thoughts on nature and global warming and keeping the "space you live in" . . .

I (Jen) just came home from a camping trip and so my thoughts are still on the things of nature . . . I love the things of nature . . .

Our camping trip was sort of a fail though, being that the beauty of nature was infringed upon by the degradation of construction and a highway that somebody built too close to the camp ground! Who would do that? I don't understand . . .

I don't understand why we build stuff without considering the ecological effects it will have on our planet, or how it will ruin our recreational activities! Ha Ha . . .

At the same time . . .

I came home to find that the weeds and grass were overwhelming my gardens more than ever, and I couldn't be too sad about it, because I think it's beautiful that no matter what man does to try and control nature - it often finds a way to fight back! Most people have contemplated this upon encountering a blade of grass or a wild flower growing in the crack of a cemented area. While some may consider such a sight a failure of human technology - I see it as a triumphant sign that nature is resilient no matter how much damage is inflicted on it!

Soooooo - global warming? Fact or Fiction? Could mere humans really alter the course of nature? The world heats up and cools down - that's just what it does, , , and right now, it's heating up - no big deal.

Well - if you want to know how the gals over at Jen's Housekeeping feel about Global Warming - I will tell you! We think there is a whole lot of truth to the scientific claim that humans are causing the earth to heat up far more than is natural according to the warming and cooling cycles recorded in the history of our existence.

At the same time . . . when it comes to how we treat our earth - does it really matter if global warming is fact or fiction? I am thinking of the many tips that come from environmentalist on how to reverse the warming trend and they all make sense regardless of whether or not our planet is suffocating in greenhouse gasses! Every tip I have heard and can think of at the moment (using less non-renewable energy, buying local, disposing of paint and batteries appropriately, and so on) have benefits that can and will improve our lives in so many more ways than one! These actions will improve our economic situation, our physical health as individuals and communities, and will simply make for a more pleasant environment to live, regardless of whether or not you believe they are helping to reverse global warming!

In my opinion - debating the issue is ridiculous, because these actions to change our habits as a people, a community, a nation, are all things we should do anyway! Imagine that you buy a house, and then decide that you don't want to put your trash in a specific receptacle, or wash your dishes, or vacuum, , , you got the picture, right? Those things may not destroy the house, but you will end up living in filth and squalor and ultimately your health and your environment will be compromised of vitality and beauty and and and . . . .

Of course - one could argue that over time - failing to accomplish such menial chores could eventually and inadvertently? lead to the degradation of the structure of the house . . . but would it take proving that to make you want to wash your dishes? Do you see where I am going with this? ? ?

From the stand point of simple and good stewardship - we should all be making decisions that improve our over all standard of living - but at the same time, I imagine that more would be inspired to change their every day habits if they felt that it was matter of life or death. So while I don't think it should take proving whether or not Global Warming is real to convince one to make changes in how they live their lives, maybe on some level it is still necessary? Sad, so sad, but probably true? What are your thoughts?

Jen's Housekeeping Service believes that Global Warming is a reality - and so strives to make choices that will contribute to the reversal of such possible negative impacts. BUT - if we are wrong, and Global Warming is not fact - then at least we are washing our dirty dishes and sweeping the floor so that filth and squalor do not take over! We want to help you "love the space you live in" . . . . not just by sweeping your floors and dusting your mantles, but by encouraging you to consider your daily habits and whether or not they contribute to the beauty of our world, or the degrading of it . . . the choice is all of ours for the taking!

A whole other kind of tie dye...

One of the favorite Easter traditions in my house is dying eggs. Some of my earliest memories are sitting with my mom at the snazzy yellow kitchen table (weren't the 70s great?) with the "stinky water" dying eggs just before Easter. Evidence on my favorite color choices would be carried with me for days as the dyes wore off my skin.

