Organizing: Great way to save your paint

This is a tip I learned from my brother who is a house painter by trade. When he is done painting for a client he pours some of the the leftover paint into a plastic water bottle, puts a little water on top (for water based paints) to seal the paint and keep it from drying out and replaces the lid. His clients can easily pour off a little paint for touch ups. They love it.

I've done almost the same thing re-using a 50 oz Seventh Generation laundry soap bottle. The labels are easy to remove and I'm left with a sturdy bottle that will hold a little less than half a gallon. It has a wide mouth to make it easy to pour the paint in (I didn't even need a funnel) and to stir it later. It has a removable pour spout which should be very convenient when I need the paint again. Like most detergent bottles it has slits around the bottom of the pour spout so the excess paint will drain back into the bottle when it's poured. I poured in a little water to seal the top like my brother does.

Label the bottle very clearly. You can dab a little of the paint on so you can see the color just like they do at the paint store. Then be sure and label it with the brand of paint, the exact type of paint base it is and the exact formula for tinting the paint in case you ever need more. Be sure and get all those details right because one brand's Interior Satin will not be the same as another brand's and each brand has it's standard and premium and various other bases that are all different and will tint differently.

I can now store all those half-used up gallons of paint in less than half the space I did before and they are all ready when I need them.

Eco Friendly Laundry part 1: Washing

 
For years I have been giving away my recipes and tips for eco friendly and money saving cleaning products to anyone who wants them. In fact, I offer my best ones on my website for all to share. But in all this time I haven't had many converts that I know of. I can personally vouch for how inexpensive and easy they are to make and how wonderful they are to use and how they surprisingly work better than all those nasty smelling, harsh expensive, commercial products I bought for years. But I've always just touted the benefits.

What I have failed to do all these years is the fire and brimstone preaching equivalent of gaining converts. I've never bothered to use the scare tactics of harsh reality. And truthfully, that's not my style and I don't really want to start now. But there are a few facts that you ought to know about the products that you are bringing into your home and using in your own personal environment, on your garments, on your bedding and towels and dinner napkins and everything else in your home that you and your family are in nearly constant contact with day in and day out.

This is the first in a five part series on Eco Friendly Laundry.

I must admit that I don't make my own laundry detergent. It's not quite as easy to do as making some other products if you like liquid detergents though it is possible. Dry laundry soap is easier to make, but me and my machine prefer liquid so I buy it. Read on for my recommendation.

FACT:  Did you know that makers of laundry soap, softeners, bleaching agents, household cleaners, etc are NOT required by law to disclose what their products contain? Nope, they aren't. They may list some of the ingredients on the bottle, but they don't have to fully disclose what's in there. Sometimes they are protecting their secret recipes. Sometimes they just don't want you to know. Most eco-friendly brands voluntarily list ALL of the ingredients.

LAUNDRY SOAP vs.  LAUNDRY DETERGENT:

Most commercial laundry cleaning products are DETERGENTS.  Detergents by definition are petroleum based. Petroleum based products are slow to biodegrade. SOAPS on the other hand are plant based. They biodegrade much more quickly. Eco friendly laundry cleaning products are generally soap.

The used water that drains from your washer doesn't just go to the treatment plant to be treated and then returned to the system. Waste water treatment is not a closed system. Some water is released back into the environment and the treatments used cannot break down many of the chemicals used in making laundry detergents. They are released into an eco system that is not designed to deal with them. The water that is not released back into the environment does go right back to you and all your neighbors.

Eco-friendly brands contain highly effective plant based enzymes or ethanol instead solvents for removing stains. Solvents are harsh on the eco-system (your family is part of the eco-system). Traditional detergents also usually contain synthetic fragrances many of which have been proven harmful to marine life or have been found to be carcinogenic. The big commercial brands are heavy on surfactants some of which can mimic hormones in the bloodstream or can damage the immune system.

SIDE NOTE: Thankfully, the use of phosphates in laundry detergents has been banned for some time, but they are still used in some of your other cleaning products such as dishwasher detergent. Phosphates are basically fertilizer which end up in waterways causing excess growth of algae and water plants which deplete the oxygen and kill fish and wildlife. Phosphates are so bad that several states are now adopting a voluntary ban on them in dishwasher detergents as well.

