I have a problem with corporate marketing companies telling us (women) when, why and how we're supposed to clean. This hilarious video from Sarah Haskins says it best:
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
how to buy really green
How do you know if what you're buying is really green or not? My favorite eco-friendly consumer advocate, Debra Lynn Dadd, has written a new book that answers exactly that question. Really Green covers easy green principles that anyone can learn, to help each of us understand the kinds of things that really DO help health and the environment.
It contains all the information you need to be able to tell the difference between products with real environmental and health benefits and those with misleading green hype. In this book, you will learn:
* What "green" really means
* The true foundation for defining green products
* The life cycle of green products
* The eighteen basic principles that define what's green
* The five basic types of green products
* All about green packaging
* Various shades of green products
* The cost of green goods
* How to spot misleading "greenwashing"
* How to change your buying habits to be green
Click on this link to find out more and buy the book today!
It contains all the information you need to be able to tell the difference between products with real environmental and health benefits and those with misleading green hype. In this book, you will learn:
* What "green" really means
* The true foundation for defining green products
* The life cycle of green products
* The eighteen basic principles that define what's green
* The five basic types of green products
* All about green packaging
* Various shades of green products
* The cost of green goods
* How to spot misleading "greenwashing"
* How to change your buying habits to be green
Click on this link to find out more and buy the book today!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
the story of stuff
I gave a talk last night on the subject of green organizing to the North GTA chapter of Professional Organizers in Canada. Today's post was going to be an overview of the points I covered in my talk, but then another organizing colleague of mine sent me a link that takes precedence - and actually explains - even better than I could - some of the ideas I was trying to share last night.Check out the twenty-minute animated video on this website called The Story of Stuff. It's entertaining and extremely informative. I'll add my own two cents in a day or two...
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
i have a new job
This entry was posted simultaneously on three of my blogs: an organized existence, the greener cleaner and the rest of my life.I just found out today that I have a new full-time job: Artistic Administrator for The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Canada's first professional choir dedicated to performing Afrocentric music of all genres. But through the mysteries of cyber-space management (and the fact that I always save several empty "draft" blog posts in each of my blogs every month), I am not actually writing this post until more than two months later - Sunday, March 16, to be exact.
I didn't write about my new job until now (March) because for most of my first two months on the job I was secretly terrified that I might be fired at any moment. It's not that I was doing a bad job... it's just that I wasn't sure I was doing a really good job. And I wasn't sure if my employer, the Chorale's Artistic Director, Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, thought I was doing a good job, either.
Can I say that I LOVE my new job, though? It's been both challenging and rewarding, and is pushing me to grow professionally and personally in so many ways. At the end of every day I am ecstatic that I get to serve the amazing musicians who can do this:
I am inspired and lifted up by this group of people. This is a very special organization that touches so many lives in a very important way.
Brainerd and I were chatting with an arts colleague recently, and this person mentioned that her own organization had gone for several months without hiring someone for a vacant administrative position because they decided they were going to wait for just the right fit. Eventually someone walked through the door with that special aura about them that told our colleague she'd found "the one."
Later that day I asked Brainerd if he had felt the same way when he hired me - expecting him to answer in the negative (which he did). (Can I say that one of the other things I love about my new job is that I feel I can talk freely to Brainerd about almost anything?) The thing is, it wasn't obvious when I was hired that I possessed all the skills and experience needed to do this job well. Brainerd had made a list several months earlier, though - a list of all the qualities that he wanted in his future administrative head. And the longer I'm at this job, the more he is realizing that I have most of those qualities.
How many jobs have you had where you've felt you were the answer to someone's prayer? It's pretty sweet...
I'm still doing organizing and eco-friendly consulting on the side, but I'm pretty selective with the clients I take on now. Feel free to contact me about a project you'd like help with, and if I can't do it myself, I will refer you to someone I can.
(And don't be afraid to hold out for "the one" while you're at it...)
Saturday, January 5, 2008
how to clean a pot
I tried to cook some spun sugar last night to garnish a dessert I was serving to a friend. The entire endeavor was fraught with disappointment: I didn't have much sugar in the house, the sugar was dead hard, I burned the sugar, and then I worried about cleaning the burnt sugar out of the pot.The truth is, there's no reason to fret about cleaning up burnt sugar. It may feel like concrete, but it will effortlessly dissolve in hot water.
Simply immerse the affected objects, and half an hour later they'll wash up like a dream.
To see a Facebook photo album of this tip, click here.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
how to clean the outside of a refrigerator
Do you want to clean green?I got a digital camera for Christmas, and have been going nuts creating photo essays on Facebook with it ever since. I'm including the written instructions below for cleaning the outside of a fridge, but to see the entire photo album (I recommend it), click here. (You don't need to be a Facebook member to view the album.)*
I like stuff on my fridge - even though I'm a professional organizer, and I always tell clients who are staging their homes for resale that an uncluttered fridge is more appealing to buyers. In my defense, sometimes I just don't remember to do things unless I stick them to my fridge. And I have a niece and nephew whom I love (and who make lots of drawings for me)... and I wanted to display all my Christmas cards this year...
