Post Thanksgiving Oil Recycling

How many fry their turkeys for Thanksgiving?

I'm still pretty amazed that fad is hanging on.

However, it is, so we have to figure out what to DO with all of that peanut oil that people just don't think can be used more than once.

Sad, but true.

Do you pour it down your drain, into your garbage bags, on someone else's land? Or do you save it in cans and jugs, hoping one day to get rid of it the right way?

Some towns are setting up locations for people to take all of their "dead" cooking oils.

Denver is one such town.

Post your oil on Craigs List

A biodiesel forum to offer your oils

You could even post on your local freecycle page

The main thing is, if you're not going to reuse that oil or cooking grease, don't just throw it in the landfill or down the drain. Give it another life - so to speak. It can be used to all of our benefit in the engine of someone's car or truck.

Community Gardens Raise Retail Value

I ran out of bobbin thread while making some napkins, so decided to hop on and post a 'guest viewpoint' I submitted to our local paper. Since it has not shown up in the paper, I'm guessing it won't be published. Which, on one hand, I don't care. But on the other hand, it is of pretty significant importance that communities throughout the country know this. So, here it is...

After reading a study published by the Furman Center at NYU, I have found it very possible for Broome County to increase its standing in the nation, as well as among its citizens. From an increase in property values to improved health of the gardens’ participants to a reduction in crime, there are virtually no reasons why there couldn’t be an explosion of community gardens come spring.

Rural gardens increase surrounding property values about 1.5% while urban gardens saw an increase of 9% within a 3-block radius. The reasons stated were numerous. A larger sense of community was fostered through the group effort of community gardens. Gardens fostered an increased sense of pride with a decrease in littering and an increased maintenance of personal green spaces. It also helped decrease crime – due to intangible factors.

The well being of the gardens’ members also improved. Physically, they were more active than non-members, causing blood pressure and blood sugar to decrease. There was also a decrease in general illnesses, resulting in less time off from work. The gardens’ members consumed more fruits and vegetables, both from the garden and purchased elsewhere, preferring the new diet to the old one with much more high fat and high sugar foods. Emotionally, members had less depression and more sense of personal accomplishment and pride. This came about from an increased social network, being active in sunlight rather than artificial light and witnessing the miracle of cultivating their own food.

Dating back to 1973, Organic Gardening and Farming magazine extolled the virtues of community gardens for all of the reasons stated above, as well as improving the lives of at-risk youth, life for the urban poor and real-life studies for students from grade school to university. Their mission was “A Garden at Every School.” More recently, this past year saw a 20%-30% increase in seed sales nationwide. I hope and suspect this trend will continue, due to our economic climate.

I was one of the many who either planted new or expanded their current garden plots. By purchasing $15 worth of vegetable seeds, my family (3) ate fresh vegetables throughout the summer and stored more than 3 months worth at a savings of $500. Mine is not a large garden, but merely 18’x32’. If we had more storage capabilities, more would have been saved from this small plot. However, the extra produce was given to our local police department, the SOS Shelter, Meals on Wheels, family and friends. We continue to harvest beets and Swiss chard, and will until the ground is frozen, proving our growing season is longer than most realize.

Our county, city, town and village governments need to avail portions of open parkland, as well as any seized private properties to neighborhoods wishing to start gardens of their own. School districts, BCC and BU all have large spaces that could be utilized by students and faculty alike. Broome County Jail would be wise to research an inmate run garden, which has proven successful throughout the nation.

Neighborhoods considering a community garden can approach their local government, church, school or private landowner for a parcel to use. And while starting a community garden may seem like a daunting task, the efforts are well rewarded for years to come. Starting the process now is key. Post signs to advertise a meeting for interested neighbors. Designate a lead person who will handle information while assigning tasks to others so no one person is saddled with the entire responsibility. Call your local cooperative extension office and gardening clubs for advice. Research details online so you’re not ‘reinventing the wheel.’ If you are able to locate a plot of land that has been approved by the owner, begin clean up now so you are able to plant your gardens even earlier.

A community garden is so much more than just an increase in property values or saving on your grocery bill. It’s about hope, building up of families and neighborhoods, and discovering the value of being out in the fresh air with people who share a common interest.

By starting now, you will discover what experienced gardeners already know – the winter will be spent dreaming of the garden that is has already sprouted in spirit. The joy of deciding what to grow, what variety of each vegetable or flower, where it will be placed in the plot and the future enjoyment of watching it grow. The possibilities the soil has stored up for you are endless.

