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Enviro Tip – Reuse your post bags and boxes!

June 27, 2012 · 5 Comments

One small thing we do for the planet is to always reuse our post packs and boxes.

If you are careful when you open them, they are fine for several uses. Sometimes I even write on them, ‘reuse me!’. It’s much cheaper than buying a new bag or box every time you need to post something as well.

To cover the addresses, I just get a piece of old paper (recycle the back of something!) and write the new address on and sticky tape it over the top. Do the same for the return address. Sticky tape and staples will  seal it up well too.

I have a box in one of my cupboards where they all get stored. Post boxes get flattened down to store more easily.

Keep any cute little boxes you get and use those as post boxes too. There is no rule that you have to use a box from Australia Post!

I still remember getting parcels for my birthday from my Granny, wrapped up with brown paper and string! Those were the days!

Is this one small change you could make for our planet?

Filed In: HOME / Tagged: parcels, post bags, post boxes, recycling

How to rescue your burnt pans, naturally!

June 21, 2012 · 14 Comments

How to rescue your burnt pans, naturally!

I may or may not have burnt the bejesus out of one of my good stainless steel Scanpan saucepans while I was chatting on Facebook one day.

It got scrubbed. It went through the dishwasher several times. Still black. Still very baked-on.

Then, I remembered a little tip I heard at the kitchen store I used to work at and decided to give it a go!

 

So, this is how you do it:

Get your pan with the burnt bum. Chuck it on the stove and fill about a quarter of the way with water.

Add three to four teaspoons (or more depending on how big your pot is) of Kin Kin Naturals dishwasher powder.

Allow to simmer on a low heat for a few hours or however long it takes. The burnt stuff will magically lift off ! No scrubbing! Just wash and rinse as normal.

 

 

Now, I wouldn’t go trying this with a normal dishwasher powder, because the toxic fumes they will give off are going to be very nasty. But, Kin Kin Naturals products are all natural.

You could try bicarbonate of soda if you don’t have the dishwasher powder, but I have tried this before with limited success.

I was so impressed with how effortless and easy this was, all of my pans got a new lease of life!

Okay, so you no longer have to throw out those saucepans, pots and frypans (or hide them down the back garden like Mumma Jae from Learning, Living, Loving), just revive them instead.

No-one will ever know you were chatting on Facebook and burnt the dinner!

 

PS check out what pans I recommend as the safest here

 

Filed In: HOME / Tagged: dishwasher powder, Kin Kin naturals, pots and pans, saucepans

Got Lemons? Six natural cleaning tips using lemons!

June 15, 2012 · 17 Comments

Got Lemons? Six natural cleaning tips using lemons!

 

Lemony lemons, is there anything so nice?

Here are some ways you can use them around your house. It cuts down the chemicals and leaves everything smelling fresh! As well as being acidic, lemons have some anti-bacterial properties which make it a perfect degreaser.

 

♥ Shiny Tapware

Use half a lemon to clean the build up from around your taps. Just rub it in well and rinse off. It really works!

 

lemon shower cleaning

 

♥ Pots and Pans

Sprinkle some salt onto half a cut lemon and use it to scrub your pots and pans. They will be shiny and new again!

 

♥ Cleaning the Sink

Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda all over your sink. Using half a cut lemon as a scrubbing brush, scrub hard all over. It leaves your sink so clean and sparkly. You can do the same to your chopping boards to remove stains and deodorize. Finish with a rinse of hot water!

 

♥ Dishwasher Refresher

Squeezed a lemon? Don’t throw it out. Secure it onto a prong in your dishwasher or in the cutlery basket before you run a load. It will leave your dishwasher smelling fresh and clean!

 

Lemons to refresh your dishwasher

 

♥ Fresh Fridge

Put half a cut lemon into your fridge to absorb odours and keep it smelling fresh.

 

♥ Cleaning Spray

Make your own citrus cleaning spray using lemon peels soaked in vinegar. Found out how here.

 

DID YOU KNOW? To get more juice out of a lemon, roll it firmly on the bench top back and forth, before you cut it!

RANDOM TIP: Here’s another interesting use for your lemon halves – rub them on your hands after chopping up chillis – it will remove and neutralize the capsaicin (that’s the burny, burny stuff)!

 

Do you have any other tips for us on how to use lemons for natural cleaning? Please share!