It was the Christmas cards that inspired me to clean my fridge. I wanted to take them down, and I figured while I was at it, I might as well do the whole thing.
The first step is to take everything OFF the fridge - including things on top (in my case, a wooden dish rack and a basket of brushes and scrubbies for dishwashing). While you're at it, organize what you've taken off so that you can put things away immediately.
These are the supplies you'll need to clean the outside of the fridge:
-baking soda (in a shaker can)
-vinegar (in a spray bottle)
-TSP (trisodium phosphate, which you can buy in crystal form at hardware or paint stores)
You may also want a bucket of warm water or a spray bottle of water, and you'll need some clean rags and possibly some brushes or toothbrushes for the nooks and crannies.
Start at the top of the fridge, wiping down all the outer surfaces. If there's a lot of dust on top, wipe it off with a dry rag first to get the worst of the dust, and then wipe again with a damp rag.
If there's a lot of greasy grime up there, mix up a TSP solution according to the directions on the carton. TSP is fantastic for greasy grime - it will wipe right off.
NOTE: When using TSP, be sure to wear gloves. It is a mild skin irritant, especially at high concentrations. And don't breathe in the dust from the crystals.
(The reason I use TSP is that it does a better job than most conventional cleaners like Fantasic and Mr. Clean, without the nasty scents and fumes.)
If there are scuff marks on the fridge, they should come off with a scrubbing of baking soda. Spray well with vinegar afterwards, to remove any powdery residue.
NOTE: If you use vinegar and you're going to put photographs or important papers back on the fridge after cleaning it, be sure to rinse well with plain water after using the vinegar, so that you don't get acid damage on the photos or papers.
The fridge handles will likely be grimy - especially if they are textured like mine. A TSP solution will again easily clean up any greasy grime. (This is where a toothbrush might also come in handy.)
If you have chrome handles (or a stainless steel fridge), TSP can clean off most of the greasy fingerprints or smudges. Just spray well with vinegar afterwards, and wipe dry with a clean rag to make the chrome or steel shine.
I like stuff on my fridge - even though I'm a professional organizer, and I always tell clients who are staging their homes for resale that an uncluttered fridge is more appealing to buyers. In my defense, sometimes I just don't remember to do things unless I stick them to my fridge. And I have a niece and nephew whom I love (and who make lots of drawings for me)... and I wanted to display all my Christmas cards this year...
It was the Christmas cards that inspired me to clean my fridge. I wanted to take them down, and I figured while I was at it, I might as well do the whole thing.
The first step is to take everything OFF the fridge - including things on top (in my case, a wooden dish rack and a basket of brushes and scrubbies for dishwashing). While you're at it, organize what you've taken off so that you can put things away immediately.
These are the supplies you'll need to clean the outside of the fridge:
-baking soda (in a shaker can)
-vinegar (in a spray bottle)
-TSP (trisodium phosphate, which you can buy in crystal form at hardware or paint stores)
You may also want a bucket of warm water or a spray bottle of water, and you'll need some clean rags and possibly some brushes or toothbrushes for the nooks and crannies.
Start at the top of the fridge, wiping down all the outer surfaces. If there's a lot of dust on top, wipe it off with a dry rag first to get the worst of the dust, and then wipe again with a damp rag.
If there's a lot of greasy grime up there, mix up a TSP solution according to the directions on the carton. TSP is fantastic for greasy grime - it will wipe right off.
NOTE: When using TSP, be sure to wear gloves. It is a mild skin irritant, especially at high concentrations. And don't breathe in the dust from the crystals.
(The reason I use TSP is that it does a better job than most conventional cleaners like Fantasic and Mr. Clean, without the nasty scents and fumes.)
If there are scuff marks on the fridge, they should come off with a scrubbing of baking soda. Spray well with vinegar afterwards, to remove any powdery residue.
NOTE: If you use vinegar and you're going to put photographs or important papers back on the fridge after cleaning it, be sure to rinse well with plain water after using the vinegar, so that you don't get acid damage on the photos or papers.
The fridge handles will likely be grimy - especially if they are textured like mine. A TSP solution will again easily clean up any greasy grime. (This is where a toothbrush might also come in handy.)
If you have chrome handles (or a stainless steel fridge), TSP can clean off most of the greasy fingerprints or smudges. Just spray well with vinegar afterwards, and wipe dry with a clean rag to make the chrome or steel shine.
I decided not to clutter up my fridge with photos, papers and cards after cleaning it. Who knows how long that will last, though...
