BonAmi Powder Cleanser

I found this product while hunting for a clean alternative to harsh powder cleaners like Comet and Ajax for bathroom cleaning needs: sink, tub, shower, etc. I bought it on amazon for about $5.00 as an add on item with Prime. 

There were really 2 things I wanted in a powder cleaner (or just bathroom cleaner in general)

- Free of harmful toxins

- Effective cleaning agent

Not to much to ask, in my opinion. 

As far as the ingredients of this product go, I'm pretty satisfied. No fragrances of any sort (the fresh citrusy scent may not be there, but at least you don't have to hold your breath when it is in the air)

On the website, these are all the ingredients listed for BonAmi Powder Cleanser:

Limestone- calcium carbonate

Feldspar

Biodegradable cleaning agents - alkyl polyglucoside 

Soda ash- sodium carbonate

Baking soda- sodium bicarbonate

Limestone was the one ingredient I wasn't sure about. There was some crontraversy on the health implications ( as there seems to be with many ingredients in cleaning products-frustrating). 

The gist of it is, if you get it into your eyes, it could irritate them.  You shouldn't eat it. Leaving it on your skin for long periods of time could irritate it.  Anytime I'm cleaning, regardless of the chemical makeup of the products, I wear elbow-high rubber gloves. When I'm cleaning the shower I usually wear a little mask just because it is such an enclosed space with nowhere to ventilate. 

Regardless, calcium carbonate does not appear to have any short or long term health effects and is natural. 

Quick science lesson for those interested: 

Many of a the ingredients I've seen in cleaning products are "something-carbonate or bicarbonate." I didn't know what that was, so I had a hard time deciding how I felt about it. Basically, carbonate means it is a salt found in carbonic acid. Usually it is created when carbon dioxide is mixed with a base of some sort. (Sodium carbonate is sodium mixed with carbon dioxide, etc). Carbonate means it is an ion surrounded by 1 carbon and 3 oxygen atoms. 

Bicarbonate means it has had the protons removed. So bicarbonate is 1 carbon and 3 oxygen but one of the oxygens has a hydrogen attached to it. (i.e. Sodium bicarbonate is also called sodium hydrogen carbonate) When a positively charged atom attaches to a negatively charged oxygen atom in carbonate, bicarbonate is formed.  Bicarbonates are greatly needed in our body because when they combine with several other components, they act like a buffering system to balance out the acids that form and would otherwise effect our central nervous system and other vital systems. 

Calcium carbonate, in its crystal form, is one of the main structures making up limestone- to bring this science lesson full circle. That is why we are even talking about this in the first place. 

When calcium in hard water reacts with carbonate, calcium carbonate is formed.  For awhile, it was taken as a dietary supplement, but has been proven as unhelpful and perhaps harmful when taken that way, so - don't eat it, but you can clean with it. That is my opinion, after all that I've read. It is not a byproduct of any harmful chemical combinations, it is found in nature and harmless in the limitited exposure that would be caused from regular cleaning habits.

 Ok, science lesson over. 

Did it clean well? 

Yes.

It has a dull, virtually nonexistent scent; Almost like flour.  It didn't irritate my skin, throat, eyes or nose.  

I cleaned my bathtub and shower, bathroom counter and sink.  I used it to remove the water stains, soap scum and any icky build up that creeps into those spaces.  I used a bristle scrubber with water to work in and remove the cleaner.  I am happy with the results and am satisfied, with my current knowledge base, that is a safe cleaner for my home and family. 

So, if you like powder cleaners, I would recommend BonAmi powder cleanser to you. 

Borax....

One thing that has been difficult for me to keep in mind on my search for cleaning product recipies is that DIY is not the same as clean (at least in the natural sense-lots of toxic products do a great job cleaning). 

 One ingredient that kept showing up in my searches is 20 Mule Team Borax.  Since the whole point of making my own products is to avoid using ingredients I don't know anything about (and it is usually cheaper), it defeats the purpose to make my own cleaning products with stuff I don't know anything about.  SO, I wanted to figure out how I felt about Borax. 

