Simply Saving

I’ve been doing this for a long, long time, mainly as a simple way of saving money. Another benefit being that household cleaners on the market today can be harmful to your health and are not environmentally friendly. Over the years, I’ve collected a lot of information from various sources. Some of these I have tried (the glass cleaner), others I haven’t (the laundry detergent). I usually make large batches of it ahead of time and store it in empty water jugs. Before you begin, keep in mind…NEVER MIX BLEACH AND AMMONIA TOGETHER! This combination is deadly!

ALL PURPOSE CLEANER:
½ cup ammonia
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup baking soda
Mix the above ingredients with 1 gallon of warm water and use for basic cleaning jobs around the home.

WINDOW CLEANER
3T Ammonia
1T vinegar
Put in spray bottle and fill the rest of the way up with water.

JEWELRY CLEANER
1/4 cup ammonia
1/4 cup dishwashing liquid
3/4 cup water.
Mix all the ingredients well, then soak your jewelry in the solution for a few minutes. Clean around the stones and designs with a soft-bristle toothbrush. Buff dry. (Caution: Don’t use this with gold-plated jewelry; with soft stones such as pearls, opals, or jade; or with costume jewelry, because it could ruin the plastics or loosen the glue.)

TOILET CLEANER
1 cup borax
1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice
Combine the ingredients to make a paste. Apply it to the inside of the toilet bowl, let sit for 1 to 2 hours, and scrub.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT
In a large heavy-duty plastic container, combine 1 cup soap flakes, 1/2 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load of laundry. Use with cold and warm water washes, with cold water rinse.

FURNITURE POLISH
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white vinegar
4 cup water in spray bottle
swipe with cloth.

Essential Cleaning Oils
·* Lavender disinfectant, calming scent to ease tension and anxiety.
·*Lemon, Orange and grapefruit oils are tough degreasers with refreshing scents.
·* Eucalyptus is a disinfectant and relieves a stuffy nose.
·* Tea Tree Oil is anti-bacterial, anti viral, and anti fungal. Use as an all purpose disinfectant, especially when there is illness in the home, also eases congestion.
·* Pine oil is a degreaser and disinfectant.

Did you know that:

* Equal parts of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce make a great copper
cleaner? Mix together and apply with a cotton cloth. Rinse with water and dry.

* Equal parts of vinegar and salt clean brass? So does ketchup.

* You can clean out the innards of your dishwater by running it empty with a bowl of vinegar in it? Same is true for your coffee pot (except not the “bowl” part.).

* Coffee and tea stains can be cleaned by rubbing baking soda into them?

* Cleaning a microwave is a snap when a few spoonfuls of baking soda are put in a cup of water and then heated in the microwave until boiling? Just wipe those splatters away!

* You can put the last scraps of soap from a bar in a jar and add water to make liquid soap?

* You can clean blinds by putting on a rubber glove covered by an old sock? Sure, just dip your gloved, socked hand into rubbing alcohol and start cleaning those blinds!

* Black scuff marks on the floor can be removed by scrubbing with a paste of baking soda and water?

* You can remove soap scum from a faucet in 10 minutes by wrapping the faucet in paper towel soaked in vinegar?

* You can clear soap from a drain by pouring vinegar into the drain?

* A lemony spray deodorizer can be made with 1 t. baking soda, 1 t. lemon juice, and 2 c. hot tap water, Put this in a spray bottle and spray as you would any deodorizer.

* The Amish make an all-purpose cleaning solution by combining 1/4 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup ammonia, 1/4 cup white vinegar and a gallon of water? Shake well and pour the solution into a spray bottle. * You can make a carpet disinfectant from 1 c. cornmeal, 1 c. borax and 1/2 c. baking soda? Just sprinkle the mixture on the rug and rub it in with a cloth. Leave it alone for a few hours or overnight, then vacuum thoroughly.

* Baking soda and vinegar have been successfully used to clean carpet spots? Sprinkle the baking soda on the spot , then pour on some vinegar. It’ll bubble like crazy. Let it dry some and then vacuum up with a shop vac. And make sure you test the color fastness of your carpet FIRST before cleaning the whole thing.

