Eco-friendly cleaning ideas

What do these three items have in common? Well, they are all environmentally friendly cleaning supplies and with spring cleaning season just around the corner, it might be useful to learn about something you can do with these 3 things.

Vinegar:

Vinegar cleans like an all-purpose cleaner and can be used to clean, disinfect, and, yes, believe it or not, deodorize. Make a solution of 1 part vinegar to 1 part water in a spray bottle and use it as you would any other all-purpose cleaner. It is most useful if put in a clean, new spray bottle. As with all new cleaning products, test it first in an inconspicuous area to ensure that the surface can tolerate the solution.

Because it is acidic, you should not use vinegar:

• To clean grout
• On marble

If you are sensitive to the smell of vinegar, add lemon juice to vinegar to make the smell of the vinegar more palatable. However, the smell of vinegar doesn’t linger when it dries.

Use it in the…

1. Bathroom to clean the bathtub, toilet, sink, and countertops.

• Use pure vinegar in the toilet bowl to get rid of rings. After flushing the water in, pour the undiluted vinegar around the inside of the rim, then use a toilet brush to remove the stain.
• A vinegar/water solution to remove soap scum and hard water stains. It is also a great way to clean and disinfect the floor. Before using it on tile, check to make sure it is safe.

2. Kitchen to clean the stovetop, appliances, countertops, and floor.

3. Laundry Room as a natural fabric softener. This can be especially helpful for families who have sensitive skin.

• Add ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle in place of store bought fabric softener. Vinegar has the added benefit of breaking down laundry detergent more effectively. (A plus when you have a family member whose skin detects every trace of detergent.)

Baking Soda:

Baking soda can be used to scrub surfaces in much the same way as commercial abrasive cleansers. Baking soda is great as a deodorizer. Place a box in the refrigerator and freezer to absorb odors. Put it anywhere you need deodorizing action.

Lemons:

Lemon juice is another natural substance that can be used to clean your home. Lemon juice can be used to dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits. Lemon is a great substance to clean and shine brass and copper. Lemon juice can be mixed with vinegar and or baking soda to make cleaning pastes.

• Cut a lemon in half, put a layer of baking soda on the cut section and use it clean dishes, surfaces, and other stains.
• Mix 1 cup olive oil with ½ cup lemon juice and you have a furniture polish for your hardwood furniture.
• Soak countertop stains in lemon juice for a few minutes (but not too long as it can be very corrosive!). Scrub the area with baking soda to make the stains disappear.
• Lemon rinds can be ground in the garbage disposal to freshen the drain.
• Pour very hot water with a little lemon poured down a drain helps kill odor causing bacteria in the drain.
• Because lemon juice acts as a natural bleaching agent, it makes are create stain remover for fabrics as well. Put lemon juice onto stains on white cloth and allow them to dry in the sun. Stains will be bleached away.

For more information on these and other uses click here.

Happy Cleaning!

Eco-friendly holiday ideas!

I just read that Americans spend more on trash bags than 90 other countries spend on everything. I knew it was bad, but that's pretty shocking. If you've spent even three days in Korea, it's obvious that garbage and recycling is taken much more seriously here, and I understand that the situation is similar in the rest of the world, where resources are scarcer than we have enjoyed for decades in the US.

But the times, they are a-changing. Our landfills are filling up, our air and water are dirty.There are even contaminants in breastmilk! In the Pacific Northwest, the Orcas are starving to death because there aren't enough salmon to feed them. The list of environmental damage goes on, and on, and on, and it's all a direct result of overconsumption and the manufacturing, packaging, shipping and other activities that support it.

That's all pretty dreary, I know, but there are plenty of steps we can take. With Christmas coming up, I am already dreading the hefty bags full of wrapping paper, excessive packaging (oh, how I hate those wire ties that fasten toys to layers and layers of cardboard and plastic!), shopping bags, and boxes.

Here are some ideas to reduce the Christmas impact on the environment:

1. Consider environmentally friendly gifts: reusable grocery bags (Envirosax makes some really cute ones!), reusable BPA-free water bottles or sippy cups, battery-free toys made from recycled materials (Sprig, many more), or wind-up flashlights and radios.

2. Request, and give, gifts to charities like World Vision (http://www.worldvision.org/), Heifer International (http://www.heifer.org/) or 'adopt' a penguin, snow leopard or other endangered animal at World Wildlife (http://www.worldwildlife.org/) in lieu of a traditional gift. I have plenty of people on my list that don't need another scarf, pocketknife, toy or pair of gloves, and even kids can appreciate helping animals, or sending a seed kit or a flock of chickens to a family in Africa. You can even send a backpack of school supplies to an American kid in need.

