somewhat overwhelmed...

This exciting GREEN journey I'm on is just that; EXCITING. At times I find myself getting overwhelmed. It happens a lot. I get excited about the healthier choices I'm making, and then all of a sudden I get "knowledge happy". I research, and research until I get so discouraged. I realize that almost EVERYTHING I'm using is unsafe... All the products in my home, all the food I'm eating...etc.  Has anyone ever felt like that?  Luckily I have a great friend (nat) who calms me down and says "One thing at a time". So....after a couple days of being overwhelmed I'm back to living the GREEN life. Well...my version of the GREEN life.

Okay...when shopping at the grocery store they usually ask "Paper or plastic". I always say "plastic" when I'm at a regular grocery store. The cold items I purchase always get the paper bags wet and then they fall apart. So plastic it is. When at Everman...the natural food store, they ask "paper or plastic" I always get so nervous. Which is the lesser of two evils, paper or plastic? Especially at the natural food store?  The first time I shopped there I asked for plastic bags & I got all these condescending looks. I know that plastic has a hard time breaking down and it isn't the best for the environment. So the next time I shopped there I asked for a paper bag...yet I still got the same bad looks. I know using a paper bag isn't good for the environment either. A tree had to be cut down for my bag.

So the last time I shopped at Everman I bought a reusable shopping bag that's made out of a burlap type sack. Today when I checked out they asked me "paper or plastic"...and I proudly held up my reusable shopping bag with a big smile on my face like "HA! HA! I beat the system..."  Well that's how I felt. Plus it's good for the environment;)

Tonight Charlotte & I made a Streak free Window & Glass cleaner
- 1/3 cup vinegar
- 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
- 3 1/2 cups of water
- 1 clean 32 ounce spray bottle

We tried it out on the bathroom mirror & it worked great! I dont' know if Juan's going to switch from buying his window cleaner full of chemicals to this one to do while he's detailing cars. Perhaps he'll try it out on my car first.

We also made a Citrus Disinfectant. the book promises that if you like pricey commercial orange cleaners, you'll love this fresh citrus-scented vinegar spray that is easy to make & costs less than a dollar. So here's the recipe:
- peel from 1 orange, grapefruit, lemon or lime
- 3 cups white vinegar
- 1 clean quart jar with lid
- 1 clean 32 ounce spray bottle
1. Combine the peels & vinegar in a jar. Fasten lid & leave for 2 weeks
2. Remove peel form jar, strain vinegar & return to jar
3. pour 1 cup of citrus vinegar in bottle & fill with water


So......here's what I did....I didn't want to wait 2 weeks. So.....I bought Orange extract. It was organic! (I thought I'd share that it's organic like that's going to make it sound better).  I put 1 cup of vinegar in the spray bottle, filled the rest up with water & then put a few dashes of orange extract. I tried spraying the cleaning solution on the counters & tried cleaning it up. Unfortunately it didn't smell like oranges. It smelled like vinegar....not a great smell. On the bright side Charlotte thought it smelled like Salt & vinegar chips and that made her hungry. So I'm glad someone liked it. ha ha. You'd think I had learned my lesson after the bath gel incident earlier this week. Oh well.

Those are my Green moments. Tomorrow I'm heading to the Farmers Market with Natalie. Tomorrow is supposed to be National Bee Keeping Day. They're supposed to have some fun bee keeping events there. I'm hoping to buy some more beeswax soap and perhaps a candle. I'm really looking for someone to sell me some beeswax so I can make some lip balm.  We'll see what the Farmers Market has!