Go Green

Another 1001 Days

2016-12-01T23:56:00.002-05:00

This will be my 4th time completing the 101 in 1001. Over the last 3003 days I have not completed all 303 items on my list. I used to feel bad about this, like how is it possible that I can't get something done in such a long time frame. The reality is that life can change a lot in 1001 days. What was once important on Day 1 may seem completely ridiculous on day 1001. I have no clue what I thought finishing Super Mario Brothers would be a good use of my time.

What I liked about my last round of 101 things is that I focused more on a specific goal and even if I didn't get everything under that goal done I can say that in almost all cases I felt like I achieved my goal. There were things I did to meet those goals that weren't on the list, some of which were more important. I will be continuing with setting overall goals and 101 things to help me meet them.

First 101 in 1001
Second 101 in 1001
Third 101 in 1001

Start Date - December 1, 2016
End Date - August 29, 2019

Anything with a * is a carryover from the previous round, In Progress items are marked in green and Completed items in blue.

Completed - 13
In Progress - 20
Not Started - 68

Goal - Create a comfy home
1. Make a barn door for the closet
2. Redo fireplace
3. Make throw pillows
4. Figure out something for the new wall
5. New front door *
6. Find a better solution for hallway closet doors
7. Find new curtains for the family room and kitchen
8. Paint B's room - August 2017
9. Create a reading nook for B *
10. Make a wooden star
11. Find a solution for line drying clothes
12. Print photos for B's room
13. Print photos for master bedroom
14. Hang map and travel photos
15. New carpet runners for doors and pool route
16. Replace carpet upstairs
17. Twice a year purge items no longer needed
18. Install a back splash in kitchen
19. Get rid of fan in master bedroom
20. Fix paint in family room
21. Find curtains for master bedroom

Goal - Continue to focus on making myself a priority
22. Find a sustainable workout routine
23. Paint my nails more often
24. Make lunch every day
25. Make bullet proof coffee a daily routine
26. Revamp my wardrobe
27. Run 5km *
28. Learn to apply makeup *
29. Read 120 books
30. Determine volunteer opportunity after CAWR role is done - April 2017
31. Juice more often
32. Yoga at least twice a week
33. Find vitamin/supplements that work for me - January 2017 (LLV from doTerra!)

Goal - Get outdoors more, regardless of the weather
34. Buy a bike and go on family bike rides
35. Teach B to ride his bike with no training wheels
36. Camp early or late in the season
37. Backcountry camp in Quetico
38. Teach B to paddle a canoe/kayak
39. Learn to skate *
40. Go showshoeing
41. Visit at least 5 more Provincial/National Parks
42. Go to Long Point Eco Adventures
43. Train trip across country - June 2017

Goal - Make the backyard a place we want to spend time
44. Finish all backyard planting focusing on native species and privacy
45. Plant along the front fence
46. Get the programming on the pool fixed
47. Set up and paint adirondack chairs
48. Create more shade
49. Make an outdoor chalkboard *
50. Automate rain barrels to water gardens
51. Double the size of the veggie garden

Goal - Become more handy
52. Learn to use the tools
53. Grow the canning pantry
54. Knit scarf for B - December 2016
55. Make own Christmas crackers *
56. Make own wool dryer balls *
57. Fix master bathroom shower - September 2017
58. Fix windows *
59. Fix fence *
60. Learn how to open and close pool
61. Paint a new round kitchen table
62. Replace gasket in washing machine
63. Learn to round knit
64. Learn to use the sewing machine

Goal - Get organized
65. Organize the basement
66. Organize garage *
67. Organize office *
68. Organize essential oils - December 2016
69. Organize keepsakes from trips *
70. Find a system where I actually start to put clean laundry away
71. Organize mail - August 2017
72. Redo budget
73. Start to use a physical calendar
74. Organize B's closet
75. Finish photo books *
76. Find storage for important documents
77. Organize camping equipment - April 2017
78. Make a month calendar for the kitchen

Goal - Refocus on this space
79. Post to Instagram daily
80. Share more about essential oils and how they have worked for me
81. Create a blogging calendar that works for me
82. Create a newsletter calendar
83. Create an essential oils guide based on the oils I use
84. Rebrand

Goal - Make more food from scratch
85. Replace store bought organic granola bars with homemade organic bars
86. Make own banana chips
87. Make own pizza dough
88. Replace store bought fruit bars with homemade
89. Make own school safe trail mix - September 2017
90. Make own hot chocolate
91. Replace store bought bread with homemade
92. Replace store bought bagels with homemade

