Did you know that many household cleaning products, while even used "as directed" could be hazardous to your health as well as the environment?
Many household products are toxic and can be hazardous to your health, they can also pose a threat to the environment if they end up getting into our drains and waterways.
On product labels, have you ever read words like flammable, corrosive, reactive or toxic? If so, in the future, why not consider safer and more "eco-friendly" alternatives.
Looking for less toxic alternatives isn't always easy, either. Even when a product is listed as "safe" or "green," it can be masking as environmentally friendly. This is called greenwashing and can be very confusing to consumers who are trying to make more eco-conscious cleaning product choices.
The best mode of operation is to look for statements that read: non-toxic, non-petroleum based or free of ammonia, phosphates, dye and perfume, and that read "biodegradable."
Stay away from products using words such as: DANGER and POISON. Products labeled CAUTION or WARNING contain the least toxic, but can still cause harm.
Green Cleaning Recipes from Care2.com
How to Make a Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit
Shopping List
Creamy Soft Scrubber
Pour ½ c. of baking soda into a bowl, and add enough liquid detergent to make a texture-like frosting. Scoop the mixture onto a sponge, and wash the surface. This is the perfect recipe for cleaning the bathtub because it rinses easily and doesn't leave grit. Note: Add 1 tsp. of vegetable glycerin to the mixture and store in a sealed glass jar to keep the product moist. Otherwise, just make as much as you need at a time.
Window Cleaner
Put all the ingredients into a spray bottle, shake it up a bit, and use as you would a commercial brand. The soap in this recipe is important. It cuts the wax residue from the commercial brands you might have used in the past.
Oven Cleaner
Sprinkle water generously over the bottom of the oven, then cover the grime with enough baking soda that the surface is totally white. Sprinkle some more water over the top. Let the mixture set overnight. You can easily wipe up the grease the next morning because the grime will have loosened. When you have cleaned up the worst of the mess, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge, and wash the remaining residue from the oven.
All-Purpose Spray Cleaner
Furniture Polish
Vinegar Deodorizer
Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5% vinegar in your kitchen near your cutting board and in your bathroom. Use them for cleaning. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off.
MOLD KILLERS
Tea Tree Treasure
Nothing natural works for mold and mildew as well as this spray. Tea tree oil is expensive, but a little goes a very long way. Note that the smell of tea tree oil is very strong, but it will dissipate in a few days.
Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. Do not rinse.
Makes two cups.
Vinegar Spray
Straight vinegar reportedly kills 82% of mold. Pour some white distilled vinegar straight into a spray bottle. Spray on the moldy area, and let set without rinsing if you can put up with the smell. Smell will dissipate in a few hours.
Visit: www.Care2.com
This article by Maryann Ridini Spencer also appears at SustainableVentura.TV
On Thursday, October 25, 2012 from 4:30-7:30pm, The Ventura Chamber of Commerce presented the "Haunting at the Harbor" Business Expo at the Four Points Sheraton on Schooner Drive in the Ventura Harbor. The event featured over 60 local businesses showcased in tabletop exhibits, food vendors, a silent auction and raffles and prizes. The "Sustainable Ventura" TV Series was on hand to talk to attendees.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW EVENT VIDEO
"Sustainable Ventura," hosted by Maryann Ridini Spencer and Ray Olson, airs on Caps-TV VTV's Channel 15, Thursdays at 8:30pm. It rebroadcasts Monday-Thursday and Saturdays at 9:00am, Sundays at 8:30pm and every other Wednesday at 8:30pm.
Halloween costumes, depending upon how elaborate you intend to get, can cost at a minimum, $25 dollars on up per costume. If you've got several children or family members to outfit, the costume bills (along with candy and other fun fare) can really start to mount.
So why not get creative with reusable, eco-friendly Halloween costumes? How do you start? Look in your closet. What do you have that might (when paired with certain items), make a great costume? Maybe you have all the items you need or perhaps you may have to buy one piece rather than an entire costume. Another great resource is check with friends and relatives. See what you can mix and match. Thrift shops, where others trade in their wares, are also a great place to find the little nuances to add to your costume. Below are some great ideas for reusable Halloween costumes to try:
Princess -Pair a long gown with gloves (short or long). Wear a tiara and carry a star wand. Your Halloween subjects will bow in appreciation.
Cowboy or Cowgirl- Flannel shirt with Jeans, cowboy boots and hat. You might even tie a red bandana around your neck. Don't forget to carry some rope - to lasso in your candy of course.
Halloween Masked Man- Everyone knows the iconic white mask from the John Carpenter Halloween movies. How to create this look? Black pants, black top and white mask of course. BOO!
