False advertising

I have a bottle of shampoo that I bought at Wild Oats (which is now Whole Foods) a couple years ago.  The brand is Nature’s Gate and it’s called Rainwater Clarifying Shampoo.  The back of the bottle declares the shampoo is “as pure and gentle as if washing your hair in the rain!”
But then you [...]

Earth Hour is tomorrow at 8:30pm

Tomorrow night at 8:30pm local time is Earth Hour.  If you’re not familiar with it, check out my post from last year.

Low VOC paint

I ran into a neighbor at the local pub over the weekend and mentioned that we had been painting over the weekend.  She said she was going to paint soon too and we started talking about it.  I mentioned that the low-VOC paints we had used were on sale until the end of the month, [...]

No Poo

A friend of mine has stopped using shampoo and is trying this No Poo method instead.  Very interesting.  I think I could skip conditioner and use olive oil or apple cider vinegar, but I’m going to have to think about whether I could give up shampoo.  Maybe I’ll try it out on the boys first…

Carcinogens in baby products

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, an organization comprised of the Environmental Working Group, the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, the Breast Cancer Fund, the Clean Water Fund, Commonwealth, Friends of the Earth, National Environmental Trust, and Women’s Voices for the Earth, among others, released a report last week about the presence of cancer-causing chemicals in [...]

Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides

The EWG has just released the 5th edition of its Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides.  This guide includes the 12 fruits and veggies that usually have the most pesticide residues on them.  Peaches, apples, and bell peppers are usually at the top of the list, but I don’t remember seeing kale on it before.  This surprises [...]

Open your windows!

As the weather warms up, I’d like to remind you to open your windows!  Indoor air quality can be very poor and almost always, the air outside is cleaner.  So if it’s a nice day, take the opportunity to open your windows and air out your house.  I have been really diligent about this for [...]

ECOS laundry detergent

I switched to natural laundry detergents many years ago.  I’ve tried several and have found one I can highly recommend.  I’ve been using it for over a year now and am really happy with it.  The thing I like best is that unlike most natural detergents, it is scented (the final scent on your clothing [...]

Cranberry Oatmeal Bars

These bars are so good.  I love cranberry.  Slightly undercooked and they’re ooey-gooey.  A touch overcooked and they’re crunchy and crisp.  Either way, I love them.
Ingredients:

4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) all purpose flour (I use half whole wheat and it works fine)
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp [...]