Goal - All the other stuff
93. Determine what 2nd EV will be - May 2017
94. Finish watching The Wire *
95. Find volunteer opportunities for B
96. Make own liquid laundry detergent
97. Rewatch Gilmore Girls
98. Get B guitar lessons *
99. Make own rollerbottles of favourite blends to have on hand - April 2017
100. Sign B up for chess lessons - February 2017
101. Complete another waste audit

Dehydrating and Rehydrating Beef Stew for Backcountry Camping

2016-09-07T23:46:00.000-04:00

I don't remember exactly why I bought a Ronco Food Dehydrator but I do know I was in University, it was super late and we had just returned from the bar. There is the real possibility that I might have been craving banana chips or dried apple slices.

I haven't used my dehydrator much over the years as it has been at my parents place where they use it every Fall to dehydrate the leftover herbs from their garden. As we began to plan our backcountry canoe trip this summer I knew it was time to get it back and tackle dehydrating full meals. It is easier than you might imagine to dehydrate meals, it just takes a bit of planning and time. Lots of time.

There are several basic steps that will apply to anything you want to dehydrate. Once you learn these you can easily adapt them to dehydrate all your favourite meals. One of my favourite meals from this summers backcountry camping trip can be found below.

To dehydrate evenly ensure food is all the same size

Not all parts of the meal have to be the same size but you need to keep food separated by size on each tray to ensure it has the proper amount of time in the dehydrator. For rehydration, keeping the food separated by size will ensure that anything that is larger and needs to be pre-soaked will get the amount of moisture and time it needs.

Lean meats are best because fat can turn rancid

Turkey and chicken are going to be the safest choices to dehydrate without further steps but beef can easily be dehydrated as long as you rinse the meat after cooking to remove an excess fat prior to dehydration.

It's going to suck but you will have to use re-sealable plastic bags

A littler bit of me died when I realized that the only option for dehydrated food and backcountry camping was re-sealable plastic bags. Glass is a big no-no in the backcountry and plastic containers wouldn't ensure that air was removed from around the food. Save all the bags once they are empty, wash them and put them away with your camping gear for use on your next trip.

Measure liquids prior to dehydration

Knowing how much liquid you started with ensure that you add the proper amount of water back into the recipe when you are rehydrating and cooking.

Start liquids in the oven on a baking sheet

I struggled with how I was going to dehydrate the liquid in the beef stew. If you have tray bottoms for your dehydrator you can potentially skip the oven trick but if you don't then pour your thickened liquid on the baking sheet and place in the oven on the lowest setting possible with the door left open a crack. When it is the consistency of fruit leather you can transfer it to the dehydrator to finish.

Have wide mouthed containers on hand for rehydration

Rehydrating your food in water over the course of the day will reduce the amount of cooking time (and gas) it will require to make your meal. Meats will need the most time, followed by large vegetables, smaller vegetables and liquid. Using wide mouthed containers will prevent leaks and ensure that you can pour the contents out when it is time to cook.

Plan your meals around days travel days

The last thing you need is to be portaging food as it is rehydrating so plan your meals around the days you are staying at your site. Those that require longer rehydration times are best for the days that you are staying at your site. Those that don't require any pre-rehydration or very little time are best for travel days.

Dehydrated Beef Stew Recipe

You can also use the dehydration tips throughout this recipe and apply it to your favourite beef stew recipe.

What You Will Need
Dehydrator
Re-sealable plastic bags
Parchment paper
Stewing beef
1.5 boxes of organic beef broth
1 cup water
4 carrots, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 celery chopped
1 cup corn
1 cup peas
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Salt
Pepper

Cooking Directions

Brown stewing beef in a large pot, add garlic and stir for a few minutes. Add carrots onion and celery and continue to stir. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a low simmer and add corn and peas. Continue to simmer for 1 hour and then remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Separate beef, vegetables and liquid. Add a mixture of cornstarch and water to the liquid to thicken slightly. You want it to be more like gravy to aid in the dehydration process.

Dehydration Directions

NOTE - times may vary based on your dehydrator so follow the manufacturer instructions but the times I have used seem to be about what I have found in other similar recipes.