Links for more information:
Starting a Community Garden
Using A Vacant Lot
Adopt Existing Gardens
Starting A School Garden
Edible School Yard

Heating Idea for Greenhouses

I doubt many who read this own green houses, but even if you're only thinking of starting up a greenhouse, this will help you know it doesn't have to be killer expensive...
Found in Farm Show magazine - vol. 32 no. 5

Heat Plant Beds, Not Greenhouse

With fuel prices burning a hole in everyones' budgets, Ron Khosla has a suggestion to cut costs when starting seedlings in late winter. The market gardner heats his plant beds, not his greenhouse.

"We've reduced our propane use by 90% compared to folks we know with similar size greenhouses," says Khosla. With is wife, Kathryn, he suuplies more than 200 customers with fresh produce in season. That requires a lot of transplants, and that means starting a lot of seedlings and keeping them healthy.

The Khoslas lay 1/4" plastic tubing under seedling flats and connect it to the outlet of a small water heater. The tubing is the same kind used in solar water heating systems; only here it's used to radiate heat, not collect it.

"The key is we are heating the flats, not the air," says Khosla "A soil temperature probed activates the recirculating pump to push water through as needed. The heater only kicks on when the water temperature drops to the set point."

Benefits include delayed seeding, faster emergence, reduced disease problems and fuel costs of around $125/year for a 1500 sf greenhouse. That compares attractively to the $800 or more needed for a similar size, traditionally heated greenhouse.

"We can start our plants a week to 10 days after others in our area, and ours will catch up," says Khosla. "They grow faster and have healthier root systems with more root growth. It's also a dryer system, so we have fewer problems with damping-off disease. If the soil surface gets moist, we just turn up the heat a little."

Khosla admits the system requires more labor on he and his wife's part. "We have short hoops over the flats so we can lay row covers over them every night," says Khosla. "But, because we're only heating the flates we need, we start small and expand as we go. With the standard systems, you have to heat the entire greenhouse, even if you only have seedlings on 2 tables."

To follow up with Ron and Kathryn Khosla of New Paltz, NY, contact them at Farm @ flyingbeet.com www.flyingbeet.com

Thanksgiving

It amazes me how different Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. Some are incredibly simple, others, like my family, are for more "enhanced". Not good or bad, just different ways.

Our family has always been farm oriented. We've been here since the Mayflower, so we've got that agrarian blood flowing. We've also got a very long history of "make do or do without", and while we went through the Great Depression, our family rarely went without enough food and never without shelter.

We also come from a long line of good cooks! Which means Thanksgiving is a GREAT dinner!

Our one indulgence - oysters. Everything else is standard farm fare, just really good farm fare.

Turkey - trying to buy locally grown is difficult. I wouldn't tell my parents this, but hopefully in another year I'd like to be raising a couple of turkeys every year just for Thanksgiving. Besides, a great bug eater would be a good thing! Nitrogen poopers to build the soil - life would be good!

I just have to find out if the town will allow it. LOL - no biggie.

Candied sweet potatoes - easier to find locally, and again, am hoping to grow my own starting this coming year. We'll see. But - the best way to cook them for Thanksgiving - there's only one way really - slow cook them with no water, some butter and a lot of brown sugar. The sugar draws the water out of the thickly sliced potatoes, giving them a great texture that isn't tender, but isn't bad either. It's great! It can't be explained. But just try simmering some in the sugar for a couple of hours until they turn a burnt sienna color and just a little wrinkly looking. They are THE best.

Mashed potatoes - again, easy to get locally. I cook them in home made chicken stock, a little garlic. Mash them while a little dry and then reheat when the turky is resting to be cut. Add a little milk, wisk them and they're piping hot for dinner!

Peas, string beans, corn - all home grown, all cooked normally.

Cranberry sauce - it just can't be thanksgiving without it - even if we have to get them from more than 100 miles away. I'd like to put a highbush cranberry in, but it's going to be another year or two before that happens. Still, we make our own. Grind a bag of cranberries (wash, of course) with an orange - rind and all. Add about a cup of sugar and you've got some of the best cranberry sauce you'll ever want. The freshness of it beats the jelly any day. It also mixes well with any muffin recipe to make THE best cran-orange muffins you could ever hope for.

Stuffing - normal. I've heard of different ways you can make it, by baking potato bread with onions, celery and poultry seasoning. But that just seems like a lot of work when it just doesn't have to be that way. We use 0ld bread and cut it up ourselves. All of our regular breads are locally made, so I don't worry about making my own. I just buy the older bread that's on sale and cut it myself. Why spend 10-fold for a bag of pre-cubed when you can have it cut in 5 minutes?

