Monthly Archives: July 2010
Product Review: Demetria Organics
| July 29, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
Demetria Organics sells great eco-friendly products that are good for us and the planet. You will find products for you, your pet, and your home.
I was about to try out their organically grown soap nuts. Soap nuts are not a nut at all, they are a berry. They grow on the Sapindus Mukorossi Tree and contain a great cleaning agent in their shells called saponin.
When you put soap nuts in your washer the water and agitation causes the saponin to be released. Saponin is naturally low sudsing which makes them great for high efficiency washing machines. Soap nuts can also be used as a natural all-purpose cleaner, window cleaner, and even shampoo!
I have used soap nuts a few times and they are easy to use and work very well. My clothes are just as clean using soap nuts as they are when I use other natural laundry soaps. I love the fact that when they soap nuts no longer are working I can just throw them in my compost.
If you still aren’t sure about trying soap nuts Demetria Organics offers a sample size to let you try them out. Go check out soap nuts and all the other great products on Demetria Organics.
Here ya go FTC: I was not paid for this review. I was given sample products or the review but these are my honest views.
Goodbye Emily
| July 28, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
I found out today that my families dog Emily passed away. I thought I would share her story.
We found Emily after we bought a new house on 40 acres out in the middle of no where. We were starting to go through the house just after signing on it, while the former owners took a few last boxes. We saw a dog and cat and thought the owners forgot them but they said they weren’t theirs.
I’m sure I said “please daddy can we keep them” and I’m sure my dad said yes pretty quickly, he normally did. My mom named her after Emily Dickinson as she liked naming our pets after authors. She was very shy, she wouldn’t come anywhere near us. She just would play with her kitten friend (Her name was Juliet and she died several years ago) and a little stuffed bear she had found.
She loved her kitty and would carry her in her mouth very gently (this scared some friends when they saw this) and slept with her and kept her safe. The kitten would come to us but Emily was just to scared. She had been abused and was very scared of all people but men scared her the most.
I sat in the front yard for hours at a time with treats talking softly to Emily asking her to please come to me and telling her I would never hurt her. I will never forget the day she finally let me pet her, she came to the front porch and laid on her back and let me pet her. I got my mom and brother to come look through the window, we were all so happy!
It still took a long time to get her to let others pet her and much longer to get her more used to new people. She was worth every moment of work as she turned out to be the sweetest dog. She was always wagging her tail and looked like she was smiling.
She quickly became close to my brother’s Golden Retriever, Blake. She loved to swim with him and play with him. She was so funny, since she had cared for herself she liked to jump and pick fruit off the trees and she caught fish from the pond.
She did stop doing a lot of these things after Blake got lung cancer and died. She was very upset, she and my Golden Retriever, Shelley (Blake’s sister) seemed to be depressed for awhile. They both got better overtime but Emily never swam again. It was like that was their thing and she just wouldn’t do it with out him. Maybe he made her feel safe, I don’t know.
She wasn’t an easy dog to train and to be honest she never was that well trained haha. She was so scared you couldn’t push on her butt to show her sit, or hold her paw to show her to shake. I used Shelley to show her these things. I would tell Shelley to sit and praise her like crazy and give her a treat. We did this over and over until I could tell Emily to sit and she did it because she wanted what Shelley was getting. We did this for a few other tricks as well.
She had a tough life at times but we tried to give her a wonderful home and loved her to death. This dog would lick you more than any dog I have ever seen. She loved everyone she met. I will miss her terribly but I’m so glad I knew her. She showed me just how much dogs need our love and how important it is to rescue dogs.
When you are thinking about getting a dog, please remember dogs like Emily need you so please adopt rescue dog.
Product Review: PeopleTowels
| July 28, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
PeopleTowels are a great way to help you reduce your use of paper towels and napkins when away from home. They are small towels made from 100% organic and fair trade cotton and printed with eco-friendly dyes.
They have a small loop so you can clip them to a purse, backpack, belt or wherever you need one. I like to keep one in my purse. You can use them when out and you need to use the restroom or out to eat when the restaurant doesn’t offer cloth napkins.
Check out PeopleTowels today and start saving trees! One of my favorite online stores for reusable items Reuseit.com sells PeopleTowels as well.
