I found yet another use for my fave salad topping today - cleaning away battery contact corrosion.
Let me stress that this corrosion was not on a battery, but on a removable metal contact in a battery operated toy. I tried cleaning the corrosion off with a paper towel to no avail, and then discovered that the contact plate was removable, and therefor available to other cleaning methods.
Hmmm. What about soaking it in vinegar? I submerged it in a little glass bowl for about ten minutes, and then carefully wiped it dry. I reinserted it in the toy, added fresh batteries, and presto: it worked!
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Using My Compost
So I have TWO piles of compost now... the first pile that I started a couple of seasons ago, and the "current pile" where I now put all the fresh kitchen veggie scraps. I've been focusing on simply turning the soil of the old compost pile, without adding any new scraps to it (with the hopes of using it soon).
Today I actually did that - I dug through the original pile with a shovel, filled a bucket with the compost, and deposited it in my garden. I'm optimistic that it was ready - it was a nice dark colour, with an even consistency (i.e. no visible scraps left) and a beautiful, rich earthy fragrance. I scoured the Internet for advice as to when and how to use compost, and found quite a bit of reading that supported the use of compost as a mulch for existing plants, as long as the compost doesn't actually touch the plants, but simply lays on the top of the soil around them. So that's what I did!
I'll let you know if I see any difference in my garden :)
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Today I actually did that - I dug through the original pile with a shovel, filled a bucket with the compost, and deposited it in my garden. I'm optimistic that it was ready - it was a nice dark colour, with an even consistency (i.e. no visible scraps left) and a beautiful, rich earthy fragrance. I scoured the Internet for advice as to when and how to use compost, and found quite a bit of reading that supported the use of compost as a mulch for existing plants, as long as the compost doesn't actually touch the plants, but simply lays on the top of the soil around them. So that's what I did!
I'll let you know if I see any difference in my garden :)
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Minimizing Weeds With Water Trenches
I wrote a post awhile back about how I use water trenches and hand water
to minimize weed growth, and today I snapped a few quick photos to demonstrate (spinach, carrots, and brussel sprouts). They're not perfectly tidy and may not be the best examples, but you get the idea... I love doing this because the amount of weeding is absolutely minimal as a result :)
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to minimize weed growth, and today I snapped a few quick photos to demonstrate (spinach, carrots, and brussel sprouts). They're not perfectly tidy and may not be the best examples, but you get the idea... I love doing this because the amount of weeding is absolutely minimal as a result :)
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Harvesting Spinach
That was quick! I've never grown spinach before - previously just lettuce. It's ready pretty quickly - as soon as the leaves are large enough to pick. This, and the little strawberries, are the first things to come out of my garden this year.
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Pharmasave's Greener Plastic
Here's the latest in my "green plastic photo gallery" ...this one is from Pharmasave:
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Changing My Ways
I've just been browsing through old posts on this blog, and found this one: Three New Green Habits. I'm happy to report that I've kept them long term.
1) I'm more consistent with keeping the kitchen lights off both when it's sunny out and there's enough natural light coming in the window, and if I'm going to be away from the room for more than 15 minutes or so.
2) I always unplug phone chargers when not in use now. It's completely automatic to the point where a charger plugged in with no phone attached looks weird to me.
3) I'm almost fanatical now about turning things off when not in use, and the DVD player and VCR are no exception.
So far so good!
Energy Job
Official energy jobs site of the Energy Institute.
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1) I'm more consistent with keeping the kitchen lights off both when it's sunny out and there's enough natural light coming in the window, and if I'm going to be away from the room for more than 15 minutes or so.
2) I always unplug phone chargers when not in use now. It's completely automatic to the point where a charger plugged in with no phone attached looks weird to me.
3) I'm almost fanatical now about turning things off when not in use, and the DVD player and VCR are no exception.
So far so good!
Energy Job
Official energy jobs site of the Energy Institute.
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Let's Just Say We Can't Stop Buying Food Yet...
What a tease!! I plucked the first strawberry of the season from one of the plants on my balcony, and it was absolutely delicious - all 1/4 bite of it! Yup, it was pretty small. Below is a photo I took before I gobbled it down. I take some consolation in the fact that I got to it before the birds did...
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As I Rave Even More About Cleaning With Vinegar....
If anyone has a stubborn cat pee cleaning issue and has never tried vinegar and baking soda, to say that I HIGHLY recommend it is an understatement.
My cat's latest exploit was to pee in my daughter's room. Arrrgh... and EWWW, how (insert the expected expletives here) gross and nasty.
Anyhoo.
I managed to rescue her pee drenched stuff by soaking them in vinegar and baking soda before running them through a wash cycle that also included vinegar and baking soda. Honest to God, it's miraculous.
Anyone with cat pee experience knows that it's STUBBORN (much like my cat), requiring wash after wash after wash before the smell starts to fade, but the vinegar and baking soda combo does something different, apparently, and voila! No more stink.
Just thought I'd share :)
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My cat's latest exploit was to pee in my daughter's room. Arrrgh... and EWWW, how (insert the expected expletives here) gross and nasty.
Anyhoo.
I managed to rescue her pee drenched stuff by soaking them in vinegar and baking soda before running them through a wash cycle that also included vinegar and baking soda. Honest to God, it's miraculous.
Anyone with cat pee experience knows that it's STUBBORN (much like my cat), requiring wash after wash after wash before the smell starts to fade, but the vinegar and baking soda combo does something different, apparently, and voila! No more stink.
Just thought I'd share :)
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