Green Cleaning

During the week I conquer some deep cleaning but in a green way. Lately I been obsessed with home blogs and one of my favorites is Manhattan Nest. I was thrilled when I found out that Daniel (MN author) is writing a column for Design Sponge all about cleaning ( I know I'm a huge dork) and I was surprise about the products he uses and his methods. So I decided to give it a go and to my surprise it really works!! Now I'm going to convert to green cleaning and save a ton on cleaning supplies...plus my corneas won't have any third degree burns with those pesky cleaning fumes. Here are the basics:

The staples of a good cleaning toolkit are as follows:

1. A few empty spray bottles for mixing your own cleaners.

2. White vinegar is great for deodorizing and disinfecting, and its acidity means it’s good for breaking down calcium in tubs and other inorganic compounds around the house. Need to clean glass or wood floors? One part water, one part white vinegar. Done. Vinegar smells, well, like vinegar when it’s wet, but the scent quickly dissipates when it dries.

3. Baking soda is a very gentle but powerful abrasive, and it’s good at cutting through grease, so it’s a great option for cleaning pots and pans, ovens and stove tops. It’s also safer and cheaper than commercial cleaners. To scrub away messes in the kitchen, mix one part baking soda with three parts warm water and get to work. Place a box of it in your fridge to keep food odors at bay.

4. Dish soap is great when diluted in water as an all-purpose cleaner or mixed with baking soda into a paste to scrub things in the bathroom, like grout. For an all-purpose cleaner, mix two tablespoons dish soap with two cups of water. Just remember to wipe everything down with water to avoid leaving a soapy residue.

5. Lemon juice has mild bleaching properties, naturally deodorizes and disinfects and is great to mix with a vinegar solution for bathroom and kitchen cleaning. It smells fresh, too!

6. Rubber gloves. Your hands will thank me later. If you’re at the dollar store already, get fancy and spring for the $1.49 gloves that are made of thicker rubber and extend further up your forearm. That’s class.

7. A toothbrush. Toothbrushes are essential for cleaning hard-to-reach areas like corners, around faucets, the edge of a kitchen sink, grout lines, the base of your toilet . . . the possibilities are endless!

8. Sponges with a soft and rough side (much like your personality) are helpful when scrubbing stuff with natural cleaners. Low-tech cleaning products do take a bit more elbow grease, but you can usually make up for that with a little light scrubbing.

9. A lint-free cloth is good for cleaning almost anything, including glass and acrylic, and wiping down counter tops.

10. Recycled paper towels. Yeah, I know they’re wasteful, but sometimes you need to be able to throw it away and be done with it. You’ll know when the occasion to use a paper towel arises because the mess will rank high on the grossness scale.

image via: hayanarts

Crate Garden

Every summer I always tried to start a garden and every winter I fail. Some of the reasons is because we rent and unfortunately our landlord has an extensive list of things we cannot change on the property even thou is for their benefit. After watching this episode of Extra Virgin we got inspired to create our own crate garden and the best part is... is not permanent and we can remove the crates plus were we shop for cafe ole they have tons of crates for us to grab for free. Look how inspiring this images are!

images via: pinterest

Woof Top Garden

Love this idea! Sustainable Pet Design is a company dedicated to animal health and environmental responsibility. The houses are a little pricey but they are so easy to made.You can create one using old wooden boards that are not used. The wooden board shaped like a cube and given a hole in one corner, as the entrance of the dog. A dog house can you paint greenish brown color that resembles a tree trunk. The top can you add green plants as a roof for the dog house. So that looks the dog house like a tree. The green plants make a fresh dog house. This can make your dog feel at natural places, making it feel more comfortable. Beautiful dog house doesn’t have to be expensive. Simply you created a good idea to manifest what you want.

images via: ready made mag

Garden in Hell

Diana Vreeland

Billy Baldwin sketch

The Divine Miss V, London play

Sarah Jessica Parker, ode to D.V. for Harper's Bazaar mag

Diana Vreeland, (1903-1989) was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. By 1955 the crowd was dining at the Vreelands' new apartment at 550 Park Avenue. Diana Vreeland had Billy Baldwin decorate her apartment. The living room was bloodred; as Diana announced: "I want this place to look like a garden, but a garden in hell." Scarlet chintz covered with brilliant Persian flowers cloaked the room. Red carpeting spread over the floors of the living room and hallway. As Vreeland pointed out, "Red is the great clarifier -- bright and revealing. I can't imagine becoming bored with red -- it would be like becoming bored with the person you love." Be sure to check out her book.

image via: harpers bazaar

San Diego: Harvest Calendar

Year-round: flowers, mushrooms, eggs, fruit, nuts, lettuce, greens, honey.

January: Avocados, macadamia nuts, strawberries, broccoli, kumquats, lemons, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, rhubarb, carrots, beets, tangerines, snow peas, sugar snaps, lettuce, cherimoyas, guavas.

February: Navel oranges, lemons, avocados, kumquats, strawberries, cauliflower, asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb, tangerines, tangelos, carrots, celery, cabbage, peas, beets, cherimoyas, guavas.

March: Navel oranges, lemons, strawberries, squash, rhubarb, asparagus, carrots, peas, artichokes, tangelos, grapefruit, avocados, cherimoyas, guavas.

April: Navel and Valencia oranges, grapefruit, lemons, avocados, strawberries, squash, snap peas, beans, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, cherimoyas.

May: Valencia oranges, grapefruit, lemons, strawberries, avocados, sweet corn, peas, beans, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, sweet onions, cucumbers, cherimoyas.

June: Valencia oranges, grapefruit, lemons, peaches, plums apricots, avocados, eggplant, corn, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries, sweet onions, cherimoyas.

July:Sweet corn, melons, Valencia oranges, grapefruit, avocados, tomatoes, beans, raspberries, potatoes, onions, peppers, figs.

August: Sweet corn, melons, Valencia oranges, grapefruit, peaches, plums, apricots, avocados, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, carrots, squash raspberries, potatoes, boysenberries, blackberries, apples, figs.

September: Sweet corn, melons, Valencia oranges, grapefruit, peaches, plums, avocados, tomatoes, grapes, squash, cucumbers, beans, carrots, raspberries, potatoes, apples, onions, peppers, figs.

October: Sweet corn, melons, Valencia oranges, grapefruit peaches, avocados, tomatoes, grapes, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, beans, carrots, potatoes, apples, onions, peppers, figs, Asian pears, pears.

November: Melons, Valencia oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, beans, carrots, raspberries, potatoes, apples, onions, peppers, Asian pears, pears, pumpkins, persimmons, macadamia nuts, kiwis, cherimoyas, guavas.

December: Tangerines, grapefruit, macadamia nuts, avocados, cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, apples, kiwis, carrots, beets, lemons, cherimoyas, guavas.

For more info check SD County Farm Berau or to find your local farmers market.

V is Victory

Mickey's Garden


Barney Bear's Victory Garden


Donald's Garden

Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort. In addition to indirectly aiding the war effort these gardens were also considered a civil "morale booster" — in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown. This made victory gardens become a part of daily life on the home front.

Victory garden

I always love the victory garden propaganda posters from the 40's. The victory garden of tomorrow is new American propaganda with the values of a modern age.