Tip of the Month: Cleaning Supplies - Are they toxic??

In my effort to change my own environment and go "green", I have been converting my cleaning supplies to healthier alternatives. I have been using Ecos laundry detergent for several years and love how my clothes, sheets, towels and even my dog's beds come out fresh and clean.  You can use Ecos for HE machines and I find that I am saving money, plus I know that I am not adding more chemicals to our water supply.  My other major change was hand soap.  If you look at your hand soap you will probably find the ingredient Triclosan, which seems to be controversial whether it has major effects on our health.  You can read the research yourself and decide, but I switched to a basic Castile soap.  All we really need is soap and water to clean our hands.  Vinegar is my basic cleaning product and weed killer, you can read my previous post here.

Other than laundry detergent and hand soap, many of us have a whole cabinet of various cleaning products for different purposes.  Do we really need all these products?  And how much do we really spend on those items? In a recent study I read, many of these cleaning products contain carcinogenics, which are released into the air.  Think about it. . .  if you are breathing in these chemicals there are likely to be health effects.  The study was completed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and you can read it here.  The focus was on the effects on indoor air quality in classrooms, but it would also apply to individual homes.

I also found that I was not alone in thinking that cleaning products should list all of the ingredients, not just some of them.  What shocked me most, but makes sense why Febreze smells funny to me, is how many airborne contaminants are released when using this product.

If any of this concerns you, as it does me, then take a look and decide if you want to err on the side of caution when cleaning your home.  For myself, I have a few of these cleaning products left and will replace these products with healthier (and also cheaper) cleaning alternatives.  Give vinegar and baking soda a try.  Or try castile soap next time.

A Collection of Easter Crafts

I just had to share three of my favorites Easter crafts that I came across on other blogs.   There are plenty more patterns and projects than what I am sharing.  So have fun and get creative this weekend!

Recycled Easter Egg Garland - Such a cute idea with left over paint chips or other paper scraps (maybe try vintage wrapping paper). Click here to visit Recycled Sewing.

Crochet Easter Egg ornament and basket; a DROPS Design by Garnstudio.These are so cute!   Click here for the pattern.









My final favorite is at Tangled Happy's blog.  There are Easter eggs, bunny hats and other little Easter projects to crochet.  I think the egg cozy is cute!  Click here to check out her blog.

Eco-Friendly Easter Baskets and Gifts

Weren't opening Easter baskets fun as a kid?  All wrapped in cellophane with plastic Easter grass.  Okay, the treats were the best part, but most Easter baskets are wrapped in all of that plastic.  I remember my Mom reused the baskets and wrappings each year, and since I am going "green", I figure I might as well reuse Easter grass too.  So I don't recommend going out and buying new plastic Easter grass, but if you are going to buy some for the bottom of your Easter basket try the paper version.

For my dog's Easter basket, I used the paper Easter grass I found in my gift-wrapping storage box, which you can't see in the photo.  Then added a few stuffed rabbits, squeaky balls and a few other chew toys.  If you have little dogs, choose a smaller basket to put their toys or treats in.  My dogs seem to know these are meant for them and I have to keep it out of their reach, otherwise they just take the toys out of the basket.

Since I don't have kids, I'm not worried about making fun Easter baskets for little ones to enjoy.  Though I think the baskets from Pottery Barn Kids are adorable.  Click here and here for the photos I posted on Pinterest.  I also like regular baskets with basket liners for Easter.  If you don't have Easter basket supplies, I recommend getting a good quality basket or fabric/felt basket that can be reused.  You could knit or crochet one as well.  Then the fun part is picking out (or making) the gifts to include in the basket.  Chocolate is always a good choice, at least I think so. Stickers, coloring books, craft supplies and stuffed toys are always great choices too.  For other eco-friendly choices, I found a great post on Eco Child's Play, click here.  Whatever you choose for you Easter basket, have fun!  Easter is about sharing love and joy.

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Let's Start Knitting . . . my first completed project

A few months back I took on the challenge of learning to knit.  Mistakes were inevitable, but I did manage, after starting the whole project over twice, to finally complete a pattern.  I tried the Russian Hat pattern from Red Heart.  The yarn for the project has been discontinued, so I substituted another bulky yarn.  My end result was a nice knit hat, lacking the uniqueness of the pictured Russian Hat in the pattern.  Take a look at the above link and you will see what I mean.  After looking at it and before cutting the yarn, I decided that I did not like the way it turned out.  I really liked the pictured hat and will have to find a similar pattern or a better substitute yarn.  So, it was good practice on my knit and purl rows, though very frustrating having to rip out all the rows. 

If it was easy to learn then we would all be knitting (or crocheting).

On to the next project . . .

Devil's Dark Chocolate Cake

I was ambitious this weekend and decided to tempt to make a 4 layer chocolate cake, but not any chocolate cake, a devil's food cake with dark chocolate.  If you do not want a 4 layer cake, half all ingredients (frosting too) and if you prefer a sweeter chocolate, substitute milk chocolate for the semi-sweet and 87% chocolate in the frosting.

Ingredients:
8 oz 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate (I like Ghirardelli)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted organic butter
1 cup sugar or packed brown sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup or agave
2 cups sifted cake flour or all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 large organic eggs
1 (or 1 1/2) tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole organic milk

Frosting:
8 oz Semi-sweet chocolate
8 oz 60% Cacao Bittersweet chocolate
optional 84%
2 cups organic sour cream

Instructions:
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter 4 cake pans and line with parchment paper.

2. In a double-boiler over barely simmering water, melt chocolate, butter, sugar, and corn syrup (agave).  Stir occasionally until smooth.  Remove from heat.

3. Sift flour, baking soda and cocoa powder.  Gently fold in melted chocolate mixture.

4.  Whisk egg, vanilla and milk.  Add to flour/chocolate mixture and mix until well blended.

5.  Divide evenly in 4 cake pans.  Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool.  When cool, turn out of pans.

6.  Make frosting.  In a double-boiler, melt all chocolate until smooth, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly.  Beat in sour cream.

7.  Spread some of the frosting on the first layer, and repeat for all layers.  Then spread the remaining frosting around the edges of the cake.  Let sit in a cool spot. Enjoy.

Out-of-Control Yarn

At the moment, I have been taking a break from my crochet and knit projects so I can complete a few sewing projects (as well as living life to it's fullest).  My knitting needle and crochet hook cases are almost complete and I have a bag that I am starting.  I will post those soon. 

In my absence from my yarn projects, I did discover an interesting blog post that I thought I should share.  Especially for those (like me) who have a yarn stash.  Maybe you don't know how to organize it or store it.  Check out Hugs for Your Head .  I really found her post about controlling your yarn stash to be very useful and insightful.

For my yarn stash I have an idea on how I am going to sort and organize it.  My yarn has outgrown the basket I was using, so I am creating some fabric bins and using a bookcase to store it.  Once I have finished this project I will share, but at this point it is an idea.