Natural Household Cleaners

Every since just before Earth Day last week, I've been thinking more about environmentally-friendly living. I had borrowed a book from the library called The Naturally Clean Home written by Karyn Siegel-Maier. There are several books available on this subject either at your local library or book store if you want to buy a copy. I highly recommend checking out one or two to get some ideas, as we really don't need 101 different cleaners when you can get buy with just a few different ingredients and make your own without the chemicals...

I'm going to share a few with you here:

Synergistic Dishwashing Blend

liquid castile soap
15 drops lemon or lemongrass essential oil
6 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops bergamot essential oil

Fill a clean 22-oz plastic squirt bottle with castile soap (diluted according to directions if using concentrate). Add the essential oils. Shake the bottle before each use. Add 1-2 tbsp. of the liquid to dishwater and wash as usual.

Mold Deterrent
Use this spray in the shower or bathtub, or anywhere else water tends to collect on surfaces. If you already have a buildup of mold or mildew, allow the spray to "rest" on the surface areas for a few hours. Wipe with a soft cloth, then respray the areas and let dry without rinsing.

1 1/4 cups white vinegar
3/4 cup water
4 drops cinnamon essential oil
6 drops patchouli essential oil
2 tsp. tea tree essential oil

Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle. Spray surfaces well but do not rinse.

Lemon-Walnut Wood Polish

1/8 cup walnut oil
1/8 cup linseed oil
1/4 cup lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Apply a light layer of polish to wood with a brush or cloth. Rub into wood with a soft cloth, using circular motions. Wipe again with a dry cloth.



There are so many natural alternatives for cleaning floors, walls, dishes, clothes, bathrooms, sinks, etc, all using baking soda, vinegar, water, washing soda, liquid castile soap, and essential oils that there isn't any need for the commercially available cleaning products that are heavily scented, full of chemicals that aren't really all that great for our health, and are expensive.

If you try any of the above formulas, or if you have your own tried and true homemade cleaners, I'd love to hear about them!

Today is Earth Day

This post is going to be short & sweet!

Today is Earth Day. A day to celebrate Earth, and to revisit how we should be treating her. Lots of people participated in Earth Hour which is great. How many people are going to seriously consider what they can do on a daily basis to help our great planet?

Here, we have decided to reduce the amount of time the computers and tv are on. Each are on for several hours a day, and we quite often have 3 computers in the house. My work computer (which I also use for personal use), my husband's work laptop, and our son's personal computer. So, we have agreed on a rule that the tv does not get turned on during the week and the computers are only on for each child to use for 1/2 hour each day to send an email to Dad when he's working and to do their daily Webkinz activities so their Webkinz don't get sick... Yesterday was the 1st day we did it, and the kids were fine with it! No complaints (I think it's because I didn't make a blanket statement of no computer or tv at all) and they actually played with Bionicle lego - together!! And played with dominoes, and practiced their musical instruments (drums, guitar, violin and recorder).

I also made a commitment to use less packaging or to reuse packaging whenever possible. For a great way to reduce your use of plastic bags at the grocery store or bulk food store, check out these bags from Kootsac on Etsy.

Also, if you ship things you can use old (clean) cereal boxes and granola boxes for mailers. You can check out a fabulous tutorial on how to make there here.

Several members of the TransCanada Etsy Team are celebrating Earth Day with specials. You can check them out here. I am also having a special - free shipping on all orders over $15. You can check out what I have in stock at my Etsy shop - but the sale runs for one day only! April 22. If you are local and normally pick up your order anyway, then instead of free shipping I'll include free items with your order :)

Hmmm, guess it wasn't quite so short and sweet after all. But now that it's ready to be posted, I'm going to be turning my computer off again for the day and doing some spring cleaning with natural cleaning products that I'm making myself. Stay tuned for some recipes so you can also make some!

The Old Burying Ground

Yesterday, I took the kids on another mini-adventure. This time, we went to the Old Burying Ground in Halifax. The weather was overcast, with a few showers. It was a bit too cold for the kids to spend more than about 45 minutes there, and I didn't get to see all of the grounds, but we had a good time while there!

The Old Burying Ground was Halifax's first cemetery. In this common burial ground lie many of the first citizens of Halifax, their descendants, and men of the British Army and Royal Navy who were stationed here. First opened in 1749, the year Halifax was founded, it was used until 1844. During that period, over 12,000 men, women and children were buried here; fewer than 10% of their graves are marked.

The gravestones were all carved by hand, using chisels and wooden mallets. Many of the old slate stones were quarried and carved around Massachusetts Bay, and shipped to Halifax before the American Revolution. By the 1770's local stone carvers were making gravestones from a poorer quality local slate (or "ironstone"). Most gravestones carved after 1820 are plain, massive sandstone.

