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The Green Dorm Room #5
Sep 6, 2006
Annie’s Home Enlightenment Journal

Green Dorm Room Series:
Blog #1: Bedding and Laundry

Blog #2: Electronics, Supplies

Blog #3: Toiletries and Water

Blog #4: Clean Air and Candles

Blog #5 of 5- Alarm Clocks, Feng Shui Your Desk and Other Tips
Dorm life is a culture all to its own with common denominators such as the need for alarm clocks, living in a general mess, and dripped candle wax. Here are a few new ways to individualize a dorm room using feng Shui, and a poll to help you explore all the many options for help waking up.

What do you think is the best alarm clock? Take the poll!

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/314 How to Remove Dripped Candle Wax
Healthy OfficesHealthy Offices">Healthy Offices
 Feng Shui Your DeskFeng Shui Your Desk">Feng Shui Your Desk
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Posted: Sep 6, 2006 2:40pm
Going Green Helps Your Child Think
Sep 6, 2006
Annie’s Home Enlightenment Journal

Blog #1:  Lead  


Going Green Helps Your Child Think - Blog #2 out of 5
NONTOXIC CLEANING
One of the easiest ways to reduce a child’s neurotoxic exposure at home is to switch exclusively to green cleaning products. A desk that has been polished with a synthetic petroleum-based furniture polish will emit neurotoxic fumes that could interfere with a child’s learning. Their reaction may manifest as hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, a dazed feeling, depression, or any range of so-called psychiatric symptoms.

Care2’s Healthy Living Channel has  dozens of nontoxic cleaning tips, including one of our all-time most popular articles, Five Basics for Nontoxic Cleaning.

http://www.care2.com/channels/lifestyle/home#55
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Posted: Sep 6, 2006 12:23pm
Going Green Helps Your Child Think
Sep 5, 2006
Annie’s Home Enlightenment Journal
Blog #1 out of 5

What parent doesn’t want the ideal learning environment for their child to flourish? It would break anyone’s heart to learn that there may be products in their home that are interfering with their child’s brain, and their ability to concentrate. This isn’t good for doing homework! Called neurotoxic chemicals, most are easy to remove from the home environment, if one only know how to identify them!
Here is the first of a five-day blog series identifying five different neurotoxic chemicals commonly found in the home. Begin the series here:

Lead
While it is commonly understood that lead paint in old houses can cause lead poisoning in children, there are a host of other causes of lead poisoning that parents hardly think about, including imported toys, candy, and jewelry.

 
Lead is neurotoxic and can reduce IQ points, delay puberty, and effect cognitive development. Studies in 2003 showed that concentrations of 1 microgram of lead per deciliter of blood negatively impacted children’s IQ levels.
Sources of Lead
Lunchboxes made of vinyl

Drinking water from lead pipes, or lead solder used on copper water pipes

Old painted toys

Old furniture

Tin soldiers

Food and/or drink kept in old lead-glazed pottery, lead crystal, or dishes

Hobbies such as stained glass or antique toy trains can bring lead into the home

Telephone cords made of vinyl (the older the cord, the more likely there is lead)

Some imported jewelry (make sure a child doesn’t put a necklace in their mouth)

Soil, especially near house siding

Old house paint (note that lead-based paint dust is a big cause of lead poisoning)

Homes older than 1978 or so (some houses painted a few years later could have lead if the paint in cans manufactured before 1978 were used)


Note It! Related news story:
http://www.care2.com/news/member/204426917/169645

Resource: Lead-testing kits are available from your county health department or a local hardware store.
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Posted: Sep 5, 2006 1:05pm
My Sister’s Glazed Fruit Pie with Whipped Cream
Sep 5, 2006
In August and September, when fruit is ripe and fresh in the farmers’ market, my sister Carolyn makes a wonderful pie that you can easily adapt to whatever fruit looks the best. It is as delicious with juicy, ripe peaches as it is with blueberries. The crust is easy to make in a food processor, and all you need to do is press it into the pan. My other two sisters and I all clamored for the recipe as soon as we had this the first time.

I’m sharing her pie recipe here, and welcome you to give us your favorite fruit recipes in the "comments," too. Family favorites are a bonus!

Fruit
Enough fruit to fill your choice of pie pan, plus two cups

Crust
1 cup pecans
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup flour (rice flour can be substituted)
1 stick butter

Glaze
2 cups fruit
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with ½ cup water

Enough whipping cream to cover the pie.

Put the sugar, flour, and pecans in a food processor and mix until the consistency of a meal. Add butter and blend until a dough-like consistency.

Press the crust into the pan and cook for 10 minutes at 375F.

Fill pan/crust with fresh fruit of choice.