The first thing I learned is, it isn't a product concocted from several ingredients to be an efficient cleaning agent. (I thought it was like the Bisquick of the cleaning world) It is just itself: borax.  More specifically, a naturally found substance made up of, sodium, boron, oxygen, and water.  Basically, an evaporate from boron. Very natural, very simplistic; straight from the earths crust. 

Buuuut, natural doesn't always mean safe.  Lots of things found in nature should not be eaten or put on your body. 

Borax has many many cleaning uses: from laundry detergent to automatic dishwasher detergent.  It is thought of by many as quite a miracle ingredient, and can be found in many DIY and even "green" cleaning recipies.  But I'm just not convinced. 

For one, the environmental working group (EWG) actually recommends NOT putting borax in your green cleaning products. 

 Borax has a few aliases to be aware of - lots of ingredients are sneaky like that: 

Sodium Borate, Sodium Tetraborate, or Disodium Tetraborate. 

Normally these are the names I've seen listed on cleaning products, rather than it being called "Borax".    Now, to be clear, borax and boric acid are NOT the same thing, but they are "close cousins" as a helpful article posted by the EWG states. 

Found here:http://www.motherearthnews.com/green-homes/borax-has-issues-you-have-alternatives.aspx#axzz2yKSjLY77

 So,  here is why I don't like the stuff. 

It has short and long term negative effects. Always a valid cause for concern. 

 Short term, it can be an eye and skin irritant, (like almost everything, it seems) but, particularly in small children and toddlers, it can have much harsher effects as a skin and eye irritant, and if ingested, it can cause respiratory irritation as well.

 Crearly none of that is good news, but the biggest kicker for me, and the reason I will be keeping it out of my DIY products and purchased products (if possible) is that it is a hormone disruptant.  Men are much more susceptible to a reaction from Borax than women, as it can cause decreased sperm count and libedo, 

but women are not in the clear. 

 Overtime, exposure to Borax has shown to decrease ovulation and fertility.  In our house, Simon is a huge help with all things home: laundry, house work, cooking, etc, but I am still the one primarily using our cleaning products, especially when tackling the deep cleaning. 

 I enjoy cleaning and there is something very satisfying about the whole thing for me. And, while Simon often helps with cleaning, I'm the primary deep cleaner.   So, despite which gender is more suceptible to the effects, avoiding hormone disruption is kind of a no-brainer for me to keep it out if possible.  Especially when there are lots of equally effective, green alternatives to it! 

   Now, none of this is to say what I manage to keep all hazerdous, harmful, etc. cleaning ingredients out of our home. I don't even know what all of them are yet!! But I'm trying, and after taking some time to form my opinions and conclusions, this is where I am. 

Happy cleaning :)

Here is a post I found giving a list of some of the borax alternatives I talked about. 

Green Alternatives To Using Borax For Cleaning

Homemade Liquid Hand Soap

It is unrealistic to think we can swap out all our house cleaning products, personal products and cosmetic product cold turkey. Plus it is wasteful to throw out unused soaps (even if I know they aren't what I should be using, we bought them and will finish them).  So Simon and I agreed that I could find replacements for our current items as we run out of the old ones.  First on the list was.. 

Da da da daaa... 

Liquid hand soap. 

So, after seeing the prices, online and in stores, for liquid hand soaps free of synthetic fragrance and harmful chemicals, I decided I would try my hand at making my own. 

The recipe I decided to use calls for bar soap, distilled water, vegetable glycerin, and any essential oils you decide to add in for scent or other reasons. 

The distilled water is to avoid adding chlorine and other chemicals present in most tap water and the glycerine aids in the creamy, soft consistency (and is optional). 

