Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I did it! I made dishwasher detergent! Yay me! I know I'm way  more excited than I should be on this one but I'm finding making stuff on my own/"off the grid" is extremely satisfying, exciting and economical! I hmmmed and hawwwed over what recipe I would use and finally decided on one. I halved it to make sure it would work for us since different people report different findings. I think it really has to do with how hard or soft your water is and even what type of dishwasher you have.

What's the big whoop with conventional detergents?
Phosphates! "Once phosphates are discharged into the environment, they promote algae growth in local waters. These sudden blooms of algae trigger a process called eutrophication in which local waters become starved of oxygen and devoid of life. This issue is of special concern to anyone living near a lake or pond," writes Seventh Generation, a maker of phosphates-free soaps. You can read more about aquatic dead zones here

Phosphates used to be in laundry detergent but soap makers changed their formulation years ago. Now the same is finally happening with dish detergent with some companies voluntarily banning their use. Either way I still don't really trust big names. At the very least they all contain artificial fragrances which aren't very good to be breathing in. I even read a few articles that Cascade's new formulation is ruining some people's dishes and dishwashers! I dunno but making my own was so easy and cheap I don't think I'll be turning back!

Here is my recipe:
1 cup Borax (Can be found in the laundry isle at grocery stores. I got mine at London Drugs. It was 2kg for $6.99)
1 cup Washing Soda (Also found in the laundry isle. Again got mine at London Drugs. It is not the same as baking soda so don't subsitute it with that. 3kg for $6.49)
1/2 cup Citric Acid (Had a hard time finding this in Squamish. I got it in NB at a brew it store. Yesterday I came across is at Nester's though in the Asian spice section. 1kg for $10)
1/2 cup Kosher Salt (I used Sea Salt.... not sure if it would differ to use Ionized Salt or not...)
1 tsp White Rice (you don't need to do this but apparently it helps the batch from not clumping due to to citric acid. It won't hurt your dishwasher at all)

Use 1 Tbsp per load or adjust as per your need. Also fill the Jet dry compartment with white vinegar. It will act as a natural rinse agent... and no your dishes won't smell like vinegar after I promise.

There were some Dishwashing tabs onsale this week  at Save On... I did a little math and it works out to 24 cents a load.

This particular recipe will produce 48 loads and according to my excellent math abilities I figure it's about 4 cents a load. If you turn on your dishwasher once a day then you stand to save about $75/year or more depending on the type of detergent you use (green ones tend to be even more expensive) and if you normally get good sales. Not only that, it is non toxic and saves lots of plastic containers destined for the landfill. You can use the Washing Soda and Borax for many other household cleaning products including Laundry Detergent.... which I also made!

If you want to try some and you're in the area then come on by!

The e-BP. A glorious invention.

Just a quick  little green post to remind anyone with a smartphone that you can check into flights with your phone and then use it as your boarding pass! No more jumbling papers and wondering where you put your passes! Its really sweet though seriously. I finally got around to doing it and I will never go back. Plus you can check in 24 hours in advance now and choose your seat so when you get to the airport you just have to check your luggage if you have any. It's also even BETTER if you are travelling as a family and have multiple boarding passes for the kiddies too! Seriously do it you won't regret it! I haven't seen that many people using this system (compared to noticing that everyone around me seems to have a BB or iPhone so thought this was a post worth mentioning) There is also free Wifi in all Canadian Airports that I have been in so you can even do this on your iPod Touch!

Oh ya! Totally forgot to mention why this is so green! Approximately 4.5 million people fly every day! Think of all that one time use paper!

Hiatus Finished

Apparently I'm not a very good little blogger. Cardinal rule of blogging #1 is to post regularly but after starting work in Alberta and only having an iPad/no internet while I'm there things trailed off. Plus to be honest I have gotten very interested in reading many other people's blogs and they are just so damn good! Can sometimes be a bit intimidating. Oh well..... I have been doing lots of research lately and I have to start sharing some of these new revelations that have come into my life. Read on little reader.

Did you know that North Americans on average use 12 personal care products per day? I'm at about 9 before even getting to makeup. Did you know that MOST of these personal care products contain lots and lots of toxic chemicals?? You probably heard a little birdy saying that here or there... but you ignored it. I did for a very long time. They contain toxic chemicals that cause everything from cancer to reproductive problems. Sure you might not see the effects today or tomorrow and yes they only contain small amounts of these chemicals but I'm already sludging on 9 small doses of these chemicals every day! Thats before I count some of these products that I use twice!

