Top Chef in South Florida Celebrate Your Kids! - HERLIFE Magazine

can be used alone or in combination to
create safe and effective cleaners. Baking
soda is an all-purpose nontoxic cleaner
that deodorizes, removes stains and
softens fabrics. It can be used as a very
effective alternative to toxic commercial
oven cleaners. Just sprinkle baking
soda on the oven bottom and spray with
enough water to create a paste. Let it
set overnight and then wipe off in the
morning. This process can also be used
to clean tubs as well. Just let the baking
soda paste set for at least 30 minutes and
then remove with a soft rag. I’ve tried this
on both the oven and tub, and it works
great! Distilled white vinegar is a much
safer alternative to most window and
glass cleaners which contain ammonia,
alcohol and other chemicals that can
irritate your eyes and lungs. Use a
mixture of vinegar (1/3 cup) and water (1
cup) in a spray bottle. The combination
of baking soda and vinegar can be used
to clean toilet bowls—sprinkle baking
soda into the bowl, then squirt with white
vinegar and scour with a toilet brush to
clean and deodorize. To keep your drains
smelling fresh and clog-free, pour baking
soda (1/2 cup) down the drain followed
by white vinegar (1 cup). Cover drain
and allow the mixture to foam for about
15 minutes. Then pour a large kettle of
boiling water down the drain.
RECYCLE
According to the National Recycling
Coalition, the average American discards
seven and a half pounds of garbage every
day. The majority of this garbage ends
up in landfills, where it’s compacted and
buried. Recycling is one way you can
have a significant impact, and it doesn’t
really require as much effort as you
might think. The simplest approach is
to start with one category that doesn’t
require a lot of effort, such as recycling
plastic shopping bags—almost every
grocery store as well as Walmart and
Target stores have containers at the entrance
of their stores where you can drop
off plastic bags to be recycled. Another
category that’s simple to recycle is plastic
water and soda bottles. If you live in an
apartment building that doesn’t have
access to curbside pick up for recycling,
you can drop off those plastic bottles at
either Target or Whole Foods—both have
recycling bins for both #1 (PETE) or #2
(HDPE) plastic in their stores.
HERLIFEmagazine.com 25