Skip forward a few decades, I carried forth this tradition of putting dyes in little cups of vinegar water with my nieces, nephews, and my eldest daughter. It wasn't until I was faced with the potential mess that placing open cups filled with liquid designed to stain in front of my three 18-month-olds that I decided that *maybe* there was a method that would not give me anxiety just thinking about the potential damage. Let's just say the first year, we only had about 8 eggs that were completed with the traditional method before calling it quits.

Last year, I finally decided to give silk dying a try. Winner! The kids had fun, nothing was destroyed, AND I got to re-purpose some old silk ties and an old sheet! (If you don't have any old silk, you can find ties at goodwill for under $2 or so)

First, find some old 100% silk fabric.


















Cut the silk into squares large enough to cover your egg -- 6" x 6" - 8" x 8" or so depending on the size of your egg. Tightly wrap the fabric around an uncooked egg or blown-out eggshell (printed side touching the shell) Secure it using a yarn, string, wire, twist ties -- whatever you have on hand (kick up a Green notch by using ones you've saved from your loaves of bread).

























After your eggs are wrapped, you will need to wrap a second layer of white or light-colored fabric around the tie-wrapped egg and secure closed. An old sheet or pillow case works great.

(This is before they were wrapped in the white fabric)



Once covered, place them in a nonreactive pot, cover with cold water and 1/4 C of white vinegar*, and bring to a boil. After boiling for 20 minutes, place in a colander to cool. Once cooled, remove the fabric and see the magic inside!

*If you are using blown eggs, put a steamer basket or metal colander on top of the eggs so that they stay submersed without floating to the top.



If you want them to have a hint of shine, you can rub them lightly with vegetable oil. The above shot is fresh out of the wrapping without oil, but they still look cool. Click the photo to view larger, however, remember they were wrapped by three 3-year-olds and a 7-year-old. Tighter wrapping would have made for better coverage on a couple.

You can reuse the silk and white squares to dye your next batch, 3 or 4 times over!

The girls loved this so much -- and I did too when there wasn't a stain in the place!

I'm thinking of adding Fresh Cut Flower eggs or Earthy Marble Onion Peel Eggs (http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/03/31/green-egg-dying-eco-friendly-ways-to-dye-your-eggs/) to this year's adventure on Saturday. I just need to raid Jen's flower garden!

NOTE: Fabric dyes are not food-safe, eat the silk-dyed eggs at your own risk (Some of ours were eaten, and I know others have eaten them as well, but we do not advise this.)

Kitchen Energy Savers

The holidays are upon us! Since many of us will be spending extra time in the kitchen, we thought we'd share a few energy saving tips that are just as good for your pocket as the planet.

1) Put a lid on it! Covering pots when warming food or boiling water speeds up the heating process, saves energy and keeps your kitchen cooler. Use properly fitting lids--not only will it heat your food faster, but we have a funny family story about a large skillet, a small lid and chicken pockets that ended up being veggie pockets after the lid sealed to the pan and the chicken couldn't be removed!
2) Use your oven light. Opening the oven to peek in on your goods reduces the oven temperature by 25% and increases your cooking time.
3) To preheat or not to preheat . Contrary to most cooking instructions, preheating isn't usually necessary. For foods that require immediate heat (some cakes, pies and soufflés), preheat for 10 minutes or less.
4) Toaster ovens do more than make toast! If you have one, consider using it for small jobs. It requires less time to heat up and less energy to stay hot.
5) Glass is the way to go! Glass and ceramic cookware conducts and retains heat better than metal. Using oven-safe glass or ceramic pans allows you to reduce the cooking temperature by 25 degrees.

6) Turn the oven off several minutes before the recipes recommends (some sources say even up to 20 minutes). The residual heat from the oven will finish up the job, assuming you aren't opening it to peek.
7) If you have and use the self-cleaning feature on your oven, begin it while your oven is still hot from cooking.

Fright On Franklin Drawing Winner

Congratulations to

Judi Thompson

Winner of our drawing for a
$100 Jen's Housekeeping Gift Certificate
from Fright on Franklin 2009

Thanks to all those that participated. It was a great event!