Here ya go FTC: I was not paid for this review. I was given sample products or the review but these are my honest views. I’m also an ambassador for Reuseit.com but this is because I love the store, I’m not paid to post.
Keeping Mice Away
| July 27, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
We found mouse poop in the garage, ew! I think mice are really cute but they chew your stuff and carry nasty illnesses. Can’t they just stay away from my house? lol
Well once we found this we cleaned up all the poop and then I cleaned all the stuff in areas where the mouse had been with Seventh Generation bathroom cleaner since it is hydrogen peroxide based and then disinfected with Pure Green 24. I have to say I used recycled paper towels for this because I didn’t think it would be worth a whole load of laundry when I already have two extra loads due to the darn mouse. I used washable gloves which I will wash and disinfect.
So how do you keep them away? Peppermint oil! Any guess what my garage will smell like tomorrow? haha
Just soak some cotton balls in peppermint oil and place them where you find mouse poop (clean that up please). Simple, non-toxic and smells good!
So do you have any other non-toxic ways to keep mice away?
*Update: No mouse poop has been found since using the peppermint oil. Hopefully it’s working!*
Newsletter
| July 27, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
I’ve started a newsletter, it will be monthly and contain different articles than the blog. I will also be adding coupon codes and neat things you won’t see on the blog so be sure to sign up!
Product Review: Simply Chic Bags
| July 26, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
Simply Chic Bags is a green store run by a mother and daughter team from Portland, OR. The idea came to them when they started seeing ugly reusable bags that were made in China showing up in their grocery stores.
They wanted bags with more style and that were made in the US. Soon after making bags for themselves they had so many compliments and orders they decided to share this idea with all of us.
They now not only sell a wide range of cute bags but also carry reusable produce bags, wine bags, and more.
I got the chance to try out two of their bags. They are well made, a good size, and of course they are cute. They come in many great colors and styles so everyone should love using them.
I find them to be perfect for gift wrapping. I have always liked reusable bags as gift wrapping because it doubles as a gift and it means less waste. These bags are so pretty they work even better for this!
So be sure to go check out Simply Chic Bags and maybe pick up some for shopping and to use for gifts!
Here ya go FTC: I was not paid for this review. I was given sample products or the review but these are my honest views.
The Story of Cosmetics
| July 25, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
The Story of Cosmetics is the latest film from Annie Leonard the woman behind The Story of Stuff. These films break down the whole system and help us to understand it all
I don’t know about you but I’m pissed off at the amount of work I have to do to keep myself and my family safe from cancer causing chemicals. We need to change the whole system and work together to demand safer cosmetics.
So what’s in your bathroom? Are you already working to get the toxins out?
For me I use Dr. Bronner’s hand soap, Anti-Body shampoo, EO bubble bath, Nurture My Body shaving cream (and a few other products as well), and Everyday Minerals make up. (There are others but those are the main items)
To find safer products check out the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
This is my post for the Green Moms Carnival. Check out the other posts as well! (They give a lot more details on this issue!)
Where Do The Children Play?
| July 24, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
This song is even more true today, not only are we running out of free spaces but we have learned their are few places (or none) kids can go to be safe from toxic chemicals.
A study found 287 chemical in umbilical cord blood and 180 of those are known to cause cancer in humans or animals! Why are we letting this happen?
You may think we have no power but we do. We vote for what we want companies to sell every time we buy a product. If we aren’t buying the toxic products they will stop making them. We also can push for the government to step in. We need to protect our children (aka our future!), we need to stand up and say no more.
For more info on getting new chemical laws passed and keeping your family safe go to Healthy Child Healthy World.
It’s Not Just BP
| July 23, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
I have been seeing a lot of talk of boycotting BP, this sounds easy and like a good idea until you really look at the facts. First off BP doesn’t own US stations, they are privately owned and people just pay a licensing fee. And the oil likely comes from many sources, which may or may not contain BP oil. The second issue is BP oil is likely at other stations as well.
One of the biggest issues is the fact that all oil companies have dirty secrets. This spill was at our shores so we had to notice but there are many others that never made our news.
Shell in the Niger Delta
This is a story few are talking about. These spills have not only been an environmental disaster but a human disaster. The government is getting rich on this oil while the country lives in extreme poverty.