The images or symbols can be a clue to the gravestone's age. Older stones show symbols of death-stylized winged skulls ("death-heads") or winged angels (soul effigies). In the early 1800's the images gradually changed from representations of death to those of bereavement - funerary urns, lamps (of life, extinguished), and sometimes sprigs of willow (weeping).










A monument was erected in 1860 in memory of Major A.F. Welsford and Captain W.B.C.A. Parker. These two Halifax men both perished during the Crimean War. In September, 1855 they participated in the assault on the Great Redan, part of the eastern defenses of Sebastopol.





I was particularly drawn to this gravestone. The emotions must have been very strong to have the details carved into the gravestone for everybody to read...










Originally, the cemetery was located outside the settlement's walls. However, as time passed and Halifax grew into a city the burying ground was embraced by the city boundaries. It is now located in the heart of the city, surrounded by office buildings, a thriving shopping district, educational institutions and restaurants. I wonder how many people walk by every day, without ever thinking about the history right beside them?

Potato, Cheese and Green Chili Soup

Okay, so here it is - what I think is the best soup I've ever had! It comes from the book "Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons" by Nava Atlas

5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
5 cups vegetable stock (I used the full recipe of Onion & Garlic stock mentioned below) or water
1 tbsp canola or olive oil (I used olive)
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped (I used red as we didn't have any green)
1 cup chopped fresh, ripe tomatoes (substitute canned if good, ripe tomatoes are unavailable)
1 cup cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
1 4-oz can chopped mild green chilies
1 tsp chili powder
8 oz reduced-fat cheddar cheese or cheddar-style soy cheese, grated (I didn't weigh out my cheese, I just used a big chunk that we had in the fridge)
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Place the diced potato in a soup pot and cover with the stock or water. Bring to a simmer, then simmer gently, covered, until the potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, heat the oil in a small skillet. Saute the onion over medium heat until it is translucent. Add the garlic and green pepper and saute until the mixture begins to brown lightly.

Remove half of the potatoes from the cooking liquid with a slotted spoon and place them in a shallow bowl. Mash them well, then stir back into the soup pot, followed by the onion-bell pepper mixture. Add the tomatoes, corn, green chilies, and chili powder. Add additional water if the soup is too dense. Stir together, return to a simmer, then simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle in the grated cheese, a little at a time, stirring it until it is fairly well melted each time (soy cheese may not melt as completely). Season to taste with salt and pepper and allow the soup to simmer over very low heat, stirring frequently, for another 5 minutes.

Serve at once, or let stand for an hour or so before serving. Heat through as needed and adjust the consistency with more water if the soup becomes too thick.

I had 5 bowls of this soup over 3 days (it really is the best soup I've ever tasted - have I mentioned that?), and even my two sons had second helpings!

Onion and Garlic Broth

Last night I made what I think is probably the best soup I've ever had! It was amazing... But I'll get to that later ;)

The other day I went to the library to pick up a book that our daughter had put on hold. While I was there, I decided to see if there were any books I'd like to check out, too. I did a few searches and came out of the library with 5 books just for me :)

I've been inspired by a friend's blog ( http://thefrugalvegan.wordpress.com/ ) to think even more about how to conserve. One of the books I took out of the library was "Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons" by Nava Atlas. I'm not a vegetarian, but certainly could be. But with 4 other people in the family it's much easier to make some days meatless than to go completely vegetarian. Usually, when I see a recipe that looks really yummy, I'll go out and get whatever I need to make it. However, following my friend's example I decided to only make meals that I already have the ingredients for in the house. Let's face it, I have cupboards, a fridge & freezer, 2 pantry shelving units and a deep freeze absolutely full of food already - so I should be able to find some recipe that uses items I already have, right?

And boy, did I!

First, I made an Onion & Garlic Broth. Here's the recipe:

1 tbsp. canola oil (I used olive)
1 large onion, chopped, or 2 medium leeks, white parts only, cut into 1/4 inch rings (I used 2 medium onions)
4-6 cloves garlic, minced (I used 6 as we all like garlic)
6 cups water
1/4 cup dry red wine (I used a Chilean Shiraz)
salt to taste
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper, optional

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan. If using leeks, separate the rings and rinse them well to remove grit. Add the onion or leeks and saute over moderate heat until golden. Add the garlic and continue to saute until the onion or leeks brown lightly. Add the water, wine, salt, and optional pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes. You may leave the onions and garlic in if you wish (I did), or strain the stock through a fine sieve or cheesecloth.