Place 2 cups of fruit in saucepan with 1/2 cup of sugar and the cornstarch mixture. Cook on medium heat stirring frequently until the cornstarch loses color and the mixture starts to thicken. Pour the mixture over the fresh fruit in the pie pan and cool.  Cover the pie with whipped cream just before serving.

Imported from external blog

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Posted: Sep 5, 2006 8:58am
Moisturizing Skin Simple
Aug 30, 2006
Category: Fun & Play
Prep Time: Less than 15 min
What is your favorite single natural ingredient for moisturizing? As Cait and I have presented here before, herbalists often use one herb or ingredient for cosmetic "simples." I'd love to have us all share our best tips for moisturizing skin as we change seasons. Here is my favorite natural moisturizing ingredient--it is highly prized by me and my friends and family--and this link will take you the Care2Share so that you can offer your tips, too, in an easy-to-use format.

Aloe Vera

Aloe ver gel is very emollient, hydrating, and a profound healer for the skin. Using it daily for four months made my age spots disappear.

Dampen your face, then dab aloe vera gel on your fingers and massage into the skin.

You can buy aloe at the health food store, or use your own aloe plant by slicing open an aloe "leaf" and rubbing the gel onto your skin.
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Posted: Aug 30, 2006 9:03am
Back-to-School Alarm Clock Vote for ?
Aug 21, 2006
A college student and her roommate I know, often sleep through five (yes, 5) alarm clocks. How is such a thing possible? I guess if you go to bed too late too often, waking up at 7:30 is just too hard. What did they find that worked, short of a tornado? What is your vote for the best back-to-school alarm clock that actually works?

( responses)
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Posted: Aug 21, 2006 5:49am
The Green Dorm Room Blog #4 out of 5- Clean Air and Candles
Aug 10, 2006
Green Dorm Room Series
Blog #1:  Bedding and Laundry
Blog #2: Electronics, supplies
Blog #3:  Toiletries and Water
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/147756
Blog #5:  Alarm Clocks, Feng Shui Your Desk and Other Tips
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/170569
Annie’s Home Enlightenment Journal -- DAY 4

Clean air is made of up negative ions and they give you the feeling of being at the ocean, or the high you experience in the midst of a big storm, near a big waterfall, or on top of a mountain. Positive ions, on the other hand, called pos-ions, are overwhelming in our polluted cities and buildings made of synthetic materials. Bring a natural high to a teenagers dorm room with a natural air cleaners.

a)  Natural Salt Lamps.

Consider buying a natural salt lamp ionizer.  An environment rich in negative ions has a wonderfully positive effect on your physical, emotional, mental, and even spiritual health. Crystalline salt is a natural air ionizer that boosts the negative ions in the air. Tests show that lit salt crystal lamps improve the ration of negative ions to our environment. The heated salt crystal pulls water molecules from the air to its surface, the salt goes into the solution of the water, neutralizes any positive ions (and the attached pollution), and emits the neutralized molecule back into the environment.
b) Consider buying an air purifier.

Check out www.needs.com for the latest and best air purifier recommendations.

 
c)  Top 10 house (dorm room) plants for cleaner air: http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/392


d) Smudging – What It Is and How to Do It
 
As the trappings of the “new age” enter the mainstream, we see smudge sticks in stores, and read recommendations here and there for “space clearing” and purification, using smudging techniques and burning incense.
Smudging is used and recommended by indigenous peoples, feng shui practitioners, healers, and more. A Native American healer I respect smudges his computer every night. What is smudging? Why do it? Why learn about it?
Here is what I think smudging is, and why it is often a very useful tool to use in the dorm.
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/1275

Candles

a)      Beeswax candles.

Beeswax candles offer a honey scent, a golden flame, and the longest, cleanest burn of any candle.

But there is much more benefit to beeswax candles compared to paraffin candles that are made from polluted petroleum sludge, or even vegetable-based candles that are a big improvement over paraffin: When beeswax candles burn, they clean the air like a great, natural, air purifier, and they are a link to a deep spiritual belief system. http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/1740
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Posted: Aug 10, 2006 7:03pm
The Green Dorm Room Blog #3 of 5 - Toiletries and Water
Aug 9, 2006
Green Dorm Room Series

Blog #1:  Bedding and Laundry


Blog #2: Electronics, supplies


Blog #4: Clean Air and Candles
Blog #5:  Alarm Clocks, Feng Shui Your Desk and Other Tips




The Green Dorm Room Blog #3 of 5 - Toiletries and Water
Annie’s Home Enlightenment Journal – DAY 3

Many chemicals in body care products and plastic contain hormone disrupting chemicals which can cause reproductive harm and learning disorders. These reactions are the last thing anybody would want to inflict on a teenager! Here are excellent resources for safe brands and alternatives.
  Toiletries

a)       Many body care products contain ingredients that can disrupt hormones and cause reproductive harm. Find safe brands and companies from this list:


b)  Look for products that are natural and don’t contain DEET. Read this article on    recommendations for avoiding DEET and guidelines for alternatives.


 
b)       Use a natural alternative to lindane for head lice and scabies, if they become a problem. (Lindane was banned by the EPA for agricultural crops in August, 2006, but use as a shampoo is regulated by the FDA and lindane has not yet been banned for this use.)

