Soap nuts
I heard about soap nuts on a TV programme and immediately went and ordered some through eBay. I got 410g of soap nuts, instructions and information, and a muslin bag to use them for only £4.21 total (that's around $6.11). They will last me ages.
Basically they are nuts:
You throw a few into a little muslin bag:
And chuck it into your washing machine with your laundry. No soap powder or fabric softener needed! The soap nuts release saponin (natural soap) during the wash and your clothes come out clean and smelling fresh! Green, natural and frugal - I like it!
I also tried the following trick: bring 4 cups of water and one cup of soap nuts to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid and pour into a spray bottle and voila - natural, green and frugal cleaner that works a treat!
Green Pan
I am totally in love with my new Green Pan that we bought last week. I've been wanting a PTFE free non-stick pan for a while so when I found this 12-inch beauty I snapped it up. It's ceramic non-stick which means to nasty fumes from PTFE when I'm cooking, no PFOA is produced in its production and it's made with recycled aluminium. And let me tell you, it is a beauty to cook with! I've never experienced such fabulous non-stick properties (although I should probably confess that I've only ever bought super-cheap non-stick pans before). At £40 (around $58) it wasn't exactly inexpensive, but considering that it will last us a good many years and has such great health and environmental benefits we were happy to spend that.
Forsaking plastic for glass
I've been slowly trying to replace plastic containers with glass. You know how sometimes you'll eat or drink something that's been stored in plastic for a while and it will taste a little, well, plasticky? I have to be concerned about what chemicals are leaching into the food or drink. And then when you hear about the health issues linked to BPA from plastic bottles it just make sense to use glass when possible.
Daniel's bottle for his packed lunch at school is steel. I've started reusing pickle and jam jars in the fridge to store things like tuna maoyonnaise or bits of leftovers:
And dug out some glass storage jars I had in the cellar to replace our plastic cereal containers:
In the garden
We bought and installed a water butt:
And I've been obsessively planning our garden for this year's growing season and starting some seeds off on my kitchen windowsill. Yesterday I planted out some pea seedlings - a little early but they were outgrowing their seed tray and I don't have pots to pot them on so I thought I'd take the chance. If they die I still have three more months to get some new pea plants started:
What have you done lately that's green, frugal and natural? I'd love to hear about the changes you have made and how they are working out for you.
Great post! I reuse a lot of glass jars too. I do spray paint the lids to make them look a little nicer. Love your photos of Spring. We still have plenty of snow where I live! Have a great day. :)
ReplyDeleteUh, well I have not driven anywhere for 3 months! How's that? ;o)
ReplyDeleteAs our kids get more self sufficient, I find it hard to use glass in the fridge...I'm nervous they will drop things. But I do love to put chopped onions into a glass jar--it keeps the smell in and the jar just cleans so well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspiration. I think I might look into that water collection thing!
This post is one so close to my heart! My sister already got me concerned about wasting plastic bags in my kids lunches. She has a neat kit that, although it is all plastic, has little compartments that all fit together. They are perfect for each little thing in your lunch, and you don't ever use a ziplock bag again! Love the concept of that one, and it's one you keep from year to year so you are not wasting on new lunchboxes each year, too! How do those soap nuts actually clean? You have totally intrigued me with them! I grow a garden every year. For sure a salsa garden (as it's our favorite snack), and as much else as we can fit in our postage size backyard! We have a compost for 2 reasons. One is that I wanted the compost for my garden. The other is to use our kitchen scraps instead of adding to our land fill. I love it, and mine was the cheapest one I could find (at Walmart!). We always try and reuse things for our crafting, as well! I love it because it's cheap and "green". I have one daughter who is especially concerned with us leaving a smaller "footprint". So, we are changing our habits, one step at a time!
ReplyDeleteRebecca
RootsAndWingsCo.blogspot.com
Great ideas! I have been making an effort to be more green, frugal, and natural as well. I have been trying to cook more from scratch and buy less processed foods, I have replaced alot of our paper products (napkins, paper towels, diapers, baby wipes) with cloth. I use mainly vinegar and baking soda to clean with. I use a steam mop instead of chemicals. Thanks for the new ideas!
ReplyDeleteI want a water barrel with a spigot!! I will definitely have to scour Georgia for one :)
ReplyDeletealso - I heard that the greenpans are fantastico till about the third month and then the non-stick lining starts wearing off...you will have to keep us posted on whether that is true or not.
Debbie - great idea with the spray paint!
ReplyDeleteDi - see, you can feel good about your situation because you're helping save the planet.
Sonja - good point, I've not had the kids handle the glass jars yet.
Rebecca - that lunch kit sounds fabulous. I do use seperate little plastic tubs - wish I could replace them with tins or something. The soap nuts seem to clean our clothes really well, although they didn't do so well in the diswasher.
Melanie - good point about replacing disposable things with reusable, I think we all need to do more of that.
Katie - I'm following their care instructions to the letter, including washing by hand instead of in the dishwasher - will definitely report back if it starts going faulty.
Those are major accomplishments! I'm starring this post in my google reader so that we can get a water butt (or something similar), too.
ReplyDeleteWow, what great changes!
ReplyDeleteWe are also trying to get rid of all the plastic we use. It's crazy how much we use plastic when you step back and think about it!
We're also reusing all glass jars and bottles that we have, or that we've purchased other things in.
Baby steps.
I LOVE all the things you have done! I'm really interestd in those soap nuts. I've heard of them before, but never seen what they look like. Thanks for the link! Once my huge box of washing powder (that I got in asda for an amazing £1!!) runs out I'll be trying them out! We use stainless steel pans (which we love) but have a teflon frying pan because of the non stick aspect. I'll definitely be watching out for an update as to how your new pan is working for you. And I understand what you mean about plastic. I will only drink out of a glass (rather than plastic beaker) because it makes a difference to the taste. I even bought the kids some little juice size glasses in ikea for really cheap. And I also have some vingtage pyrex glasses for the kids - the glass fits inside a plastic base with handle to make it easier for them to grasp. Your post has certainly made me rethink some of the other things I could do to go more natural!
ReplyDeleteI love soap nuts! They work so well. I did not know you could make a cleaner out of them! Thank you for sharing that tip. I will definitely be making some this week.
ReplyDeleteA "green" non-stick pan is something I'll have to check out. I got rid of all my old ones a few years ago, but it would be nice to have one that wasn't toxic. :)