So what do you do? You go into the drug store to buy new shampoo. You don't know what to think. You've never read labels on shampoo before. You don't know what all those big words mean. I know. I've been there already. Then you decide you want to be a responsible consumer, get away from all this crap, so you reach for the "Natural" or "Organic" or "Handmade" labelled (and more expensive) stuff thinking you're now on the right track! Nope discouraging I know. I've been there. These labels, although nice looking, generally mean didly squat. I'm here to help. Not only to just tell you to stop using this or that but to tell you of all the amazing options we do have out there! Many of them just don't have multi million dollar advertising campaigns... hence why you may not have heard of them...

Here is an informative video of my general opinion of today's cosmetic industry:
The Story of Cosmetics
In any case you will always have believers and non believers. No one wants to think that the shampoo they have been using for 15 years (I've seriously been using the same Redken shampoo for the last 12 years) is diluted toxic sludge! It's oh so sad but true. But I have good news. REALLY REALLY good news. There are tons and tons of fabulous, toxic chemical free products out there! Tons! I have more good news. Most of them don't cost any more than the regular stuff you buy!

I can't believe the amazing stuff I've found out there lately! Entrepreneurs are popping up everywhere! So amazing! Not only can you buy chemical free products, many of us now have the ability to buy locally, handmade, delicious products OR make our own! Products you could not only put on your body or face or your children's bodies but also products you could eat it you wanted to! (although I don't recommend this since they probably don't taste very good)

So I suppose this post could be viewed as a bit of a scare tactic. Lately I have been finding many scary facts about the world we now live in. I haven't been feeling more scared or secluded though. I've felt more empowered and fulfilled! Funny how that can happen. Since this post would be pages and pages long if I wrote everything I have learned in the past few months, I am going to post each type of product separately as to the options and companies I've discovered.

Ok here are a few more links:

Skindeep Database
This site is awesome. Run by the Environmental Working Group you can search their database for the very products you use everyday. Some I haven't been able to find but most are there for your viewing pleasure. See how your shampoo/skin cream/deoderant/whatever stacks up!

Dirty Dozen Chemicals
Take a look at the back of a few of your products to see if they contain one or more of these bad guys. If so, maybe consider switching companies when you finish off that bottle...

The Toxic Chemical Dictionary!
Chemicals listed from A to Z. Good guide if you cannot find a product on the skindeep database. You can evaluated it yourself. Also good for becoming better at reading labels yourself.

Once I had my revelation (which started with the discovery  of SLS by the way) I didn't go through my house with a garbage bag and toss everything out (although some might). I've just been finishing off my toxic sludges one at a time and then replacing them with Uber Chic and cool, toxic sludge free amazingness! Pass the message along to your family and friends! Information is power!

I'm talkin' to you greetingcardoholic

From life experience I have gathered the information that 9 out of 10 men HATE greeting cards. Its us women that are keeping the greeting card dream alive. If it weren't for us I guarantee they wouldn't exist! Do you know how many greeting cards are sold in North America each year? I never really looked up the figure until now even though I assumed A LOT. 7.7 billion actually. (aka 3 million trees!!!) That is also a lot of money. Greeting cards these days are definitely not cheap. They normally range from about $3.50-$7.

As you can imagine, that many cards isn't very green either. I've been thinking more lately about how much in our lives is totally unneeded. We literally just have so much STUFF. Our houses are bigger than 20 years ago, our consumer debt is growing steadily year after year and all for what? I haven't figured that part out yet but I have figured out that we put a lot of time, energy and money into little, sometimes unnecessary things that just add up.

Ok so here are my suggestions for the greeting card conundrum:

1. Reuse them. I've decided that I am going to start reusing as many greeting cards as I can. I haven't gone through them yet. I'll be looking for ones with a good front and minimal message inside. For instance it wouldn't make much sense to reuse a card that on the front says "Knock, Knock" and then inside you just write "Happy Birthday!" Personally, I would expect you to tell me the rest of the joke. Also it will be hard to re-use cards that are too specific like "To my daughter, son and law and their Siberian Husky" So I guess I'll just have to keep those ones as mementos. Hopefully not too many people have written on the left side of the card as I am thinking of cutting the card in half and kind of using it more as a postcard. I'm gonna put it out there... if you can send me a reused card I will not be insulted that you did not buy me a new card I will be extra happy that you sent me a reused one!