*Instructions for viewing the album on Facebook: Click on the first photograph to read the description of that photo. To proceed to the next photo in the series, simply click on the current photo, or click on "Next" in top right corner of the page.
*Instructions for viewing the album on Facebook: Click on the first photograph to read the description of that photo. To proceed to the next photo in the series, simply click on the current photo, or click on "Next" in top right corner of the page.
Monday, December 17, 2007
toilets
Do you want to clean green?
When I had my cleaning business and strangers asked me what I did for a living, I liked to joke that I spent my day I scrubbing toilets. (Which, of course, I did.) For some people, this is the most dreaded cleaning job, but strangely enough, toilets are (generally) one of my favorite things to clean. Porcelain looks so nice when it sparkles.
What's the problem?
With toilets, the biggest cleaning challenges are: drips on the rim, down the outside of the bowl, and all over the floor from careless male users; spatters on the inside of the bowl; build-up below the water line from "letting it mellow" (which can occasionally lead to very severe gunk + lime scale); mold growth on the tank.
Old school:
Dump a bunch of toxic, corrosive chemicals into the bowl. Let sit, scrub and flush.
The greener way:
The toilet brush is your friend. Buy a good one - that will reach under the rim, and deep inside the "exit passage". Replace brushes as soon as they start to wear out - exposed brush wires can permanently scratch the inside of the bowl. And make sure the brush you choose has a large, stable base in which to rest when it’s not in use. That puppy will be germy, and will drip water all over your bathroom floor otherwise.
To cut down on extreme toilet maintenance, encourage all toilet users to scrub the bowl whenever they create a "mess". They know who they are, and what they’ve done. This kind of thing is SO much easier to clean up when it’s fresh, rather than after it’s been allowed to dry – at which point it will require all sorts of curse-inducing elbow-grease.
Once every week or two, give the inside of the bowl a thorough scrub. There are eco-friendly toilet bowl cleaners on the market, but I never bother with them. If you want some suds, squirt in some eco-friendly dishwashing detergent.
And don’t fret about finding a replacement for the traditional chlorine bleach toilet cleaners. I mean really – how long do you think that toilet is going to remain “germ free”? If you want to disinfect the brush between uses on the other hand, spray it well with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (see detailed instructions in the posted item on disinfecting with vinegar and peroxide).
You can even keep the brush soaking in hydrogen peroxide when it’s not in use. It’s much preferable to soaking the brush in chlorine bleach, which is highly corrosive and could be a hazard to pets and small children. Note that continually soaking a brush will often cause rust damage to the brush, though – and you will have to replace the peroxide frequently, since it naturally loses its potency upon exposure to air and light.
To clean the rim, seat*, bowl sides and tank, liberally spray them with vinegar (or use the vinegar/peroxide disinfection technique), let sit for a few minutes, and wipe dry with a clean, dry rag. DO NOT CROSS-CONTAMINATE SURFACES by using the rag for anything else afterwards. It goes straight to the laundry room, okay? And wash your hands immediately after cleaning any toilet.
*If you have a painted wooden seat and lid, be aware that vinegar can etch the finish. Don’t let the vinegar sit after spraying, but wipe it up immediately with a dry rag.
Preventive maintenance:
Flush after every use. If you're worried about water consumption, replace your old toilet with a newer, low-flow or dual-flush one. "Letting it mellow" - even just overnight - causes the worst build-up of unspeakable gunk below the water level.
I’ve read that slipping a 1000mg tablet of vitamin C (or a package of citrus drink crystals) into the bowl and letting it sit for several hours will help prevent lime scale build-up. It’s the ascorbic acid that does it. Don’t pee into the acidic water, though – a toxic vapour may result.
Special circumstances:
Some toilets will develop rust stains starting underneath the rim at the water holes, and spreading down the inside of the bowl. Alternatively, you can put off cleaning a toilet so long that a thick, gross-looking lime scale develops, usually creeping up from the outflow hole. Both can be treated by a (toxic and corrosive) commercial-grade calcium, lime and rust remover. I have yet to find an eco-friendly alternative to these extreme problems.
Another challenge in some bathrooms is a pervasive urine smell around the toilet. I don’t like to point fingers, but the blame for this always rests with men in the household who stand to pee. Urine that “misses the mark” can seep underneath the toilet, and urine spray in the air can spread to the walls and underneath the toilet tank. I’ve noticed this is a special problem in wallpapered bathrooms where the paper absorbs the urine, and the smell is almost impossible to remove.
With a damp cloth, thoroughly wipe down all surfaces surrounding the toilet, including the underside of the tank. Spray vinegar and hydrogen peroxide into the crack where the toilet meets the floor. Teach your men to sit when they pee.
