Clean It Green

I received a few requests for more information on how to make your own environmentally friendly cleaning products. I started making my own cleaners after I saw a presentation put on by a woman from the local co-op. I have been hooked ever since and tout the benefits of make-your-own cleaners to anyone looking to be healthier, wanting to save money or desiring to live ‘green.’ I have listed a few recipes to try; these are the ones I use, but you can find more in the books mentioned below. All the cleaners can be made with substances that are easily available at your local store. I love using these recipes because they are so cheap to make, don’t bring chemicals into your home (I always worried about my dogs health with chemicals around), and are friendly on the environment. Use any of the cleaners below with a reusable cloth rag to be really earth conscious.


General Cleaner
Can be used on glass, wood, ceramic, tile, various other hard surfaces. Vinegar fights grease, essential oils make it antibacterial. I use this on almost everything- both wood and glass.

What you need:
Spray Bottle
White Distilled Vinegar
More Environmentally Friendly Dish Soap (I use Method brand)
Essential Oils (I use Sweet Orange)
Warm Water

What to do:
Fill the spray bottle with vinegar up halfway. Add two drops of dish soap and 10+ drops of essential oil. Fill rest of bottle up with hot water. Shake and spray.


Furniture Polish
Can be used on wood cabinets and paneling, furniture, picture frames, etc. Also for dust mopping and cleaning spills off leather. Spray onto cotton cloth or onto furniture, then wipe dry immediately. The olive oil conditions and the vinegar cleans. Be sure to use genuine lemon essential oil and be careful about the vinegar- too much can damage the finish.

What you need:
Spray Bottle
Olive Oil, preferably a lighter variety
Pure Lemon Essential Oil or Lemon Juice
White Distilled Vinegar
Warm Water

What to do:
Put 2 tbsp olive oil in bottle. Add 20+ drops pure lemon essential oil or 1-2 tsp lemon juice. Add ¼ cup vinegar and fill the rest of the container with water. Shake well.


Scrubbing Cleanser
I use this to scrub pots and pans. It’s easier than tackling hard tasks with only a sponge. Cleans sinks, counters, tubs and tile, appliances, dishes, pots and pans (not aluminum). Rinse away baking soda residue with the General Cleaner from above.

What you need:
16 oz. container with holes in the top
Baking Soda
Essential Oils, peppermint recommended

What to do:
Fill container half way with baking soda. Add 3-5 drops of essential oil, cap and shake.


For more info check out:
Clean House, Clean Planet by Karen Logan
The naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel-Maier
Clean and Green: The Complete Guide to Non-Toxic and Environmentally Safe Housekeeping by Annie Berthold-Bond
Green Clean: The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home by Linda Mason Hunter

Food for Everyone

Today my friend Simone and I attended the Soup-er Sunday at Railroad Square, a cute little art park in Tallahassee. We each bought a bowl and then were able to go and sample various soups at participating stores. Railroad Square is a square block near the railroad station full of vintage shops, art studios, a caboose where you can buy coffee, a rock climbing studio, outdoor sculptures, and a small parody theater. Today's fun event was for the benefit of Second Harvest of the Big Bend, a wonderful and important asset to the community.

The idea for Second Harvest Food Banks started in the late 1960s when John van Hengel began volunteering at a local soup kitchen. After speaking to a woman who frequented the soup kitchen, he had an idea to establish a place to store food for when people needed it. Van Hengel began to actively solicit this unwanted food from grocery stores, local gardens, and nearby produce farms. His effort led to the creation of St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix, the nation's first food bank.( 1) Growing over the next 50 years, Second Harvest now collects food and supplies it to local food banks worth an excess of $620 million throughout the country (3). Just this past September, the organization name was changed to Feeding America which conveys their mission—providing food to Americans living with hunger—and are now supported through expansive public outreach campaigns that will raise awareness of domestic hunger and Feeding America's work.

To contribute to Feeding America, visit their website at feedingamerica.org. From their site you can search for your local food bank. They take financial contributions, food donations and your time at local food banks.