2. Send an e-card. E-cards aren't always ideal (ie: if you are going to a party or are sending money, cheques, photos or gift cards in the mail) but they do have their place. I think they are great for Christmas where you often don't send anything with your card. Also if you ship someone a gift or package you can often "track it" and see when it has arrived that would be a perfect time to send off your e-card (also a reminder of when they can go pick up their package). Here are a few e-card sites. Nicer ones still cost money, but for a fraction of the price.

http://www.bluemountain.com/ 
http://www.hallmark.com/online/product/ecards
http://sendables.jibjab.com/ecards/

3. Send a Reusable card. I came across these last night.  http://www.slingshotcards.com/  Check them out. They are the same price as regular greeting cards but are totally re-usable. Not only that you can then track your card and see where your card goes in the world and how many times it gets passed on. I think this is a great idea and a totally awesome thing for kids to be apart of.

Would love to hear comments about what your feelings would be about receiving a reused card. I think positive comments towards this type of thing would encourage people to do it more. I still feel like there may be a bit of a stigma surrounding it (kind of like re-gifting). So if you have any other ideas let me know!

The Albertan way....

So I hate to rag on the Albertans (considering 50% of those who work there are actually from Newfoundland.. but... I'm feeling as though many places in Alberta may be.. shall I say.. lagging in certain green areas as per the rest of the country. I just finished working 25 days in the Alberta Oil Sands, approximately 1 and a half hours south of Ft McMurray. I unfortunately could not blog while I was away because I had an iPad and the internet was painfully slow.

I did, however, develop a "tolerance" for the environmental ignorance that is still happening everywhere. I did what I could. I brought my own Steel Water bottle (they only have 500ml bottles of water for everyone else... so think of how many of those you would drink in a day). I was drinking about 2L a day so I figured I saved about 100 plastic bottles from the landfill (did I mention there is virtually no recycling? On my site there wasn't anyway...) I also brought my own coffee mug so I saved another 25+ STYROFOAM cups... yup its still out there apparently.  When power became live in most dorms (they are building an expansion camp) all the light switches were already in the on position. Every time I went into a room I turned off all 4 lights. I figure I turned off about 400+ lights in my time out there.

I tried my hardest to convince my crew of 4 guys to take only 1 very spacious truck to site everyday (over 40 min each way) but lost that battle... instead we would drive bumper to bumper to and from site in 2 or more quad cab trucks. One day there were 8 of us on site and 5 trucks.  I secretly turned off trucks I would see idling for 15, 20... even 45 minutes on a +5C day...

Anyway this is turning into a bit of a rant but believe it or not I'm trying to make a point. And that point is this.... you can't always worry about what everyone else is doing, or NOT doing to help the environment. Your best line of defence is leading by example and hopefully a few more will follow. I would have gained no points being the "nagger" on site although people were aware of my efforts to reduce my waste where I could. A few guys have told me they are going to bring their own coffee mug in next time and I've convinced a few guys to make the 3 minute walk to the lunchroom instead of driving. You know what they say.. Rome wasn't built in a day!

Getting Drunk the Green Way

Now here's a topic for the masses! Lately we've been trying to drink more "green" by trying to stick to a 100 mile liquid diet! :) We're lucky in BC to have some great and affordable wines and beers from our region. We also have Washington, Oregon and California relatively nearby as backup! You don't have to live here to find affordable local options though. They're all over the place! Here's a little help on drinking more eco friendly....

Wine:
When looking for eco friendly wines you can go one of two ways. Organic or local. Obviously be have a plethora of wineries here in BC so I consider myself lucky. Much of the rest of Canada does not have the luxury except maybe for the Niagara Region in Ontario and a few other little spots. Another way that people are going these days is bottling wine themselves. I don't know a ton about it because I've never done it but I know you can usually choose from a few different varietals and this seems like a very economic way to buy wine. I would still ask where their supply comes from and shop around if you live in a city with several options.