The oysters. Ooo - the oysters. We go for native oysters, rather than imported. And we only have them at 2 holidays, so I'll take that sin. Cut them into quarters or smaller. Mix them with about an equal amount of oyster crackers. Mix in a bit of cream, a small bit of butter and bake them for about a half hour. That's it. Delish!

Home made pickles! There is nothing better than home made pickles - both sweet and dill. Dill are easier to make than sweet, but all are worth the effort.

Apple sauce - home made. From apples grown on the property. Hopefully more in 3 years! I just planted 3 more trees.

This is what Thanksgiving is about - bounty. Home made bounty.

Americans Using Less Electric!

It's about time! I guess everyone has switched over to CFL's! LOL - poor electric companies. I do feel for them. Yeah, right! From the WSJ

An unexpected drop in U.S. electricity consumption has utility companies worried that the trend isn't a byproduct of the economic downturn, and could reflect a permanent shift in consumption that will require sweeping change in their industry.

Numbers are trickling in from several large utilities that show shrinking power use by households and businesses in pockets across the country. Utilities have long counted on sales growth of 1% to 2% annually in the U.S., and they created complex operating and expansion plans to meet the needs of a growing population.

"We're in a period where growth is going to be challenged," says Jim Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy Corp. in Charlotte, N.C.

The data are early and incomplete, but if the trend persists, it could ripple through companies' earnings and compel major changes in the way utilities run their businesses. Utilities are expected to invest $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion by 2030 to modernize their electric systems and meet future needs, according to an industry-funded study by the Brattle Group. However, if electricity demand is flat or even declining, utilities must either make significant adjustments to their investment plans or run the risk of building too much capacity. That could end up burdening customers and shareholders with needless expenses.

To be sure, electricity use fluctuates with the economy and population trends. But what has executives stumped is that recent shifts appear larger than others seen previously, and they can't easily be explained by weather fluctuations. They have also penetrated the most stable group of consumers -- households.

Dick Kelly, chief executive of Xcel Energy Inc., Minneapolis, says his company, which has utilities in Colorado and Minnesota, saw home-energy use drop 3% in the period from August through September, "the first time in 40 years I've seen a decline in sales" to homes. He doesn't think foreclosures are responsible for the trend.

Duke Energy Corp.'s third-quarter electricity sales were down 5.9% in the Midwest from the year earlier, including a 9% drop among residential customers. At its utilities operating in the Carolinas, sales were down 4.3% for the three-month period ending Sept. 30 from a year earlier.
American Electric Power Co., which owns utilities operating in 11 states, saw total electricity consumption drop 3.3% in the same period from the prior year. Among residential customers, the drop was 7.2%. However, milder weather played a role.

Utility executives question whether the recent declines are primarily a function of the broader economic downturn. If that's the case, says Xcel's Mr. Kelly, then utilities should continue to build power plants, "because when we come out of the recession, demand could pick up sharply" as consumers begin to splurge again on items like big-screen televisions and other gadgets.
Some feel that the drop heralds a broader change for the industry. Mr. Rogers of Duke Energy says that even in places "where prices were flat to declining," his company still saw lower consumption. "Something fundamental is going on," he says.

Michael Morris, the chief executive of AEP, one of the country's largest utilities, says he thinks the industry should to be wary about breaking ground on expensive new projects. "The message is: be cautious about what you build because you may not have the demand" to justify the expense, he says.

Utilities are taking steps to get a better understanding of the cause. Some are asking customers who reduced usage to explain what is influencing them. Xcel and other utilities, for example, have been running environmentally focused campaigns to urge consumers to use less energy recently, a message that might be taking hold.

Power companies are also questioning the reliability of the weather-adjustment models they use to harmonize fluctuating sales from quarter to quarter. "It's more art than science," says Bill Johnson, Chief Executive of Progress Energy Inc., Raleigh, N.C.

If the sector is entering a period of lower demand -- which could accelerate further if the automotive sector collapses -- many utilities will have to change the way they cover their costs.
Utilities are taking a hard look at the way they set rates and generate profits. Many companies are embracing a new rate design based on "decoupling," in which they set prices aimed at covering the basic costs of delivery, with sales above that level being gravy. Regulators have resisted the change in some places, because it typically means that consumers using little energy pay somewhat higher rates.

Food Waste Collection For Communities

Dear Umbra,

Are any communities collecting food waste -- potato peels, meat scraps, corn husks, etc. -- for recycling? Is there a market for such material?
Wendy S.Far Hills, N.J.

Dearest Wendy,

Yes and yes. Multiple communities collect food waste, in a variety of ways. Which is great, considering that food makes up about 12 percent of our garbage discards and is perfectly recyclable.