Now it's ready to use as either a clear broth if you're not feeling well, or you can use it as a base for any soup that calls for vegetable broth. I used it for the above mentioned best soup I've ever had... I'll do another post with the recipe for that soup later. But for now, let's just say it has potato, cheese, and chiles. Did I mention it was the best soup I've ever had? Stay tuned for the recipe...

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures. As soon as the broth was finished I had to leave to take my doctor to Halifax for an eye appointment, and as soon as we got home I had to start making the aforementioned best soup I've ever tasted.

Adventure on the Ferry

Yesterday, I decided I wanted to take the kids out on a mini-adventure. Nothing too strenuous, but just something a bit different to get out of the house and recharge the batteries :) So I decided we'd drive to the Dartmouth Ferry terminal, hop on the ferry to Halifax, wander around the waterfront, then back on the ferry, and home.

Some history on the Dartmouth Ferry: It started running in 1752, and was used by the farmers and other settlers in Dartmouth to transport food and ice to the Halifax army garrison. The original ferry vessel was a large rowboat equipped with a sale! It is the oldest, continuous, salt-water passenger ferry service in North America. Very cool!

We got to the Dartmouth terminal as the ferry was approaching. Yay! No waiting around :) Fare was $2/adult, $1.40/child. I think it was pretty obvious I wasn't familiar with the ferry (it's been a few years since I've lived in the city), since I wasn't even sure where to put my money! The gentlemen behind the desk were very helpful, and even gave us transfers with extra time on them so we could come back across for free :)

It was a gorgeous day, a bit overcast as we were expecting another winter storm later that night, but it was above 0C so we went on the top deck so I could get some photos.
Here's George's Island - well part of it anyway :)

We had to veer a bit off course as an ACL container ship was going past, so I snapped a few pics of it...







When we arrived on the Halifax side of the harbour, it was close to lunchtime so we stopped at Perk's for a quick bite to eat. Perk's has been around for a long time - it opened on Lower Water St. right by the ferry terminal in 1989. It was a great place to go on a date back in the day :) The kids each had something to eat and drink, I just had a peppermint tea as I'm on a cleanse right now and want to stay away from wheat.

Both the boys had a Cinnamon Apple Roll - and man, did they look yummy!
And my peppermint tea. Love peppermint tea :)


After leaving Perk's, we walked around the waterfront for a bit. The kids wanted to see some starfish - they didn't realize how deep the water is there. My knee wasn't very keen on walking too far, so we skipped Historic Properties. That can be for another trip, perhaps when the kids aren't with me and I can browse as long as I'd like ;)

When I figured my knee had enough, we started back towards the Halifax ferry terminal, and lo and behold the ferry was approaching! We really had great timing, as on Sundays the ferry only runs every 1/2 hour. The kids wanted to sit inside going back, so we found seats on the main deck. But Nathaniel started to feel a bit ill - probably from the smell (not terrible, but certainly not the freshest). So he and I went up to the top deck for the trip back to Dartmouth. And of course, I took a few more pics :)

Here's looking down at the water from the front of the ferry:

And here's saying goodbye to Halifax:










I hope you enjoyed "tagging along" with us on our mini-adventure :) I wonder where the next one will take us?

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happy is he who has intellectual curiosity."

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie Tealights

It's been a long time since I've made candles. I've been making lots of Aroma Melts for years, but stopped making candles with wicks in them several years ago. Well, I've been wanting to make them again, and so this week I made a batch. I started out small - just made a batch of tealights. But as time allows I will be making more types of candles :)
They will be available on my Etsy shop very shortly, just need to list them!

The scent I made is Sweet Potato Pecan Pie - sweet potatoes, vanilla, roasted pecans and caramelized butter baked with cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg make up this amazing dessert blend. All topped with a dollop of fresh whipped cream! Well, not real whipped cream, it just smells like that ;)








On another note, as some of you know already my oldest son is going to The Gambia (in Africa) with several Venturers and Scout leaders the summer of 2010. He is helping to build a skills training center. We have much fundraising to do (we've been raising funds for over a year now!) to buy the supplies they will be using to build it. They need to raise approximately $45000 for the project. One of the fundraisers is an goods auction being held at Shooters in Enfield on Saturday, Feb 21. Viewing is 5-5:30, with the auction itself 5:30-8:30. Tickets are only $5, and you can contact me if you'd like any, or they can also be purchased at the door provided we don't sell out beforehand. We are also accepting corporate donations if any business would like to donate goods or money for the project. If you would like to have more information about the project and how you can help, please let me know :)

Today is a beautiful, sunny day. I hope you all enjoy a fabulous weekend!

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happiness is the best adventure on earth!"