Categories

Folk Festival Inspired

Folk Buddies at the CFMFWhat a FABULOUS weekend. 16 hours spread out of over 4 days of volunteering, in return for the ultimate in enjoyable volunteering pleasure + excellent healthy (often) organic food + immaculate HOT weather + meeting new-to-me artists of incredible talent = the Calgary Folk Music Festival. Folk you say? Well, in my own opinion, to label the artists that performed here as liberally or generally Folk would be a disservice. The artists crossed all boundaries of musical genres, from Pop to Rap to Reggae to Blues to Country to Bluegrass to Folk. And beyond. Any and all expectations. Exceeded. Multi-dimensional. Beautiful workshops of collaborative and spontaneous inspiration. Now that’s what I call musically inclined and inspired to the max. I still shiver at the excellent and brilliant meetings of spirit, soul and music. Lovemaking in the purest form.

New-to-me artists that totally changed my world and expanded my musical tastings? Harriston-born Estheros, Emily Wells, finger banging Chad Van Gaalen, Pacifika, Arrested Development, Steven Page (former lead singer and founder of the Bare Naked Ladies), Mirah, Iron and Wine and Luluc. Just to name a few. Wow. Glad I pushed the envelope of my schedule and busy-ness. It was indeed worth the investment of time and energy. New friends, enchanted surprise rendezvouses and spontaneous eruption of dance and song (on my part!). Check the artists out if you get the chance. They may rawk your world as well.

Hallelujah.

July 27th, 2009 | Tags: , | Category: Play | Leave a comment

DIY Household Enviro-Friendly Cleaners!

DIY CleanersTired of spending a fortune on something that’s simple and easy to make, when it comes to keeping the home clean, safe and eco-friendly?
I’m all for the simplicity and purity of these ideas. Mother Earth comes out ahead, as does you and your family’s health (and wallet).
Try adding essential oils at your own discretion. Of course, I’m all about the good and natural smellies :) . I can provide you with those, if you feel inspired and in need.
Enjoy!

DIY HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS

The healthiest, least-toxic cleaners you can find are the ones you make yourself. They’re effective too: According to a study at Virginia Tech, spraying hydrogen peroxide and vinegar right after one another is just as effective at killing germs as lung-irritating, stream-polluting chlorine bleach. Here are a few easy cleaner recipes to kick-start your Saturday chores.

EIGHT ESSENTIALS
These eight items make up the basic ingredients for nearly every do-it-yourself cleaning recipe.

  • Baking soda: provides grit for scrubbing and reacts with water, vinegar or lemon by fizzing, which speeds up cleaning times
  • Borax: disinfects, bleaches and deodorizes; very handy in laundry mixes
  • Distilled white vinegar: disinfects and breaks up dirt; choose white vinegar over apple cider or red vinegars, as these might stain surfaces
  • Hydrogen Peroxide: disinfects and bleaches
  • Lemons: cut grease; bottled lemon juice also works well, although you might need to use bit more to get the same results
  • Olive oil: picks up dirt and polishes wood; cheaper grades work well
  • Vegetable based (liquid castile) soap: non-petroleum all-purpose cleaners
  • Washing soda: stain remover, general cleaner, helps unblock pipes; should be handled with gloves due to its caustic nature. Washing soda is usually found in the laundry aisle of grocery and drug stores.

Don’t forget to pick up an empty spray bottle at the hardware store, and keep those old rags and used toothbrushes for wiping up and scrubbing.

WHOLE HOUSE

All-Purpose Cleaner
1/2 cup borax
1 gallon hot water

Mix in pail (or use smaller amounts in a spray bottle: 1/8 cup borax to 1 quart of hot water) dissolving the borax completely; wipe clean with rag.

Floors

Wood
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 gallon warm water

Linoleum
1 cup white vinegar
2 gallons warm water

Mix in mop bucket, rinse afterwards.

Furniture Polish
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil

Mix and apply with a clean rag to dust and polish. Reduce the olive oil if wood looks too oily.