The proper end to food scraps is rebirth as compost, wherein the nutrients stored in the foods will be returned to the soil and made available to the next generation of plants. You know, in one of those magical cycles of life. There are all sorts of similarities to be drawn between financial banks and the soil bank, mainly that if we keep withdrawing nutrients from the soil bank in the form of food, and then do not return those nutrients to the soil in the form of compost, we will have no nutrients left in our soil bank account. Then we have to buy nutrients on credit, via petroleum-based fertilizers, but the interest rate, so to speak, is punitive. I'll stop my little metaphor there.

Humans don't tend to value the soil bank as much as they do the money bank, but fortunately diverting food and yard waste from the waste stream also makes financial sense (and reduces landfill methane emissions, as previously discussed).

All that to say, there are food waste recycling programs across the country, from Stockton, Calif., to Wayzata, Minn., to Bowdoinham, Maine, and many other places. As far as I can tell, there is no curbside program in your state of New Jersey, but I did just find a Rutgers-based group that is hoping to instigate food waste recycling statewide, and -- they hold forums! Do you like a nice forum?

These systems differ. Some are curbside pick-up programs, others are central drop sites. Some accept every food scrap including meat, others ban meat. Some separate food from other organic wastes, others accept food mixed with yard waste and soiled paper. The waste is then composted or, in some cases, used as an Alternative Daily Cover at a landfill.

I can personally testify that yes, there is a market for the end product. In Seattle, curbside yard/food waste is sold back to gardening citizens in the form of a high quality compost product.
An organization called Compostable Organics Out of Landfills by 2012 maintains a website with information and resources about this very topic, so if your query motivation was to begin your own program, COOL 2012 may be the place to start. Biocycle also maintains an interesting online database if you wish to search for composters in your area who process food waste.
Rindly,Umbra

Windmill Tech News

Both of these reports were found in the Farm Show magazine, volume 32 No 5.

Windmill in a Box at Retail Stores Soon
A new wind turbine from EarthTronics produces up to 2kW of energy, with only 20 inch blades. The super efficient, ready to go turbine is designed for easy installation and low maintenance. And it's priced to be affordable.

The president of EarthTronics wants to be able to mount it anywhere from a rootop to a pole and generate 20% or more of your home energy needs for about 2 grand.

The turbine is gearless and doesn't need a separate generator. The 6 blades revolved, acting as rotors, with the rim acting as the armature. This means electricity is produced at tip speed, not hub speed, like traditional windmills. They start rotating at 2 mph and reach max output at 15 mph.

If you'd like more information, contact EarthTronics Inc 200 Viridian Dr Muskegon, MI 49440 866 632 7840 or
info @ earthtronics.com
www.earthtronics.com

Windspire Produces Low-Cost Energy

Windspire from Mariah Power is a 1.2 kW 30' tall, 4' diameter unit that spins in position.
The straight blade Darrieus design was introduced in June of 2008 and can produce 2,000 kW per year at an average windspeed of 12 mph.

It's designed as a self-started, works at low speeds or up to 100 mph winds.

The spire costs 5000 and another 1000 to install.

The company is also designing another, larger spire that will produce twice the energy at 2/3 the wind speed.

For more information contact
Mariah Power 748 S Meadows Parkway A-9, #329, Reno NV 89521
www.MariahPower.com

A "Wingmill"
Instead of a spinning blade, the Wind Wing is a horizontal blade that pivots up and down on a lever that drives a generator. The wind Wing is parallel to the ground until a breeze blows by.

W2Energy Development Corp says it works like your hand when you hold it out the car window. The wind pushes your hand up or down, depending on the angle you hold your hand.

It's a wing system on a lever 10' from the fulcrum or mount with a balancing weight 1' past the fulcrum. The force needed to move the lever up and down is used to drive the generator to produce electtricity. A sensor will change the direction of the leading adge of the wing as it reaches the top or botoom of the stroke. A weather vane keeps the wing pointed directly into the wind at all times. (the picture looks like bi-plane wings stacked on a pole)

They are projecting it will cost up to 80% less than a traditional propller style windmill.

The company is also working on a Water Wing that will work with river and ocean currents.

For more Information Contact
W2 Energy Development Corp 50 Castilian Dr Suite 2, Santa Barbara, CA 93117 or
ron.pretlac @ W2EnergyCorp.com
www.W2EnergyCorp.com

Save the Earth - Die Yourself Green

It's a subject few people want to discuss. Oh well. Sometimes you need to. Dying green. I mean - you - when you die. Have a green funeral. Oh!!!! Really?! Ewww!
Here's an article that ran in our paper:

Taking green living to the grave
Interest grows in natural burials; Tompkins County home to a natural cemetery

When people stop by the booth Nathan Butler sets up to promote his funeral home, people routinely tell him they aren't interested in the trappings of a modern burial.