RESOURCE:

Here is a Care2 link for how to get rid of


 
RESOURCE:

Print out this list of 10 things you can do to protect your health from toxic personal care products:


 
Water and Drink

a)        Consider buying a simple tabletop water filter and use the dorm’s tap water. Just make sure to renew the filters frequently.

b)       Use a stainless steel water bottle. Avoid plastic water bottles and note that polycarbonate plastic (considered a hard plastic) does leach endocrine disrupting chemicals.

c)      Choose organic coffee whenever possible for those all nighters. You might invest in a good coffee pot so that you can make your own organic coffee and tea.

d)      Avoid diet sodas and find alternatives that don’t contain aspartame/NutraSweet alternatives
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Posted: Aug 9, 2006 12:40pm
The Green Dorm Room Blog #2 of 5: Electronics, supplies
Aug 8, 2006
Green Dorm Room Series

Blog #1:  Bedding and Laundry

http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/146142

Blog #3:  Toiletries and Water



Blog #4: Clean Air and Candles



Blog #5:  Alarm Clocks, Feng Shui Your Desk and Other Tips


Annie’s Home Enlightenment Journal - DAY 2

My daughter was at a college summer program and at the top of her list of requests that I bring from home for a parent’s weekend was a power strip for all the various electronic gizmos she has accumulated over the years. There are a couple of good reasons for this, not the least of which is to save energy (see below).

Energy, Electronics, Electromagnetic Fields

a)  Take a power strip to attach all the sundry electronics *and* easily turn them all off to reduce phantom loads (electronic devices that keep running clocks, etc., even when the power switch is turned off).

b)  Buy lamps that can accommodate compact fluorescents; switch existing lights in the dorm room to compact fluorescents.

c) I recommend you avoid halogens simply because they can easily start fires.

d)  To avoid electromagnetic fields make sure that all transformers, such as the little black boxes, and digital alarm clocks and other electronic equipment is at least 6 feet from the sleeping area. EMF in the bedroom….making sure transformers, etc. away from sleeping area
            Resource:  Learn more about Electromagnetic Fields

Desk Supplies


 
a)      Eco-friendly printing and writing papers.
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/food/67
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Posted: Aug 8, 2006 12:46pm
The Green Dorm Room Blog #1 of 5 - Bedding and Laundry
Aug 7, 2006
The Green Dorm Room Blog #1 of 5 - Bedding and Laundry
Annie’s Home Enlightenment Journal

 
DAY 1) 
This is a scenario you definitely want to avoid: my friend’s son came home from after his first semester of college after his first semester not having washed his sheets once. They practically stood up and walked they were so stiff with dirt. The kid claimed he didn’t know he was supposed to wash them. Woah! Before your kids go off to college, teach them the laundry basics!

Whatever their laundry know-how, you can help your teen have an eco-dorm room and the healthiest and best nights’ sleep if when they are in bed they are wrapped in natural fibers that are washed in eco-friendly, fragrance-free detergents. Here’s how:

Bedding
a)      Choose natural fiber sheets that are not permanent press.

b)      Buy new, 100 percent natural, preferably organic, wool or down pillow. (Avoid polyester or other synthetic pillows.)

b)  Choose natural blankets (cotton, wool) and if using a comforter, buy a natural one and avoid common comforters that are filled with polyester with treated cotton or polyester covers.

 
Resource:  Read the natural bed guide:



 
Laundry Products and Guidance

a)      Choose dye-and-scent-free laundry detergent.

b)      Avoid all fabric softeners and dryer sheets unless from a respected “green” brand such as Seventh Generation.

b)  Print out this list of 12 Effective Ways to Remove Laundry Stains


c)  Here are some tips for avoiding static cling, naturally:

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/1150
d)  Remove the new smell from back-to-school clothes:



 
Resource: 12 Laundry Tips for Maximum Energy Saving

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/236
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Posted: Aug 7, 2006 2:12pm

 
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Content and comments expressed here are the opinions of Care2 users and not necessarily that of Care2.com or its affiliates.

Author

Annie Bond
female, age 56, committed relationship, 1 child
Rhinebeck, NY, USA
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