(1) hungerday.org/news_room/2005_News_Releases/100505.html
(2) secondharvest.org
(3) charityreports.bbb.org/Public/Report.aspx?CharityID=2331

Inspirations and Motivations

So perhaps you have heard that Gwyneth Paltrow has started her own blog, GOOP. I haven't read everything on it, but she has a section titled 'Be' where I found an interesting essay by an Episcopal priest. The question Gwyneth posed was thus: "I have a friend who sees the world in a pessimistic light. This person is highly suspicious of people and situations, and sees, as well as experiences negativity at most turns. Why is this and what does it mean? What can be done to help someone of this nature?" What follows is Cynthia Bourgeault's response:

A: I am not so sure it’s a question of nature, but of nurture – or lack thereof. We live in a world where fear and cynicism are running sky high, where traditional institutions of faith and culture are breaking down, and where our dislocation from nature and the natural rhythms of life leave our souls a little pent up and crazy. Suspicion and pessimism are pretty good defenses against a world gone mad. But the great spiritual teachings of the ages have suggested a radically counter-intuitive response. When this same question came up in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s great novel The Brothers Karamazov, the wise elder Fr. Zossima said in response, “Go help someone. Reach out to a brother or sister in need. Feed the hungry, heal the sick – (or at least, take on your small share of the task) – and then, only then, will you come to know that the world is trustworthy and God is real.” His point is tough, but true: First the eye of the heart must open, and only then will one see confirmation in the external world. As long as suspicion and pessimism are being projected, suspicion and pessimism are what the cosmos will confirm.

So how to break the vicious cycle? Fr. Zossima’s advice is still as true today as it was in his time: look for a chance to serve. Volunteer in a shelter, a food pantry, a nursing home: it will soften your heart. Spend time in nature, in a playground with young children; sing!; read love poetry; hang out with the "good, the true and the beautiful," however they speak to you. The problem is that we are starving – all of us, really – for the energy of beauty and goodness so long absent from our contemporary cultural experience. But we have to start making these energies ourselves – from within ourselves. That is not only an individual task; it is our collective human task and our planet will thank us for it.

– Cynthia Bourgeault
Cynthia Bourgeault is an Episcopal priest, writer and retreat leader. She is founding director of the Aspen Wisdom School in Colorado and principal visiting teacher for the Contemplative Society in Victoria, BC, Canada.

Now I Want a Thin Mint

Working at 2-1-1 Big Bend, I attend many volunteer fairs and the like where I set up a table with information and give-aways in an attempt to inform people about our organization. In doing these events, I’ve started to become conscious of the other agencies in the community who are also trying to raise awareness about their cause. Talking to people from other organizations gets me so hyped about doing volunteer work or attending charity events that sometimes I have to slow down and remind myself that there is only so much of me to go around. This string of events happened just last week when I finally went over to talk to the staffer at the Girl Scouts booth. I use to be in Scouting when I was growing up and loved it. It was a chance to get away from my home and be with other girls and do outdoorsy things, make crafts, sings songs, learn various skills- pretty much everything I still love to do! The Girl Scouts are an amazing organization dedicated to positively forming girls into productive, well-rounded women.

As any good Scout knows, Girl Scouts started in America in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Georgia. She believed that all girls should be given the opportunity to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually. With the goal of bringing girls out of isolated home environments and into community service and the open air, Girl Scouts hiked, played basketball, went on camping trips, learned how to tell time by the stars, and studied first aid. Girl Scouts' membership has grown from 18 members in Savannah, Georgia, to 3.7 million members throughout the United States, including U.S. territories, and in more than 90 countries through USA Girl Scouts Overseas (girlscouts.org).

The Girl Scouts of the USA are now headquartered in New York City and boast a museum open to the public and overseen by the National Historic Preservation Center. There you can see all the memorabilia of Scouting dating back to its inception and learn its rich history which includes girls of all ethnicities, an unusual fete for certain eras. One can also travel to the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace—a Girl Scout national center in Savannah, Georgia. Juliette Gordon Low, who was affectionately known by her family and friends as "Daisy," lived in this house that was built in 1821, and has been elegantly restored to reflect the 1880s complete with many original Gordon family pieces, including artwork by Juliette. Located in the heart of the Savannah Historic District, "the Birthplace," as it is commonly called by Girl Scouts nationwide, was the city's first National Historic Landmark and attracts thousands of Scouts and Scout supporters each year.