3. Use environmentally friendly wrapping (use foil and then save it for use in the kitchen, or use kids artwork, or the comics from the Sunday paper). Try incorporating the wrapping into the present by wrapping a hat and gloves in a scarf, tucking some little girl's jewelry into a purse, or wrapping baby's presents in a super soft blanket tied with a ribbon. The possibilities are endless!

Add your own ideas in the comments, or send a post to osanparents@gmail.com!

Anna, Guest Blogger

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle for Osan!

As a New Year approaches, it has a lot of us thinking about our New Year’s Resolution. How are we going to better ourselves, or how are we going to help make something better. One great way to start the New Year’s is by doing our part to conserve our precious resources. And the best way to do so is by RECYCLING, yes, recycling. Now I know we have all heard this plenty of times, it’s been hammered into our heads for years. But have any of us actually taken the challenge and tried to recycle our paper, plastic, and glass. If not I say take the challenge, try to recycle. There are plenty of ways to recycle here at Osan. Even off base, did you know recycling is MANDATORY in South Korea? So not only would we be helping our Planet, but we would be respecting the laws ordered by our host country. One way to recycle on base is by sorting all of our recyclables, putting them in plastic bags and taking them to one of the big, brown dumpsters, marked “Recycle”. There are plenty of these big dumpsters across base, so finding one shouldn’t be difficult. If you live on base, put your recyclables (plastic, glass, cans, paper) in clear garbage bags and put them down the trash chute. Money saved on garbage disposal costs here on base can be spent on other things to help us all out.

So there is an idea for a New Year’s Resolution for anybody feeling earth friendly. However, for those of us who want to get started now, go ahead start recycling today. Conserving our resources is an important job that we all need to take part in. Our resources are important to live or daily life’s that we are accustomed too. Take one step closer to preserve the earth for our future generations.

Recycling and Environmental Facts
 Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil (enough to run the average car for 1,260 miles), 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for 6 months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space, and 60 pounds of air pollution. Trash to Cash
 Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months. Environmental Defense Fund
 About 80% of what Americans throw away is recyclable, yet our recycling rate is just 28%. Environmental Protection Agency
 Over ½ million trees are saved each year by recycling paper in Boulder County. Eco-Cycle
 There are more roads in our National Forests than the entire U.S. Interstate Highway system. National Forest Protection Alliance
 Recycling creates 6 times as many jobs as landfilling. Colorado Recycles
 Recycling glass instead of making it from silica sand reduces mining waste by 70%, water use by 50%, and air pollution by 20%. Environmental Defense Fund
 Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to operate a TV for 3 hours. Eco-Cycle
 If we recycled all of the newspapers printed in the U.S. on a typical Sunday, we would save 550,000 trees--or about 26 million trees per year. California Department of Conservation
 The energy saved each year by steel recycling is equal to the electrical power used by 18 million homes each year - or enough energy to last Los Angeles residents for eight years. Steel Recycling Institute
 If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of 1,000 sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissues with 100% recycled ones, we could save: 373,000 trees, 1.48 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 155 million gallons of water. Seventh Generation Co.
 The U.S. is 5% of the world's population but uses 25% of its natural resources. Environmental Protection Agency
 Colorado is one of the worst states in the nation in terms of recycling and composting. Learn more about how our efforts are falling well short in the "State of Garbage in America." BioCycle, 2008

Here's some other simple things you can do today to help the environment and Osan:

-Use reusable bags at the commissary and BX

-Take your kitchen waste (no meat or dairy) to the composting bins at the garden

-Buy items that have less packaging

-Take items in good condition to the Thrift Store or post them on the online swap meet group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osanswapmeet/

Christina, guest blogger

Cloth Diapers??!?!

What are you, crazy? Cloth diapers? No one uses cloth diapers!

It might surprise you to learn that there are quite a few families here at Osan that use cloth diapers. If the only cloth diapers you've ever seen are those white rectangles that you pin with big sharp pins and cover with plastic underwear, you will definitely be surprised to see the new cloth diapers. Here's a post from the blog of one of our ex-Osan moms describing her first experience with clothies. Just so you know, she is now a cloth diaper ADDICT.

Cloth diapers can save a significant amount of money. Check out this post for some real-life calculations. They are better for the environment, and they save me from having to take the garbage out twice a day. I've definitely noticed a reduction in my garbage volume, too.

