Beware of vintage furniture covered in harmful lead paint
Buying vintage and antique furniture is a great way to be sustainable and find stylish pieces for your home. But when considering very old furniture that’s painted, be wary that it’s possible the item was painted with lead paint. There are kits you can buy from the hardware store that immediately tell you if the paint contains lead, which is one way to make sure. The other solution is to brush a clear varnish on top of the piece to seal in the harmful paint.
FRESH EGGS
Do you buy fresh eggs from your local farmers market? They are usually the freshest, often laid just a day or two before they’re sold. (Conventional eggs at the supermarket are often up to 8 weeks old before they reach consumers.) But consider this when storing farm-fresh eggs: Mother Earth News suggests not washing them; fresh eggs have a “protective bloom on the surface of their shells that keeps out air and bacteria.” Washing eggs removes that bloom and can shorten the shelf life of your eggs.
SHOE DEODORANT
Witch hazel is a natural astringent made from distilled flowers from an indigenous shrub native to North America. Many people use it to help treat acne-prone and inflamed skin, since it has wonderful anti-inflammatory benefits. But witch hazel is also naturally antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal. By pouring witch hazel into a small spray bottle, you can harness those benefits to create an instant one-ingredient shoe deodorizing spray. Just spray inside your shoes to disinfect and deodorize them naturally.
PERFUME STORAGE
If you love fragrances and want your perfumes to last longer, keep them out of the room where most of us display our bottles: the bathroom. Fragrances are susceptible to two things: light and temperature shifts. A bathroom heats up and cools down quickly when it’s used (imagine a hot steam shower filling the room), which warms up the perfume and breaks it down. By displaying bottles out on a tray, you’re also exposing them to UV light that speeds up the degradation process. Instead, keep your fragrances in the boxes they came in and store them in a dark, room-temperature location, like inside a drawer or closet.
BATHROOM CLEANER
It’s a not-so-dirty little secret among greenie homebodies that it only takes two commonly found nontoxic ingredients to make the ultimate bathroom cleaner for your home: white vinegar and dish detergent. Simply heat up 12 ounces of white vinegar in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then mix in 12 ounces of dish detergent (choose one with color) and pour the mixture into a spray bottle. The colorful mixture shows you where you’ve sprayed on surfaces in the bathroom; the dish soap breaks down grease and dirt while the white vinegar dissolves mineral deposits. Truly one of the best bathroom cleaner recipes out there, and very eco-friendly to boot.
REGULAR VACUUMING
If you suffer from seasonal allergies caused by pollen or dust and dust mites, you might want to drag out the vacuum on a more frequent basis. Turns out regular vacuuming helps do more than just pick up crumbs and dirt; it’s also a fantastic way to eliminate dust mites, dust and other allergens. When you walk through a room, your movement can kick these allergens into the air, decreasing the indoor air quality of your home. A few minutes of simply vacuuming can lead to much healthier air.
ANTIFREEZE HAZARDS
During the winter, many of us use antifreeze in our car to keep the radiator going. But the active ingredient in antifreeze, ethylene glycol, is dangerous, toxic and, unfortunately, very sweet-tasting. For animals, it can taste like a treat, but it can be lethal if ingested. First, avoid letting your family pet linger in the garage if that’s where your car is parked. Look for leaks on the garage floor, and clean them up if you see them. And if you suspect your pet has licked up some antifreeze, take them to the vet ASAP.