"They say 'Put me in a sheet and put me in a ditch,' " Butler says.

For many potential customers -- and in the funeral business that's everyone -- Butler sees a growing recognition that modern burials are wasteful, needlessly expensive and a capstone to one's life that is anything but earth-friendly.

So, Butler's funeral home is positioning itself on the forefront of the next wave in death care: the green burial.

Though burials come in many shades, the greenest involve cemeteries that look less like golf courses and more like nature preserves, caskets made of cardboard and bodies that aren't juiced up with embalming fluids, all at a fraction of the cost of a traditional burial.

Not confined to the tree huggers of the Pacific Northwest, green cemeteries have opened in places such as the Tompkins County community of Newfield, home to the 100-acre Greensprings Natural Cemetery, bordered by two forests. Also, there are green cemeteries in the South Carolina foothills and northeastern Ohio, and two are on the horizon in Indiana.

Final wasteland
In a society that is becoming more environmentally conscious about its coffee and its cars, leaders of the green burial movement say it only makes sense that attention would also turn to the final choices of one's life.

To the most zealous, the modern cemetery is something akin to an ecological wasteland: acres of grass manicured with fertilizers and pesticides, caskets fashioned from steel, copper, bronze or old-growth hardwoods and thick concrete vaults (the boxes in which the caskets are placed).

The corpse is most often embalmed in formaldehyde, which will eventually leach into the soil once the tomb is breached.

"If you look at your typical modern cemetery, it functions less as a natural, bucolic resting ground for the dead than as a landfill of largely nonbiodegradable, and in some cases toxic, material," says Mark Harris, whose book (Scribner, 2007, $24) "Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial" the manifesto of the movement.

The Green Burial Council, a nonprofit that sets standards for natural burials, says enough casket metal is put into American soil every year to build a new Golden Gate bridge.

"Do we need to expend that kind of energy on a box we are going to use for one or two days and then bury forever?" asks Joe Sehee, executive director of the Green Burial Council. "Does that really jibe with our values? An increasing number of Americans are saying, 'No, it doesn't.' "

The green burial movement is still small -- just 12 certified green cemeteries across the country and about 60 green-certified funeral homes. But the approaching deaths of baby boomers, the generation behind Earth Day, are pushing funeral industry leaders to anticipate a surge in requests for greener farewells.

Educating consumers, providers
Part of the challenge to the growth of green burial lies in education, experts say.

Green funeral providers say refrigeration and a few natural tricks of the trade are enough to make unembalmed bodies presentable for open-casket calling and funerals.

Ecology aside, the green burial movement could turn the funeral business upside down in other ways.

Economically, modern burials that include embalming, steel caskets and concrete vaults can cost $10,000 or more. Green burials can be done for less than $2,000. The cost of burial plots can vary widely, but Butler expects that his natural burial spaces should be at or below costs for regular plots.

Karen Conyers, of Bloomington, Ind., buried her mother using a simple casket and no embalming, primarily for environmental reasons. But it also made economic sense.

"I don't think the family is well-served by spending thousands of dollars for something that isn't that big a part of life," says Conyers.

Ecumenical appeal
Harris found in researching his book that interest in a greener burial has appeal across religious lines.

For Muslims and Jews, whose burial practices demand that the body be allowed to decompose naturally, the fundamental notion of returning to the earth has never gone out of style. But for more than a century, most Christian funerals in America have been built less on the notion of "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" than on making caskets and vaults as impenetrable to the elements as possible.

Green burials -- by inviting decay and returning the body's elements to the earth as naturally as possible -- promise to change all that. In green cemeteries, the decay of burial remains helps feed the plants and the trees.

More Information
Article On Low Cost Burials in Michigan

The Green Burial Council

Grave Matters Website

Bringing Funerals Home - Article

How To Be Green In The Afterlife

Political Trash and Recycling Campaign Crap

Now that the battle is over, what to do with the campaign-sign carcasses littering your lawn? The ubiquitous mini-billboards that were oh-so-relevant until yesterday are no more than a solid waste headache today. Here's a Three-R Rundown on cleaning up your patriotic mess.

Reduce. Too late for that -- if you'd reduced your campaign signage to zero, you wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. But hey, keep it in mind for next time.

Recycle. Most campaign signs these days come in one of three forms:
paperboard; corrugated plastic; or "poly-bags" (those are the thin, shiny ones). All three materials are technically recyclable, though the paperboard can pose a problem depending on its coating. Whether you can actually recycle any of them depends largely upon your municipality -- so check with local officials.