The people of Nigeria were told Shell coming in would bring wealth to the country and give them much needed infrastructure. It has done neither of these things. Instead there is war, famine and health problems.
Chevron Texaco in Ecuador
A few more have heard about this tragedy because of the lawsuit against Chevron Texaco. This is another disaster that has not only destroyed the environment but lives as well. This video is heart breaking. Parents our losing their children, children are losing their parents all because of our addiction to oil and the oil companies reckless behaviors.
Chevron in Utah
Chevron’s spills don’t stop there. While oil was spilling in the gulf a smaller yet still damaging spill happened in Utah.
Exxon Mobil
All of you should know about the Exxon spill. Did you know there is still oil there today? What does this say about the gulf? We didn’t learn our lesson with this spill, will we with the gulf?
Petrobras in Brazil
In 2001 the world’s biggest oil platform (P-36) sank and spilled 1500 tons of oil. Just as the spill in the gulf is destroying the way of life there, fishing, it did in Brazil as well.
PetroChina in China
This is a company many of us may not know very well but it’s China’s biggest oil company and as of June 30, 2010 the world’s second most valuable company by market value!
The current guess on how much oil has spilled (coming from China sources) is 1,500 tons. Wildlife is being threatened and at least one worker has died.
Sadly this is just a small sample of oil spills. As you can see BP is far from the only company destroying lives, wildlife, and the environment.
If you want to make a difference don’t boycott, change your way of life. Here are ways to reduce your use of oil:
- Drive less! This is the one most of us know about. Carpool, walk, ride a bike, stay home, etc..
- If buying a new car if you can get an electric or the next best a hybrid. If you can’t do either of those buy the car with the best gas mileage in your price range.
- Drive smarter! I wrote an article on how to get better gas mileage that you can check for tips.
- Use less plastic! Plastic is made from oil so every time you buy it you are adding to our need for oil. I’m far from perfect but I have reduced my use and that is all I’m asking of you. Check out Fake Plastic Fish for great ways to use less plastic.
- Buy local! I don’t just mean food, though that’s important too. All products you buy have to be taken to the store, the less distance they have to travel the more fuel is saved.
- Use less stuff. Oil is used in most of the making of goods as well as the shipping so the less you buy the less oil you used. When you do buy new items buy the best quality you can so they will last. Cheap stuff is not cheap in the long run.
- Use natural personal care products. Many personal care products contain petroleum. This is not only harmful to you but is also adding to our need for oil. Sites like Skin Deep can help you find safe, oil free personal care products.
All of these tips will help us end our oil dependency. It will be a slow shift but together we can say enough is enough. We much demand that the shift to clean energy starts now.
Helping Others
| July 22, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
The other day my husband and I had seen a homeless man while we were on the way to dinner. I took all our leftovers and got a Styrofoam box even though I hate the things in hopes I could give it to him. Sadly he was gone, we drove around looking for him but didn’t have any luck.
Today on the way to the health food store after dropping items off at my local ReUse Center, my husband and I saw a homeless man holding a sign by the stop sign at Wal-Mart. You could see someone had given him a soda and he had a bag that looked like it had junk food kinds of things in it but car after car just drove away.
We went to the health food store and got me the Sweet Leaf Tea lemonade I was craving and we also picked up a protein bar and dried fruit to take back to the homeless man. We thought the protein bar could help fill him up and the dried fruit was a nice big bag and would get him some much needed vitamins and would stay good for a long time even in the heat.
Thankfully he was still there and was so thankful. His sign said “hungry broke.” He was shaking and super dark you could tell he had been out in the sun for many many days. He was very kind and told us “thank you very much, may God bless you and have a wonderful day!”
I know some say “oh they should just get a job” or they just want drugs and alcohol. I have to ask why does it matter and how do you know that person’s life story? This man looked like he had some illness that could be what keeps him from working, like I said he was shaking very badly. You could tell just to look at him he was hungry and he was so grateful. It is over 90 out today and pretty humid, I doubt he just really wants to be out there. Plus whatever the person’s story is you still did the right thing.
So anyway, go out and do something good for someone else and brighten their day and your own! I know my day is better for having helped this man and hope I he will be a bit less hungry today.