Organic and fair trade wines are starting to pop up all over the place as well. They are really growing in popularity. Unfortunately I haven't tried any but if you have then I'd love to hear about some good ones. For the most part I've just been buying locally with maybe 1 out of every 10 bottles coming from outside of BC. Thanks to our amazing BC government our liquor prices are the highest in the country. (Booooo!!!!) It is getting increasingly harder and harder to find a good bottle under $15. :(

Here are a few of my favourite BC wines that are found at BC Liquor stores (If you go to the Okanagan do not come home empty handed! There are many other great wines out there that BC Liquor does not carry!):

See Ya Later Rance - Riesling $16.99

Tinhorn Creek Merlot - $17.99
Prospect Winery Pinot Blanc - $12.99


Beer:
We have some great microbreweries/craft brewers in Vancouver and throughout the Sea to Sky. It's been awhile since I have drank a beer that doesn't originate from the lower mainland. You don't have to live here to get local beer. There are small to medium sized breweries all across Canada. Many of them sell offsales at the brewery or even have them in provincial liquor stores. Here's a few from around here...

Whistler Brewery: http://whistlerbeer.com/index.php/brewery  If you scroll down there is a list of offsale brews available (closest liquor store for you Cheakamus residents!) and I believe the lager is available in Whistler liquor stores.

Howe Sound Brewing: http://www.howesound.com/brewery/beers.aspx  We have been drinking a lot of this lately.   The big bottles are great for Friday night dinner or bringing along to a friend's house in my opinion. The perfect amount of beer in a very nice, stylish and completely reusable bottle. They take them for returns at Howe Sound or the bottle depot. They are available for offsales and at the liquor stores but more selection is available at the brewery itself.

Granville Island Brewing: http://www.gib.ca/local-flavours.php  I drink this a bit less but I do enjoy the Winter Ale very much. It is a pretty popular beer and is available in most of the liquor stores around. Granville Island is also a much more popular beer on tap in the Sea to Sky.

There are definitely more beers in our region. Just go to a liquor store near you and pick up a few beers. It will always say on the package where it was produced and it's always nice to support local companies. If you've tried some other local beer and/or wines that you really like let me know!

Programming your way to lower heating bills

So we're at the tail end of the winter but if you have a cooling system in your house the info in this post can also be directly applied to that as well. Do you have a programmable thermostat? I've been taking notice around and it seems like a lot of people still aren't on that train. We got on it last year and this winter we saw dramatic savings in our heat bill.  (sources say you can save 20% annually!) They range in cost (about $30-$75) but I think I got mine at Rona at a crazy sale for like $15. It pays for itself within one month in the winter I swear!

Look at the features before buying based on how you live. For example some you can make a separate program for every day (mine), some have one for weekdays/weekends and other may only have 1 setting. This would only be ideal if there is someone home at your house most of the time (and your dog doesn't count)

Basically you can program it for up to 4 times a day. Mine is set to 19C just before we wake up, 16C during the day, 20C just before we get home, 17C just before we go to bed. I would suggest not varying your temperatures by more than about 5C degrees but there is no point in paying to heat your house while you aren't there or sleeping! Lowering your overall temperature by a degree or 2 can  also have big effects over a 30 day period. In my opinion if you are wearing just a t-shirt in your house in the winter you're being an energy pig!

Another fun fact is that room temperature can play a crucial role in how well you sleep. I normally don't have any trouble sleeping but insomniacs tend to have a higher core body temperature than normal before bed. So maybe take that into consideration.

Also I realize that many people are renters. I don't know of many landlords that would be opposed to installing a programmable thermostat. If you pay your own utilities, foot the cost yourself, it's worth it with our winters. I now regret not doing that at the last house I rented. If you don't pay utilities but your landlord is constantly complaining about how high your heating bills are then make the suggestion. You can easily change it yourself with minimal tools. If you need help, Home Depot peeps are really knowledgable or you can send me an email and I can help you out (I do electrical work for a living for those who don't know).

Drowning in Paper?

Want me to tell you about something pretty awesome? OK! Have you switched to paperless billing? If you haven't then you should. It's awesome! All you need to do is log into your online banking or create accounts for your utilities (just keep using the same unique username and password and it will all be easy to remember) and find where it says to go to paperless billing. (usually not very hard to find) You can normally access up to about 18 months worth of bills or statements at any one time to view or print off if you need to.


