Green Product: Feline Pine

I always seem to be trying out some new green/organic/sustainable/herbal product every week. This week, I've decided to review Feline Pine (I've recently gotten a kitteh!)

I purchased the Feline Pine Clumping litter (there's also a nugget, non-clumping version). So far this product works really well. The pine scent works wonderfully to neutralize any kitty poop or pee odor. There's only one small problem: it spreads over the floor like crazy. As soon as kitty gets out of her box - splash! Kitty litter all over the floor! Oh well, it's not a huge problem, I just have to clean up often. But I don't think I'll be getting this particular litter next kitty litter purchase!

~Am~

Recycle your water filters

I was installing a Brita filter in our water filter the other day (it was waaay overdue, but those things can be so expensive!) and the beau asked what to with the old one. I said, I guess just throw it away. But he had a brilliant idea that showed my prowess has been rubbing off on him: why not recycle it?

So I did a little research and found this. So there are locations you can drop them off it to recycle, mostly the drop-off centers are located in Whole Foods stores. And there are none near me and if there are none near you, then this is what you can do: mail it off to a recycle center! So that's what I'm going to do, it'll probably cost me about a dollar or so to mail, but I think it's way worth it so it can be properly recycled! Don't you?

~Am~

Evan Healy

(Source.)

This is my new absolute favorite facial care line: EvanHealy.

I've always had trouble with acne. I had it terribly in my teens and now in my twenties I've had to battle with with because of the birth control pills I take. What I had been using had been working until two or three months ago when I started a new brand of pills and my face or my acne cream couldn't fight any longer and gave in miserably.

Yet on driving to my favorite grocery store, Greenlife, I decided that I would go forward and see what Greenlife's beauty department had in the line of acne medicine. I was in luck. Greenlife carries only organic and natural food and products and this includes their beauty products. After scanning over the products and finding what seemed to be the perfect choice for my problems (the EvanHealy line), I balked at its price. It was $30!!! Granted, what I found was a kit and had five products in it, but I just hoped that I didn't have to spend this too often.

Encouraged by my beau, I asked one of the staff near the beauty counter and asked her for advice. She immediately pointed to the EvanHealy "Blemish" line. I told her my problem with the price and she pointed out a few others which she said had worked ok for her but that she had recently been using this EvanHealy line and it was working really well for her and that all the ingrediants in the line were recognizable and safe.

So I bought it. And I love it! The "Blemish" kit was supposed to last me 7-10 days but it's lasted me much longer. Here's what came in the kit:
-Tea Tree Gel Cleanser: This is a really light and refreshing lather, specially for blemished skin.
-Rosehip Treatment Facial Oil-Blue: This is for sensitive, irritated or oily skin. I mix it with the hydrosol. It has a nice light scent, as well.
-Orange Blossom Facial Tonic Hydrosol: This has a light, sweet smell and I mix it with the oil and rub on my face. It's made for all skin types.
-Blemish Treatment Roll-On: I use this handy roll-on to remedy specific acne areas. It's simple, I only wish it would dry quicker. It takes a while.
-Green Tea Clay: I haven't used this but I think I should. I've heard so many good things about clay and I'm excited to give it a try. It's to be used once a week.

One of my favorite things about using this line is the way I smell after I use it. I feel so refreshed. All the scents refresh me and my face's skin. If you want to make an investment in an amazing, effective, refreshing, and safe skin care line then go for EvanHealy. I think I'm going to try the clay mask right now!

~Am~

EcoSmart, update

Here's another update, peeps. This time it's on a product called EcoSmart, which we originally received to try out back in January (read that post here). EcoSmart is a bug spray that is reported to be made of natural ingredients and to effectively kill pesky bugs, like ants, spiders or roaches.

I didn't think I would have to use it, we have never had much a bug problem. But lo and behold this spring has been different. Many spiders and ants and have tried invading our hole-infested apartment so far and after having many philosophical discussions with myself my eek-factor won out and I started spraying the invaders.

The product claims you know it's working when you smell it's fresh spray. I have to say, it smells quite good - very fresh and invigorating. It killed the invaders very quickly and the smelled lingered for quite some time. It was also a very easy cleanup afterward with just a swipe of a wet cloth.

So do I recommend EcoSmart? Yes. If you are in need a natural, clean-smelling, easy and effective bug spray then go for EcoSmart.

~Am~

Fresh Wave, update

(Pic via flickr.)

After three months of using Fresh Wave products in my home (click here to see our first post about the products), I thought it pertinent to give our readers an update on how they worked for me.

Spray: We keep the spray right by the toilet, which is the perfect area to keep clean and fresh smelling. Whenever there's a stink, we sprayed a couple times and voila, a pine-scented bathroom.
Soy Candle: I usually light this candle every evening after supper to kill any smells that may come from the after-meal cleanup or from the trash can. Works great, smells great - my only complaint is that the smoke makes the candle container particularly black.
Crystal Gel: I'm not so sure about this one...it was supposed to contain and prevent smells in the area placed. I've had this gel in our moldy, dank bathroom ever since I received the product, and I have to say - the place is still pretty moldy and dank smelling.