I know, I know: You are thinking, 'But they're so gross! What about the poop?' But you know what? It's just not that big of a deal. I have been doing it for about a year and a half, and perhaps twice I have been briefly disgusted. I use a flushable liner and just toss the poop in the toilet, liner and all. The liners are pretty sturdy and I rinse out the ones that are just wet and reuse them.

So maybe you want to give it a try. The first thing you will find out is that it can be very confusing on first glance. There are several different types of cloth diapers with varying costs and advantages. Here is a link that describes the various types. And here are the basics:

Prefolds- prefolds are the cheapest diapers. They are the old-fashioned type rectangles that are fastened with pins or a snappi. They require a waterproof cover.

Fitted or contour diapers- a shaped diaper that fastens with velcro or snaps. Also requires a waterproof cover. Motherease and Cricketts are popular brands.

Pocket diaper- a diaper shaped pocket with waterproof material on the outside and a soft skin-friendly layer on the inside. An absorbent hemp or microfleece pad is placed inside. Fuzzi Bunz, Happy Heinies and Bum Genius are popular choices.

I use pocket diapers, mostly Happy Heinies (nice because they are one size fits all and you can use them for a newborn and a toddler), Swaddlebees and Green Acre Designs. I have about 30 and I wash them about every three days. I keep the dirty ones in a closed hamper in the laundry room. To wash them, I do a rinse cycle with vinegar, then a hot wash with oxi-clean and a small amount of gentle detergent, then an extra rinse and a hot dry cycle. The water here on base has something in it that builds up on the diaper inserts, making them less absorbent, so every couple of washes I use some baking soda to strip it out. Too much detergent will also build up on the inserts and make the diapers smell with use, so I use just a little bit.

For wipes, I use squares of flannel moistened with a mix of water, baby wash, vegetable oil and tea tree oil, which I keep in an empty glass juice jar. Here's some 'recipes'.

Of course, cloth diapers cannot be purchased here and must be bought online. The BX does sell the Gerber brand of white rectangles but those are good for nothing except dish towels. Here are some online stores Osan parents have had good luck with:

Jillian's Drawers
Nicki's Diapers
Barefoot-Eco

If you want to learn more, email me through osanparents@gmail.com or check out the links below.

Diaperpin.com
Dirtydiaperlaundry.com
Real Diaper Association

Anna, guest blogger

2009 Sunscreen Guide

Summer is here! For the past few years, the Environmental Working Group has been studying hundreds of sunscreens. Surprisingly, many of the most popular name brands don't provide the protection they promise and/or have dangerous ingredients. Click here to find the safest and most effective sunscreens, and check out EWG's main site to find information on many cosmetics and other household products.

Butterflies: If you build it, they will come

The Girl Scouts have planted the butterfly garden! Butterfly gardens have two different kinds of plants: flowers to attract and feed the butterflies, and host plants to support cocoons and feed caterpillars.

There are many plants that are suitable for butterfly gardens, such as lantana, milkweed, butterfly bush, joe pye weed, and many others. Unfortunately, a lot of well known butterfly plants are not available around here. Lucky for us, a lot of common flowers and herbs will work just as well. Our community butterfly garden has sunflowers, marigolds, fennel, two kinds of parsley, basil, pineapplesage and mint.

You can even make a mini-butterfly garden right on your deck in small containers! All you need is something to attract them, like marigolds or pineapple sage, and something for the caterpillars, like parsley or basil. Put them together in a big container, or just have them next to each other is smaller ones. The plants and/or seeds can be found at the 4-9 market, the greenhouses at the flower market, or sometimes even at the BX and/or commissary (to the left as you pass the ID check lady).

This picture is my deck butterfly garden. The big plant is pineapple sage, purchased at the commissary. You can see some fennel in the foreground and some basil in the background just coming up.

Here are some links to learn more about butterflies and butterfly gardens:

Butterfly Garden Basics

Local Butterflies you might see

Herb Butterfly Gardens

Garden Project: BUSTED!

We had an awesome sod-busting party this morning; check out the pictures!

The weather was great and the kids all worked hard and did a great job. If you missed it, there is plenty still to do.

We have been looking pretty hard for a rototiller but have been unable to find one, so we might have to do a lot more digging. Also, there is only about $100 remaining in the garden fund, and we still need to get rain barrels, so that limits our options.

If you want to participate, you can get out and dig any time you want. We are currently working on clearing out the butterfly garden, strawberry patch, herb, and vegetable patches. Nothing is planted yet, so dig away! The rocks can be removed and piled in the corner by the composters. Sod can be shaken hard to get all the dirt off, then piled by the composters and we'll use it to layer with food waste.