Cut beef and carrots in half to reduce dehydration and rehydration times (you do this part at this stage vs when you originally cut it so they won't be over cooked when you are making the stew).
Place vegetables and thickened liquid in separate containers in the fridge.
Place the beef on the trays in the dehydrator and allow to work its magic for ~ 24 hours. You will know it is done when you can't see/feel any moisture left when you cut into a piece.
Allow to cool completely and place into a re-sealable bag. Ensure all the air is out of the bag by placing a straw inside and sucking the air out.
Remove vegetables from the fridge and place in the dehydrator. If you do not have bottom tray covers for your trays you will need to make some from parchment paper as the food will shrink and slip through the slots.
Allow vegetables to dehydrate for 12 hours or until you can't see/feel moisture.
Place vegetables into a re-sealable bag and ensure the air is out of it.
Remove liquid from the fridge and place on a parchment lined baking sheet in the oven on the lowest setting. Allow to bake until it is the consistency of fruit leather.
Remove from baking sheet and add to the dehydrator and allow to continue to dehydrator until all moisture is removed.
Place dehydrated liquid into a re-sealable bag and ensure the air is out.
Place all 3 re-sealable bags into a larger bag with any specific rehydration instructions (ie: amount of water required).

Rehydration Directions

Place meat into a wide mouthed container and add enough water to cover the beef. Reseal container and allow to rehydrate for 8 hours.
Place vegetables and liquid in a separate wide mouthed container and add enough water to cover. Close and allow to rehydrate for at least 1 hour.
Pour beef (including the water), liquid and vegetables into a pot and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer until fully reconstituted.
Add additional spices as needed.
Serve over rehydrated mashed potatoes (make these by preparing mashed potatoes as you normally would, spreading onto parchment lined trays in the dehydrator, rehydrating in water for at least 2 hours, reheat in a pot on the stove remove from heat and allow to sit closed for 10+ minutes).

Have you dehydrated food for camping? What was your favourite recipe?

Related Posts - Check them Out!
Juicing Without a Juicer
Camping at Halfway Lake Provincial Park
Campfire Nachos

This post contains Affiliate links that help me pay for my bug ridden canoe trips.

Life Lessons With Auntie Jen

2016-05-25T22:38:00.000-04:00

Holy crap I am the worst. My last post was all "YAY! I am back to consistent blogging!" and here it is 10 days later and this is my first post. Time is like a vacuum sometimes and I can't believe it has been more than a week since I proclaimed my return to serious blogging. ANYWAYS, let's talk long weekends. Canada just had one and you lucky folks in the USA are headed into one. The May long weekend is affectionately called May Two-Four up here, probably because it falls around the 24th of the month but most likely because we like, and consume a lot of, beer (it comes in cases of 24). As a younger lady I would spend my May Two-Four weekend camping with friends. It was fun, it was carefree and I don't remember being bothered by the cooler temperatures and the inevitable rain storm.

Oh how times have changed.

May Two-Four is now spent planting gardens, slugging mulch and swearing at weeds. This year we tried to strike a balance between domestic duties and relaxation. Which of course means that on the last day of the weekend we decided to take 3 kids hiking, because nothing says relaxation like hearing "are we there yet" and "why haven't I caught any fish" every 2 minutes.

I planned this outing ahead of time, stopping short of hopping on Pinterest for ideas like Top 7 Best Games to Play while Hiking and Catfishing Kids into Thinking They are Fishing for Cats. I do however wished I had researched more about geocaching, rather than creating an account 15 minutes before we left and assuming my decades hiking and camping would make me an instant pro. Nothing, makes you feel smarter than failing to solve a geocaching riddle that was made by a 10 year old. Except maybe failing to solve it in front of 2 six year old and a 9 year old. This particular cache (look at me using the lingo) was rated a 1.5 star difficulty, which literally means that it is set for children to figure out. I'm pretty sure I understood the clues and knew the hiding location but my GPS was acting up (I swear!) and as much as we looked through grass and weeds we just couldn't find anything.

We can file this one away under Life Lessons with Auntie Jen and hope that the memories that we made this weekend stay with them. Or at least I can hope they remember the ones that are actually useful like 'how to read trail markers' and 'why not everyone standing beside a river is peeing' and not 'oh yes you did catch some fish, you see reeds are just vegetarian fish'.

Related Posts - Check them Out
Protect Natural Areas By Exploring Them
Boys. They Ruin Everything.
Camping at Bon Echo Provincial Park

I'm Back (I think)

2016-05-15T22:44:00.001-04:00

I have been one foot in and one foot out of this place for a few years now. It probably hasn't truly felt like it because once every 4-6 weeks a new posts pops up, but my mind just hasn't been into this whole writing thing. I always feel like I am busting with stories and ideas to share, most of which come to me when I am driving or in the shower, but I can never seem to muster the energy to turn thoughts into anything coherent. And the thought of having to make pinable images and SEO and blah blah blah. Fuck it, I'm just going to drink this glass of wine and binge watch Fringe (I totally did that this month).

