more reasons to be thankful

Our coffee maker broke, and for me, as I have noted in earlier posts, this is a huge problem because I am a regular coffee drinker. My reason to be thankful is this: I can buy the exact same coffee maker for ten dollars cheaper than it was when I got the first one, or I can buy the next level up for the EXACT same price on sale and we have the hookups for an additional discount so our new coffee maker will be $20 cheaper than the original one we purchased and it will be nicer... that's a reason to be thankful in my eyes.

back to thanksgiving clean-up. today I'm going to tell you how to keep it green, that is, free of toxic chemicals that are probably not something you want your kiddos to be taking in (or other kiddos at your house for the holiday)

The tips are these:

Though you may believe differently, your dishwasher uses about half the energy, 1/6 of the water, and way less soap than you might use during hand dish washing. If you have lots of dishes to wash, load your dishwasher with an eco-friendly detergent and air-dry the dishes rather than heat drying them.

It is amazing how a company can toss around the word "green" as a marketing tool and still have just as many toxins as "non-green" products. For the low-down on the green scene, check with green seal, which evaluates products as an independent third party and can give you some amazing green products!

Again, if you're going to go plastic, go biodegradable. eco products has lists and an online store full of earth-friendly serving and tableware.

re-use shopping bags as trash bags for your bathroom trash can, or as bags for people to take home leftovers.

did you boil water for deviled eggs, or to cook noodles? Sounds gross, but dump that hot water over your soaking dishes. Most of the "cleaning" that happens while you're cleaning is from heat, soap, and from the friction you create by scrubbing things, so if your water is "re-used" it wont at all affect the "cleanliness" of your dishes.

Please, don't use plastic wrap to wrap up your leftovers. Besides being a pain to get off the roll, it contains PVC which causes harmful environmental consequences. Instead,  use aluminum foil because it can be recycled and rinsed off after the food is gone. And, there are TONS of household uses for aluminum foil which I will share with you tomorrow!!

HAPPY CLEANING and happy holidays