So what can you do to assist this great outlet for young women? Well, buy those cookies for a start! Selling cookies is an annual fundraiser that started in 1917 as a money earning opportunity for local councils and troops. This staple of the Girl Scouts helps Scouts directly because they get to practice life skills like goal setting, money management, and teamwork, and all of the proceeds support Girl Scouting in that region. They really are a delicious way to give to the Girl Scouts and account for the majority of their fundraising. Beyond stuffing your face, you can research your local chapter and volunteer for their various activities. After the first of the year, I am going to try to put some time into my chapter’s in-school mentoring program. Just one of the many activities offered through the Girl Scouts, mentors visit with girls who are considered ‘at risk’ for a variety of reasons and offer themselves as positive role models to girls who need it most. Also, you can join your chapter’s email list and be provided with info on upcoming fundraising events and parties. My sister and I did just that and are now attending the upcoming Women of Distinction fundraiser for our local chapter of the Girl Scouts. Cookies, parties, changing young women’s lives- what is there not to like about the Girl Scouts? For more information about this non-profit organization, visit www.girlscouts.org

Fun Fact: the oldest living Girl Scout is 102-year-old Marianne Elser Crowder, born in Colorado Springs in April 1906. She joined the Wagon Wheel Council Troop 4 in 1918 and earned her Golden Eaglet, the GSUSA's highest award at the time. She later operated her own dance studio in Colorado Springs and headed the dance department at Colorado College before moving to Menlo Park, California in 1939 where she taught dance in the community recreation program from 1949 until her retirement at the age of 97. The Wagon Wheel Council named Crowder the nation's oldest Girl Scout after it conducted a nationwide search and sifted through council archives. Bay Area home to oldest living Girl Scout.

Promise

On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

Law

I will do my best to be
Honest and fair,
Friendly and helpful,
Considerate and caring,
Courageous and strong, and
Responsible for what I say and do,
And to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout

Motto

"Be Prepared."

Guardian Ad Litem

As I am getting this blog started, I thought it would be easiest to write about the organizations I know best. Thus, you will see the first posts about groups I or my friends or family are involved in.

I recently began volunteering as a Guardian ad Litem and really love how much I am able to help a child who needs it. Guardian ad Litems are also knows as CASAs, or Court Appointed Special Advocates or Voices for Children and are present around the country. The concept began in 1977, when Seattle Superior Court Judge David Soukup felt frustrated because he was left making decisions on behalf of abused and neglected children with only the information provided by the state child protection agency. Soukup came up with the idea that volunteers could be dedicated to a case and speak for children's best interests. Fifty volunteers responded to his idea, which started the movement towards providing better representation for abused and neglected children throughout the country.

Today, there are more than 59,000 advocates serving in 954 state and local program offices nationwide (nationalcasa.org). Since the inception of CASA advocacy, volunteers have helped more than 2 million children find safe, permanent homes in which they can thrive (nationalcasa.org).

Usually, the time line is such: a call is made to the Child Protection Agency regarding a child’s well being. They investigate and if the case warrants the child being removed, they will be put them in a shelter or foster home and a shelter hearing is set for the next day. At that hearing, a volunteer is appointed to the child to speak on their behalf. That is the aspect I really enjoy with this program- you get unlimited and unhindered court appointed access to your child so you can really get a feel about how they are doing. You can make suggestions to the court based on the child’s wishes and what you feel is best for the child. These suggestions can be anything from a request for a tutor to where you feel the child is best suited to live. You really listen to the child, but also look at the big picture to figure out what is best for them. A child may want to go back to their parents, but often that is not the healthiest place for them to be until their parents get the help they need. The ultimate goal though is to get the parents and children the resources they need (counseling, medication, education, etc) to make reunification of the family a possibility.

To better illustrate the program, put yourself in a child’s shoes: You are pulled out of your home, often without understanding why because abuse has been normalized. You are put with strangers in an unfamiliar home and told that you won’t see your parents for an unknown length of time. From there you may be moved around between foster homes and shelters and even schools. If you do go to court (and if you are under 12 you may not be invited to do so) it is full of scary grown-ups using language you don’t understand. One constant in all this can be a Guardian. Before this program was put in place, only Child Protection and the court had any say in what to do with the child, and case managers and lawyers would change often. Now, with a Guardian, you have a stable person in your life, someone who is honest and who you can trust.