I bought this unscented three pack of soap at Whole Foods for $6.00. It is made of olive oil, water and salt, and has no added fragrance.  I bought vegetable glycerine on Amazon for $6.00.  I had a hard time finding it in stores, and when I did, it was very expensive. I only need a little for this recipe, so it will last me awhile. 

I bought Tea Tree and Lemon essential oils at the Herbal Medicine store in our building.  I could have purchased them online but they weren't much more expensive in-store, and I like supporting our local shoppes. I chose tea tree to make the soap a disinfectant/anti-bacterial, and the lemon because it combines well with tea tree for a renewing, fresh scent. 

Here is a step by step tutorial for this liquid hand soap:

Step 1: Grate three 6 oz bars of soap with a cheese greater. 

Step 2: Bring 1 gallon of distilled water to a boil and add in soap slivers, 2 tablespoons veg. glycerine, and any essential oils you would like.  Stir occasionally for 10-15 minutes on medium-high heat until all of the soap has dissolved. It will be very watery. Like a broth. It won't burn, so don't worry about not stopping in time. 

Step 3: Turn off heat and let the soap sit, uncovered, OVERNIGHT (10-12 hours).  

For me, after a night of thickening, the soap still looked the same as the picture above: brothy.  I realized my soap was smaller than the soap in the tutorial.  So I added some salt (I'd read it helps thicken liquid soap) and boiled it again until it had noticeably lessened in volume.  Then I let it sit one more night. The next morning it was nice and thick, just like soap should be!  Woohoo!

Here is the best picture I could get of the thick soap. 

YES, I know it looks super gross!  I didn't think about the fact that a nice green bar of soap isn't quite as nice in creamy liquid form. Oops : /

Step 4: I funneled it into this empty hand soap bottle for refilling ease, and into this soap dispenser.  About 70-80 ounces total. It would, obviously, have made more if the soap to water ratio had been correct from the beginning (woops). 

Changes I'll make next time:

- double check soap ounces. duh!

- find a soap that is naturally scented. While, in theory, the unscented soap was a good idea, I underestimated the potent scent that the non-scented ingredients would have.  They overpowered the essential oils.  It doesn't smell bad, it smells pretty boring and earthy; not how you envision your freshly washed hands smelling. So, splurge (a couple dollars) on NATURALLY scented soaps and plan to add essential oils for wellness rather than scent. 

Overall, texture and function success! Color and scent... Meh. But nothing terrible.  An acceptable first attempt from where I am sitting. :) 

Over the last five or so years I have been tiptoeing towards the popular idea arising: "going green". The idea is appealing to me on a lot of levels.  I like the idea of minimizing waste, keeping the environment free of non biodegradable trash as well as limiting the chemicals we put into our garbage, and water system.  I especially like the idea of being very aware of what we put on and in our bodies.  My real hesitations have been surrounding the validity of the claims from many "green" products as well as embracing the cost of having such a clean lifestyle.  I also felt that only changing one or two habits was not, in the grand scheme of things, doing a whole lot.  So I bought my "friendly to lakes and streams" dishwasher detergent, used biodegradable sponges and switched to cloth napkins, little thinks like that, and felt moderately good about myself- something is better than nothing- knowing in the back of my mind that the majority of my lifestyle habits were not all that green. They were more.. brownish. 

I also had a big fear of getting bamboozled. I tend to be idealistic or maybe... unrealistic...or maybe those are often interchangeable. It was hard to miss the breakout of organic, natural, earth/Eco friendly products that started covering the shelves over the last few years, all by well known brands:  Clorox, Windex, Palmolive, etc. Everyone suddenly had the token, economical alternative in their line, for a few extra dollars. Then, as the fad dissolved, so did the number of those products on the shelves.  

On the other hand, you see all these specialty stores, ones that only sell all organic products and earth safe, chemical free cosmetics, and you just about go broke from walking in the door. 

I felt like my choices were 1. Go with the big brands that follow the fads and bust out a maybe-green product, or 2. Get a guaranteed product from a specialty store and sell your first born in the process. 

