recipe for natural spray cleaner (guest post by jeff)

 Today's post is a guest post by Jeff. One day he decided he wanted to make his own spray cleaner for us to use around the house. I liked the idea of saving money and choosing our ingredients, but the unexpected bonus was how incredible it worked! I had never used a spray cleaner that got things so clean before! We've been happily using it ever since. His daughter gave him the tip about the cornstarch. Many of the ingredients you might already have around the house and it's so easy to make. Enjoy!
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I love it when the Kitchen and bathroom are Sparkling Clean.

But I don't love all the horrible toxic nasty

 eventually disease causing cleaners on the Market.

Even the "good ones" aren't all that great...

And they cost a fortune if you want to be serious about cleaning up.

So I decided to do some experimenting...

Make my own cleaner...

And Holy Moley I found the perfect combination,

to get a sparkling antiseptic Shine..

Here it is:

This amount comes real close to fitting in one of those store bought cleaner sprayers...

2/3 cup Water

1 & 1/2 cup Vinegar

1 & 1/4 tsp Corn Starch 

1/2 cup good dish soap, or Dr. Bronners.

1/3 cup Rubbing alcohol

And I usually put in some grapefruit seed extract,  10 drops or whatever.

And any nice essential oils you have laying around..

I put in some Tangerine (which has some good properties besides smell)

and I had some Rose Geranium...

OK folks, this stuff Works....

Clean--Clean---Clean

Interview with WWOOF USA: Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms

I've been inspired by WWOOF USA for awhile now and I wanted to spread the word! Recently I had the pleasure of connecting with Tori, their Program Manager, and she did an interview with me. I wanted all of you to know about WWOOF and how awesome it is! (And for those of you who already know, you can learn more.) You don't have to read this blog long to learn how passionate Jeff and I are about local food and local farms. We love learning how to grow more of our own food all the time and love buying the food we don't grow from our farming friends and neighbors. Connecting with our food and the land is so important and WWOOF brings together a community of people around these vital things. You can stay on a farm and learn how to grow your own food or you can invite others to stay on yours and share what you've learned.
 It's a powerful community doing so much good in the world!

 When you visit their website, it reads: "Our Mission: Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, USA (WWOOF-USA®) is part of a worldwide effort to link visitors with organic farmers, promote an educational exchange, and build a global community conscious of ecological farming practices." 

I'll let Tori tell you more. 

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Farmer's Market pictures originally from this post. 
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How did WWOOF begin?

Tori: The first WWOOF program was started by London secretary Sue Coppard in the United Kingdom in 1971. She began ‘Weekend Workers on Organic Farms’ – an idea designed to encourage city folks to experience firsthand the benefits of growing food. Over 40 years later, WWOOF organizations are now present in more than 50 countries and has grown to be known as ‘Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms’, or more simply, WWOOF. Each country’s WWOOF program operates independently, and therefore a membership to WWOOF-USA does not provide access to the WWOOF Host Farm Directory in any other nation.  However, WWOOF groups from around the world collaborate and support each other and our shared mission.  

WWOOF-USA® was founded in 2001. Originally launching as WWOOF-California, the non-profit organization quickly grew to accommodate the need for a cohesive nationwide organization.  WWOOF-USA has hosts in all 50 states (including Hawaii and Alaska), Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.  

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Tell us about WWOOF.

Tori: Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, USA (WWOOF-USA) is part of a worldwide effort to link visitors with organic farmers, to promote an educational exchange and help build a global community conscious of ecological farming practices.  WWOOF-USA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that produces a directory of organic farms, communities, and garden projects for visitors interested in gaining hands-on experience in sustainable living. 

Visitors, or ‘WWOOFers’, spend about half a day on a host farm, learn about sustainable agriculture, and receive room and board - with no money exchanged between hosts and WWOOFers.  WWOOF-USA® is a cultural and educational exchange program, and is a way to learn practical farming skills, be part of the organic agriculture movement, and experience the heart of American agrarian culture. 