Metal Polish
Copper and Brass
2 Tbsps salt
White vinegar

Add vinegar to salt until you’ve created a paste. Adding flour will reduce abrasiveness. Apply with a rag and rub clean.

Stainless Steel
Baking soda
White vinegar

Apply baking soda with a damp cloth, using the vinegar to eliminate spots.

BATHROOM

Toilet Bowl
Baking soda
White vinegar

To clean and deodorize, sprinkle toilet bowl with baking soda, add white vinegar and scrub with a toilet brush.

Tub and Tile
1/2 lemon
Borax

Dip the face of the lemon half in borax to create a hand-held scrubber for dirty areas. Rinse and dry the surface afterwards.

KITCHEN

Countertops
Marble: Mix one Tbsp castile soap with a quart of warm water, rinse well, then dry with a warm cloth.

Other surfaces: half a lemon and dip the face in baking soda to scrub off residues. Follow up by spraying with glass cleaner mix (below).

Drains
1 cup baking soda
1 cup vinegar

Add baking soda and vinegar to a pot of boiled water and pour down the drain, then flush with tap water. For more stubborn clogs, use a “snake” plumbing tool to manually remove blockage, or try suction removal with a plunger. To prevent clogs, install inexpensive mesh screen, available at home improvement and hardware stores.

Glass
1/4 cup vinegar or 1 Tbsp lemon juice
2+ cups water

Fill a clean spray bottle with water and either white vinegar or lemon juice; wipe with a rag or old newspaper.

Oven
Baking soda
Water

Sprinkle baking soda on surfaces, spray water, then let soak several hours or overnight. Rinse with water.

Stovetop and Oven Grease Remover
1/2 tsp washing soda
1/4 tsp liquid soap
2 cups hot water

Add washing soda and soap to hot water in spray bottle. Since washing soda is caustic, wear gloves.

LAUNDRY ROOM
Bleach alternative
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

July 27th, 2009 | Tags: , | Category: RV There Yet | Leave a comment

Organization 101 – - a start

declutter houseI’m starting to get into that mode of de-cluttering. Or at least think about it. But where to start? Starting the task of clearing out the ‘stuff’ is always the most difficult part of the challenge, for me. Because there’s always SO much to do. But once I get into that mindset, that mode, the task becomes easier.
Here’s some tips on starting in the bedroom with your closet. One of my own personal tips (adopted from my husband) is to roll all my clothes, when they’re not hanging up. Allows for much more storage and I can then also see everything when they’re not stacked, but rolled instead.

Starting with the closet –

7 Tips For a More Organized Master Closet

1. Keep all clothing and shoes off the floor

2. Keep the floor clear easy to clean

3. If you don’t have built in shoe cubbies and you have extra pole space, use hanging bags for shoes

4. If you need more drawer storage and you have the extra pole space, use hanging shelves for jeans, sweats and other bulky items

5. Use space bags or plastic bins on the top shelf for off-season clothes

6. Remove lids from hampers so clothes actually go into the hamper instead of getting stacked on top

7. Separate and organize clothing items by the way you determine what to wear in the morning. Variations include dividing by color, occasion or warmth.

Moving into the kitchen –

5 Tips For an Organized Kitchen
1. Keep all papers off of kitchen countertop

2. Create zones for each type of activity ie prep, store, cook, bake

3. Keep tools for each activity within reach of that zone

4. Use large lazysusans for deep, hard to reach cupboards

5. Use stacker shelves to keep track of canned good inventory

Now the question is, can she come and help us organize our Airstream, with all the curved cupboard space and limited allotment for weight storage. Time to start thinking about cut, cut, cutting back. That’s HUGE for me. The sacrifices one must make to live the dream :) . I’m ready for the challenge! Now I need to find me one of those container stores.

July 27th, 2009 | Tags: , , | Category: Organized Life, Tips & Ideas | Leave a comment