So, over the last couple of months I have decided I really want to figure this whole thing out.  I don't just want to have to take the product label at face value because I don't know what being earth friendly means.  If I can't pronounce any of the ingredients, how do I know which ones to stay away from? 

And if there are only three ingredients, why do I have to pay for someone else to make it, put it in a cute, natural looking package, and then feel like I can't buy groceries for a week?

So, here I go: Figuring out what ingredients make a product harmful to my body and the environment, which ones are safe to use, which products can I make cheaper (and fairly easily) without sacrificing quality? 

Lately I've been doing a lot of reading, like... A lot of reading... on chemical break down: what to avoid, what is okay, what is debatable, what is untested, what to look out for, etc etc etc.  And I know I still have a long way to go before I feel satisfied with my research.  Honestly, this is probably something  I will keep up with from now on, on a small level.  But over the next couple of months I will be posting what I find; Not because I assume everyone is equally as interested in this as I am, or because I think everyone should do it, but just because I can; and who knows, maybe someone else does and is. 

So, as I find alternatives to harsh chemical products, I'll share what I find. 

A lot will probably be opinions based on what information I have found, and what satisfies ME (us) as alternatives, not necessarily what everyone should start doing.  I'm going to make some things myself (might be trial and error), and I plan to give feedback/a review on products I try. 

So here I go, taking on a hobby ( because I have so much free time...). Maybe you will enjoy learning with me. :)

Braving the Zipline

It seems we have been feeling adventurous lately: getting outside our box or trying new things. Our latest adventure took place on Sunday, when we, along with 7 other friends, took a trip to Charlotte for a morning of zip lining. 

Our tour reservation was at 10:00. So we all met up at 8:15 Sunday morning to sort out car-pooling and for some, make introductions, before our departure.  The motley crew consisted of the usuals: Simon and I, our friends Patrick and Patricia, and Ilka and Francisca. We recently joined forces with the three new interns at a mutual friend's company: Sebastian, Johannes, and Lenny.  They recently replaced the old interns and we have enjoyed getting to know them over the last few weeks. We were also joined by a friend of Patrick's we hadn't met before: Harry 

After are hello how are yous, we split into two cars and made our way to Rock Hill, South Carolina. 

Here we are, about to gear up. 

Two guides would be joining and leading us on our tour: Matt and Trey. They were both very friendly and understanding of any lingering fears despite the informative introduction and our practices on the affectionately named "bunny zip". 

So, here is the short version: 9 ziplines. Each of carrying lengths.  The longest was 900 ft. I'm not sure about all the others. 5 of them ended on mid, air platforms, 2 were ground landings: one in the middle of the tour and then the final one. 

The first "jump" was the scariest. I thought I'd, more or less, overcome my fear of heights in college between climbing and repelling, but my throat definitely dropped into my stomache as I neared the edge of the first, very tall, platform. 

                                               Close up "before" picture.

 They made sure to tell us twice that these were used for search and rescue... We didn't find that as funny as the guides did. 

                                                View from the top

Guide Trey. He was the one who sent us off from each point. 

Guide Matt. Me went first on each line and caught/ instructed is when we came onto each platform. 

This is the first platform (the one with  all the stair we stood in front of). Here we all are, waiting nervously to do the first zip. 

After that first one, though, they weren't scary any more. It really was a lot of fun! There were 9 zips in total, and the whole tour took about 3 hours. 

Some of the platforms, most of the platforms, between zips were really tiny and it was quite the... bonding experience... to get all 11 of us on there (plus trey at the end of each one, so 12). Not to mention how terrifying it felt when the tiny wooden platform, extending high into the air, shook violently as someone came on. Never quite got used to that. 

Here is a good example of how squeezed we were! It lent itself to goofiness! 

Here I am doing one of the wild-card ones. There were two that were not just ziplines. This tight rope one and then a plank bridge. Simon is crossing that in the photo below. 