It has become a chore to blog and is right up there along side folding and putting laundry away and emptying the dishwasher. Just to give you an idea of where my head is at , I seriously contemplated starting to re-watch LOST rather than having to sit down and write tonight. Do you know why I could never be a full time blogger? 93% of the time I'm on a computer I go down a Facebook or YouTube rabbit hole. Why YES Buzzfeed, I do want to watch a video of Americans trying Canadian beer for the first time.

Anyways, the root of my sporadic posting and general absence comes down to me questioning if my life is blogable. Making sustainable decisions has become easy for me so I don't automatically think that there is anything to share. Perhaps it's that I have gotten to the point where I feel that the internet is so saturated with people posting content that there is nothing that really makes me stand out. (That looks so dumb when I read that back). Standing out was never the reason I created this space and started to share my life. I did it because I wanted to share my successes, challenges and hilarious failures with others. I want to keep doing that but I don't want it to feel like folding a fitted sheet. I want it to be fun again.

Everyone knows fun starts with a spreadsheet, so I've come up with a plan and it contains 18 posts that don't bore the crap out of me and some of which are going to be extremely humorous. Like when I try to learn how to apply makeup for the first time ever or when I take you down the path with me as I learn to sew. I'm also going to be dehydrating all the food in the next month preparing for our backcountry canoe trip, which will probably result in a few minor disasters and possibly food poisoning.

So, I'm back. Don't expect daily posts from me or anything. I'm not a miracle worker and I do have a day job. But what you can expect is at least weekly posts, a bi-weekly newsletter and more general action on the internets.

Related Posts - Check them Out
Taking Back Blogging
101 in 1001

Camping at Halfway Lake Provincial Park

2016-03-30T00:09:00.001-04:00

You are going to start to notice a theme with my camping posts. They will most likely all start out with me telling you about our trip being delayed, meltdowns (mine) and food being left behind. I think we are starting to get better at dealing with travel day stress but for some reason it still doesn't stop us from thinking we can actually get out of the house on time on a Friday night after working all day. We had decided to head North to get away from the overpopulated Southern parks and since it was a 7 hour drive we planned to split the drive up by heading out Friday night and driving 2.5 hours to another park for the night. Insert laughter here. This plan hinged on us leaving the house by 4PM, and leave by 4PM we did not. In fact the packing of the truck had only just begun and we did not pull out of the driveway until almost 6PM.

I don't want to brag or anything but when it's dark and you are tired, admitting defeat and getting a room for the night is a pure genius move.

Halfway Lake is located about an hour north west of Sudbury. There isn't a lot around the park so grab anything you might need when you first get onto Hwy 144. The drive to the park is stunning with its rock outcrops, tall trees and lakes. There is both car camping and back country camping available and we opted for car camping because it was our first time in the area. After navigating the lake I think back country camping would be doable for a someone who has basic experience in the back country.

Top 5 Reasons to Go to Halfway Lake

The solitude that comes with a northern park. I could hear a squirrel fart it was that quiet.
The canoeing is fantastic. You could go out on the same lake multiple times and always be exploring new parts.
Sudbury is a great day trip to give yourself a break, especially if it rains.
The sites are amazing. Large, private and well maintained.
You can drink a Black Bear where it was invented (by Me).

Must Have's For Camping at Halfway Lake
Stainless steel drinking glasses
Cast iron pan
Camping hammock
Map of stars and constellations

Campsites

We stayed in the Hawksnest North campground where the campsites are huge and offer a lot of privacy, not that privacy was really needed because the park was pretty much empty during the week. There are a lot of seasonal campers at this park so the weekends are busy but as soon as Sunday night rolls around the park really clears out and only a handful of campers remain.

Must See and Do

Canoeing

It is a miracle that our canoe trips don't result in only one adult returning. Because we are total morons, we decided that a large windy lake was the perfect lake to switch up our traditional paddling positions. All the expert canoeist are laughing right now, I can hear you. We had our destination in mind, a small island that I had located on the map. Joe traditionally sits in the back of the canoe to steer but I suggested we switch because I have more experience canoeing and it was windy.

