Featured ALL STAR – Laura
Team Lead Laura 
Before becoming an ALL STAR: I was working retail while going to school to become a physical therapist.
Career Ambitions: I plan to become a physical therapist, and hopes to someday work for a professional sports team as a trainer.
Why she wanted to be an ALL STAR: I had been very interested in the green movement. Working for a green company seemed to be a good career- before-my-career/ job change!
Favorite part of the job: My favorite part of the job is getting to know our clients. It is like becoming a part of many families all at once.
Something you may not know about Laura: I grew up on a beach and enjoy surfing and scuba diving.
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The Pink Glove Dance
Well, I haven’t posted anything in quite awhile – it has been an amazing autumn for us! We have had record growth this year, and today we are moving into a larger office to accommodate our growing number of staff!
I just ran across this video while taking a break from moving, and had to share it with all of the amazing women we clean for through Cleaning for a Reason. Enjoy!
The Results of My Recent Quest for a Natural Silver Polish
Tired of staring at my badly tarnished unity candle, I decided to start exploring natural methods of polishing silver. (I had never actually polished any silver before since this is the only silver piece I own!)
Here is the recipe I tried first:
Silver Tarnish Remover
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
6 cups of warm water
1 sheet aluminum foil
Instructions:
Line a large bowl with aluminum foil (this is not to protect the bowl; it is part of the recipe.) Mix salt and soda with warm water in the bowl. Place silver items in mixture and soak for one hour. Dry and buff with a soft cloth.
This is the most common method I’ve come across in my years of natural cleaning research.
I didn’t have a container large enough to fit the entire candle holder in, so I used the largest baking dish I had, which submerged about half of it. Then I went to a movie.
4 hours later…
It didn’t really work. I experimented with adding more salt and soda and left it for another hour. Nothing.
I was pretty surprised by this actually, although I should know by now that not all natural cleaning recipes really work all that well (which is why I keep this blog in the first place!) This recipe is just so widely spread across the internet, I never really thought to question it. Maybe I did something wrong?
In the end, I used Tom’s of Maine Toothpaste (must be white paste not gel FYI) and it came out beautifully.
It would take quite a lot of toothpaste to polish something much larger than a candle stick though. If anyone out there in cyberspace has any other natural recipes for silver polish that could more easily handle large pieces, post them in the comments – I’d love to try them out!
Natural Soft Scrub
Mix:
2 cups baking soda
1/2 cup liquid castile soap
4 tablespoons vegetable glycerin (acts as a preservative)
optional – 5-10 drops essential oil of your choice. Another alternative would be to just use scented castile soap, like Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Soap!
Store in a sealed glass jar. Shelf life of up to two years!
Featured ALL STAR – Amanda
Team Lead Amanda - A.K.A. Wonder Woman!
Before becoming an ALL STAR: Amanda worked at CSU in the Food Service Department for 7 years starting at the age of 14. She left CSU to be a stay-at-home mom to her 3 beautiful children – Malaki age 8, Octavia age 4, and Xavier age 3. She was a stay-at-home mom for 9 years before joining the ALL STAR team, during which she had a few part-time jobs, in-home care for the elderly being her favorite.
Career Ambitions: Amanda aspires to become a holistic massage therapist.
Why she wanted to be an ALL STAR: “Well to become the All Star Wonder Woman, of course! Actually, that is just a bonus. I really do believe in Laura’s dreams and goals for the All Star company and its employees. To be able to contribute to not just something I believe in, but to something bigger than myself. Thanks for all the opportunity Laura.”
Favorite Part of the Job: All the great people I get to meet, and getting to know my customers as time goes by.
Something you may not know about Amanda: Her name was supposed to be Amandalynn Marie Flores. Amanda after her great-grandmother, and Lynn from her mom’s favorite instrument the mandolin. Marie from her mother’s middle name. PVH made a mistake on the certificate though and printed her name as Amanda Lynn. So, that was that!
Wonderful Recipe for Natural Wood Polish
Mix equal parts walnut oil and lemon juice
Add a few drops of eucalyptus oil or other fragrant herb essential oil of your choice for fragrance (optional)
Rub generously into wood
Let stand for a few minutes and then buff with a soft dry cloth to a beautiful finish!