I don't have a picture of either of us crossing the zipline, but here is Johannes coming in off one of the first one. It was one of the shorter ones as you can see. 

After we finished the course, took off all our gear, and thanked our guides, we were starving! :) 

Nothing says post-zipline-tour-meal like a good ole burger and milkshake. We found a Cookouts on our way into Charlotte and chowed down. 

Since we were over that way, we all agreed we should check out the big Charlotte outlet mall. 

 

                                           Car shot of the Charlotte skyline.

It was the perfect day to plan something like this. It was a lot of fun and a great groupon find!! We had a good time on out little adventure- I would recommend giving ziplining a try! 

 

North Carolina Ski Trip

Over Valentine's weekend, we, along with two other couples we've met through church, went on a ski trip in the North Carolina mountains.  We, rather spontaneously, started planning the trip mid January and it really all fell nicely into place, despite the last-minuteness of it all.  The Valentine/Presidents' Day weekend was the only weekend we all had available. It wasn't really meant to be a holiday thing, but luckily, after lots of looking, I found a cabin rental that wasn't raising its prices for that weekend. 

We rented a cute three-story cabin, nestled into the blueridge mountains with a beautiful view of grandfather mountain. 

We headed out early Friday evening, around 5:00, and arrived at the cabin a little after 9:00. Each couple had their own floor, consisting of a bedroom and bathroom. 

Here is the cabin from the road. The back side dropped off down the side of the mountain and faced the woods, so this is the only angle from which I could capture it.  It doesn't do it justice, especially on that foggy morning, but it is better than nothing.

Here is a picture, from Sunday (the prettiest day), from the back porch. 

 Although the individual floors and desperate bathrooms were really convenient and nice to have, we ended up mainly congregating around the cozy fire place - talking and playing games during the evenings. 

Here are some cabin pictures. I didn't take any pictures of the bed rooms or the basement, I just kept forgetting. 

View when you walk in the front door

Loft area on 3rd floor

Main floor back porch

We did have one eventful hiccup on our trip: Mr Mouse. 

Proof of his existence was lingering atop the comforter on the downstairs bed when we arrived and, after a little hunting, we discovered he had been there for quite some time.  Although I never saw him, he made a couple of flash appearances for the guys. 

Needless to say, a bed of mouse droppings was not about to be where I nestled in- everyone else felt the same way. So we left an informative voicemail with the rental office and shuffled around the sleeping arrangements to accommodate being short one bed. Not ideal. But nothing to get too bent out of shape about. 

Saturday we woke up early and, after stopping into a local ski rental shop, bought our ski passes for Sugar Mountain Ski Resort. It was a very cold, snowy, slightly windy, morning. We were bundled beyond bundled. Thankfully, the sun came out as the afternoon wore on, but so did all of the people. 

Waiting in the ski lift line. 

This was the morning weather, but we eventually had a nice view of the mountains once the fog lifted. 

I had only been skiing once before, about three years ago. Simon and I went to St. Louis with a group of engineering students to a tiny and, due to the weather, a man-made-snow resort. For a first experience it was just right. 

Sugar Mountain resort was definitely bigger and the fresh snowfall made the skiing a lot smoother and more fun.  I took a private ski lesson to help get a better handle on the basics. I am really glad I did, because it made me feel more at ease with everything: less like I was being handed two weapons and set lose on unsuspecting vacationers.  

I mostly stuck to the greens and ventured into a blue, while the rest of the group (all experienced skiiers) tackled the tough stuff like the double black diamons... The blue was tough enough for me... 

The rental company sent over housekeeping, Saturday afternoon, to tend to Mr. Mouse, so we would have all the needed beds that night.  After a day of skiing we were all quite worn out, despite our initial intentions to make it a 2 day skiing adventure. So as we all nursed our sore muscles in the hot tub that evening, we decided to make Sunday a sleep-in-and-relax day. 

And it was wonderful.