* Shaving cream cleans carpets? Sure thing… Rub some into a stain, and remove with a sponge. And guess what? You can use this on your sofa, too! Yep, upholstery responds well to being cleaned with shaving cream!

* Those pesky miniblinds can be cleaned with water and baking soda? You have to take them down in the closed position and lay them on the ground outside or in a bathtub. Clean them with a sponge (one of those handled sponges works well) dipped in the solution. Then use your garden hose or your shower head to rinse them off.

* Your kids don’t have to give up their favorite non-washable stuffed toys? All you have to do is put them in a plastic bag with some baking soda and shake the heck out of them. Open that bag out side and then shake the heck out of the toy to remove loose baking soda. Brush the rest off.

* Your silk flowers can be cleaned by putting them in a plastic bag with some salt and shaking the heck out of THEM.

* Small-necked bottles can be cleaned using a baking soda, vinegar and a secret ingredient – GRAVEL! Fish tank gravel will do. Mix the three together (ratios don’t have to be too precise) and shake them around inside the bottle! CLEAN!

* Olive oil can be used as a furniture polish on unvarnished wood? Sure thing!

Have you heard about compacting? It’s a combination of simplifying, recycling, reducing your footprint on the world, reducing consumerism and living a fuller life in the absence of things.

From their site, “To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer culture and to support local businesses, farms, etc., to reduce clutter and waste in our homes and to simplify our lives”.

First principle – don’t buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.). There are exceptions of course like food and medicine. Even if you can’t go without buying new items, it will make you more aware of mindless buying.
Second principle – borrow or buy second hand

While it’s not a new idea, the attention it’s been getting will surely make more people aware of the three R’s, reduce, reuse and recycle.

Here’s their compacting blog for more information.

Here are reasons number 94-126.

94. Use The microwave. It uses just a third as much energy as a conventional oven.

95. Electric shaver means less water down the drain.

96. vacuum cleaners. Cleaning appliances and heating vents regularly is a simple way of making them more energy efficient. Dirt and dust on a refrigerator’s coils, for example, can reduce its efficiency by 30 percent.

97. Regular soap. Antibacterial cleansers can kill good germs, may add to the problem of antibiotic resistance.

98. Mercury-free fillings. Dental waste is a major source of water pollution.

99 & 100. Environmentally speaking, no food is as sinful as beef (The next worst eco-offender: poultry, followed by pigs.) Beef cattle account for 20 percent of water pollution in the U.S (It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef.!)Think about the immense cost of energy used to raise cattle and to transport meat to your supermarket shelf before buying beef. Besides all this, cows consume enormous amounts of antibiotics and are a prodigious source of methane, which is the number-two greenhouse gas. If you simply cannot give up the goods, eat grass fed beef. It’s more earth-friendly and certainly better for you.

101. Don’t assume that just because it’s plastic, it’s recyclable. A lot of places recycle plastic only in the form of bottles. Instead of dumping those deli containers out with the cans and newspaper, wash them and use them for storage.

102. Charcoal smoke is more than just annoying. It contributes to air pollution and lung disease. Using a gas, rather than charcoal grill, is the most environmentally friendly way to barbecue

103 & 104. If you must use charcoal, make sure it comes from a sustainable source. Enormous areas of tropical rainforest are destroyed every year to produce the 900,000 tons of charcoal burned annually in America. CHIMNEY STARTERS are the most environmentally friendly solution to lighting charcoal. They use only a couple of pieces of newspaper, meaning you can avoid the gas-flavored meat that accompanies barbecues started with lighter fluid or fire starters.

105 & 106. Don’t feel guilty about buying the occasional pack of paper plates or napkins. Just look for brands made of recycled materials. Using plastic utensils isn’t exactly up there with drilling in Alaska, either, but would it hurt you to take them home and wash them for the next party?