 

Biome Eco Stores - Zero Waste, Toxin Free, Ethical Choices

Filed In: HOME / Tagged: bicarbonate of soda, citrus spray, cleaning, lemons, natural cleaning

2000 Facebook Likers Celebration!

May 29, 2012 · 22 Comments

Thanks for being part of my dream!

Today, I am celebrating 2000 Facebook likers.

Words cannot convey how grateful and happy I am that you are all a part of this.

My vision for this blog was to share our family’s experiences, in the hope that other families will be inspired to live a healthy, holistic and happy life too.

I want to say thank you with a little gift for one of you. I wish I could give a gift to all of you, but the rest of you will just have to be content with my undying gratitude!

So, I have a spare copy of this fabulous book to give away:

 Healthy Family, Happy Family by Karen Fischer,

To be eligible to win, you must:

* Be a subscriber to this blog (add your email to the box up on the top right of the blog).

* Be a liker on Facebook. Go here.

* Be a follower on Pinterest. Go here.

* Be an Australian resident.

* Be the first person (who meets all of the above criteria) to comment on this blog post, telling me which blog post you like the most and why.

Good luck! I will let the lucky winner know by email and also comment on this blog post, when I have verified who it is. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Facebook.

Much love, Sonia ♥

Filed In: HOME

Goodbye Plastic, Hello Glass!

May 26, 2012 · 33 Comments

Goodbye Plastic, Hello Glass!

Over the last few years, I have been gradually culling all the plastic storage containers around our kitchen and replacing them with glass. Not just for health reasons, but for environmentally-friendly reasons.

Did you know that plastic can contain small molecules that can tranfer into food it is in contact with? Some plastics are endocrine disruptors, meaning they can mimic the body’s natural hormones and cause a range of health problems.

The Choice website advises against two particular types of plastics – polycarbonate (BPA – shown as number 7 on the bottom of plastic containers) and PVC (shown as number 3 on the bottom of plastic containers). They should be avoided at all costs, particularly for babies and children.

 

source

Have you ever noticed that food stored in plastic can take on a plasticy taste and smell? That’s a warning sign to me!

We are also avoiding plastic as much as we can for environmentally-friendly reasons. Put simply:

* Plastic will be hanging around in landfills for a very long time.

* Recycling plastic is expensive and inefficient.

* Manufacturing of plastic makes a huge, negative impact on our environment.

* Plastic can end up as litter or in our sea harming sealife or in our waterways, leaching out toxins.

 

Bamboo Glass Jars

How we store in glass:

* I’ve sourced glass storage jars from the op shop and Ikea to store our dry food in. I also like Maxwell and Williams brand of glass jars as they are also well priced (like the bamboo and glass ones pictured). You can get them in most good kitchen shops or online here.

* Glass storage containers like Glass Lock (this brand is air tight) are great for storing food in the fridge or freezer. I have some Pyrex but I don’t recommend as the plastic lids break and crack over time.

* A glass dish or bowl with a plate on top (instead of cling wrap) to stop the food drying out in the fridge.

* Recyling glass jars. I put anything and everything in glass jars, from vege sticks to jam to bircher muesli to leftover casserole!

Here is some pumpkin soup I made and stored in glass jars. I freeze in these jars as well. To do it safely, don’t fill all the way to the top, allow some room for expansion and don’t screw the lids on all the way until the soup is fully frozen. You could put any food in these jars.

download (55)

This is how I defrost food in glass jars (if you have forgotten to defrost overnight in the fridge!). Put the jar straight from the freezer into a saucepan of cold water and put the heat on a the lowest setting. It doesn’t take long for the food to defrost enough to get out of the jar and pop it into the saucepan to heat up!

It’s also important to never, ever heat up food in plastic or use plastic wrap in the microwave. Heating causes the toxins to leach out.  Cooking safely and without toxins is a whole other blog post, so I will talk about that soon!

Stainless steel and ceramic are also safe storage options for food, but I prefer to use mostly glass as it is the cheapest option!

 

What to do with all those plastic containers?

Some of them went to the charity shop, some went downstairs to the man area for storing man things, some went into the kids’ rooms for storing pens, craft items, bits and bobs, some are in the bathroom for storage. Be creative. Just use them for things other than food!

 

Do something fantastic, ditch the plastic!

 

Do you have any more healthy, environmentally friendly storage tips for us?

You might also like to read:

My life without plastic wrap

 

Filed In: HOME / Tagged: glass, glass canisters, glass pyrex, plastic, plastic storage containers

Kin Kin Naturals cleaning products giveaway!