We all did our own thing Sunday morning, sipping coffee and getting ourselves together.  Around 10:30 or so we packed up the car, returned the cabin keys to the rental office, and hunted for a hole in the wall breakfast joint in downtown Boone. 

Success. We happened upon this rather eclectic spot, Sunrise Grill: complete with creepy run-down arcade, obviously carpeted in the 90's, as the back of the restaurant waiting room.  Really, it was just what we were looking for: the waitress was quirky, the biscuits and gravy were delicious, and the crappy cafe coffee didn't disappoint. 

We wandered aimlessly in and out of the antique shops and local boutiques for a few hours soaking in the small, mountain town culture before heading back home. 

We all found this to be hilarious and rather hard to believe. 

As far as I am concerned, it was just the weekend I needed!  We had a lot of fun with our friends; they are the perfect group to just relax and go with the flow. The whole weekend was low key, casual and just all around enjoyable. 

After talking with the home owners and rental company regarding the hygiene hazard and bed shuffling, they offered, generously, to give us our first nights stay free to make up for being inconvenienced.  We had not expected quite that much compensation, but certainly didn't complain. As it turns out, our one hiccup panned out rather nicely. 

But I'm not telling that to Mr. mouse. 

Life Update

Over the last few weeks nothing particularly "blog worthy" has happened in our little world.  That's not to say nothing remotely exciting has happened, just nothing I felt like deserved it's own post.  Today, as some winter weather has graced us with its presence, I thought it would be an opportunity to put all our not-so-exciting news together.  

A couple of weekends ago we went to Monster Jam - yes, a monster truck rally- with some friends, Patrick and Patricia.  Never would we have sought out such an outside-our-box event, but they found a BOGO coupon, invited us to go, and we thought... why not?!

The overall experience was.. meh..  It was definitely loud and colorful: the things you hope for at such an event, but the arena was just a little to small for there to be much real action.  I think normally they have more room for wowing effects and energetic tricks.  I say that because in the brochure and in the commercials I saw, there was a lot more going on than what we witnessed.  It definitely wasn't a flop, and it was fun to do something different, but I think we would all agree it left something to be desired. 

Here are a few pictures from the evening.  

 Mid jump

 Me and Patricia with the Trucks in the background

 A selfie in our earplugs.  It was even louder than F1 I think.

In early February some dear friends of ours, who have recently moved to Tennessee, came into town for a visit.  We met them through our church and as they will move over seas in March, they came back into town to see friends before their departure.  We grabbed lunch after church on Sunday at a Mexican place.  It was great to catch up with them and ogle over their precious daughter. She was only a month old when they moved away, so it was special to spend more time with her as well. 

Both Simon and myself have been under the weather a time or two over the last months, but nothing some rest and hot tea couldn't fix.  We've have had some crazy weather lately! Snow and ice, mixed in with days that were sunny and 65. We just never know what to expect. 

We were home last week from Tuesday to Thursday due to snow and ice. The snow days were fun but the city totally shut down. 

It was definitely nice living downtown on those days. Our friends Ilka and Franzisca had us and Patrick and Patricia over for a spaghetti dinner one night. It was nice to just walk on over. No hassle, just some snowballs to dodge. 

We have recently gained a new furniture addition to our apartment.  We were on the hunt for a larger table for our large, unused kitchen space. I enjoy hosting so much and we have a great space for it so I wanted to find a thrift store or garage sale table that, may not be too cute, but would accommodate a larger group than 4.  I mentioned the table hunt to my boss, in casual conversation, and she said they have a table in storage we could use until we get a house or move (whenever that will be). 

We have already been putting it to good use and really enjoying it. We like the style and feel of it.  We are really thankful to have gotten it for free.

So that is what's up with us since we got home from our trip to Germany.

We have a few fun trips planned in the near future and we're both looking forward to those!  Ready for this winter to thaw out so we can enjoy the fun days that come with spring!