So far, large-scale sign-recycling efforts in Texas, Florida, and Maryland have met with mixed success. While one group of Florida counties decided to bag the effort, for instance, Palm Bay plastics recycler Mike Hazlett is beside himself with post-election glee: "We are excited to see just how many campaign signs it will take to make a 350-pound picnic table." Us too!
( FL's Work)
( DC Area)

Reuse. Here's where the fun begins: we hereby present eight (in honor of it being '08 and all) creative campaign-sign uses we've seen. Got other ideas? Let us know.

8. Sled. Everyone knows a campaign is a long, uphill slog -- so celebrate the summit by whooshing down the other side on a campaign-sign sled. Just be sure to wear lots of padding.
7. Side. Who needs vinyl? Show the neighborhood your true colors with siding made from signs. 6. Build 'em up. Chairs made from campaign signs? We haven't heard anything that divan since the FedEx furniture fiasco. Instructables.com
5. Lay 'em down. According to those who've gone this route, campaign signs are "very durable, and comfortable to walk on." And let's face it, it's fun to kick politicians in the teeth.
4. Make a birdhouse. Or a messenger bag! Plans courtesy of Les Fourmis, a group of Canadians who "get together to express themselves, share, and shake things up a bit."
3. Make a donation. At least one group -- a Texas-based bird conservancy -- wants your corrugated plastic signs, which are apparently all manner of handy when it comes to birds of prey.
2. Make ... other signs. OK, it's not the most creative idea, but it's been a long campaign season, and we're tired.
1. Keep hope alive. Use them again next time!
Swamplot shows how one home owner used old signage to cover the stairs until they could be finished.
Bicycle Mudflaps
Auto Grill Block
Reusing the wire frames

Green Cleaning

This is a composite from a couple of sites: (Updated with new purchasing sites 11/5/08)

From Live Earth

According to http://www.naturalproductsmarket.com/, the average American uses approximately 40 pounds of toxic household cleaning products every year. You’d think things would smell better, wouldn’t you? These products contain loads of super fun ingredients like: neurotoxins, carcinogens, allergens, central nervous system depressants, heavy metals and other garbage linked to cancer, respiratory problems, reproductive abnormalities, allergic reactions and behavioral problems. Yikes! And all these pretty things end up in the air, the water and ultimately our bodies. So let’s take a look at some alternatives that are good for you, the environment and your wallet.

Homemade Cleaning Products You can pretty much make any cleaning product you might need from these three ingredients: lemons, baking soda and vinegar.

Lemons Lemons are acidic and therefore contain anti-septic and anti-bacterial properties, plus they cut grease, dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits and can be mixed with baking soda and vinegar to make a nifty cleaning paste. Lemon juice is also very effective for removing stains from counter-tops and for cleaning copper and brass, especially if you add a little salt to the mix.

Vinegar Vinegar is another extremely effective cleaning agent and disinfectant and can be used as an all-purpose cleaner by combining one part vinegar and one part water in a spray bottle. If you don’t like the smell, you can mellow it by adding lemon juice.

Baking Soda Then there’s baking soda, which appears to be the Universal Cleanser. You can use it in your dishwasher, on your counter tops, on bathroom tile, even in the toilet. You can use it to freshen and unclog drains, as a furniture polish, to clean pots and pans and microwaves and as a deodorizer for the fridge, the garbage, shoes, laundry, the list goes on. And of course, you can brush you teeth with it and make a cake!

A great resource for homemade cleaning recipes can be found compliments of Sarah Aguire at www.housekeeping.about.com. Here’s a few to get you started.

All Purpose Cleaner Make a solution of 1/4 cup of baking soda, 1/2 cup of vinegar, and 1 gallon of hot water to clean grease and grime as well as eliminate odor.

Unclogging and Freshening Drains
Option #1 Pour 1 cup of baking soda down the drain followed by 1 cup of hot vinegar. Try heating the vinegar in the microwave before adding it to the drain. Wait 5 minutes before flushing the drain with 2 quarts of hot water. You can repeat this process a few times if it is necessary. If this is the first time you have cleaned your drain in a long time it may be necessary to repeat the baking soda flush a couple of times.
Option #2 Try pouring 1 Cup of baking soda and 1/2 Cup of salt down the drain. Let this mixture sit in the drain for several hours, overnight is best, before flushing the drain with 2 cups of boiling water.

Clean the microwave Mix a few tablespoons of baking soda with water in a microwave safe cup. Boil in the microwave for a few minutes. The insides of the microwave will be damp and easy to clean with a paper towel or dishcloth. This has the added benefit of removing odors that may be clinging to your microwave oven.