May 10, 2012 · 68 Comments

I will admit that I picked up my first bottle of Kin Kin Naturals dishwash liquid because I liked the pretty label! And the fact that it said Kin Kin (a little town in the Noosa hinterland, Queensland, near where I spent some time as a child).

Turns out, my instincts were right, because this company make the best natural cleaning products I have come across. All the products contain beautiful essential oils (which you know I love!)

Did you know that 8 out of 10 detergents that claim to be eco-friendly contain ‘alcohol ethoxylate’ which is classified as ‘very toxic to aquatic organisms’, as their first or second ingredient? I didn’t !! Kin Kin naturals use a coconut & sugar based surfactants instead.

You might remember that I use the Kin Kin Naturals dishwash liquid in my citrus cleaning spray. 

Anyhow, because of that blog post, I got talking to Felix from Kin Kin Naturals. Turns out he is a PhD-qualified formulator, who used to work for OMO. Right – so that’s how he makes the products work so well! Combining his knowledge and experience with a passion for natural, local, environmentally friendly ingredients, the result is Kin Kin Naturals.

Felix sent me the other products in the range to try as well – my health food store only stocks the dishwashing detergent.

I absolutely love the laundry liquid. It leaves our clothes with a faint hint of essential oils not that sickly overpowering fragrance left behind by other detergents. The oxygen whitener has been getting quite a work out too with the kids’ grotty sports wear!

I will admit I was skeptical about the dishwasher powder though. I had used natural ones before and they just haven’t cut it – I would have to run the dishwasher a second time to get them clean!! But no, Felix has come up trumps again – I can honestly say that his natural dishwashing powder is equal in cleaning power to the top brand on the market.

I am really so happy to have found these products. Is it weird to get so excited about cleaning products? I am happy because we are eliminating chemicals and toxins from our home, helping the planet at the same time and there is no compromise on quality!

To find out why the products are so safe and so environmentally friendly, take a look at the website. 

Felix says: If we don’t trust an ingredient with our own children’s skin or our own backyard, then we don’t use it.

Kin Kin Naturals are a family owned and run company. They are local as well – all products are made at Kin Kin, in Queensland! They are available at a lot of healthy stores around Australia and online as well. Take a look at the stockists page.

Felix has kindly offered to let one of you try out the full range of his products too.

This giveaway has now closed. Thank you for entering.

All you need to do is answer the following three questions as a comment on this blog post.

Question 1: Which essential oils would you choose for an all natural hand wash? (for example: lemon myrtle + cypress)
Question 2: Which essential oils would you choose for an all natural all-purpose spray cleaner?
Question 3: On a scale of 1-10, how often do you buy all natural products? (10 meaning very regularly)
 
Please note that this giveaway is only available for Australian residents. Entries close on the 17th of May, 2012 at midnite. A winner will be chosen using random.org and notified via the comment section of this blog post. Please check back to see if it was you! I will remind you on Facebook as well!
 
Good Luck!

Aussie Giveaway Linky
Hosted by Three Lil Princesses

Filed In: HOME / Tagged: dishwasher powder, dishwashing detergent, Kin Kin naturals, laundry liquid, natural cleaning, oxygen whitener

Mesh bags = less plastic!

May 2, 2012 · 20 Comments

One of our goals, as a family, is to live in an environmentally friendly way. We find that we have to take baby steps – changing one little thing at a time. Otherwise, it’s just overwhelming!

Our latest eco-friendly swap has been to use mesh bags instead of plastic for our fruit and veges that we buy at the supermarket. I have been using green bags for years (and I am pretty good at remembering them now!) It just becomes a habit.

download (46)

I ordered some of these mesh bags from the kitchen shop where I work. If you can’t find them, ask your local kitchenware store to order them for you. There is also a company called Onya making a version too.

I have never seen anyone use them and I thought I would get some strange looks! Nobody batted an eyelid – not even the register girl! They weigh 15g each, so it’s not going to make an impact on the weight and pricing either.

download (45)

I think they are pretty snazzy – but, they are not so good for storing the fruit and veges in the fridge. Our organic supplier sells Peak Fresh green bags, so I have been using them to store the produce in.