The WWOOF-USA® Host Farm Directory lists more than 1,670 organic farms (not necessarily USDA certified organic) and gardens across the country. Any farm, community or garden project using organic methods that would like to participate in a cultural and educational exchange may join the program. WWOOF farms offer a variety of educational opportunities, including growing fruit and vegetables, keeping bees, building straw bale houses, working with animals, making wine, and much more.  Anyone 18 years of age or older, may become a WWOOFer, regardless of experience. We encourage all types of WWOOFers and hosts who would like to cooperate to strengthen sustainable agriculture in the US to be a part of WWOOF-USA®.  

After signing up, each host creates an online profile in the directory that describes their location, general responsibilities, projects, accommodations, and lifestyle, as well as a farm photo gallery. Members also create a profile with information about themselves, links to farms they have visited, and a photo. Both WWOOFer and host profiles include useful comments and ratings from other members they’ve met – a helpful reference when making WWOOF connections.

WWOOFers directly contact the farms that interest them to ask about availability and work out an agreement with the host- we do not find farms for members.  WWOOF agreements can be defined any number of ways and the hours spent on the farm, types of projects, meal arrangements and accommodations can vary greatly. The length of a farm stay is determined by the WWOOFer and the host, and can vary from a few days to an entire season.  It is each host's and visitor’s joint responsibility to form an understanding prior to arrival. The key to a mutually beneficial experience is clear and open communication about expectations prior to a farm stay. 

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What do you hope to accomplish through your efforts?

Tori: More than anything I think we hope to reignite people’s interest in growing their own food and connecting with the farmers who feed our nation. It’s so easy to go to the supermarket and buy the local lettuce or the local strawberries, but to meet and live with the people who are actually growing the lettuce and the strawberries is an entirely different experience. We want people to get that hands on experience so they can then go back to their local communities and pass on the knowledge they’ve learned about organic gardening and farming.
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What has been your personal experience with WWOOF? Any fun stories to share?

Tori: I am fortunate enough to be able to talk to our host farmers and WWOOFers on a daily basis. The stories they tell me are incredibly inspiring. I often hear from WWOOFers who have planned to stay at a farm for a week or two and end up staying for a whole season because they become a part of the farmer’s family.

I also met a young man and woman from different sides of the country who ended up WWOOFing on a farm together at the same time, fell in love, and are now traveling the world WWOOFing together.

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How can people get involved?

Tori: Join online, become a member, and start WWOOFing. 

Becoming WWOOF-USA® member as a host or a WWOOFer is easily done online at www.wwoofusa.org. 

The cost for a one-year WWOOFer membership is $30 for online access only to the Directory of Host Farms, or $40 for online access plus a printed directory sent in the mail. Host registration is a $5-$50 sliding scale fee to be listed in the directory each year.
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Thanks so much Tori for taking the time to tell us about WWOOF!

Eco Idea: Use pallets!

Pallets.... we see them at the lumber store, the feed store, behind grocery stores.... all over the place! Jeff opened my eyes to the usefulness of this resource! Over the years, we've put pallets to many uses around the homestead. They've created gates, fences, compost bins, and a goat barn... to name a few. Now whenever we are in town (and have room in the back of the truck) we stock up with pallets because we always need them for projects. We know some local sources where they give them away for free (we've never paid for a single pallet.) We've gotten pallets made out of gorgeous hardwoods, and in all different shapes and sizes. I see big piles of them around town and don't want a one of 'em to go to waste.

Here are some pictures I've taken over the years of pallet gates around our place.

We like to hang signs on our gates to make a cheery welcome and a magical entrance.

So, if you are driving around town and you see a bunch of pallets, don't be shy. Ask the business if they give pallets away for free. You never know. They just might. 

I hope this will inspire you to make use of pallets, to use them to create what you need at the time.

What things have you created out of pallets?

Buying in Bulk

A great earth friendly idea is to buy in bulk! 

Plus, you can save money at the same time. Jeff and I buy organic beans in bulk. Recently, we bought 25 lbs. of organic lentils. It's so nice to have them on hand in the pantry whenever we need some. And thinking of all the packaging it saves when we purchase them that way makes me smile. It feels good to keep finding more ways to lessen our impact on the earth.