Hip, Happenin' Housekeeping...

That's right! Jen's Housekeeping Service has now jumped on the social networking bandwagon. See our "Fan Page" link on the left to check out new things we find of interest. Bear in mind it is a fairly new fan page so there isn't much to it yet.

We will still keep the blog alive, and hopefully will be posting some of our many thoughts soon (I suppose being too busy to turn our ideas into blog entries is a good thing though, right??)

There may be articles that we find of interest, helpful hints we have come across, local events/information we'd like to share, maybe even some discussions or reviews ... who knows what could pop up on our fan page. Feel free to head over and check it out!

Mark your Calendars for Green Day!

Together Everyone Can Make a Difference!

GREEN DAY!

SATURDAY APRIL 18th
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location:
C&L Recycling
1515 C Vista Lane (click for map)
931-542-6168

• Free Paper Shredding
• Meet Local Green Businesses
• Free Recyclables Collection
• Recycling Information/Questions Answered
• Refreshments

Visit http://greendayclarksville.com/ for more information!

Housecleaning tips to make your life easier! (and mine!)

There was a time when I used to clean the shower curtain with a bottle of bleach and a sponge while it was hanging on the shower rod! Blasted be those days!!! Some blessed soul, I don't remember who, mentioned one day that they just throw theirs in the washing machine with some towels and it comes out like new again! Brilliant be that day! The towels do the scrubbing for you, and if you must throw some bleach in the water, then so be it. If you wash your shower curtain this way often enough you should not ever need bleach!!!

I am surprised at how many people are still cleaning their shower curtains the same way I did years ago, and I am surprised at the many simple ideas I am still learning everyday, that are so simple I can't believe I did not think of them on my own! Hence, the reason and inspiration for this post, to share random housecleaning ideas that will hopefully lighten your load, and if you have any ideas to share, please post them as a comment!

The very first and foremost rule of housecleaning, or for that matter, of cleaning anything, is to clean top to bottom! Have you ever spent ample time cleaning your bathroom only to look up at your light fixture to realize that dust and cob webs have settled there? Unless you are very careful at removing them, you will have to clean your sink and vanity, and maybe the floor, all over again! Ahhhhhhhhhh! Don't let this happen to you! Always look up first, and work your way down. If you forget, I recommend skipping the light fixture, and dealing with the dust and cob webs later!

When cleaning top to bottom, the nifty hand sweeper is your friend! Use it to sweep the tops of window casings, and then the blinds, and then the top of the bottom window, and then the window seal! If you have panes on the outsides of your windows then the hand sweeper works great to loosen the dust in those tiny little corners! If you need to follow up with a towel and some cleaner, then at least the job will have been simplified for you. The hand sweeper is also handy when cleaning out kitchen cabinets. If you do a spring cleaning, or if you are moving out/into a house, use the hand sweeper first to get rid of the loose stuff, then go back with a towel and some cleaner.

For dirty baseboards, the same method makes for a more efficient clean, but you may want to use a full size broom, so you don't have to get down on all fours, I mean threes, since one hand would be holding the sweeper! Sweep away the loose stuff, (or use the bristle attachment of your vacuum) and you may be surprised that you suddenly have white baseboards again! Or, you may discover the few areas that need a damp cleaning towel, but at least you won't have spent hours on the floor hand scrubbing what was only some loose dust! If your baseboards are bad, and do require ample time on the floor, your job will still be easier if you remove the loose stuff first with a broom.

Vacuum those air vents with the bristle attachment! Don't spend hours scrubbing them! You probably don't need to! Again, if you do, get the loose stuff first with the vacuum, or a broom, but a vacuum is preferred. If some scrubbing is required, take the whole vent off and place it in your bath tub or shower, or outside on the drive way if it's a nice day, and douse it with vinegar or any all purpose cleaner, or both! Let it sit for a few minutes, and then rinse. Only spend time scrubbing what may still be left!