The Peak Fresh bags are plastic, but they are really sturdy and reusable. I just give them a wash. They actually prolong the life of your fruit and veges too. That’s handy when I am paying a premium for the good stuff!

download (44)

Now, if you are really clever with a sewing machine (unlike me), then you could whip up your own produce bags using old t-shirts, like these I found on Pinterest. To see how to make them go here.

So, that’s our latest step towards making the earth that bit greener! It really is very satisfying to be able to make small changes and stick with them. Hopefully my kids are learning and gaining respect for the environment as we do these things. They are the next generation looking after our planet!

How do you buy and store your fresh produce?

Filed In: HOME / Tagged: eco-friendly, fruit and vegetables, mesh bags, plastic, produce bags, shopping

Why I *heart* my thermomix

April 26, 2012 · 48 Comments

Meet ‘THERMY’ –  my third baby. Thermy is over three years old now and I don’t know what I did before it and I don’t know what I’d do without it! It truly has taken our goal of healthy, clean eating to a whole new level.

If you have never heard of a thermomix, you need to take a look at the website! It is a fantastic all-in-one cooking machine. In fact, I think you could easily throw away all of your other kitchen appliances, microwave and oven and live quite happily with just a thermomix.

My Natural New Age Girl has already informed me that when I die, the thermomix goes to her.

I sleep with one eye open.

Thermy lurve

Everyone in the family uses it. The kids make CADA or porridge for their breakfast and smoothies and drinks for their after school snack. They love whipping up custard (none of that nasty packet stuff either), sorbet or rice pudding if they feel like dessert. The Natural New Age Dad has been known to knock up soup, risotto or a pasta dish if he has to cook. All in all, it gets used at least once a day, mostly 4-5 and often 10 times or more.

What I love most, is that I can make so many things from scratch that previously were not feasible given my skill level, patience level and time factor! Now, I whip up homemade jam, tomato sauce, mayonnaise, bread, curry pastes and spice mixes in the blink of an eye. I even mill my own flours and almond meal. It really makes it easy for families to significantly cut down or eliminate processed foods altogether.

It makes anyone look like a domestic goddess. Would you like some homemade raspberry jam on those homemade scones? How about I whip us up some garlic prawn risotto for lunch?

Guaranteed to incite what is known as ‘thermy-envy’ amongst your friends!

raspberry jam, blueberry jam, vegetable stock, mayonnaise

If you are keen to have a look at some recipes, check out my Thermomix recipe category. I even have a thermomix board on Pinterest!

Do you have a thermomix? What is the thing you ♥ the most about it?

Just so you know, I don’t sell them! But, I probably should, huh? 😉

standard-500x500-TM (1)Click here to find out more about the Veggie Smugglers Thermomix cookbook!

Filed In: HOME / Tagged: clean eating, healthy meals, thermomix

Win an organic lunch bag and snack pack!

April 13, 2012 · 6 Comments


Filed In: HOME / Tagged: eco-friendly, lunch, organic cotton, Vicki Lorraine

Make your own NATURAL stain-remover.

March 12, 2012 · 27 Comments

Make your own natural stain remover

If you have kids, you will be very familiar with stain remover!!!

My Natural New Age Daughter (age 10) is the worst. I have no idea what she does, but she is always filthy! Instead of using expensive, chemical-laden stain removers from the supermarket, make your own natural version. It is incredibly, almost embarassingly, easy and I bet you already have everything you need.

So, this is what you need:

1/4 cup 100% pure eucalyptus essential oil

1 cup filtered water

1 spray bottle

So this is how you do it:

Pour the oil and water into the spray bottle and shake well. Label it and keep it away from kids. Even essential oils can be dangerous if ingested, particularly those that aren’t food grade. To use, just spray liberally on the stain. I like to wait a few minutes before I throw it into the wash.

If stains are really bad and don’t come out the first time, you can soak clothes in a capful (thats a capful, not a cupful!) of oil and water overnight. I have never had any clothes react badly to eucy oil, but if it’s your favourite outfit, you might want to do a spot test first!

Eucalyptus has great anti-bacterial properties so a capful into your wash is really handy if you need to kill any bugs that might be lingering around on your clothes. It’s great to use with towels and linens too, especially if someone has been sick. I always use a capful in a hot wash when doing sheets to kill any dust mites.

Such an amazing oil ! It is also useful for colds and flu. A great, all-purpose wonder oil that every family should have!

 

 

Filed In: HOME / Tagged: dust mites, eucalyptus oil, laundry, natural cleaning, natural remedy, stain remover

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