This was going to start out as a cooking PSA, but I have been consciously doing some things around the house cleaning wise to avoid buying expensive cleaners or paper products.
My cooking PSA is for anyone who wants to avoid eggs. As I was cooking oatmeal for breakfast (real Irish oatmeal with a little butter, brown sugar, and berries), I decided to add some flax meal. Why not? On the flaxseed meal bag, it says to mix one tablespoon flaxseed meal with three tablespoons water and let sit for two minutes to substitute for one egg. I have not tried it yet, but if you do, let me know!
I may have mentioned these before too: plain yogurt instead of milk and butter in my Annie's Mac n' Cheese, or a can of pumpkin instead of the water, oil, and eggs in a brownie or cake mix (just bake a little longer; also add pie spices and make vanilla cake mix into muffins this way). I have also heard that a can of diet orange soda in your white cake mix works well instead of all those other ingredients, but I have not tried this either.
I have been using baking soda to get smells out of plastic. I am on year two without a dishwasher, and for salad dressing on plastic or travel mugs, it is really difficult to get them clean by hand. So if you soak them in hot soapy water with some baking soda, it helps A LOT.
I do not use glass cleaner anymore really. I stick to damp microfiber cloths and it seems to work fine. Same with dusting and not using dusting spray. Don't worry, I still use toilet bowl cleaner.
And while I am on a sorta green topic, happy Earth Day. Now that I live in a more rural area, I have started composting sorta. I dump my fruit and veggie waste at the edge of the swamp behind my house. Being that I do not own the place, I did not feel a need for a proper compost pile or bin. I have also started tossing my coffee grounds and the bit of coffee in the bottom of the pot (watered down) into my garden. Why not, right?
Anyone have alternatives or stop using something like cleaners when cooking or cleaning?
2 comments:
I use more vinegar than I used to in order to get mineral deposits out of things like my humidifier. But this isn't exactly a new idea.
I know that you can use vinegar (and newspapers?) to clean windows. But I can't say that I've tried it. I imagine you dilute it; otherwise I am not sure that it would be all that better than using windex.
I had heard about the diet drink in the cake mix too; it is evidently a tried-and-true weight watcher's thing. I suspect that I will try it soon.
Danielle, I think I am basically trying to go back to those classic alternatives. Less chemically, you know? Of course I haven't turned in my plastic coffee travel mugs yet (bad me)!
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