Pet peeves:
I have a special aversion to tschochkes on top of toilet tanks – and homeowners who never dust this area as a result. What’s with those little dolls that hide toilet rolls under their skirts? Please. The only thing that should be on top of your toilet is a box of Kleenex (if that). Dusting problem solved…
When I had my cleaning business and strangers asked me what I did for a living, I liked to joke that I spent my day I scrubbing toilets. (Which, of course, I did.) For some people, this is the most dreaded cleaning job, but strangely enough, toilets are (generally) one of my favorite things to clean. Porcelain looks so nice when it sparkles.
What's the problem?
With toilets, the biggest cleaning challenges are: drips on the rim, down the outside of the bowl, and all over the floor from careless male users; spatters on the inside of the bowl; build-up below the water line from "letting it mellow" (which can occasionally lead to very severe gunk + lime scale); mold growth on the tank.
Old school:
Dump a bunch of toxic, corrosive chemicals into the bowl. Let sit, scrub and flush.
The greener way:
The toilet brush is your friend. Buy a good one - that will reach under the rim, and deep inside the "exit passage". Replace brushes as soon as they start to wear out - exposed brush wires can permanently scratch the inside of the bowl. And make sure the brush you choose has a large, stable base in which to rest when it’s not in use. That puppy will be germy, and will drip water all over your bathroom floor otherwise.
To cut down on extreme toilet maintenance, encourage all toilet users to scrub the bowl whenever they create a "mess". They know who they are, and what they’ve done. This kind of thing is SO much easier to clean up when it’s fresh, rather than after it’s been allowed to dry – at which point it will require all sorts of curse-inducing elbow-grease.
Once every week or two, give the inside of the bowl a thorough scrub. There are eco-friendly toilet bowl cleaners on the market, but I never bother with them. If you want some suds, squirt in some eco-friendly dishwashing detergent.
And don’t fret about finding a replacement for the traditional chlorine bleach toilet cleaners. I mean really – how long do you think that toilet is going to remain “germ free”? If you want to disinfect the brush between uses on the other hand, spray it well with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (see detailed instructions in the posted item on disinfecting with vinegar and peroxide).
You can even keep the brush soaking in hydrogen peroxide when it’s not in use. It’s much preferable to soaking the brush in chlorine bleach, which is highly corrosive and could be a hazard to pets and small children. Note that continually soaking a brush will often cause rust damage to the brush, though – and you will have to replace the peroxide frequently, since it naturally loses its potency upon exposure to air and light.
To clean the rim, seat*, bowl sides and tank, liberally spray them with vinegar (or use the vinegar/peroxide disinfection technique), let sit for a few minutes, and wipe dry with a clean, dry rag. DO NOT CROSS-CONTAMINATE SURFACES by using the rag for anything else afterwards. It goes straight to the laundry room, okay? And wash your hands immediately after cleaning any toilet.
*If you have a painted wooden seat and lid, be aware that vinegar can etch the finish. Don’t let the vinegar sit after spraying, but wipe it up immediately with a dry rag.
Preventive maintenance:
Flush after every use. If you're worried about water consumption, replace your old toilet with a newer, low-flow or dual-flush one. "Letting it mellow" - even just overnight - causes the worst build-up of unspeakable gunk below the water level.
I’ve read that slipping a 1000mg tablet of vitamin C (or a package of citrus drink crystals) into the bowl and letting it sit for several hours will help prevent lime scale build-up. It’s the ascorbic acid that does it. Don’t pee into the acidic water, though – a toxic vapour may result.
Special circumstances:
Some toilets will develop rust stains starting underneath the rim at the water holes, and spreading down the inside of the bowl. Alternatively, you can put off cleaning a toilet so long that a thick, gross-looking lime scale develops, usually creeping up from the outflow hole. Both can be treated by a (toxic and corrosive) commercial-grade calcium, lime and rust remover. I have yet to find an eco-friendly alternative to these extreme problems.
Another challenge in some bathrooms is a pervasive urine smell around the toilet. I don’t like to point fingers, but the blame for this always rests with men in the household who stand to pee. Urine that “misses the mark” can seep underneath the toilet, and urine spray in the air can spread to the walls and underneath the toilet tank. I’ve noticed this is a special problem in wallpapered bathrooms where the paper absorbs the urine, and the smell is almost impossible to remove.
With a damp cloth, thoroughly wipe down all surfaces surrounding the toilet, including the underside of the tank. Spray vinegar and hydrogen peroxide into the crack where the toilet meets the floor. Teach your men to sit when they pee.
Pet peeves:
I have a special aversion to tschochkes on top of toilet tanks – and homeowners who never dust this area as a result. What’s with those little dolls that hide toilet rolls under their skirts? Please. The only thing that should be on top of your toilet is a box of Kleenex (if that). Dusting problem solved…
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