Monday, April 25, 2011

More Earth Day Shenanigans

I couldn't do just one Earth Day post, because really I think Earth Day should be every day. I just thought I would share some environmentally friendly happenings over here and how we are enjoying nature at home.

Bright plantings by the front door

Another one, flanking both sides of the front door

Don't know what these are called, but I love them
This is our first year planting vegetables!
We so excited that our seeds have sprouted
Can't wait to be able to go to the yard when we need veggies!
Homegrown - better tasting than any supermarket
Last year we grew our own tomatoes. Our son, who eats them like they are covered in chocolate, really enjoyed them. It was nice for us to know he was eating quality, ripe,  organic produce, free of pesticides and not shipped from another country and ripened in a truck.

Since that seemed to go well, we decided to go a little crazy this year, adding squash, onions, and beans to the mix. I really hope we don't kill everything, because I am so looking forward to this. I think it will be great to teach the boys to learn how to grow their own food, and learn responsibility by helping water the plants and pick vegetables. They are young but its never too early to start showing them the ropes!

And my fellow humans, I have really been going crazy with using white vinegar around the house. A lot with the laundry. For example, I have a few things that say "do not use fabric softener" - some really expensive, high quality bath towels that I have, that I don't want to ruin, and also some super absorbent kitchen towels. Vinegar can be used as a fabric softener, and there is no static cling! And it doesn't make your clothes stink like vinegar. On the contrary, vinegar removes odors. It came in really handy when I was in the throes of "laundry day" and ran out of softener. I have also been using it on my shower. I put some in a spray bottle with some water (50/50 mix) and spray it on my glass shower doors to help prevent/remove build up, mildew etc. I also have used it mixed with baking soda to clean stainless steel pots and pans. What I love about using vinegar to clean is that it is non-toxic, natural, and doesn't leave behind a gross chemical smell after use...which for some twisted reason we have come to associate with "clean." And its so cheap too, I buy big jugs of it at Walmart and they really go a long way.

Just doing our part...enjoy the earth....we all share it! Have a great day!

5 comments:

  1. Thats so great! I think its wonderful to grow your own veggies and I think I love tomatoes as much as your son!

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  2. This is so great. I was using vinegar/water to clean my counters for a while but my husband hated the smell, so we use "green" cleaners instead. I'm totally going to try vinegar as fabric softener- he'll never know! Thanks for all the tips, and kudos to you for taking on a garden. We are about to start composting. I'm excited about making less trash and showing the kids how we can make dirt out of our waste.

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  3. stopping in to say hi from summer sweets @ summerschocolate.blogspot.com. Thanks for the following! Im happy to be your new follower!

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  4. Now it's my turn to be impressed. I'm excited for you. I've always thought it's cool to cook your own harvest.

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