Hippie or 70's person- Think colorful. For girls and women - pair a long skirt with a flowered top. Wear several long necklaces and dangly earrings. A headband around your head or floppy hat also works. For a man - pull out some ripped jeans and wear a cool t-shirt with a peace sign (or your favorite band logo). Put on the boots and/or sandals and maybe a funky hat. Now you're lookin' groovy!
Witch - Pair a black skirt and top with pointy hat. Bring a long a broom (or for a wand, carry a long glow stick!). Instead of black, you can also opt for being a good witch and wear blue or white. Whatever it is you choose to do, just remember to say, "Bippity Boppity Boo!" Now you're ready to caste some spells!
Vampire - I vant to drink your blood! To transform into a creature of the night that would even give Bram Stoker a scare, almost any type of dress with creative make-up will do. (If you have a red or black cape, fantastic. However, the only purchase that might be needed to complete the look - Vampire fangs! (Even a red lipsticked-mouth with droplets of blood dripping from the corners will do!).
Maid - Coffee or tea anyone? A maid's outfit might be anything from a black dress or skirt and top paired with a white apron. Don't forget to carry your broom, feather duster or even a silver serving tray!
Hobo -To create the look of an authentic hobo, try wearing some ripped or patched jeans or pants. An oversized jacket and t-shirt and a funny looking hat add great touches. Of course, don't forget your hobo stick (a long stick with a red kerchief pouch - which can double as another place to stash your candy!).
Hollywood director - Lights! Cameras! Action! If you want to get the look of an old time Hollywood director - wear some jeans or black pants, paired with a white or dark top. Don't forget the beret, dark shades. You might also want to carry a video camera to document the Halloween fun!
Let your creativity run wild.
Creating your own costume will be
almost as much fun as going out Trick-or-Treating!
LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST, CLICK HERE!
To VIEW HALLOWEEN COSTUME IMAGES, CLICK HERE!
*Original article by Maryann Ridini Spencer appears in print in the Sustainable Ventura Newsletter & Blog.
"Green Drinks" is a term known in the environmental world as a fun,
meet up for like-minded business professionals in relaxing, celebratory
settings where they can network, exchange ideas and forge valuable
working relationships.
Well known in international environmental circles, Green Drinks is a network
of unstructured meet-ups where environmental professionals and
concerned
locals get together in a relaxing setting to network, exchange
ideas,
and forge valuable relationships. At last count, Green Drinks
events
are hosted in over 600 cities worldwide.
The mixture of attendees at Green Drinks events usually include professionals
in the areas of: general business, academia, government,
non-profit, medicine,
home décor, construction and other fields.
On Wednesday, August 1, The Ventura Chamber of Commerce's
Green Task Force (GTF)
organized this year's first Ventura-based Green
Drinks event at
EcoLogic Life, downtown's designer showroom for
sustainable home
decoration products. The event was a smashing success
with over 50
attendees. Tutti's on Main provided the delicious food.
Alquimia Tequila provided the green drinks, made from organic agave, no food
coloring included.
"Green Drinks has been around for a long time," said Diane de Mailly,
President, DDM Metering Systems and GTF Co-Chair. "Recently, the
GTF was asked to step in and organize these events in Ventura. We know
they'll be a big success moving forward because Ventura is such an
amazing community dedicated to the environment. We plan to make
Green Drinks a quarterly event."
"What
the GTF strives to do," added Courtney Lindberg, Environment
Specialist
with the City of Ventura's Environmental Sustainability
Division and
GTF Co-Chair, "is to promote green business development.
We bring local
businesses together and educate them about sustainable
practices,
covering such topics as waste recycling, energy, water
conservation,
pollution prevention and staff education. We highlight successes and
learn from our mistakes so that we can grow as a community with
green
business practices part of our every day consciousness."
"If
you had to paint Ventura one color, it would probably be blue,
the
color of our ocean. If you added another color, it would be
green," Rick Cole, City Manager, City of Ventura. "This is a
remarkable
community and environmentally-oriented to its core.
We all pay attention
to the motto 'Think globally, act locally.'
Whether it be on a global
scale, or a local scale, waste costs money
and pollutes the planet. It's
also something we don't want to pass
onto the next generation."
In
addition to Green Drinks, the GTF organizes a series of quarterly
"Best
Practices Workshops" where local businesses share their
green ideas and
practices with others in the community. To date,
there have been
workshops at Red Brick Pizza focusing on sustainable
practices and the
YMCA focusing on lighting retrofits.
VIEWVIEW Event Photos on Facebook, CLICK HERE.
