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.

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

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 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!

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!