Also, on all of my online bills I can download them as a pdf file and save them on my computer so I've created folders that are handy for tax time. Awesome. You get an email when a new bill is due. Awesome. Now I hardly ever have a huge stack of papers on the corner of my desk waiting to be filed away and I don't have to worry about throwing out any documents that a garbage snooper might pick up.


These are the online statements I now get...
1. TD chequing
2. TD savings                                             
3 & 4. CIBC credit cards  
5. Royal bank savings
6. Telus Internet
7. Bell Mobility
8. BC Hydro
9. Terasen Gas


Think of ALLL that paper I'm saving every single month! AND all the paper I don't friggin have to deal with anymore! Like I said.. it's AWESOME! You should do it too!


If you've switched I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments section or if you have a bit of trouble with computers and need some guidance on how to get there let me know. I can help!

Do you think going Green costs too much?

I often hear people say that going green is too expensive. Last time you went to buy laundry detergent the "eco" detergent was twice the price! Who can afford solar power for their home??!! We can't afford a hybrid car! Going green isn't about having the newest eco gimmick it is about living simply. Its about cutting back on what we don't need. Making more responsible choices and realizing that just because a company says we "need" something doesn't mean we actually do!

Take an honest look around your home. Open a few cupboards, closets and drawers. Take a look in your garage or the "spare room" that's off limits. How much of the "stuff" can you live without? Can you live without the happy meal toys, the swiffer dusters or disposable batteries? How about the shirt with the tags still on it, the deep fryer you took out once or the tennis rackets you thought you'd use?

When you start to see how little you need, it starts to become empowering. Here is "Becoming minimalist"s take on the domino effect of simply living that I would have to definitely agree with:

• Cleaning out your closets –> leads to utilizing a smaller storage more effectively
• Using a smaller storage more effectively –> leads to making fewer purchases
• Making fewer purchases –> leads to saving more of your money
• Saving more of your money –> leads to getting out of debt
• Getting out of debt –> leads to less financial stress
• Less financial stress –> leads to greater personal freedom
• Greater personal freedom –> leads to more time to pursue your dreams
• Time to pursue your dreams –> leads to increased happiness and personal fulfillment.

I listened to a really great speaker named Adam Hart (poweroffood.com) a few weeks ago and he said something very interesting that stayed with me. "Your ego likes to keep you comfortable" People generally do not like change. The purpose of my blog isn't to burn holes in wallets, preach deprivation or turn you into a modern day hippie. It's just to re-evaluate your choices and their impact on the earth, others around you and yourself.

We've been making only simple changes so far and I've already seen a positive impact on our lives. I can only hope that a few more people decide to make changes as well. And as the old saying goes.... 

Less IS more.

Meatless Mondays

So there is a new trend developing called Meatless Mondays and I think it's great.  Hope that intro didn't scare you off fellow meat lovers because read on for some very tasty recipes... before that, here's some harsh truths about meat. Its bad.  Not only is it bad for the environment... it ain't so great for us either.

It's pretty easy to find out why meat is bad for the environment these days. There is a slew of documentaries out there now on the subject ranging from animal cruelty to the amount of greenhouse gasses animal agriculture contributes to (18% by the way). These are a few of the reasons we've decided to cut back.

"But I need my protein!"  Trust me... you'll get enough protein even if you don't eat meat. Meat is hard to digest and not only that it can cause obesity, diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. Don't even get me started on the amount of antibiotics and hormones they pump into animals these days.. you're eating those too!

Ok enough convincing. I'm not vegetarian, neither is Jeff but we are working towards making more responsible choices and eating more sustainably so why not start with Meatless Monday?? It has a nice ring to it! So next time you're eating out maybe think twice about ordering the meat lasagna over the veggie (in my experience the veggie is often better) or skip the meat lovers pizza one Friday. It only takes small changes to make a big difference! My old roommate only ate meat on Weekends, making it more of a treat in his life instead of a staple.

I understand it can sometimes feel hard to make even small changes. Especially when you're used to cooking certain meals and you may not have the time or money to try new ones. For at least the next 5 Mondays I will post a delicious Meatless recipe that we are making that you are bound to enjoy. I promise you!

