What a bright idea, Home Depot!

With the state of the economy these days, we're all looking for ways to cut the cost of our energy bills (not to mention our Visa bill...) so we might be switching to CFL bulbs. These bulbs cost slightly more than the normal bulbs BUT in the lifetime of the bulb, they can save anywhere from $30-$50 on your electric bill. CFL bulbs' lifespan is 6,000-15,000 hours as compared to the lifespan of the incandescent bulb at 750-1,000 hours.

Now, before you run out to Home Depot to replace all your bulbs, there is one dim side to the CFL's. They contain small amounts of mercury. Four to five mg per bulb, to be more exact. If mercury at this level is inhaled chronically, it can be toxic to the brain, kidney, spinal cord and liver. So you can imagine what happens when these CFLs go to the landfills and are broken. Mercury is released into the surrounding land/water at dangerous levels.

This is where Home Depot comes in! All Home Depot stores now have a CFL recycling program! You can take your burnt out bulbs to the service desk where they are safely collected and picked up by a HAZMAT service, who de-mercury the bulbs and recycle the glass to be used in new bulbs. What a great service to the community! So: make the switch, save some dollars, then recycle!

All this talk of mercury in our lightbulbs may have you worried about a broken bulb in your home, and rightfully so. Here is a link to the EPA's webpage that advises what to do in the case of a breakage.

Give me an "H" Give me an "E" Give me a "P" Give me an "A"

What's that spell? HEPA!

You've probably heard by now that a HEPA filter is a good thing to have in your vacuum cleaner. We at Purely Maid decided it was a great thing for all of our important customers with pets, with kids, with allergies, pretty much everyone! SO, we went out and bought the prettiest HEPA equipped vacuum we could find...The Dyson Animal DC 14 With Telescope Reach. We think its pretty special and we take it with us everywhere we go! Dyson's HEPA filters are guaranteed for the life of the vacuum with no need to do any maintenance to it.

If you're thinking of purchasing your own HEPA vacuum, here are a few tips. HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air. HEPA filters have a standard for the size of the particles they trap. If you are in the market for the best of the HEPAs, you'll want to look for the words sealed HEPA, or true HEPA and avoid things that say HEPA-like. You can also look for the labels to say something like, "an efficiency of 99.7% for microns .3 in size." This means that your HEPA is going to filter out the allergens like pollen and dust mite feces. The less feces you have in your home, the better!

Now, if you'd like the teeny feces out of your life, but you'd rather not buy a new vacuum, send us an email @ purelymaid@yahoo.com and we'll be right over with our pretty Dyson (and all our other great supplies) and we'll do much more than just vacuum!

Soy Candle Update, Etc.

Went to Target tonight (for a lightbulb they don't carry) but came away with two nuggets of information for ya. Method has redesigned their deliciously aromatic soy candles with all the old scents and two new-ish ones: citrus cilantro and pomegranite tea. Mmmmmm. And speaking of scents...Clorox GreenWorks has a new one! The all-purpose cleaner now comes in a fruity tangerine!

Soy or Paraffin? The age old question.

It's the weekend, and you're planning a romantic dinner for your sweetie. There is wine, fancy cheese, roses, music...What more do you need to "set the mood"?

Or, more realistically, its Saturday and you finally cleaned out the fridge and threw away those questionable leftovers from last week. There seems to be a funky odor coming from the trash can area. What could you use to mask the scent?

The answer? CANDLES! Now, you're probably thinking, "Allison, how on earth can you tell me that I can get any more ecologically friendly than burning candles? I'm not using electricity, burning coal, using gasoline....Wait a minute..."

That's right. Paraffin wax is yet ANOTHER derivative of petroleum. Is there anything that we can't make out of petroleum??? While paraffin wax candles are burning, petro-chemicals are floating through your air. But not to worry, there is an alternative. Soy candles! Soy wax is made from soy beans and veggies. There are numerous benefits to burning soy candles:

-soybeans and veggies are SO renewable

-soy is non-toxic while it burns

-its residue can be washed away with soap and water

-soy wax is BIODEGRADABLE

-and my personal favorite...purchasing soy supports farmers! (not Big Oil) Raise your hand if you live in the Midwest and know a farmer who grows soybeans. See?

So, snuff out those Yankee's and keep your peepers open for a soy alternative! Actually, just trade the Yankee in for their new model, Beanswax.

Breaking news in the world of Method and Target

This is something that we have been waiting for, holding our breath for even! We haven't been this excited since the invention of Clorox Green Works or Lil' Bowl Blu! It's the little tabs that you put in your dishwasher, done Method-style! Neither of us has tried it yet (waiting for the other, more toxic stuff to run out. yuck) and I couldn't find it on Method's website BUT the San Francisco Chronicle says it's better than the toxic stuff (duh) and smells like pink grapefruit.

The toxic stuff that's missing? Phosphates and bleach. At this point in time I know little about phosphates but Martha Stewart just gave me a very brief lesson and it turns out that it gets into our waterways and hurts the fishies and the plants. That's reason enough for me to be phosphate-free! Some states are even working on banning products with phosphates. Folks in Washington State are going to be BIG fans of Smarty Dish by 2010!

So, if you as a reader have road-tested Smarty Dish, leave a comment and let us know what YOU think!

(Other news I learned today on my quick trip to Target...Method's Granite/Marble cleaner is clearanced, they are carrying two types of Clorox GreenWorks dish soap, and the brand Cherokee makes some ADORABLE little tees for boys and girls from organic cotton. Oh, to be a size 5T again...)

Our best friend. Boyfriend. Lifesaver.

Ok, we admit it. We are having a love triangle with distilled white vinegar. He is just SO hard to resist! He is non-toxic, cheap, comes in many sizes, smells heavenly and can be used for just about anything! And, he's pretty cute in those dark shades. Rest assured, there will be many updates on our useage of vinegar in our quest to clean green.

Here is a sneak peak of things that our friend can be used for:

Killing unwanted weeds or grass, increasing the acidity of your soil (for plants that do well in more acidic homes), freshening and extending the life of cut flowers, cleaning fish bowls, detering ants, cleaning *gasp* animal urine out of carpet, keeping car windows from frosting over, cleaning rust from tools and bolts, polishing car chrome, soothing bee and/or jellyfish stings.

Now, that was just a little teaser! Make sure to check back for more reasons why we sometimes fight over the affections of Vinegar. (I like to call him "Vinnie") If you hurry, big jugs of Vinnie are on sale at HyVee this week!