who follow them so crazily. I was "green" and organic WAY before "green" and organic were a fad. My Grandfather used organic practices in his garden and I was raised as a gardener with these things in mind. I was selling (or attemping to sell) organic gardening (not just products, but practices) to east memphis and midtown yuppies
years ago. At the time all they wanted was whatever would get the job done quickly, or whatever was in that months edition of Southern Living magazine. Now they are the same ones who have "gone green". I'm happy to see people finally understanding, but at the same time it makes me sick, the followers who have no minds of their own. Do not confuse me with a "tree hugger". I am a Conservationist who believes that God gave man the permission and responsibility to care for the earth. Even if that means selectively cutting down a healthy tree here and there. I do not believe God gave us the power to destroy the earth (by cutting down trees, nukes or anything else). Mar it temporarily, yes. Destroy it, no. Only He has that power. God's nature, left alone for a few short years, would overcome us with Oak, Maple, Privit and Hackberry trees, just to name a few (on my property alone). A lot of these (especially Privit) are drought, freeze and flood resistant and couldn't care less about global warming or the ozone! Not managed (mowing, weedeating, whatever) and given just a little time, they would rise up and claim every inch of pavement, every house, building, lawn and garden we have put in place.
Now for the fun and "green" household tips, if you didn't already know about them!
We are all about homeade remedies in the Saulters, Wall and Horton households! Here are some that come to mind lately.
1) Mustard works to ease the pain of a severe burn. After I seriously burned my finger with steam while cooking lunch this past Sunday I held ice on it for about three hours. I couldn't take the ice anymore, but it was too painful when I stopped. A neighbor said to put toothpaste on it. That didn't work. Aloe didn't work either. Then my sister and her husband said put mustard on it! At this point I would have tried just about anything! So I did it and after about 5 or 10 minutes the pain subsided and we wrapped it up in a cloth with the mustard still on it and left it for a few hours. That night I just put a bandaid on it and today I have aired it out quit a bit. Still no pain! I will put another bandaid on it to sleep, so as not to bust the lovely blister, but that seems to be all I need until it heals! Amazing!
2) Soapy water kills knats, fruit flies and other pesky flying things. I learned this little trick a long time ago and recommended it to lots of customers at Stringer's. My Mom uses this anytime they come around! It works like a charm and no stinky sprays getting near your food. Just a little soap. Still don't want to eat it, but better than most stuff you find for this problem! This is just a drop of dish soap in a spray bottle of water. Just spray them as they fly, it kills them in mid air! Keep it under the sink ready to use!
3) Stainless steel removes cooking odors from your hands, such as fish, onion, garlic etc. This is one my Mom taught me! Of course they make little stainless steel bars to look like soap for your kitchen, but I just use the faucet. It works just the same! And it works everytime! Made Salmon tonight and am always amazed at how well it removes those awful odors!
4) And then one not homeade, but still an all natural cleaner, Rose Pomegranate Countertop Cleanser made by Caldrea. My Mother in law gave this to me as a stocking stuffer last Christmas. I've used it some, but last week decided to do some down and dirty cleaning in the kitchen after finding evidence of one of our country mice spending the night on my counters. He was eating cherry tomatoes I left on the counter (since they tend to get mushy in the fridge). Mice = YUCK!!! Needless to say, I cleaned every nook and crany of my kitchen counters, stove etc making a spring cleaning look like a wipe down... :) While I was at it I decided to freshen up the place with this awesome smelling cleaner. I've used it before but not for any intense cleaning. Well that day I discovered that it is THE BEST GREASE CUTTER I HAVE EVER USED!!! And I've tried them all. I have an aluminum grease container from the 1950's that I keep on top of the stove to put grease in while it is hot until it cools and I can throw it away. This thing stays on the stove and gets all the spatters from skillets etc. Everytime I clean it I am frustrated at how difficult it is to get the grease off. Hot water and dish soap barely get the job done. Even Magic Eraser doesn't do it very well. This week I used this cleaner and that container has never been cleaner. I used it all over the stove and the counters. Even on the sink and cabinets. And it smells just like rose parfume. I love it. It didn't take very much of it to do the job either. So I still have plenty to go around. I used it on the bathroom sink. Worked great. Next I'm going to try it on the tub. So far it's giving everything else I've ever used a run for it's money. You can find it on their website
http://www.caldrea.com/. However they didn't offer this scent... :( But I'm sure the others are just as nice!