We've been trying to whenever possible to buy locally now. Pemberton beef is very readily available(and affordable) at Nesters these days. It's been there constantly for a few months. They have even had Squamish Valley pork for a few weeks! Does anyone know if there is any local chicken or eggs in our area or if they normally any farmers at the market in the summer with them? This is the one thing I haven't seen around.

You can view the recipe if you look at the upper left hand side of the blog under "Pages" or by clicking here http://stayingskiable.blogspot.com/p/yam-quesadillas.html  Hope a few people get to make it!

Save the Butter!

Butter can be expensive these days and since I've been on a budget I've been looking for ways to cut back. I'm kind of against margarine (for a variety of reasons ranging from its bad effect on cholesterol to the amount of processing it takes to create it). The butter/margarine debate goes awhile back but if you've googled the bad effects of margarine and are still with me on the butter train then read on... 

Soft Butter Spread

1 cup butter (room temperature or 2 sticks) - often on the package theres a little measuring stick so you can cut off exactly 1 cup

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup water 

1. Using an electric mixer, blend butter on HI until fluffy.

2. Continue mixing, and slowly add oil. Continue mixing and slowly add water. Mixture will be very light and fluffy!
3. Chill until set. 

It's like the whipped butter you would get in a pancake house. The only thing you shouldn't use it for is baking. I put my butter in a container like so... and keep it in the fridge (and its always soft)

This is why I love this recipe:

1. Adds more good fats (Olive Oil) and reduces calories (water) per Tbsp

2. More spreadable so you use less

3. Its delicious! 

Since it's the weekend I thought I'd also include a recipe to put this on. Before we went to see Jeff's parents in the fall I had never had homemade pancakes in my life. Only boxed ones. Well I have been converted! These are so quick and easy to make, you know exactly what is going in them, you don't have to store an extra box in your cupboards or throw away an extra box at the end. You could even pre mix the dry ingredients in bulk before hand and keep them in a sealed jar. 

Mama Lislois Pancakes (hopefully this isn't a secret recipe I'm giving away :)

1 egg

1 cup flour

2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup buttermilk (I never get buttermilk so I just use regular milk and then "sour" it by adding a couple drops of vinegar or lemon juice) 

So ya you mix it all up... and if you've ever made pancakes before you know the rest. I'd also recommend adding a Tbsp or two of ground Flax Seed (for fiber) you won't be able to taste the difference but adds a few nutrients to these fluffy dreams. Enjoy!

Painting Today

I've been taking on quite a few new little projects at home since I've had some extra time on my hands. It's crazy what you can do with some paint, time and elbow grease.  Paint fumes are a nasty thing. Latex took over oil decades ago (stay away from it and alkyd paints aka more chemicals) and now paint fumes are on their way out as well...


Ok so the nasty thing in most paints (the stinky fumes) are called VOCs (Volatile Organic Compound). They not only have an effect on the environment, they also have an effect on human health and are emitted from painted surfaces years after the paint has been applied! We've been breathing them in most of our lives, but now more than ever we're spending more time in our homes and less time outdoors (statistically as a country). I actually found this quote on Environment Canada's website:


"Respiratory, allergic, or immune effects in infants or children are associated with man-made VOCs and other indoor or outdoor air pollutants"


K so here is what I found out in the past week when I was going to do some painting around the house...


I find that the people at my local Home Depot, Rona and Benjamin Moore have indispensable amounts of information. In the past researching online what type of paint to use on what and where has just left me frustrated and confused. I don't use the internet for painting much anymore since I've realized how much these people know about paint. They also know about VOC's and there is 1 important fact you need to know:


Paint and Colourant (the tint) are TWO SEPARATE THINGS


If you put VOC colourant in zero VOC paint then you pretty much nullify your effort. Frustrating. Another rule of thumb is the darker the colour the more VOC's... Rona carries a line of zero VOC paints but their colourant still contains VOCs. I was only getting an off white and painting a small space so I made the executive decision to go with it. Here are a few companies to use:


Farrow & Ball: A UK based company, they only have one store in Canada and it's in Toronto so if you live in the GTA then go to these guys. They carry a high-quality clay-based line, free of VOCs, biocides, fungicides and ammonia.
Eco-House: A New Brunswick company that tapped into the German concept of using liquid quartz minerals as a base for its paint.
Benjamin Moore: Carries a line of low and zero VOC paint AND colourant.
Colour your Home & General Paint: Both carry lines of zero VOC paint.