Non-toxic Ready-Made Cleansers
With the boom of environmental awareness (and babies), consumers are demanding products that safe to be around, effective at getting the job done and friendly to the environment. Needles to say, the number of non-toxic, environmentally friendly products now available has multiplied in leaps and bounds. Some of the best and most readily available are:
- Seventh Generation
- Ecover
- Green Mountain
- Eco-Labels
- Earth 911
- Biokleen
- Holy Cow
- Dr. Bronner Sal Suds
- Safe Choices
- Planet Inc
- Green Guide

Most recently, former not-so-green Clorox and the Sierra Club have partnered to create a new product line called Green Works, which makes a whole line of non-toxic cleaners made from plant based ingredients.

So what’s greener?
Making your own, of course - less impact from shipping and production and fewer plastic bottles. But we understand that people are busy so do what works for you. Buying ready made, eco-smart products are certainly greener than buying toxic, chemicals any day.

From The Grist

A Review of Cleaning Agents

Read the product labels -- if they have strong warnings about the product's hazards, that's a good sign to steer clear. Check out this handy guide [PDF] for more information.

Pure Baking Soda 16 oz. powder, $1.15 Eco-claims: Safe, effective cleaning and deodorizing Ingredients: Sodium bicarbonate (an antacid)
Cleaning instructions: Sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge or cloth for cleaning of all countertops, appliances, metal cabinets, and tile.
Smell: No scent. At all.
Elbow grease required: elbow injury imminent
Resulting sparkle: a glint
Buy one little box of this stuff and you're set for litterbox odor control, tooth whitening, laundry, household cleaning, minor skin irritations, fridge freshening, and upset stomachs -- not to mention baking, of course! It was a little messy sprinkling the powder onto the damp sponge, and I had to reapply it a number of times, but the baking soda's grit did get some of the grime out. This one required a lot of elbow grease though -- for not as much return as some of the other products.

Biokleen Soyblends Kitchen & Bath Soy Cream Cleaner 32 fl. oz. cream, $4.69
Eco-claims: Natural, nontoxic, biodegradable; no negative effects on rivers, streams, plants, or wildlife; kind to those with chemical sensitivities and allergies; no artificial fragrance, colors, or preservatives; 99 percent VOC free and ozone safe; contains no: phosphate, chlorine, ammonia, petroleum solvents, alcohol, butyl, glycol ether, SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) or SLES (sodium laureth sulfate), EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), DEA (diethanolamine); No SARA Title III, CA 65, or EPA priority pollutants; no materials listed by the ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists) as hazardous; no animal testing; no animal ingredients
Ingredients: Soybean oil extract, surfactants from coconut and/or corn, xanthan gum, zeolite, low pH silicate, linear sulfonate, food-grade lime extract, less than 0.2 percent environmentally friendly polymer, natural volcanic perlite, filtered water
Cleaning instructions: Apply with sponge, soft brush, or directly on stain. Rub lightly, letting the microscrubbers do the work. Rinse with damp cloth and water.
Smell: Strong citrus scent
Elbow grease required: a little scrub'll do ya (per instructions on bottle)
Resulting sparkle: let's just call it "less dirty"
This orange creamsicle-esque bottle lists fewer actual ingredients than it does noningredients -- which is great, except that other products containing very simple ingredients out-cleaned it. The bottle said "let the microscrubbers do the work," and I just kept waiting ... but no apparent microscrubbing occurred, even after I did some macroscrubbing of my own. This guy was also the worst on the grout. But hey, it smelled yummy!

Bon Ami Polishing Cleanser 14 oz. powder, $1.29 Eco-claims: No chlorine, perfume, or dye; contains no phosphorus; biodegradable
Ingredients: Calcium carbonate
Cleaning instructions: Wet surface. Sprinkle on Bon Ami. Rub with wet sponge or cloth.
Smell: Slight flour-y scent, though hardly noticeable
Elbow grease required: scrub-a-dub and then some
Resulting sparkle: ooh! shiny
The holes at the top of this cylindrical container are grouped in the center, which made for messy pouring onto the sponge -- meaning I had to clean twice (once on the tile, and once on the floor where I spilled). The upside, though, is that this stuff has barely a scent and barely an ingredient -- so by default, there's no ooky stuff inside. It required some elbow grease, but did a pretty good job cleaning off the muck.

