Dwell (...another one of those posts on a serious note)

I already shared my favorite "green" book for cleaning here.  So now it's time to share my all time fave magazine... DWELL. 

Most people, myself included, don't have the income to cover a whole roof in solar panels, or the desire to have a composting toilet and a gravity activated water system in order to live off the grid.  In a perfect world, yes I would.   But I believe the average Joe would agree it's not as "simple as all that" all of the time.

BUT I love this magazine!  It gives an ultimate goal for people like me to work toward.  I have what you might call a give-and-take relationship with the ultimate green living.  Let me explain a little bit...

For now I'm keeping my high efficiency toilet that flows into the city sewer, sorry.  And I'm not quite ready to give up running water in hopes that it will rain regularly in the drought of the summer to have enough water to brush my teeth, let alone drink.  I know I know, I just need to be educated a little more on the subject and then it won't feel so impossible... so just be patient with me. 

  I grow an organic garden.  Grant it, it is not on the roof of my house - the waterproof membrane is pretty pricey, not to mention the reinforcement of the roof to handle the extra weight.  The same goes for my landscaping.  I have a lot of trees, bushes and flowers planted around the house, albeit, not actually planted ON the exterior walls of my house. 

I glean the little tidbits I can from each issue and employ them in my living in every way possible.  I figure it's just like when a person switches to eating organic foods.  You start simple by purchasing what your income can handle.  When you're a new "organic convert", you could go bankrupt suddenly switching out every consumable thing - not to mention your soaps, shampoos, deodorant, household cleaners etc etc - with their organic equivalent all at once.  Then you would have heaps of discouragement on top of all that to contend with!  So we all start with baby steps.  When you go the gradual route you hardly notice the change at all, monetarily $$$ speaking.  One day you'll look in your cupboards and fridge and realize everything is organic - COOL!  At least that is how it was for me.

So that is how I intend to employ my lovely, wonderful magazine DWELL.  You'll agree it's hard to put down once you start reading and without a doubt you will renew the subscription when it runs out!

Green Clean (on a serious note...)

Distilled white vinegar, olive oil, salt, baking soda.  No I'm not making supper, I'm cleaning the house.  My all time fave tool for cleaning is this book.  It has a recipe for absolutely anything you might need or dream up.  All made with natural ingredients like the ones I listed above.

There's a recipe for anything from furniture polish to natural bleach to drain cleaner.  You can practically lick your fingers while using one of these treats without fear of instant death.  Although I'm certainly NOT recommending you to lick your fingers while cleaning the porcelain throne ewwww!

To just name a few, essential oils such as peppermint,  lavender and tea tree  are fantastic add-ins.  All 3 are known for their antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties.  Peppermint and lavender smell wonderful, tea tree is kind of on the strong side but worth it when you're trying to kill germs around the toilet!  Plus a little goes a long way.  When you are using essential oils it is in terms of 'drops', instead of ounces or cups, so a little bottle of essential oil seems to last and last and last.

This book covers it all and is extremely informative.  It explains the evils of everyday chemical cleaners which is very helpful when you're a new convert to the natural side.  And if you miss the nice lemony smell of your old cleaners, you can get it back with a little essential oil of lemon - Go Figure!