107. Attention, bottled water addicts: It’s no better for you than tap water and the packaging is wasteful, plus recycling it is nearly as polluting as making plastic from scratch.

108. You know pesticide-free foods are better for your health as well as Gaia’s. Did you know that many wooden picnic tables, benches, decks and chairs also contain pesticides — a form of arsenic that causes cancer? Cover that table with a cloth. Don’t eat food that’s touched wood and wash hands often.

109. Look for wild salmon at the fish market even if it’s been frozen. Farmed (aka Atlantic) salmon is raised under conditions that are terrible for the environment.

110-112. Look for ways to reduce food packaging. Buy from the bulk bin (110). Get boxed and canned foods in the largest containers you can (111). Skip plastic bags (112) and so what if the checkout clerk glares at you when you plunk down six apples or a bunch of grapes? Dump the berries in a brown bag after you pay for that basket of strawberries and hand the basket back to the clerk. You will feel incredibly self-righteous as you walk out the door.

113. Drought alert: Some foods require vast amounts of water to produce. A single avocado tree needs up to 300 gallons of water per week in the hottest weather. Those super-size fast-food fries are longer than they used to be and they need more water to get that way.

114. Support local farmers. Your food has traveled 1200 miles (maybe more with the new Global Economy) just to get to your plate. Shopping at farmers’ markets, co-ops and CSAs allows you to buy directly from the people who grow the food.

115. Sea life around the globe is being threatened by everything from pollution to over-fishing. We are quickly running out of seafood in general and in the process, destroying the ecosystem in which they live. Choose your seafood responsibly. Excellent choices: Mahi Mahi, Pacific Cod.

116. Paper or plastic? Turns out which bag you choose doesn’t really matter to Mama Earth. Plastic creates less pollution during manufacturing and takes up less landfill space, but paper biodegrades faster and is more likely to be recycled. Bottom line: Pick whichever bag you’re likelier to reuse or take cloth bags when you shop.

117. Disposable or cloth diapers? According to the most thorough study, disposables produce twice as much waste (excluding baby poop) as cloth diapers do. However, cloth requires up to 27 percent more energy and up to 2.5 times more water to clean. Bottom line: In areas where landfill is scarce (check by going to www.ciwmb.ca.gov/profiles/facility), cloth’s a tad better; where water and energy are in short supply, disposables may have the edge.

118. Synthetic or cotton? True, polyester and other synthetics are made from petroleum, whose extraction and refinement leads to oh so much warring and environmental harm. Cotton farming is no eco-picnic and it uses many more agricultural chemicals than food production. Bottom line: Buy fewer clothes, use ‘em longer, pass ‘em along.

119. SPRAY CANS? Starting in the 1970s, manufacturers began moving away from using ozone-depleting substances as propellants for aerosol products. Now, most hair sprays, deodorants and other aerosols rely on low-toxicity hydrocarbons that have relatively little impact on global warming.

120. Styrofoam cups? Polystyrene foam also has been reformulated so that it no longer damages the ozone layer. On the downside, foam still doesn’t biodegrade. Bottom line: A mug is a better choice, but an occasional half-caff latte in a foam cup doesn’t mean you and Dick Cheney will end up sharing the same strip-mined circle of eco-hell.

121. Diminishing qualified landfill space, due to increasing standards required by the government to protect the public’s air and water quality standards.

122. GROWING PUBLIC CONCERN regarding mining of ore and clear cutting of the world’s forests has encouraged the reuse of consumer packaging as raw materials for new products. We need to begin conserving where possible and that includes manufacturing with post consumer waste (recycled commodities) as opposed to more expensive virgin material.

123. BECAUSE IT’S EASY Right now, the City of Ocala sponsors nine Recycling Drop-Off Centers. They are color standardized and all centers are the same, accepting newspaper (colored and glossy prints may be included), magazines, aluminum, steel cans, #1 & #2 plastic (rinsed, without caps) and clear, brown and green glass. Surely, there’s one close to you:

124. Quantum Fuel Systems (QTWW) products include high-capacity hydrogen storage tanks that can be used in cars powered by fuel cells. These tanks can store enough hydrogen to power a fuel-cell car for about 300 miles. What’s more, the military is “very aggressively deploying hydrogen technology” to combat the expense and logistical difficulties involved in transporting liquid fuel in battle. That’s not bad.