I'm still shocked we made it to the island. Not due to anyone's fault (other than mine) but just that we were so used to our traditional roles in the canoe that we had a hard time not reverting back to those roles. A canoe with two people steering is a recipe for disaster.

Pro Tips

There are several islands and landings that you can explore on Halfway Lake so give yourself at least half a day.
Bring your fishing gear with you in your canoe and hopefully you will have better luck than we did catching something.
Be smart and bring safety gear, a map, snacks and water.

Hiking

The trails at Halfway Lake are designed to allow you to go as far into the woods as you want to. They are loops within loops so you can chose a length that is most comfortable for you. It was a hot day when we set out and Joe had forgotten to bring any sort of sensible footwear so we opted for the shortest route, which took about an hour to complete. The trail is all uphill one way until you reach a lookout and then it is downhill the rest of the loop.

What is really interesting about Halfway Lake is its history. Within the woods we saw first hand the devastation from the 2002 tornado that ripped through the park. Old trees were toppled onto the ground but all around them was new life beginning to take over, showing the makings of a new forest. From the lookout (and from the lake) you can also see the damage that the park sustained during the 2009 fire.

Sudbury

It takes an hour to get to Sudbury, which makes for a really great day trip. We selected what looked like the worst weather day for the week and headed into town to explore Science North and the Big Nickel. There is so much to do at both locations that we had to cut back just to fit it all into one day.

Pro Tip - On the way home stop and grab a pizza for dinner. You have just spent all day back in civilization and are probably exhausted so the last thing you should have to do is fire up the old campfire to make dinner.

Final Verdict

Halfway Lake is worth the drive. Even for a smaller park, I still feel like there is lots we didn't get to see and do and we have added this park to our favourites list.

Related Posts - Check them Out
Campfire Nachos
Protect Natural Areas by Exploring Them
Canadian Camping Challenge

Juicing Without A Juicer

2016-02-28T14:36:00.002-05:00

I don't own a high powered blender or a juicer. Not that I don't think it would be awesome to have one but right now my regular old blender works just fine. I do sometimes feel limited in what I can make as our blender doesn't break down some fruits and veggies like its high powered counterpart would. I try to block out the 2014 Beet Smoothie Incident and the 2016 Almond Smoothie Incident but they are classic examples of how I can't have it all with our current blender. This is also why I have never made my own juice, as I always thought I would need to have some fancy equipment that has a late night infomercial in order to get chunk free juice. I was wrong.

There are 2 ways you can make juice without a juicer and this is by far my favourite method. It will require a blender of some sort unless you have found some other method to get juice out of produce. Some may say that this method looks like more work with more to clean but the reality is that you aren't going to be cleaning out a big old juicer so the effort going in to making the juice is probably the same. You can use this process to make any juice, just add in the produce you have on hand and come up with your own concoctions. I also have some recipes pinned in my Delicious Drinks album on Pinterest.

Warning! This is a gateway juice. Making and drinking this will cause you to start making your own juice and even adding more veggies and less fruit. I like to make this the night before and then store in a mason jar in the fridge. In the morning I can just grab it and go. You can also make a double batch and store in the fridge for 2-3 days.

What You Will Need
1/2 large grapefruit (if you love grapefruit you could add the whole thing)
1 orange
3/4 cup kale
2 carrots
1 wedge of red cabbage (you could also sub in 1/2 a beet instead)
1 cup of water (regular or coconut)
Blender
Metal Sieve
Wooden Spoon or Spatula
Funnel
Bowl
Mason Jar or Glass

Let's Get Juicing!

Step 1 - Make sure you have washed everything thoroughly and you will want to remove the skins of the citrus fruit. If you are ever adding other produce (ie: cucumber) you can leave the skin on if it is organic.

Step 2 - Add everything to the blender, making sure you don't forget the water because it will be needed to help everything get blended down. Keep blending until it is a smoothie like consistency.

Step 3 - Place a metal sieve on top of a bowl. I like to use a bowl that is roughly the same size as the sieve so they can sit together without tipping. Start to pour the mixture from the blender into the sieve. It is easier to do a few small batches vs pouring everything in all at once, but this could depend on the size of sieve you have. Let the juice drip out through the sieve.

Step 4 - After a minute of letting the juice drop out of the sieve (I spend that minute putting the scrap fruit in the compost and scrap veggies in the freezer) use your wooden spoon or spatula to push down on the pulp to start to remove even more juice. Stir, press, stir press. Repeat.