Although I did not meet my child until later in her case, I can already see the impact I make in her life. Knowing someone is there with her best interest in mind, knowing that she has someone to talk to and that cares about how she is doing, makes her life a bit better. During our last visit, when I brought her McDonald’s for lunch (her request) and sat down at a cafeteria table with her and her classmates, she told me she felt like the luckiest kid there because I had come to see her. If that is not the best feeling in the world, I’m not sure what is.

This is truly a gratifying and essential volunteer opportunity and one that many people have time for as the training is not lengthy nor are the visits with the child. If you don’t want to commit to a case, you can always ‘adopt’ a child for Christmas through your local CASA program. Often these children may still be living in foster care for Christmas so toys and clothes are appreciated around the holidays. For more information or how to get involved, visit www.nationalcasa.org or if you live in Florida, www.guardianadlitem.org.

2-1-1 is Everywhere!!

If you know me, you know I work for a company called 2-1-1 Big Bend. The Big Bend part of that refers to the area of Florida we serve. What I bet you didn't know is that there is more than likely a 2-1-1 service available in your area. In the same way you can dial 9-1-1 or 4-1-1 from your phone, you can dial 2-1-1 and be connected to a real live person! who can direct you to various social services in your community- for Free!. This service even works for cell phones in some areas and is available almost everywhere in the U.S. and Canada. Many 2-1-1s also offer crisis counseling as well as information and referrals to health and human services, so if you or someone you know is thinking of killing themselves, direct them to dial 2-1-1. Where available, 2-1-1 is operated by private non-profit community-service organizations, and funded through local government or state contracts as well as the United Way. 2-1-1 Big Bend, as well as many other 2-1-1 centers have M.O.U.s or Memorandums of Understanding with state and federal governments to facilitate the efficient handling of disasters. New media directs people to call 2-1-1 in the event of an emergency where they can get information about the disaster such as what shelters are open, where to get sandbags, food, etc. 2-1-1s are also usually accredited by one or both the Allied Information and Referral Systems and the American Association of Suicidology. To find a 2-1-1 near you, visit http://www.211.org/. To donate to this very important service organization visit your local United Way's website and earmark your contribution.

The Beginning of a Blog

I had wanted to start a blog for a while now, but wanted my efforts to have a unique purpose and impact. I was inspired by my good friend Tamigi’s blog (http://meeg-toomuchinformation.blogspot.com/), a place where he does extensive historical research interspersed with witty cultural references. Knowing I could not compete with his amazing journal, I continued deliberating over what I could contribute to the blogging world. I endlessly searched for a meaning for my blog and then recently someone whom I use to share my life with passed away. Wickham, who I dated for many years, was killed in New Orleans. I had not spoken to Wick in quite a while as our relationship ended less than optimally, but my feelings at the time of his passing were ones of extreme sadness and pain. I had tried to help Wick for so many years overcome his addictions and felt so helpless to know that neither I, nor our love, could conquer them. I was also heartbroken to know that later in life he still was not able to break his dependence. It was then that I realized that, like the joy Wick brought to many people, perhaps I could in some very small way also bring help to those looking for it. Hence the purpose of this blog will be to highlight different ways others can get involved and give back. Wick loved life, and I think those reading this blog can help make life better for others and for themselves.

I don’t feel the suns comin out today

Its staying in, its gonna find another way.
As I sit here in this misery,
I don’t think I'll ever see the sun from here.
And oh as I fade away,
They’ll all look at me and say, and they’ll say,
Hey look at him! I’ll never live that way.
But that’s okay
They’re just afraid to change.
When you feel your life aint worth living
You’ve got to stand up and
Take a look around you then a look way up to the sky.
And when your deepest thoughts are broken,
Keep on dreaming boy, cause when you stop dreamin its time to die.
As we all play parts of tomorrow,
Some ways will work and other ways will play.
But I know we all can't stay here forever,
So I want to write my words on the face of today.
And then they’ll paint it
And oh as I fade away, they’ll all look at me and they’ll say,
Hey look at him and where he is these days.
When life is hard, you have to change.

"Change" by Blind Melon