So two pluses and one minus for Fresh Wave. I'd recommend their spray and soy candle but remain unsure about their crystal gel.

~Am~

Be a Green Irene

Here's an interesting concept that I stumbled upon the other day: being a green consultant. Not that the idea of being a green consultant is absurd (I actually consider myself somewhat of a green consultant), but that there's a program called Be a Green Irene, which teaches people how to be a green consultant.

"The Opportunity To Be An Eco-Consultant in Your Community We invite you to learn about our intriguing new opportunity in the BOOMING new Green Economy. Our Eco-Consultants are independent business women and men who work from their own home or office and are distributors of our Eco-consulting services and an array of green products."

"The amount of information about going green is overwhelming and often conflicting. As a local Green Irene Eco-Consultant, supported by the resources of Green Irene LLC, you can become the knowledgeable green friend your friends have been wishing for. You will have all the tools and information necessary to move your clients toward a healthier, greener life."

What do you think about this? It seems legit but...I don't know. I think I like the concept of it though. What are your thoughts?
~Am~

Finding New Uses for Old Things

In my own home, I am always trying to find more ways to be more organized - to live in a way that's cute and stylish as well as easy and no-fuss. So that's why I get super-excited when I think of new ways to use things.

For instance, this week I decided to use some used glasses in my bathroom. I used a pretty grenadine bottle and a conveniently small (and quaint) Maille mustard bottle to hold razors. I already use various small plates and bowls to hold our shower products (our bathroom is very prone to mold - we basically live in a basement). This week I added a lid of a rice container (it's big, round and pretty purple color) to one of the plates to separate the soap from the shaving cream can. I used a tea bottle to put our toothbrushes in and to keep them off the often gross sink.

So the next time you're in search of a new item for your home (either for practical or purely aesthetic purposes) look around your recycling and see if anything in there suits your tastes!
~Am~

Nest Organics

I was walking around downtown the other day and decided to step into this store I'd seen many times, but had bypassed because of lack of interest. But that day - it sparked my interest. And I'm glad I went in! I now wish I had visited Nest Organics a lot sooner!

Nest Organics "is committed to the process of moving our culture toward conscious lifestyle practices by providing modern goods that blend function, style and sustainability. [We] believe the basic foundation of sustainable business is making conscious purchasing decisions that consider personal, environmental, and cultural impacts."

Hallelujah, sister! Preach the good, green word! ;) Check them out!
~Am~

Fresh Wave

We've been asked to try out another green product! This time it's Fresh Wave.

On opening the box, the smell of pine and lime filled the room. It smelled very nice, but this is only a first impression...so we'll see how it goes for us. We received a spray, soy candle and crystal gel.

(Eli!)

I do know that the spray had a bad effect on Lu's doggie, Eli. After spraying the mist in the room, poor Eli had an allergic reaction. He's alright now but hopefully none of the other products will have him drooling all over the place like the mist. We'll let you know how the rest of these products work as we track their effects.
~Am~

natural spray?

Exciting news everyone! Lu-n-Am has been offered to try some natural products - for free! We recently received an email from a company call EcoSmart. EcoSmart sells organic pesticide, insecticides and bug repellents. They offered to let us try their products if we would write just a short little review about the products. We've looked at their website and they seem to be true to their word (we don't accept greenwashing here!).

So we are going to give some of their products a try. Once we've seen the results with our eyes, we will give you an update and a decision as to whether or not we think you should give the products a try. The first product we are trying is EcoSmart's Ant and Roach spray. I, shudder, despise roaches, so I hope this stuff works!
~Am~

Eco-Friendly Products of the Week

I apologize that I have been so behind on updating Lu n' Am (as you can see I am also behind in my laundry, Eli enjoys it though)., but I am glad Am and Kimberly are doing a better job than me. :) Hopefully, now that I am all settled in my new apartment with Mitchell & Eli...I will be posting more often.

Well, our apartment is finally coming together. Over Christmas I got lots of lovely gifts that have been very useful here at our wee home. Mitchell and I particularly enjoy these....(Well we don't really...enjoy...them...but we have to)

Biodegradable Poop Bags!

I believe my mom got us these from Target, but there are lots of options for biodegradable poop bags out there. We live in an apartment and little Eli no longer gets to roam free and duke & the owners be worry free. Our duty is to clean up after our puppy son and so It is silly to have to use plastic bags that are not biodegradable, especially considering these are used multiple times...daily. Anyways, these are great for pet owners who have this duty.

Another environmentally friendly useful product here at our apartment is the ECOVER all-purpose cleaner.
Straight from their website-

• effective cleaning with the power of nature
• safe for all washable surfaces
• fresh fragrance from plant based ingredients
• no chemical residue

• plant based ingredients
• quick and complete biodegradability
  (OECD-test 301F, full product)
• minimum impact on aquatic life
  (OECD-test 201 & 202, full product)
• no animal testing

Packaging Materials are 100% recyclable.