I know you aren't ingesting your laundry detergent, but putting anything on or against your skin can cause it to enter your bloodstream if the particles are small enough. That's why applying a muscle rub like Aspercreme topically can ease the pain of the underlying muscles by sending the asprin it contains right to the effected muscles. That's why taking a nice hot bath with Epsom salts can almost magically sooth sore muscles. The magnesium in the salts enters your bloodstream. Sure, you can also take a magnesium supplement, but soaking in a bath of magnesium salts gives your skin direct contact all over your body and works much faster than ingesting the magnesium. Any residue left from your laundry products is on your clothes, your towels, your bedding, the air you breathe and some of it can certainly can enter your body.

Got your attention now?

BUT . . .

You've been using the same detergent for years and you know how it works, you like how it smells, you can pick it up while you shop for groceries . . . .

OR . . .

You buy whatever is on sale or you have a coupon for and those swishy eco-friendly products are more expensive and there are never any sales or coupons.

OR . . .

How can these things even clean well if they are so "gentle" to the environment?

To the first and last argument, I say just give it a try. When I tried it I was very pleasantly surprised because even though I was using less of the concentrated formula and it was unscented my clothes looked and even smelled cleaner. The brand I buy is available in almost every grocery store chain.

To those worried about your budget, take a look at the number of loads that the expensive little bottle of eco friendly detergent will wash. Compare price per load rather than price per container. And go on-line and you'll very likely find a coupon to print off. My favorite brand has an on-line coupon club. If your sale brand still comes out ahead in the price department consider if those few cents per load are worth it.

And what is my favorite brand? For years I have been using Seventh Generation. It's one of the most available brands out there so you're sure to be able to find it. I liked it so well from the start that I admit I haven't tried many other brands. It works equally as well on delicates as it does on dirty gardening clothes and my sweaty TaeKwonDo uniform so it's the only thing I buy. It comes in liquid and powder and does go on sale sometimes.

I did also try the Costco brand of eco-friendly detergent. The price was nice but I was highly disappointed to discover it contained a lot of synthetic fragrance.

P.S. I also use Seventh Generation dishwashing liquid. They also have a wonderful Blog and if you become their friend on their Facebook Page you'll receive an update every time there is a new post.

Check in next time for the second post in the five part series which will be on bleaches.

Organizing: do you have a kid kit?

Do you have young kids or grandkids who you take to the park, walk around the neighborhood with, walk to school or go anywhere outside with?

When I started taking my son to the park I realized that I needed a lightweight "kit" that would fit in a small pouch that I could "grab and go" and would contain all those little items that I inevitably needed and never had.

Years later and I'm still grabbing it as we head out the door. And it doesn't come in handy just for us.  I'm always handing out wipes, tissues, bandages and things to other moms who need them. Even when I need to take a tote bag with other items, this just gets thrown in.

Any "hands free" wristlet, small shoulder bag or belt pack will work. It's especially good if it's weather proof.


My kit contains:

a pack of tissues
bandages
neosporin
lip balm
travel size sunscreen
a small memo pad
pen
business cards
a few coins and a couple of dollar bills
individually packaged wet wipes
small pill box for pain reliever (in case of headache)

and it's big enough for my keys, cell phone, Ipod or sunglasses

I still use my kit when I walk my son to and from school twice a day and he's 9. It's much more convenient than taking my purse. My pouch converts from a small shoulder bag to fit around my waist by latching the strap on a different way.

Today I chaperoned my son's field trip and, sure enough, he had a nosebleed and I had the tissues and wet wipes right there. Then another girl scraped her knee and I was prepared for that too. I even had a pen handy for checking off the list of kids getting on the bus to make sure we had everyone and I had wet wipes to clean hands before the sack lunch at the park.

My son (in blue) and other kids enjoying their field trip to the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area

Household Tip: Organizing Your Grocery Shopping Trip

I confess. I hate grocery shopping! I try to get in and out as fast as I can. I believe this tip has shaved 20 minutes off of my grocery run each week (over 17 hours per year). If you tend to do one main shopping trip each week, and shop at the same store most of the time, this will work wonders for you.

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1. Visit your store with pen and paper in hand and make a list of what type of items the store stocks on each aisle. Just note general categories and note the aisle numbers. For instance: #13 baking/canned beans, veg & fruits/soups

2. On the computer make a one page, aisle by aisle, blank shopping list that you can print off. In addition to the aisle by aisle list you'll have all those items that can be found around the perimeter of the store such as "seasonal/holiday," "deli/bakery," "produce," "meats," and "dairy." Put those on your list in the order that you come to them in the store. Leave extra space under each category that you buy a lot of items in. I have the biggest space under "produce."

3. If there is another store that you almost always visit on the same trip, make a category for that store on the end of your list.