In
May 2012, The Green Task Force teamed up with the office of
Assemblymember Das Williams's for the Second Annual Green Jobs
Summit held at City Hall.
"The
Green Jobs Summit brought a number of businesses together to talk
about
ideas and sustainable principles," said James Joyce,
Field
Representative, Office of Assemblymember Das Williams.
"Through working
together on the Summit, our office developed a
great relationship with The Green Task Force. There's so much
synergy. It's great to be a part of it."
Stay tuned and read this newsletter for information on future
Ventura-based Green Drinks events.
On June 7, 2012, the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, presented the Semi-Annual Tabletop Business Expo "Olympics by the Ocean" at the Four Points Sheraton. The City of Ventura's Environmental Sustainability Division and Ventura Water were some of the sponsors of the event.
LISTEN TO the Sustainable Ventura podcast (hosted by Maryann Ridini Spencer), from the event and hear interviews with local businesses sharing their green practices!
CLICK HERE: http://bit.ly/LsfoMc
Business Grant Opportunity
Reusables Funding up to $30,000
Apply by April 1, 2012!
Reusable Grants requests up to $30,000 are available for businesses and other organizations that are planning to incorporate reusable packaging into their transport and distribution.
Eligible Projects should focus on waste prevention and specifically reusable transportation (projects that replace single - or limited - use transport packaging with durable pallets or bins, reusable pallet-wrap, expanded use of intermediate bulk containers, IBCs).
To be eligible, programs need to be implemented within six months of application or have already been implemented in the six months prior to application.
To find out more, Visit the City of Ventura's Environmental Sustainability Blog.
Lawn, as defined in the dictionary, is an "area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grass and other durable plants."
It's believed that the concept of "the lawn" developed in medieval times for the purpose of communal grazing of livestock. At this time, lawns were similar to pastures or fields. To tend to these lawns, laborers used scything and shearing. Sheep and livestock grazing also maintained the lands or lawns.
Later, in Tudor and Elizabethan times, the lawn garden became a place for walkways and social areas. And by the 17th century, the Jacobean epoch of gardening began and the "English" lawn became a symbol of status and gentry. While at first lawns were primarily made up of meadow plants, by the Victorian era, a wider variety of perennials were available as were elaborate sculptures and water features. In the 19th century, with the advent of sprinkler technology and the lawn mower, lawns and gardens were also affordable to the masses.
In Ventura, all our water comes from local sources - The
Ventura River, Lake Casitas and groundwater wells. Today, unlike hundreds of years ago, we are armed with the
knowledge about the importance of conserving our precious, natural resources -
especially our valuable water. Low
maintenance and drought tolerant grass and native plant replacements are the
wise sustainable choices. Some
wonderful native plant choices might include: White Sage, California Fuchsia,
California Lilac, California Poppy any variety of succulents, to name only a few. The variety and beauty of "Ocean Friendly" gardens is on the
rise. So, why not choose beauty
and sustainability? For
information on how you can create the Ocean Friendly Garden* of your dreams,
talk to your local nursery about suggestions for your garden. In Ventura, visit Green Thumb Nursery
at 1899 Victoria Avenue and Napalito Native Plant Nursery at 4107
E. Main Street.
*Ocean Friendly Gardens Program is a trademark program of the Surfrider Foundation. For some great Ocean Friendly Garden Events Information, CLICK HERE.
For some great information at Surfrider, CLICK HERE.
Recycling is essential in preserving and protecting our environment as well as our natural resources. We recycle things like glass, tin, plastic and paper, to name only a few. However, composting is also a great way to recycle. While the green waste in Ventura is collected by E.J. Harrison and taken to Calwood/Agromin where it's ground into small pieces and used as mulch or burned for energy, the "green waste" (or biodegradable waste or organic materials), from our yards and parks such as grass clippings, flowers and hedge trimmings, make a fantastic compost. When combined appropriately with certain food scraps from our kitchens, they are a nutrient-packed fertilizer and soil amendment.
What goes in a compost bin?
What doesn't go in the compost bin?
The City of Ventura's Environmental Sustainability Division offers two free compost workshops a year -- in the spring and fall. Recently, Educator Paul Vaksvik gave a "How To Compost" talk at Green Thumb Nursery. This month on "Sustainable Ventura," seen locally on Caps-TV's VTV Channel 15, Thursdays, 8:30pm, the series takes a visit to Paul's compost workshop. Find out more about Paul's great composting tips:
This month on the show, "Sustainable Ventura" also visits Calwood/Agromin and even a trip to the old West! Watch the entire show:
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