Some of these brands are more expensive paint (and better quality) than your local hardware store but we're talking a $15-$20 difference per gallon and a gallon goes a long way. If you are painting a new house or doing major reno's is an extra $50-$100 going to be the determining factor in the air you breathe for years to come?




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Composting 101

We've jumped on the composting bandwagon.  We are now in our second week of composting and it has been very easy and going great. If you live in Whistler or Squamish it's really easy to do and here's why!

In the Sea to Sky we aren't allowed to have backyard composting because of bear issues. I may tackle backyard composting at a later date but for now it would be really great to just convert a few more locals into taking part in the organics program we currently have. This is what you need to get started...

1. A separate container or garbage can.

Yup thats it! You don't even need a bag for it. (Although if you do decide you want to use a bag make sure you get bags that are Compostable NOT Biodegradable.) There's a difference and Carney's does not accept the latter. You can then take your bin to Function or Nesters where there is an Organics bin. If you are in Squamish the Carney's yard is located on Queensway basically halfway between Walmart and Tim Hortons.

This is what you can return for composting in our area:

• Fruits, vegetables, plant stalks, peelings
• All food scraps, bones, meat, fish, dairy, nuts, bakery discards, nuts, pasta, cereal, sauces
• Flowers and houseplants
• Coffee ground with filter and tea bags          
• Certified compostable bags and containers
• Wood stir sticks
• Soiled paper napkins
• Small household volumes of clean sawdust, woodchips, and shavings (no cedar)

Here's a photo of what we started to do for composting although you will notice that the smaller bin is for composting and we are finding out that it is filling up faster than our bigger garbage can. Jeff made this handy slider drawer with some extra wood that was around. You can also buy that sort of thing at Home Depot or Canadian Tire.

Ok now get composting! I swear it's really easy, will make you feel good for doing something and I stress again... it's really easy!

If you don't live in the Sea to Sky then I would suggest either contacted your local landfill to see if they have a composting program (this is what Jeff originally did and I have to give him all the credit for starting us on this program) or Carney's has a guide to home composting that you can even have inside if you have a good area for it: http://www.carneyswaste.com/how_to_go_green/worm_composting.html

And lastly to the sweet, caring individual who decided to throw carpet, clothes and other trash items in the Squamish compost bin today. You're a douche. That is all.

Sloooooww Dooowwwnn

Well I'm sure everyone has noticed that gas prices took a dramatic hike as of late. I know I have. I was on empty the other day and $50 didn't even fill my little 45L Mazda 3... sad. Since moving to Squamish I have become a commuter. First driving to BCIT everyday, then work in Whistler and now to go skiing. Before becoming a commuter I was a standard 10km over driver. Now I'm a 20k over. Time is precious and I don't want to waste it in my car! Great philosophy. But as I have been quickly finding out... expensive philosophy.

My car has a little "info" button on the dash which allows me to switch between various stats of information on my mileage and gas consumption. Two that I sometimes use are current km/100L which updates live how much gas you are currently consuming and also how many "km" are left in my tank of gas. This is just an estimate based on your average driving habits and consumption.. so sometimes not so accurate.

The other day to Whistler it was a pow day and I didn't have time to stop for gas on my way out with just under a quarter tank left. Normally with my regular driving habits that won't get me there and back but I decided to experiment. On the way there I mostly kept a constant speed of 90 (instead of 100) except speeding up a bit when going downhill and then dropping my speed on major hills. On the way back (basically dropping 2000ft) it's crazy how much of the drive you can keep a constant speed over 80 in Neutral! (aka Mexican Overdrive). I made it home with gas to spare!

Here's a few tips on getting maximum gas mileage:

Tire Pressure: Check your tire pressure regularly. Improperly inflated tires (and that also means if one or all are reading at different pressures that can negatively impact your consumption)

Clean off your car manually: No one likes getting in a cold car... I get it. But cars (except maybe an old diesel) only need to warm up for 30-45 seconds. Any longer than that and you're really just melting the ice of your windshield instead of taking 15 seconds to scrape it. (aka being a princess)

Slow Down! Driving over 70km per hour forces your car to overcome tremendous wind resistance so keep that in mind when you're putting the pedal to the metal.

Regular Tuneups: Make sure you get your oil and FILTER changed when you're supposed to... a bogged down filter can up your fuel consumption. 