125. Corning (GLW). The venerable glass and ceramics company has developed a new glass composite that doesn’t include heavy metals in the manufacturing process, reducing environmental hazards associated with the glass, commonly used on liquid crystal display televisions. 126. Winchester (Va.)-based Trex (TWP) sells a composite of reclaimed wood and plastics that can be used to build decks, fences, and other outdoor structures. It recycles materials that would otherwise go to waste. Sure, Trex’s material costs more than normal wood, but it’s more durable and requires less maintenance. That means no staining. That means no paint fumes, easing another environmental concern as well as no splinters. PLUS: Do some checking up before you give another dime to a big enviro group. The Better Business Bureau’s http://www.give.org/ website analyzes the finances of many large charities, including salaries, administrative spending, and fund-raising costs. Chronicle of Philanthropy (http://www.philanthropy.com/) ranks the 400 richest nonprofits.

Here are numbers 46-93

47 & 48. Automotive: Donate cars or even bikes to a charity, church or temple. See http://www.guidestar.org/ to make sure your group qualifies you for a tax write-off. Take used oil and batteries to your county’s hazardous waste drop-off site (for locations, go to http://www.earth911.org/ and type in your ZIP code).

49. Batteries: Drop off at Circuit City, Walgreens or a hazardous waste drop-off site.

50. Books: Donate to a library, a preschool, a hospital, Bridge to Asia, which supports higher education in Asian countries (http://www.bridge.org/), or the International Book Project (http://www.intlbookproject.org/).

51. Building supplies: Donate tools, paint, plumbing fixtures, and other new or salvaged materials to Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org/local) or Rebuilding Together (http://www.rebuildingtogether.org/).

52. Cell phones: Call to Protect donates phones to women at risk for domestic violence (http://www.wirelessfoundation.org/).

53. Clothing: Goodwill or Salvation Army takes clothes in any condition.

54. Computers: The National Cristina Foundation donates used computers to pre-screened nonprofits (http://www.cristina.org/). Check out http://www.techsoup.org/ (“Ten Tips for Donating a Computer”) before foisting your outdated PC on a school or charity.

55. Eyeglasses: Lens Crafters, the Lions Club and many optometrists collect old pairs for the needy or developing countries.

56. Fluorescent lamps: These contain mercury so call a hazardous waste drop-off site.

57. Freecycle: It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns (http://www.freecycle.org/). As they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

58. Furniture: Give to a shelter like Brothers Keeper (352.622.3846) or Interfaith (352.629.8868) or check www. excessaccess.org for other needy groups.

59. Hangers: Most dry cleaners will accept.

60. Ink-jet cartridges: Take to Staples or Office Depot. Hewlett-Packard accepts its own cartridges by mail (http://www.hp.com/).

61. Medications: Take to a pharmacy for safe disposal.

62. Orchids: OrchidMania (http://www.orchids.org/) nurses plants, resells to raise AIDS funds.
63. Packing supplies: Most Mail Boxes Etc. stores accept foam packing peanuts and plastic bubble wrap.

64. Tennis shoes: Shoes for Africa sends shoes to needy athletes around the world (http://www.shoesforafrica.com/). Nike’s ReUse-a-Shoe program accepts any brand (Niketown, 415.392.6453).

65. Toys: Try a family or women’s shelter, preschools or a Tot Lot playground.

66. Don’t fill out warranty cards on new appliances. You’re automatically covered by a warranty even if you don’t send in the card and you won’t be added to a new junk mail list.

67. Keep your fridge well stocked but not overflowing. Believe it or not, it runs more efficiently that way.

68. Ask your newspaper carrier and dry cleaner not to stuff your newspaper and laundry into plastic bags.

69. Borrow someone else’s stuff without embarrassment. Lend your stuff without getting annoyed.

70. Make it a game to use 10 percent less gasoline. Let the kids help keep track of how much you use and how to cut back.