4. Print copies of your list (scrap paper that has already been printed on one side is great for this) and attach one to your refrigerator each week. Instruct your family to mark down any items you need under the proper category on the list as you discover you need them. No more "I didn't know we were out of ketchup . . ."

5. When you get to the store you can glance quickly at what you need in each aisle or section of the store, you won't have to stop to mark things off your list. You can see which aisles you don't need to go down at all which saves a lot of time and frustration--especially if you shop with young children.

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Additional tips for your grocery trip:

* Plan weekly menus and mark all the items you will need down on your list--don't try to guess at the store.
* Sort coupons before you go.
* Wipe out your refrigerator shelves before you shop when they are at their emptiest for the week.
* Grab your reusable shopping bags, or better yet, put them back in your car after you unpack your groceries so you always have them handy.
* Will you need a cooler or insulated bags?

My Studio

I've been meaning to do this for a while. Seems like people are often interested in seeing the studio spaces of artists and crafts people. So I tidied mine up and took a few shots. Being a military family, we move a lot. Therefore my studio space doesn't have as much style as one might expect from an artist. There just doesn't seem to be enough time in between moves to settle in. Looks like I should at least hang one of my art quilts on the wall.

Above: Even though the storage boxes above aren't particularly convenient, they are the best way for me to separate out my supplies and to not have a huge stack of brown cardboard mystery boxes to sort through whenever we move. The movers will just tape these up and throw them on the truck. No, these aren't all jewelry making supplies. There are several boxes of quilting fabrics, stained glass and basketry supplies, soap making supplies, paper craft, knitting, drawing, painting and tatting supplies and the list goes on. You can just see the closet door. I'm not photographing the inside of that closet! It's mostly full of winter clothes anyway ☺

Above: This is where I create my jewelry. It is also not very exciting. It's usually not this tidy either. On the floor is one of the many carpets my husband got while being stationed in Turkey.

Above: I have a small TV to keep me company here in my second storey studio. I usually watch HGTV while I work. My sewing machine sits under the table in case I get the urge to do some quilting.

Above: My photography area for jewelry. I have a light box set up on a tabletop with my camera tripod. Photography is my least favorite part of my job. I am slowly getting better at it though. On the floor along the wall you can see some of fabric covered backgrounds that I use to set up my shots. To the left is my garment steamer which I love and use all the time (not on jewelry). I've saved a spot next to it for the dress form I hope to get soon to use for jewelry photography. There is an ironing board hanging behind the door (not pictured) that I set up in this space when I need it.

Above: A necklace set ready to photograph. I just moved this set-up over by the window to get more natural light. Maybe my photographs will be better for it. I made my own neutral grey velvet backdrop for the light box.

Above: Props I use for photography. Most of my fabric backgrounds and props have a natural or Asian influence just like my jewelry designs.

Above: The view from my second storey studio window of about half of our small backyard. When we bought the house there was no landscaping and we just finished it this spring doing all the work ourselves. I'm very proud of the flagstone bench that my husband made for me and have been using it as a surface to photograph on lately. It makes a nice backdrop for jewelry. You can see a little of the apricot tree I also use to photograph earrings in the bottom left corner. Since we are in the desert, there is not a lot of green, but the things we planted should be getting established and starting to fill in--about the time we get ready to move again . . .

Refrigerator Organizing Tips

I enjoy household tips that make life a little easier and hope to share some with you over the next few months. Today I am giving you my favorite refrigerator organizing tips.

My son, Caleb, loves string cheese and I like it as a healthy snack for him. I use an extra coffee mug to put it within easy reach so the frig door doesn't stay open too long letting the cold out.

Caleb loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and wants them almost every day. I bought this plastic bin (pictured above) at a discount store and put bread, natural peanut butter (that needs refrigeration) and jars of jelly in it. Now I just grab the whole thing out of the frig when it's time to make his lunch (see photo below). You can do the same with any type of sandwich makings or the items for your morning toast or bagel. If you use sandwich bags you can store them in there too, but we like reuseable containers.

I wipe the main shelves of my refrigerator out every week to keep it clean and shiny--usually doing this right before my big grocery shopping trip when the shelves are the most empty. I rotate through cleaning the door shelves, meat and vegetable bins which don't need to be cleaned as often. I line the bins with sections of newspaper to make cleaning them a breeze. We prefer the comics section ☺ The newsprint neutralizes odors and the newspaper soaks up spills. Now I lift the newspaper out and replace it periodically instead of having to remove the bins and wash them.

Since I instigated these organization tips, my life has been just a little easier.  I hope you find them helpful.  I'd love to learn more. If you have a great refrigerator tip, please leave me a comment!