20 Mule Team Borax 4 lbs. 12 oz. powder, $4.49 Eco-claims: Does not contain phosphates or chlorine; safe for septic tanks
Ingredients: sodium tetraborate decahydrate (a chemical compound and mineral)
Cleaning instructions: Sprinkle on damp sponge or cloth and wipe.
Smell: Almost none -- a very slight soapy scent
Elbow grease required: a little scrub'll do ya
Resulting sparkle: blinding bling
Sign me up to be on Team Borax ... aside from the messiness of it being a powder and the big, heavy box, this product was amazing! I tested it because you readers recommended it, and I have to say -- y'all know what you're talking about. Using Borax, I was able to get the shower twice as clean in half the time -- almost no effort for a sparkling clean. I'm a convert! Next up: washing those soiled t-shirts in this stuff.

Ecover 16 fl.oz. cream, $2.69 Eco-claims: Plant-based ingredients, not based on petrochemical ingredients; no chemical residue; optimum level of biodegradability -- far exceeds legislative requirements; safe for all river and marine life; no animal testing; safe for septic tanks; recognized by the United Nations for outstanding practical achievements for the protection and improvement of the environment; Ecover's factory is built using a grass roof for insulation, wood beams from sustainable forest, and bricks made from coal mine waste
Ingredients: Plant-based, nonionic, tension-active surfactants, water, chalk powder, clay, natural gum, glycerine, and 100 percent biodegradable preservative
Cleaning instructions: Apply either directly to surface or onto wet sponge. Clean surface and then rinse off.
Smell: slight soapy scent
Elbow grease required: scrub-a-dub and then some
Resulting sparkle: bright
The not-quite-powder-not-quite-liquid cream consistency was less messy than either alternative, but I did end up using a lot of it. Because there was some grit in the cream, I was able to scrub off more grime than I thought with less work. Overall, this would be a good choice if you didn't want to mess with a powder.

Method Tub + Tile 28 fl. oz. liquid, $5.99 Eco-claims: Nontoxic and biodegradable; naturally derived; never tested on animals
Ingredients: Soap scum dissolver, nonionic surfactant, naturally derived solvents, essential oil fragrance
Cleaning instructions: Spray and wipe.
Smell: strong, lingering spruce-y, lemon scent (container says eucalyptus mint)
Elbow grease required: wipe on, wipe off (per instructions on bottle)
Resulting sparkle: a little scrub'll do ya
Because it's a spray, application on the vertical wall of tile was a bit messy as the liquid followed gravity's call. Per the bottle's instructions, this one didn't require much scrubbing -- but it also didn't do much to dent the deep-set dirt. Furthermore, the smell (while more clean-smelling than some) was a bit overpowering and definitely lingered long after I finished spraying.

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Surface Scrub 11 oz. powder, $5.99 Eco-claims: Chlorine and phosphate free; cruelty-free and not tested on animals
Ingredients: Calcium carbonate, oxygen bleach (natural cleaning activator), plant-derived surfactants, fragrance, and essential oils of geranium, rose, and clove
Cleaning instructions: Wet surface, sprinkle on powder and scrub; if facing a difficult stain, sprinkle powder on wet surface, lightly scrub, and let sit for a few minutes before final scrub.
Smell: strong flowery scent (container says geranium)
Elbow grease required: scrub-a-dub and then some
Resulting sparkle: ooh! shiny
I really liked the clever packaging on this one -- that is, until I tried to use it. Built like a powdered Parmesan cheese container, the lid required some swiveling and poking. I'm not sure if it's meant to be child-proof or just dummy-proof, but either way, I failed. It wasn't until my lovely assistant suggested I poke the top with a pen that I was able to get it open. And even then, the powder lingered on the cap after I poured it onto my sponge -- much like powdered Parm. For the amount of scrubbing (not much), there was good return sparkle-wise, but the scent -- pretty as a perfume, but overpowering for the bathroom -- was too much for me.

Seventh Generation Natural Tub & Tile Cleaner 32 fl. oz liquid, $4.69 Eco-claims: Nontoxic, biodegradable, no fumes; free of chlorine, petroleum based solvents, glycol ethers, phosphates, strong acids, caustics, and dyes; not tested on animals, no animal ingredients
Ingredients: Natural lactic acid (to remove soap scum and lime scale), coconut surfactants (for soil removal), whole and natural plant essences (a blend of emerald cypress, balsam fir, and lime essential oils), water
Cleaning instructions: Spray the area and wipe clean; for heavy soils, spray and allow to sit for one minute, scrub or wipe clean.
Smell: strong piney, lemony scent (container says emerald cypress & fir)
Elbow grease required: wipe-on, wipe-off
Resulting sparkle: let's just call it "less dirty"
It was nice to spray on this cleaner and leave it for a few minutes (though it dripped down the tile walls), then come back and have the grime in the grout wipe clean without much effort. This might also work in a shower stall that starts out fairly clean. But for this grimy floor, it couldn't do the trick -- no matter how much I scrubbed