What are your favorite food items to buy in bulk?

Let your woodstove work for you

This time of year, it seems the woodstove is the center of our home. It gives warmth, comfort, coziness, and so many daily activities are centered around it.

For those of you who have a woodstove and know how much work and energy it takes to gather, split and haul firewood, and to constantly keep the fire going.....

why not get the most out of your woodstove and let it work for you?

Above is our woodstove on a rainy March day.

Our woodstove dries all of our laundry (until the sunny season when we dry it outside again.) 

Whenever our electricity goes out, we seem to appreciate our woodstove even more and all the things it can do. We've used our woodstove to brew batches of herbal tea, to slow cook meals and soups, to dry garden herbs and freshly washed wool, to relax sore muscles in its radiant waves of heat, for keeping chicks warm and trays of freshly planted seeds, to make batches of goat cheese, to dry firewood, to warm our bones when we came inside from the cold.....

and so much more!

When we don't get as much sunshine in the winter, the fire becomes this source for me. My winter-time sun.

Here is our woodstove on a winter day- drying cloth diapers, cooking butternut squash for dinner, heating water to moisten the air and keeping beans warm that are soaking prior to cooking.

A butternut squash Jeff peeled, cut up, and put in a cast iron dutch oven to cook on the woodstove. (He put in some water also and we had to keep checking it throughout the day, adding more water.)

Here is a blog post: Blessings This Week , that I wrote December 2009, that shows a few happenings around the woodstove (and the super tiny drying rack we used to dry all our laundry on- it makes me laugh now.)

So, let your woodstove work  for you! 

Let it dry your laundry, cook your meals, heat your tea (for that much-deserved break), humidify the air, and keep you contented and cozy on a winter day!

My goal is to start making more meals on our woodstove. 

Do any of you have favorite meals you like to make on your woodstove?

What sorts of things do you use your woodstove for besides heating your home?

Making Dishes Fun

I am laughing right now because this seems like a very funny thing to write a blog post about: dish scrubbers. It must be my intense nesting urges lately that are making me inspired to write on here about our beloved new cleaning companions.

We wash our dishes by hand. I stand at the sink watching out the kitchen window as the goats and dogs play outside. Dishes are a big part of our life. (We make a lot of meals around here.) And I like every part of our daily life to be something we enjoy.

Not long ago, we had sponges with plastic handles that we used for washing dishes.We had to constantly replace them because they didn't stay fresh long and never felt like they were getting our dishes clean. I didn't like to have to spend money constantly buying new dish sponges and throwing out the old ones. I thought about all those sponges sitting in a landfill somewhere. Plus, Jeff and I don't like plastic in our house. We like our place to have the au-naturale look of a hobbit abode and let's face it- hobbits don't like plastic. 

So, we went to a store called 'Down to Earth' (awesome store!) in Eugene to see if they had some natural scrubbers for washing dishes. They did! They are made of wood, have natural bristles and are biodegradable! We can even throw them in the compost when we're done with them!

So we got one with a long handle for washing dishes (they sell replacements for the bristle part so you can keep reusing the same handle till the end of time), and two small ones- one for washing vegetables and one for washing eggs when needed. 

I just squirt a little soap in there and watch as it gets our dishes sparkling clean. Now it is a daily pleasure to wash the dishes. I love the way they look at the sink and smile every time I see these little scrubbers. 

 

Wow, simple things really can bring big joy.

Even some inexpensive new dish scrubbers!

Eco Idea: Turn a T-Shirt into a Pillow

Around here, we never throw out old t-shirts. They get turned into rags for cleaning or some other use. But what do you do with the old t-shirts that you really LOVE, but just can't fit into any longer?

My mom, Julie, is so artistic and creative. Recently, she started turning old t-shirts that no longer fit into pillows! 

What a great idea!

I felt it was one worth sharing with all of you. 

I happened to have this peace t-shirt that I loved (so soft and comfy), but it had shrunk one too many times. So my mom made me a pillow with it. She used my old t-shirt for the front, her old cablenet sweater for the back, filled it with some beautiful fluffy wool I had, and stitched it up by hand. 