There are some real kids' tools there now: rakes, shovels and hoes. They are real tools, made of wood and metal, so please make sure your kids are not playing Star Wars with them, as they could cause injuries. Please make sure you put the tools away and pick up any garbage when you're done.

We will be scheduling a planting party in about a month so watch for more information. As we start to get things planted, please start showing the kids how to respect the garden by not trampling on plants. There will not be any fences around the planting areas inside the garden.

If you're interested in managing one of the community patches or helping out in some other way, please let us know (email to osanparents@gmail.com)!

Gardening tips

Gardening is fun and easy, but it can be a little intimidating if you haven't done it before. Here are some links with lots of information to help you get started:


Getting Started in the Garden

Family Gardening Tips

Organic Gardening Tips

The Helpful Gardener

And here are some links to Korean gardening topics:

Traditional Korean Garden

Blog: The Vegan Korean

Garden project: Worms Galore!

Now that it's looking like spring, it's time to get the kids outside before they drive you insane. Collecting worms is a great way to get them outside to burn off some energy and help the garden at the same time. We went out this morning after the rain last night and got a nice bunch of two different species.

You'll have the best luck starting about twilight where the ground is moist. During a rain, the worms will come out of the grass and onto the sidewalks, so look on pavement adjacent to expanses of lawn. You don't have to wait for it to rain, though. Take your flashlights out and patrol the grass. If you're quick, you can spot them coming out of their holes and grab them!

Put your haul in a container and admire all their squirmy goodness, then toss them in the compost bins at the garden to help chew up all our kitchen waste.

Here are some links to learn about worms:

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/worms/

http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/worm/pg000102.html

Garden Project: Dandelion Garden

Our first garden project is underway! We have a dandelion patch going in the garden- it's on the partly shady little slope at about your 2 o'clock position if you come in the gate just at the bottom of the stairs.

You can participate by locating baby dandelion plants and clearing some grass around them so they can grow. The grass you remove can be put in the compost bins. We need to mark it off, too, so it doesn't get run over- if you have some stakes, or want to build a rock ring around it, or have another clever idea, go for it! Please try to be cautious around them until we get them well marked.

Dandelions are a great project, because you can eat every part of them. Click here for some good details on dandelions and how you can prepare them.

Trashing the Environment for the Holidays?

I just read that Americans spend more on trash bags than 90 other countries spend on everything. I knew it was bad, but that's pretty shocking. If you've spent even three days in Korea, it's obvious that garbage and recycling is taken much more seriously here, and I understand that the situation is similar in the rest of the world, where resources are scarcer than we have enjoyed for decades in the US.

But the times, they are a-changing. Our landfills are filling up, our air and water are dirty.There are even contaminants in breastmilk! In the Pacific Northwest, the Orcas are starving to death because there aren't enough salmon to feed them. The list of environmental damage goes on, and on, and on, and it's all a direct result of overconsumption and the manufacturing, packaging, shipping and other activities that support it.

That's all pretty dreary, I know, but there are plenty of steps we can take. With Christmas coming up, I am already dreading the hefty bags full of wrapping paper, excessive packaging (oh, how I hate those wire ties that fasten toys to layers and layers of cardboard and plastic!), shopping bags, and boxes.

Here are some ideas to reduce the Christmas impact on the environment:

1. Consider environmentally friendly gifts: reusable grocery bags (Envirosax makes some really cute ones!), reusable BPA-free water bottles or sippy cups (Sigg, Kleen Kanteen, Safe Sippy), battery-free toys made from recycled materials (Sprig, many more).

2. Request, and give, gifts to charities like World Vision (http://www.worldvision.org/), Heifer International (http://www.heifer.org/) or 'adopt' a penguin, snow leopard or other endangered animal at World Wildlife (http://www.worldwildlife.org/) in lieu of a traditional gift. I have plenty of people on my list that don't need another scarf, pocketknife, toy or pair of gloves, and even kids can appreciate helping animals, or sending a seed kit or a flock of chickens to a family in Africa. You can even send a backpack of school supplies to an American kid in need.

3. Use environmentally friendly wrapping (use foil and then save it for use in the kitchen, or use kids artwork, or the comics from the Sunday paper). Try incorporating the wrapping into the present by wrapping a hat and gloves in a scarf, tucking some little girl's jewelry into a purse, or wrapping baby's presents in a super soft blanket tied with a ribbon. The possibilities are endless!

Add your own ideas in the comments, or send a post to osanparents@gmail.com!

Anna, Guest Blogger