Fruit Spray

Just an update about the fruit mix...that should be put in a spray bottle and sprayed on fruits and veggies. It should sit on them for 5 minutes and then wash them off. Also when we made it at our house I used Grapefruit essential oil and I should have used Grapefruit Seed Extract...oops! Grapefruit oil is good for lifting your spirits and to combat cellulite. So at least we know our fruits and veggies won't have any cellulite! You can read about this essential oil at http://beauty.indobase.com/essential-oils/grapefruit-essential-oil.html

We should definately be using this mix since just washing fruits/veggies does not remove the pesticides.

New organic baby store in Wellesley

The woman who started this store in Holliston is opening a branch in Wellesley in August.

I just read about it in the July 25, 2008 edition of the MetroWest Daily newspaper.

"The store will sell organic baby products such as clothes made without chemicals or dyes, wooden toys, organic bedding and cloth diapers...The store's products are primarily for newborns to children around 4 years old...The store will be very mom-friendly, with chairs for nursing moms."

Leah, let's plan to hit this on a playdate!

Minutes from Meeting II

Hi Green Ladies -

Quick programming note: On chronicle TONIGHT at 7:30 there is a show on how our recyclables are used. Should be interesting!



I am including the notes from our 2nd Green Meeting.
We revisited the topic of our skin care products and searched somemore on the website http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/

Plastic Bags
Then we focused on plastic bags and how bad they are for the environment. I am attaching a powerpoint that was very powerful that my cousin sent me.
She also sent a site with another clip of the garbage in the ocean that can be viewed at http://www.vbs.tv/shows.php?show=1154&source=sc This is soooo disturbing and we decided at our next meeting we will talk about strategies to get our individual towns to ban plastic bags. Sarah is going to do some research on the Boston ban and how we can support it.

Veggie/Fruit Wash
We also made this wash that you should use on all non organic produce to help remove the pesticides. They say to let it soak for 5 minutes and then rinse off. Here is the recipe (be sure to put the baking soda in first - someone may have not done that and had it explode all over her kitchen...don't know who that could have been!)

1 cup water
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 T baking soda
20 drops of grapefruit seed extract (you can get this at whole foods or health food stores - it smells amazing and Kristy was heard saying she wanted to drink the veggie wash- not recommended!)


Also I talked about a restaurant I had recently eaten at. It is completely the kind of place I want to eat at. They are all organic and buy food directly from all local farms. The food was absolutely delicious!!! Check them out at
http://www.stonehearthpizza.com/index.htm

Possible Field Trips?
We also talked about taking the green club on the road sometime. Suggestions were Stone Hearth Pizza, Wilson Farms in Lexington - that Kristy raves about for local produce etc., recycle center possibly. Any other ideas???

Book/TV Show Recommendation
Amari read and highly recommend's the book Omnivor's Dilemma - which is a book about the US food chain and is definately disturbing at times.

Holly recommended the TV show WASTED which shows families how much trash they make and how they can cut it down. I still couldn't find it listed - maybe it is on summer break but the website is cool. http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/wasted/

Also remember to check your local towns for composters and rain barrels!

I am so excited about our Green Club. Keep up the good work ladies! We will save the world ;0)

Minutes from Meeting I

We had a wonderful first green meeting last night. We basically just blurted out all different green ideas. We spent a lot of time looking up the safety of the body products we use. You can do this on the website www.cosmeticdatabase.com

Books we referenced:
1. Gorgeously Green (my personal favorite)
2. Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings (9th Edition)
3. Green from the Ground Up

Johanna had some good information on how your town can help you go green. She was able to get a composting machine for only $25 through her town. She also found that Milton was giving out rain barrels for residents...too bad I missed the deadline.

For compost: www.earthmachine.com
For rain barrels: http://www.greatamericanrainbarrel.com/

We talked about buying bottles that are free of that plastic # 7 and Kathy mentioned that you can return your camel back bottles to LLBean and get a store credit for the PBA free bottles.

Another option for bottles is to buy Sigg Bottles which are stainless steel and not plastic.

We tried some sample products that 2 companies sent our Green Club..I have some left if anyone is interested in those.

One of the companies was Blooming Lotus. They sent us a discount code for our first order of 10% off. Enter the code welcome10 during check out.

I think this is most of it. Anyone who remembers something I didn't put in let me know.

Let's use this email to share ideas. Check out the website www.gorgeouslygreen.com for good ideas too.

Dryer Balls

I just saw these on HGTV. I am definately going to try them! I read a news article on them and they say they really do work.

Designed to reduce drying time and soften fabrics without the use of chemical fabric softeners, Dryer Balls are an eco-friendly solution to landfill-clogging dryer sheets and chemical-laden liquid softeners. As your wet laundry tumbles in the dryer, these bumpy balls lift and separate fabric to make it soft and fluffy, and allow air to flow more efficiently.
Proven to make ironing easier, decrease lint and reduce drying time up to 25% in independent testing.

Phthalates

Another dangerous chemical and an article that lists items we should get rid of in our house. Not to freak anyone out...

http://www.enviroblog.org/2007/10/avoid-household-phthalate-exposure.htm

Cheatsheet: Triclosan

This is a web link about this dangerous chemical. Thought you would like to know.

http://www.enviroblog.org/2008/07/cheatsheet-triclosan.htm