71. Don’t line your oven racks with foil. Heat will circulate more efficiently.

72. Invest in a sturdy cloth bag to take to the grocery. You can throw it over your shoulder for hands-free carrying, it won’t rip if you catch it on the doorknob or the car door and they’ll be no need for “paper or plastic.”

73. Spend more time outdoors with a kid. Teaching children to appreciate the majesty and fragility of their surroundings is a surefire way to grow environmentalists.

74. Don’t be a butt tosser. The myth that cigarette filters are biodegradable is just that, a myth. Although the filters do eventually decompose, they release harmful chemicals that enter the earth’s land and water during the decaying process. There is nothing earth-friendly about the breakdown. If you must smoke, carry a 35-mm. film canister to store your used butts in until you can properly discard them.

75. Surrender your gas lawn mower. A study funded by the Swedish E.P.A. found that using a four-horsepower lawn mower for an hour causes the same amount of pollution as driving a car 93 miles. For more information, visit greengrasscutters.com.

76. Reduce junk mail. An estimated 4 million tons (34 pounds per person) of paper junk mail are sent each year in the U.S. and nearly half of it is never opened. If 100,000 people stopped their junk mail, we could save up to 150,000 trees each year. Reduce your junk mail by a) contacting the company directly, b) visiting www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html and c) calling 888.5.OPTOUT to get off those lists for pre-approved credit card solicitations.

77. We buy five billion batteries every year and they are not biodegradable and they’re full of toxic heavy metals that could leak into landfills. Rechargeable batteries are the answer. Each rechargeable battery can replace between 50 and 300 throwaway batteries.

78 & 79. Re-use gift-wrap and greeting cards and help cut down on the consumption of paper and plastic by re-using wrapping paper, ribbons, bows and gift bags. These items should be good for at least one more wrapping and even greeting cards can be reused. Cut off the fronts and use them as postcards, or send the fronts to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. The kids re-mount greeting cards and sell them to raise money for college.

80. Walk or bike Twenty-five percent of all car trips are less than a mile long so get in gear and get some pollution-free exercise.

81. Red alert for dry cleaning! Clothes are doused with a cancer-causing chemical called “perchloroethylene.” Look for a wet cleaner instead. These companies use delicate soaps, liquid carbon dioxide or silicone to wash your clothes.

82. Obvious, but worth another nag: Turn off the lights.

83. Read labels. Look for the signal words — caution, warning, danger, poison — which indicate the level of hazard, not just to you, but to the environment too. “Caution” is least hazardous and “danger” is most hazardous. 84. Buy recycled. This may sound simple, but it takes less energy to manufacture a recycled product than a brand new one. However, many manufacturers don’t go out of their way to tout recycled products, so you should know that aluminum and tin cans, glass containers and pulp cardboard have a fair amount of recycled content.

The U.S. estimates that paper and paperboard account for almost 40 percent of our garbage. Nearly 3.7 million tons of copy paper are used annually in the U.S. alone and that’s over 700 trillion sheets. By increasing Double-Sided Copying (85), offices could reduce annual paper use 20 percent. reusing paper (86) that’s already printed on one side by manually feeding it into copiers, printers and faxes could reduce waste another 20 percent. Other great ideas are:

87. Use two-way or send-&-return envelopes. Your outgoing envelope gets reused for its return trip.

88 & 90. You can Print on both sides of the paper and REDUCE MARGINS and FONT SIZES. This reduce waste and save both resources and money.

91. Request paper with pulp brightened without chlorine. Chlorine bleaching creates a toxic, bio-accumulative waste by-product called dioxin. Use paper labeled totally chlorine-free (TCF) or processed chlorine-free(PCF).

92. Request inks that emit low amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Non-petroleum-based inks are usually lower in VOCs.

93. Use cold-water detergent. Over 70 percent of the cost of washing laundry goes toward heating the water.