And wah-lah! 

You have a beautiful, comfy pillow that's handmade with love and a way to enjoy your favorite tee's for much longer....

The back

What do you do with your old t-shirts?

Eco Idea: Make Your Own Garden Stakes

The other day Jeff really needed some tall, large, sturdy garden stakes. He had checked out the type he needed at the store and they were spendy. So he did what he does best- he got creative! 

A few years ago he planted some bamboo by the creek at the bottom of the driveway. It's the type of bamboo that spreads like crazy and grows incredibly fast. He harvested some, which helped thin out the thick grove. Bamboo is great! It grows fast, it's strong, it's renewable... and it can be used for so many different things. (garden stakes, trellises...)

After he harvested the bamboo, he cut off the branches and leaves. 

Then he gathered the branches and leaves in the wheelbarrow.

And brought them down for the goats.

The goats were happily surprised by one of their very favorite treats! 

They forgot we were even there.....

Reiki the barn cat watched and wondered what bamboo leaves taste like...

Then Jeff brought his bamboo garden stakes into the garden and got busy. 

Eco Idea: Recycle in the Garden

Jeff had the brilliant idea to use this antique bed frame for a trellis/arbor over our front garden gate. We have been trailing the honeysuckle over the top and look forward to it being completely covered with the fragrant flowers some day. 

We've been saving these bed frames, knowing we would use them eventually and last week they met their purpose.  The old frames' paint is wearing away and getting all rusty with age- I love it! We used the other part of the bed frame to the left of the gate, where we needed a small section of fencing. It fit perfectly. 

Using recycled items in the garden adds so much character to the space. 

Look around your place, you just might find a treasure waiting to go to use in your garden!

Then- Wa-lah: a beautiful garden and recycling in one!

Eco Idea: Create something beautiful with invasive species

Jeff created these carved tree buttons out of Scotchbroom. Any local will tell you how invasive Scotchbroom is around here. As soon as he made them I fell instantly in love and then I thought 'what a great Eco Idea!'

What beautiful things do you like to create with invasive species?

Eco Ideas: Bring your own Bag

Jeff and I love discovering new ways to live simply and eco-friendly. I've felt inspired to include a new section on this blog called 'Eco Ideas' where I feature small ways that we can all make a difference in our daily lives. It feels so good to live in a way that is good for the earth too. And it's always good to have reminders: here is a very easy way to make a difference- Bring your own bag!

We have several bags that we take along with us whenever we go shopping. I love going to Farmer's Market, filling a big bag with fresh vegetables and thinking about all the plastic bags we are not using! I see so many people at the Farmer's Market with baskets and bags that they bring with them, what a beautiful sight!

We are constantly cutting back on our use of plastic and this is one of the best ways to do that. It feels so good to come home from shopping without the massive piles of plastic bags. Bringing your own bags to the Grocery Store, Farmer's Market, and Library is an easy way to make a big difference. 

We have a few bags that we use, which we hang by the front door to help remind us to bring them along. I would like to get a few more bags because we use them so much and having more would certainly come in handy. Do you bring your own bags with you when you head out the door?

What are some of your favorite ways to be eco-friendly?

We'd love to hear! 

Hanging Laundry in the Sun

Something I'm celebrating today is the first day of hanging laundry on the line this season! 

I know, I know, it sounds kind of silly... getting all excited about hanging laundry up to dry. 

But here's why I love it:

-I get to soak up sunshine while I'm hanging the clothes up

-I am drying our clothes for free

-It's a good reason to be outside enjoying the beautiful day

-It's good for the earth

-I can see Jeff working in the garden while I unload the laundry basket

-Background music of birdsong

-The more time I spend outside, the merrier I am

-When clothes soak up sun, somehow they feel really good to wear

-Our clothes smell so fresh afterwards

-You can put on a pair of pajama pants all warmed up from a day in the sun, to keep you cozy at night

What do you love about hanging clothes to dry in the sun?

Today's Message

I found this in my art room while I was organizing. Once upon a time I wrote this affirmation and taped it on the wall. You never know what hidden treasure you'll find whilst cleaning....