e-Cloth - Chiffon universel à usage classique

The e-Cloth is "perfect for cleaning with just water"!

When I used to clean glass, mirrors or stainless steel, I always needed Paper Towel to properly dry the surface without leaving any streaks. In my quest to reduce the number of disposable products I consume, I found this amazing product called the e-Cloth. As the packaging states, the e-Cloth cleans perfectly with just water... but you can also use it dry for dusting. The best part is that you don't even need to use any other products with it. (Visit http://www.e-cloth.com/for more information.)

This product can be found at Domus Houseware ( 85 Murray St.) in the Ottawa market. It's about 10$/sheet. This may sound pricy, but the e-Cloth could easily replace a good number of paper towel rolls. So in the end, I'm saving money and reducing the amount of paper towel I consume. (I'm waiting for a tree to hug me any time now!)

If you plan on buying an e-cloth, here are some tips:

• Only use a little bit of water to clean glass.
• The cloth works better after it's been used a few times.
• Buy 2 cloths: (1) to clean (2) to dry.
• If you are cleaning an area that is really dirty, start by cleaning it with a non-chemical product and use the e-Cloth to dry it without leaving any smears.
  

Let me know if you buy one!

Ways to save with your A/C

Over the weekend, I was working in my garden and appreciating the heat from the sun. I immediately noticed how many A/C units were buzzing around in my neighbourhood. It might have been a little warm, but not hot enough to turn on my A/C. I wonder if people have just become accustomed to A/C and no longer try to tolerate a little heat. Climate change has been an important topic in the media these days, and I wonder if people are thinking they can contribute to mitigating the effects of global warming by keeping their homes cool. Yikes!

This will be my first summer with A/C (EVER!), and I am looking forward to using it... but I am not planning to turn my house into a freezer. And, since I'm paying hydro, I was thinking it might be good to find some tricks on saving energy and keeping a cool home. I found a good article: http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/cooling.html.

Check it out and let me know what you think. Mr. Electricity clarifies some of the myths we hear on A/C. According this his math, you will save a lot more energy if you turn off your A/C when no one is home. In addition, Central A/C is not a replacement for ceiling fans... they actually go hand in hand. Read the article and let me know if you've increased your thermostat ... even by one degree or if you bought an additional ceiling fan.

In my opinion, if you wear a t-shirt and shorts, leaving your house around 78F or 26C is cold enough. I also believe their should never be more than 20 degrees difference between your house and outside (well, maybe in the winter...).

Skin Care is Skin Deep

I always wondered why there were so many different skin care companies and why “woman” needed so many different products to take care of their skin. I also wondered how many years of sciences were required to come up with all those chemical products and to identify the most beneficial natural extracts that give younger looking skin. As long as the product says it will make your skin look healthier, it must be true, right?

If you’re sceptical like I am, you are probably wondering how to get more information about the products you use to see if they are safe. I found this great website a few years called the Skin Deep Report (http:// http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/). Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group. You can browse products by brand name and company name. Unfortunately, not all products are listed on the website (“yet”), but you call always lookup the ingredients that were used to create your cleanser, toner, lipsticks or moisturizer and decide weather the ingredients are safe enough for your skin. The website also identifies which companies test their products on animals, and which companies have signed a pledge to formulate products that do not use ingredients that are known or suspected to cause certain health harms.

If you care about your skin, this website is one you will want to bookmark!

Creating a chemical-free house...

Vinegar, baking soda, lemon, tea tree oil and club soda have become my favorite household cleaning ingredients!

Whenever I would clean my bathroom, I would always ensure that the window was open, that the fan was on and that I wasn’t breathing too much, because the product I used to clean my bathroom would create a burning sensation in my lungs. I may be more sensitive to these products than others, but if it affects my lungs this way, surely it must do something to everyone. I needed to find a safe alternative to cleaning my house.

After a quick research on the Internet, I found a great book called “Clean House, Clean Planet” by Karen Logan. This book provides recipes to replace any common household cleaner from all-purpose cleaners, to bathroom cleaners, to car cleaners and laundry detergents (to name a few).

For example, windows and mirrors can be cleaned using club soda and it works just as well as the popular window-cleaner, but without ammonia. All you need is a spray bottle and club soda, but do not reuse a spray bottle that previously contained chemicals as there may be residues.

Not only are these recipes safer to use around the house, they are also a lot less expensive than the hazardous chemical products. Stay tuned as there will be more entries posted about “Creating a chemical-free house”!

Mon Blog - Take II

Bienvenue à mon blog et à ma deuxième tentative de partager ce qui me trotte par la tête. J’ai toujours été intéressé par les blogs et j’ai toujours aimé lire les blogs de mes amis ou même des gens que je ne connais pas vraiment. Je ne sais pas pourquoi cette forme d’expression m’attire, mais j’ai réalisé que les blogs qui m’intéressent le plus sont ceux qui portent sur un thème spécifique. Par exemple, il y a un blog qui portent strictement sur les déjeuners (http://www.breakfastblogger.com/) et grâce à ce site, j’ai fait la découverte d’un excellent petit café à Ottawa (le Baker Street Cafe). Il y a pleins de p’tits bijoux partout!

Avant de commencer mon blog, il fallait que je trouve un thème qui m’inspire suffisamment pour en parler régulièrement. J’ai donc choisi de parler des initiatives que les gens ont mises en place pour améliorer ce monde, soit par rapport à l’environnement, à la santé, à la société en général… bref, des choses qui pourront inciter les lecteurs à faire leur part dans ce monde.

Je vous invite donc à visiter ce site environ une fois par semaine. Certains articles seront en anglais, d’autres seront en français et d’autres seront bilingues.

Au fur et à mesure que je développe mes textes, j’aimerais bien recevoir vos commentaires. Ne soyez pas gênés et laissez-moi savoir ce que vous en pensez!

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Welcome to my blog and in fact, my second attempt to share what’s on my mind. I've always been interested in blogs and always enjoyed reading blogs written by friends or even by strangers. I don’t know specifically what attracts me to these blogs, but I've realized that those that I am interested in the most are the ones that focus on a specific subject. For example, there is a great blog that’s all about breakfast (http://www.breakfastblogger.com/) and thanks to that blog, I found an excellent little café in Ottawa (Baker Street Café). There are so many little gems everywhere!

Before starting my blog, I needed to find a theme that would inspire me enough to talk about it regularly. I’ve decided to talk about multiple initiatives that have been created to make this world a better place, either because they improve the environment, health or society in general. Hopefully, these texts will inspire readers to play their part in making this world a better place to live.

I invite you to visit this site about once a week. Please note that certain entries will be in English, others in French and others will be bilingual.

As I add new entries, I would like you to share your thoughts and help me improve this blog. Don’t be shy and let me know what you’re thinking!