Dear Debra, I'm sure you've all gone through the chaos that comes when you decide to make improvements! Chaos is certainly what my websites have been going through the past two weeks! It all began a few weeks ago when my solar-powered webhost began a normal routine server upgrade that went awry--they are still working day and night cleaning up the website errors that resulted. If you try to enter my websites through any URL except dld123.com and fail, go to dld123.com and use the links there, and you should be able to get in. Some of the links may still be broken, but most are intact. The great news is that I got a sneak peek at the new database- driven structure that is being constructed for my website, and all I can say is "Oh, my God!" It is W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L. I can hardly wait to have it done so you can start using the search engine. But in the midst of this improvement I found I needed to upgrade my computer operating system, which meant buying a faster computer and setting up and learning everything...you know how it is! But chaos aside, this is all good. It's now so easy for me to enter new data, that once we get through this transition, I will be able to enter data much more easily and quickly than before, which means more useful information for you to make your life more nontoxic, natural and earthwise. I appreciate your patience while I and my websites go through this transition. I was thinking the other day that it is like a snake shedding it's skin. Any organism can only grow to a point and then it needs restructuring, and my websites are at that point. But the wait will be worth it, let me tell you! In the meantime, though, I can't add anything new to the website. But I can give you a few tidbits here in the newsletter. Since most of my time is absorbed in the restructuring, today's newsletter will be a quickie, but I wanted to at least say hello, let you know progress is being made, and give you a few useful tips. Debra :-)
HOME HEALTH & HABITAT ~ 17 May 2005
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Eliminating Stubborn Odors In the last few weeks I've received a number of phone calls and emails about removing stubborn odors of various sorts. Like cleaning fumes in used cars, smoke and other odors from walls...things like that. I've found a product that will work, developed and sold by my friend Winston Kao at Go Beyond Organic. It's made from soil micro-organisms, so it is completely natural and nontoxic. Winston says it will "gobble up" any odors. Call him at 727 -447-2344 to get the exact instructions, as this product for this use is not yet on his website gobeyondorganic.com.
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Wooden Toilet Seat In the midst of everything else that I've been doing the last two weeks, our toilet began to leak so badly that finally had to replace it. We had been wanting to replace the old 1940s toilet with a low-flow toilet, but it wasn't the top priority. When it began to leak, we replaced it with an Eljer (eljer.com) Patriot 1.6 gallon toilet with an E-Force gravity flushing system, which we bought at our local Home Depot (homedepot.com). It cost practically nothing with a local toilet replacement rebate program. A tip on choosing toilets...we got one with an elongated bowl and a higher seat. I'm glad we did. If you have any back problems, as my husband does, the couple inches extra on the height really makes a difference. But the toilet didn't come with a toilet seat! At Home Depot the only choices were plastic, plastic, more plastic, and particleboard covered with veneer (a really poor choice for a product that will regularly get wet!). I wanted a solid wood toilet seat like I had in California. After assuming Lowe's would have the same selection, I called upscale plumbing stores and found solid wood toilet seats for upwards of $100 Since that was out of the question, we went to Lowe's and they *did* have solid wood toilet seats. I paid $18 for an elongated seat at my local Lowe's. If you want one, try your local Lowe's or online at lowes.com. Their website searches by local store, so it might not appear, but my local store carries both round and elongated, so your local Lowe's or online should be able to order it for you. It's called "Melard Oak Commode Seat".
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Repelling Mosquitoes Noticed a few mosquitoes last night on our evening walk. The natural way to repel them is with plain white vinegar. Just rub it on exposed skin and they will stay away. I learned this trick from an Italian grandmother. I purchased an inexpensive shaker dispenser like you would use at the table to shake on oil or vinegar, and it works just fine to shake the right amount of vinegar on my skin. You could also add insect-repellant oils such as citronella, lavender, or rosemary to the vinegar, but the vinegar works fine on it's own.
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Pheromone Moth Traps Got an email asking about the safety of pheromone moth traps such as Safer Clothes Moth Alert (sold at greenfeet.com/safer-clothes-moth-alert.html and other online sources). According to International Scientific Vocabulary, a pheromone is "a chemical substance that is produced by an animal and serves especially as a stimulus to other individuals of the same species for one or more behavioral responses." Pheromones are widely use throughout nature to attract individuals of the same species to each other. Since they are so species specific, I would say that pheromone traps would be both effective and safe for human use. Read more about pheromones at buypheromone.us/faq.html
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Nontoxic Lice Shampoo This product was sent to me by a reader. Lice R Gone ¨ is an enzyme based product that "has such low toxicity it is essentially harmless to people, pets, wildlife and crops...is completely biodegradable upon application...has no residual contamination...and is quick acting and totally effective against head lice and their nits." It contains Purified water, anionic / nonionic surfactant blend, glycerin, enzymes, and peppermint oil. FDA (GRAS) - Generally Regarded As Safe. Order online at licergone.com/about.htm.
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The new, revised, edition of
Home Safe Home is now available
in bookstores nationwide.
Home Safe Home tells what toxic chemicals are generally found in specific household products of all types, and safe solutions you can buy or make at home. It's different from other books on toxic chemicals because the focus really is what you can do to protect yourself and your family and create a healthy home. I bring over twenty years of research and personal real-life experience to this book.
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* 10
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* How Toxic is Your Home? Quiz (excerpt
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