It smells deliciously fresh, does the job, and is all natural. I really recommend this cleaner.
Check out the link above for more of their products, their website is great, if only more companies followed their footsteps.



I will be posting more soon! I must do laundry.

-Lu

refab.

I was browsing the never-ending blog universe when I found a posting about a wonderful crafter who uses reclaimed fabrics and turns them into new projects. Connie Crawley of Refabulous makes many different cloth projects from these recycled pieces that she finds, usually from thrift stores. She makes pin cushions, tote bags, catnip bags and eco-friendly fabric softener bags - to name a few.

Looking over her goods, I thought it would be the perfect place for Lu to get some goods for her recent move into her new apartment. Or the perfect place for Kimberly to get some catnip bags for her cats. Or the perfect place for me to get some pin cushions and fabric softener bags! Really, it's just the perfect place for the domestically inclined!

Check her out. She has an etsy shop and a blog. Enjoy.
~Am~

reusing your holiday papers

What does one do when the holidays are over and you are swimming in a sea of wrapping paper, gift bags and cards? Throw them away? Gasp, no! You reuse them!

(Photo via the bluegirlxo.)

I found this fab article on Crafting a Green World about reusing your holiday refuse. One of my favorite ideas is using the old paper to incorporate in sewing projects. Since I received a spiffy sewing machine for Christmas, I'm really excited to give this a try!



Any other ideas from the peanut gallery? Please - share it!


~Am~

green trash bags!

What happens with your trash bags after they are thrown out with your other trash? Do they sit and rot? Do they sit there and leach chemicals from the plastic into the ground water? How long do they take to decompose? Do they decompose? To solve all these problems and queries try using recyclable or biodegradable trash bags!

BioBag: makes 100% biodegradable and compostable bags, for your trash can and other items. How do they do this? By making bags that are made out of corn. Yes sir-re, corn!

EcoSafe: has bags that are made of materials that have “controllable lifecycles.” These materials are commodity polyolefin and synthetic plastics. They are, therefore, biodegradable and compostable.

Natural Value: has bag products made of 10-20% post-consumer recycled plastic and are PVC and plasticizer-free. The bag boxes are also made from recycled materials.

Seventh Generation: ahhh, Seventh Generation, our trusted friend....makes trash bags from 55% to 80% recycled plastic.

So give these brands a try and let us know which one works the best overall for you!
~Am~

buying green paper products

While you can avoid the use of paper towels by creating your own cloth towels and rags, one thing you can't get around using is toilet paper.

There's just no way around it - you have to use toilet paper. So what kind of toilet paper should you use?

If you can afford it, go green and go recyclable. Here are some brands that sell non-bleached, post-consumer, and recycled toilet paper:

-Seventh Generation
-Whole Foods Markets' "365 Everyday Value"
-Green Forest


From the reviews I've read, the best value and bang for your buck is Seventh Generation's toilet paper. So give it a try! And if you can find any more post consumer toilet paper brands, let us know!
~Am~

let's make some rags!

Here's a D-I-Y tip: instead of purchasing new cleaning rags and sponges when your old ones get too gross and torn up make some of your own cleaning rags from old pieces of fabric and clothing!

If you have a stack of clothes that you want to throw away then use those. Or when you are going through your clothes again and find those pieces of clothing that you know you will never wear again, (come on, let's be honest, there's plenty of that in all of our closets!) take out that clothing and start snipping it up!

(No, no...this isn't dope...these are actually rags! Wouldn't making you are own be so much nicer!)

No matter the clothing - be it shirts, dresses, skirts, jeans - you can easily turn something old and used up into something with a new purpose in life! You might even consider using old underwear - no one else is every going to use it!

I know it's a crazy idea, but really it's not. Instead of throwing things way, reuse them. It's good for everyone!
~Am~

working at the car wash [oh, oh ,oh]

This blog post idea is actually courtesy of Lu, but I thought I'd run with it since she hasn't been posting too much lately.

Washing cars...sigh. I wouldn't know anything about this since I don't own or even drive a car. But it seems that some people really, really like to have nice, clean, shiny cars.

(From Dave Gorman, via flickr.)

Washing cars requires lots of water. Big duh. But did you know that washing your car at home is actually a bigger environmental hazard than washing it at a car wash? Laser washes are actually required by law to recycle and reuse their water. So that water you use goes into a drain which then cycles the water again in the laser washes' system.

Washing it at home is bad because if you are using nasty products to wash your car then the run off from your washing can (and most likely will) seep into the ground. This will then travel to our water (streams, rivers, etc.). And this, in turn, pollutes our last remaining fresh water and pollutes the water that comes back to us in our homes.

The moral of this story: If you want to wash your car, do it a laser wash! But if you really have a hankering to do it at home then consider switching your cleaning products. There are, thankfully, green cleaning products out there. For instance - the Simple Green Car Wash.
~Am~