Natural Pest Control
| It’s that time of the year again – mosquito season is upon us! Here are some tips to repel the nasty little critters that tend to invade our homes this time of year; naturally, of course!
Ants: Apparently more than just small children are repelled by vegetables. Ants are said to hate… cucumber of all things! Leave some cucumber slices or peelings around the point of entry; bitter cucumber works best.
Ants are said to never cross a chalk line. Other lines they reportedly will avoid: Already have fleas in the house? Trap them! Take a shallow baking pan and fill it with a few inches of water. Add a little squirt of soap. Position a lamp directly over the pan to attract the fleas. The light will attract them in, and the soap will prevent them from jumping back out. (This also works for moths.) Mosquitos: We all know that the best way to keep mosquitos off our property is to remove all standing water. But what to do if there is standing water that is too difficult to remove? Add 1 tsp of dish soap per gallon of standing water to destroy the larvae.Another easy way to repel mosquitos (and pretty up the yard!) is to plant marigolds. The little bloodsuckers can’t stand the smell. Got vaporub? Mosquitos are naturally repelled by the eucalyptus scent. DIY Bug Spray: Add 2 1/2 teaspoons of any combination of the following essential oils to 1 cup of vodka: Basically, try to smell like a tree! |
Green Irene Update – We now have a local consultant!
You may (or may not!) remember me posting some time ago about Green Irene, a wonderful new company providing Green Home Makeovers through highly trained Green Irene Eco-Consultants. Their Green Home Makeovers run around $99, and cover topics such as energy-efficient lighting, energy conservation, toxic-free living, water purity and conservation, indoor air quality, waste reduction and recycling, and emergency safety and preparedness. While of course it is perfectly possible to learn all this stuff on your own, a Green Home Makeover can save you tons of time in research and trial and error, which I think makes it a great resource for busy families.
For awhile I considered becoming a Green Irene consultant myself, just because it fits in perfectly with my passion for helping people remove the toxins from their daily life and go green! In the end, I decided I am already wearing too many hats and didn’t sign up for the training.
I was quite excited to recently find out Lara Williams with The Green Team Real Estate has officially joined up with Green Irene and become a certified Eco-Consultant!
If you are serious about going green, Lara is going to be an invaluable resource. Visit her website here to book a Green Home Makeover, or check out her blog here. If anyone has already had a Green Home Makeover, I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!
Green Drinks Fort Collins – Green-Minded Locals Unite!
Green Drinks is a monthly meet-up here in Fort Collins where green-minded folks come together to network and socialize.
Green Drinks is an international organization started in 2001, with similar meet-ups happening all over the world. In Fort Collins GD is organized by Lara Williams with Green Team Real Estate, and meets on the 4th Wednesday of each month at various locations around Fort Collins. Green Drinks is typically PACKED, and a whole lot of fun! If you’ve never attended, you should stop by and say hello!
The June 2009 Green Drinks is scheduled for Wednesday the 24th from 6-8 pm at TST Inc., 748 Whaler’s Way in Fort Collins. Join us on the patio for socializing and networking with fellow green-minded locals, complimentary beer generously provided by Odell Brewing Co. and American Eagle Distributing, and a selection of light food offerings provided by TST.
Tour TST’s groundbreaking office environment (complete with slide) and learn about their dedication to four levels of sustainability and innovative community design. Alpine Gardens will also be there showcasing native plants and landscaping options out on TST’s lakeside patio.
RSVP to Lara Williams at lara@greenteamre.com. I hope to see you there!
Natural All Purpose Spray Cleaner
Fill a 32 oz spray bottle with warm water
Add 2 tablespoons of natural dish soap – I like Seventh Generation, Bi-O-Kleen, and Ecover. Don’t use conventional – it will be too soapy!
Add 20 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract to disinfect (find it in the supplements section of your local health food store.)
Optional – add 5-10 drops of essential oil of your choice for fragrance. Lemon or Jasmine are my top picks!
Shake gently, and enjoy your new scent of clean!
