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The Hippie Moose

Simple, Spiritual, and Sustainable Living.

I have ants.... at least I did.

A few days ago I put out cotton balls on my kitchen counter with a mixture of water, borax, and sugar.  I have to tell you, I haven't seen an ant in DAYS!  SO HAPPY! And it cost almost nothing to make.  I already use borax in my laundry as a deodorizer because I don't use fabric softener. 


Here is a video of  Greg the Gardner with the instructions on how to make it.  I didn't put it in a spray bottle. I just soaked cotton balls in the solution and places them on little lids where I had problem areas.  Every morning I re-soaked the cotton.  It TOTALLY WORKED. 

May 05, 2013 No comments
Did you catch this on facebook?  It was circulating recently and a good friend posted it to me.  Well, I had to give it a go now didn't I?!?  You can click on the picture below for the original posting...

Basically you pack a jar with orange peels and fill it with white vinegar.  Place it in a window for 2 weeks to "brew".  


Here is a picture of mine...

you might notice a slight difference in colour.  This is because I didn't have any oranges... I only had grapefruits!

I love the smell... I love how it works... I love that I know what's in it!!  Try it, you won't be sorry!
April 24, 2013 No comments
When you have two boys you do laundry... a lot of laundry. To try and cut down the sheer volume we went to a second hand store and bought both boys a pair of jean overalls 2 sizes too big. They can wear them over other clothes and mom doesn't care what happens to them. (When they turn to dust I will just fork over the $4 for another pair.)








If you are looking for an easy way to do some laundry without using any electricity.... and even better if you have some cheap (free) labour to exploit..... here is my method......




You need two big containers and a NEW (and I can't stress this enough) toilet plunger. You might want to mark that puppy LAUNDRY ONLY on the handle.














We have been taking water from the rain barrels to fill up both our containers. The big tub has biodegradable laundry soap (available at the Bulk Barn or health food store) and the little tub is for rinsing. The bonus is you can water your garden once you have finished the laundry and return all the dirt from which it came! The boys love using the plunger and it's amazing how it forces the water through the fabric. I would NOT recommend this method for anything marked Delicate but we don't own anything like that so this works for us. So far my biggest issue has been keeping the black dog out of the cool water.




You can also do a bigger load in a bath tub and then just rinse everything. Keep this in the back of your head for the next power outage and you will be sporting some clean cloths while everyone else is scraping the bottom of the closet floor for something clean to wear!
May 08, 2009 1 comments
Had a blast in Bancroft and the ladies at the Green Cleaning talk were amazing, lots of questions and great ideas!



Here are some of the other tips from my handouts:




PETS:




Deter ticks and fleas by adding 1 tsp. of vinegar (white or apple cider) to every litre of water in your pets drinking bowl.




Make a small sachet with cedar chips, dried lavender, and lemon peel and put it in their pet bed. Change it once a month.

KITCHEN:

To deodorize a smelly drain: pour 2 tbsp. of Baking soda down the drain followed by ½ cup of vinegar. Leave 20 min. and flush with cold water.

To clean the chemical residue off non-organic fruit & veggies: soak in cold water with 2 tbsp. of vinegar in it. Remove fruit and rinse under cold water. Works well with fruit like apples and grapes!

Microwave: to clean a microwave, boil a bowl of vinegar in your machine and then wipe down with a rag. Not only does it help clean, it deodorizes any of those lingering meals!

Fruit-flies: to get rid of fruit-flies put a dish of apple cider vinegar and dish soap near your fruit bowl. The vinegar attracts the flies and the soap traps them. Change up the dish as the body count rises!

Coffee and Tea stains on mugs: Fill the item with a solution of baking soda and water. Leave until the staining disappears then rinse. For really stubborn stains, soak with a solution of baking soda and vinegar.

Stinky Fridge Solution: a bowl of baking soda will absorb bad odours in the fridge, BUT when you’re done, dump it down the sink and follow it with a kettle of boiling water… this will clean out your drains and keep them running well. For a nicer smelling fridge hide a cotton ball with vanilla extract on it in the fridge to further deodorize.

Stale smelling lunch boxes or tins: Dip a piece of fresh bread (I use the end piece because nobody in my family likes it but the dogs) in vinegar and leave in the tin overnight.

Wooden Chopping Boards: clean, deodorize and disinfect with either lemon juice or vinegar.
Painted Walls and Woodwork:
Make a solution of two parts vinegar, one part baking soda, and three parts warm water. Using a soft rag, wipe down surfaces to remove dirt and rinse with clean water

Ring marks on wood furniture: Make a solution of one part vinegar and one part olive oil. Use a soft cloth and rub the ring with the solution, then polish with natural beeswax.


Websites for more info:






http://www.womenandenvironment.org/ ~ Lots of info on the chemicals in regular cleaners and why they are bad. ALSO, info on how to host a Green Cleaning Party for your friends!

www.care2.com ~ look for the healthy & green living section. They have a Non-Toxic Cleaning section there!

www.eartheasy.com ~ they have TONS of homemade cleaners for every problem!

www.planetgreen.discovery.com ~ check out the Home & Garden section.
April 02, 2009 4 comments


The family is headed to Bancroft on Tuesday March 31st where I am doing a talk on Green Cleaning at Bancroft Pentecostal Church at 7pm... grab a friend and come check it out.




When I get back the following week I will post some of the recipe's I shared!




The picture shown is Lemon cleaning cloths from "A Guide to Green Housekeeping" by Christina Strutt. I'm pretty sure I got it at Chapters. The jar on the right is rags from an old flannel nightgown and the jar on the left is old scraps of jeans. Both worked well!




Here are some different ideas to eliminate chemicals from your cleaning routine




KITCHEN:

To deodorize a smelly drain: pour 2 tbsp. of Baking soda down the drain followed by ½ cup of vinegar. Leave 20 min. and flush with cold water.

To clean the chemical residue off non-organic produce: soak in cold water with 2 tbsp. of vinegar in it. Remove fruit and rinse under cold water. Works well with fruit like apples and grapes!

Microwave: to clean a microwave, boil a bowl of vinegar in your machine and then wipe down with a rag. Not only does it help clean, it deodorizes any of those lingering meals!

Fruit-flies: to get rid of fruit-flies put a dish of apple cider vinegar and dish soap near your fruit bowl. The vinegar attracts the flies and the soap traps them. Change up the dish as the body count rises!

Coffee and Tea stains on mugs: Fill the item with a solution of baking soda and water. Leave until the staining disappears then rinse. ( I usually just leave them in the sink overnight and wash them in the morning) For really stubborn stains, soak with a solution of baking soda and vinegar.

Stinky Fridge Solution: a bowl of baking soda will absorb bad odours in the fridge, BUT when you’re done, dump it down the sink and follow it with a kettle of boiling water… this will clean out your drains and keep them running well. For a nicer smelling fridge hide a cotton ball with vanilla extract on it in the fridge to further deodorize.

Stale smelling lunch boxes or tins: Dip a piece of fresh bread (I use the end piece because nobody in my family likes it but the dogs) in vinegar and leave in the tin overnight.

Wooden Chopping Boards: clean, deodorize and disinfect with either lemon juice or vinegar.

Painted Walls and Woodwork:
Make a solution of two parts vinegar, one part baking soda, and three parts warm water. Using a soft rag, wipe down surfaces to remove dirt and rinse with clean water

Ring marks on wood funature: Make a solution of one part vinegar and one part olive oil. Use a soft cloth and rub the ring with the solution, then polish with natural beeswax.


I have tips for laundy and pets if anyone is interested as well!!
March 27, 2009 3 comments
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