I learned this one just a couple of weeks ago: Microfiber is the key to a streak free wood floor! I didn't want to use microfiber; it's a synthetic material and it feels yucky on my dry hands! But it is great for wood or laminate flooring. I learned this from one of my wonderful clients, thank you:)

About once a week, fill up the kitchen sink with soapy water and throw your stove and oven knobs in to soak. While they soak, you can clean the panel really well and easily without them in the way. Dry the knobs with a towel and pop them back on. This will keep your neato stove looking new!

For those of you who have yet to obtain a self cleaning oven - vinegar, baking soda, a scrubby, and a plastic spatula will do the job! Douse the oven with vinegar, turn it on to 350 for ten minutes, then douse with vinegar and baking soda while it is still warm and scrape the gunk away! You may need to apply some elbow grease with your scrubby, but with this method, hopefully not much! I recently learned from another great client, that the microwave oven can be cleaned in the same way. If you forget to clean it right after the spillage of chili beans, and the glop of mess has a chance to harden, then cover it with a wet towel, and turn the microwave on for a few minutes. Hopefully you will then be able to wipe away the mess with relative ease!

If you are so lucky to own a jacuzzi tub, and if you are luckier yet to ever use it, here is how to clean out the jets: fill up the tub with water and add a couple cups of vinegar while the jets are running. If they have become moldy at all, you may have to get a toothbrush out to clean around the outsides of them, but the vinegar will keep them clear and functioning well. Some of my clients use dish washing machine soap or tablets. This method will also help clean the whole tub at the same time!

Gosh, I know there are many more! I will leave room for some of you to add to my list, I'm excited to possibly come across some new ones! But before I go, just a few more tips to maintain cleanliness in the first place!

- Spend some money on the paint you use on the inside of your house if you at all can! the nice the paint, the easier to wipe off dirt and smudges! The finish also has something to do with it. I know matte is prettier, but glossy is easier! Decide which of the two you can live with - dirt or gloss?

- If you have a tiled shower, you will either have to use a lot of bleach (gaspppp!!!!) or you will have to dry it completely after almost every shower! I do not prefer either of these ideas, so I will never have a tile shower, but if you do, you must come to terms with one of these two choices! Unfortunately, if you resolve to using bleach on a regular basis, you may still end up with mold. My beloved vinegar is a mold deterrent, but I am not sure how good it is at preventing it. Maybe one of you could experiment for me by spraying your shower down ever couple days? Hmmmmmm. I'm afraid that drying the shower every time you use it is the only guaranteed way to keep mold at bay. If you buy a squeegee the job won't be quite so difficult. There is a third aspect to this issue that I must mention. Re-sealing your grout every six months or so would do a lot to keep the mold and dirt from settling into the porous crevices of grout. Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzz! I'll never have a tile shower!

- Speaking of squeegees . . . if your shower has a door, then you need one! I used to be so annoyed when I visited my mum's house, because she was always on every ones case about drying the shower door with the squeegee she had hanging inside of it to keep it nice, but she was right to do so! Keeping the water off it keeps it from getting hard water spots, which are not easy to remove. It also removes soapy substances which would later turn to soap scum, aaannnnnddd - DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN - it keeps mold away! Leaving your shower door open for a while after you shower will help the track and the hinges dry out without molding as well.

A special, oh so special note from me as a housekeeper, and on behalf of all housekeepers everywhere!

Tile showers and shower doors are my own personal cryptonite! The shower squeegee is the only real anecdote! When you utilize the potential of the shower squeegee, you make the world of the housekeeper that much brighter and bearable!!!

- Have your air ducts cleaned regularly to keep the dust at a minimum. (and don't forget to replace your air filters every few months!)

- Remember to check the filters on your vacuum cleaner to maintain it's efficiency.

Thanks for reading - now it's your turn to add some ideas!