Unload your Car: Do you really need to drive around with your roof box full of your 3 different pairs of skis and snowboard you never really ride plus your bike on the back in the winter just incase? Probably not. Weight ads up quickly so why not just unload your car of unnecessary belongings. Sure it may not make much of a difference on a 5 minute trip. But lugging a bunch of stuff around all the time could definitely make a difference. And that includes that giant mushroom top of snow you didn't brush off this morning.

Anyway I would say these are the main ones although theres others such as don't accelerate too quickly (the people that drive on my street should really read my blog), keep a more constant speed, if you have a standard shift into a high gear as soon as possible, avoid reversing when you can and don't overfill your gas tank (can spill over on hills). 

Hopefully this cuts down your bill a bit and of course helps the environment at the same time (oh and for arguments sake obviously; walking, biking, public transportation and vehicles that consume less to begin with are always the better choice!)

What the heck is SLS?

So I have a lot of ideas for blog posts but I won't divulge them all at once... it was hard to decide where to start but I thought SLS was a good starting point since it's something that has had the biggest impact on my personal hygiene as of late....

Would you use a product that was a known skin irritant? Could create hormone imbalances? Irritate your eyes? Cause hair loss? How about something that was a non carcenogenic? Well I would assume most people would answer no to the above questions but if you don't know what SLS (and I didn't either until about 2 months ago) is then you are DEFINITELY using every single day!

What is it? It's stands for Sodium Lauryl (or Laureth) Sulfate. It's found in anything that foams so.... soap, shampoo, hair dye, bubble bath, toothpaste, mouthwash... and the list continues. Go take a look around your bathroom and cupboards on the ingredients list... It's normally the second ingredient and you'll be surprised!

I won't go into more detail about the ins and outs of SLS. Now that  you know what it is, information on it is very readily available online.  I just stumbled across it myself when I was looking into why the skin around my mouth, neck and back would become irritated (from toothpaste, shampoos and bodywashes most likely). So I've been striving to go SLS free..... here's where I've gotten so far...

Toothpaste: No more crest! Or any major name brands for that matter. They all have SLS. At first I went to a local health food store and got a tube called The Green Beaver the lady at the counter recommended it. I didn't really consider the flavour was Green Apple... kind of different. It took a big getting used to and one thing that I liked was it didn't leave a super minty taste in my mouth for morning brushings before breakfast. This could also be really good for kids. I finished it all but realized I liked the minty freshness before going out so the next tube I got was J/A/S/O/N pure natural & organic.  I just got it at Save On.. they actually have a pretty good selection of SLS/Fluoride free toothpastes (also known skin irritant). Next I think we are going to try and make our own toothpaste (moving towards zero waste) since toothpaste tubes aren't recyclable. I'll let you know how that goes...

Shampoo: Shampoo was a bit harder since I like using Salon brands and have used Redken for years... not anymore. My hairdresser said more companies are starting to go SLS free but the main one right now is Pureology. If you don't like shelling out that kind of dough on shampoo then I also found a a brand that Shoppers Drug Mart carries called Live Clean. I've been using the volumizing shampoo for a few weeks now and I like it!

Bodywash: Any health food store should carry a variety of SLS free bodywashes. I just picked one up from the store near Nesters in Squamish. However, once I'm finished that bottle I think I am going to switch to primarily using Rocky Mountain Soap products (http://www.rockymountainsoap.com/) they have a store in Whistler (but you can also order online) and have little to no packaging on their soaps. Plus everything is SLS free so it will be easy shopping and less label reading.

Anyway if you happen to try any other SLS free products (not just limited to toothpaste, shampoo or bodywash) then I'd love to hear what you think!

That is all!

Hello? Anybody out there???

So today I had the grand idea to start a blog. Everybody's doin' it. K not everybody but with all this extra unemployed time on my hands lately and a severe budget cut coupled with lots of extra time for reading and web surfing... I've learned a few new things. Jeff and I have been working towards eating healthier and more sustainably and working towards a less waste lifestyle. I won't go into the blah blah blahs about Global Warming but well we believe in it and we also love skiing so we'd like to do our part in helping the snow fall. This will outline our exploits, ups, downs and adventures along the way. Hopefully some people read this... if not... well.. I can always count on my mom. Love you mom!