Step 5 - When all the juice is removed from the pulp, remove the sieve from the bowl and set aside. Grab your mason jar or glass and add a funnel to the top. Slowly pour the juice from the bowl and then enjoy!

Baking With Juice Pulp

Let's not forget about that pulp you have sitting in the sieve. You could put it into the compost or you could make use of it by adding it to bread or muffins. I like to put the pulp into a glass jar and place into the freezer for later use in baking.

What You Will Need
Ingredients in this recipe
Juice Pulp
Cheesecloth
Bowl

Step 1 - Remove pulp from freezer and allow to defrost.

Step 2 - Scoop the defrosted pulp into a square of cheesecloth or a clean dish towel. Place over top of a bowl and squeeze out all of the excess juice that will be in the pulp. I didn't do this the first time I followed the above recipe and after 2 hours in the oven my bread still wasn't baked.

Step 3 - Follow these instructions and make your muffins or bread. I cut the amount of pulp to 1 cup because I found that adding 2 cups made the batter very wet. I also find that the baking times are not long enough so I often have to add on an additional 10-20 minutes.

What are your favourite juicing recipes or ways to use up pulp?

Related Posts - Check them Out!
Organic Apple Crisp
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Pin it!

This post contains Affiliate links that when used help to may for my ever growing juicing addiction.

Getting Over the Green Holiday Guilt

2015-12-08T23:03:00.000-05:00

Every year I try to think of a new way to give gifts that are light on their environmental impact and it's exhausting. One year I even tried not giving physical gifts but rather experiences and it totally bombed. Less than half of the recipients used their gift and not because they weren't a good choice for the individual but because they just didn't have the time. I get it, a lot of people probably cursed my name for getting their kid lessons or classes that required them to drive them somewhere once a week. I just couldn't do any more toys. Kids have so many toys, so.many.toys

I normally would jump to Etsy as my solution to find non typical toys or non-toy gifts but the Canadian dollar is so frickin terrible right now that it makes options on Etsy very limited. Even when I search only stores in Canada I still get hit with the high shipping charges, which in most cases totally busted the budget.

Then I had a light bulb moment. What if I just gave people what they wanted instead of looking for the perfect wooden toy made in Canada with solar powered wind mills and fair trade recycled not old growth wood that was harvested and carried through the tundra by unicorns. (If you sell this product please call me).

What if I gave with purpose rather than trying to live up to some guilt ridden ideal that I keep placing on myself? Craft supplies, STEM products and games are all under the tree this year, and yes some of them contain plastic. I was looking for a dream catcher making kit and the one I had my eye on came with a wooden ring as the base for the dream catcher. The problem was that it was twice the price of the kit with the plastic ring. Was I really going to spend an extra $20 just to get a wooden ring? No. No I was not.

Often I find the perfect gift when I am browsing Mom2Mom Facebook groups or thrift stores but that holiday guilt creeps up and I wonder what others will think of a 2nd hand gift. I do it all the time for my own kid, and he thinks its pretty cool, but not everyone is okay with it. And honestly, I bet they would think that I am cheap.

I'm starting to find peace with a non 100% green holiday. My food will still be organic, gifts are wrapped with upcycled paper, and about half of the gifts for B are 2nd hand or homemade. But our gingerbread houses are full of HFCS, our tree isn't real and there is a plastic bow and arrows under the tree.

Do you put pressure on yourself to have that perfectly green holiday?

Related Posts - Check them out
Buying Gifts for an Eco-Conscious Girl
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Holiday Gift Guide - Thinking Outside of the Gift Box

Camping at Arrowhead Provincial Park

2015-11-08T23:09:00.000-05:00

The first night we arrived at Arrowhead we set up camp and made our dinner. Within less than an hour we were in the middle of a full on thunderstorm complete with a ridiculous amount of rain. I remembered that our firewood was sitting on the ground so I ran outside to move it into the back of the truck and stepped into a small river of water running through our site. This isn't one of those fishing stories where the minnow that was caught turns into a 9 foot beauty. There was at least 6 inches of water that had accumulated and covered 50% of our site. Thankfully, we were dry inside and in the morning all the water had receded.

Camp Sites

Arrowhead is really about car camping and does not have any back country sites. The park is divided into 3 campgrounds, which are all very different. East River offers electric and non-electric sites that are large and very private. You do not have to worry about being close to the comfort station because the toilets on each circle are very well kept. The Lumby campground is only non-electric sites and there is no privacy. The campground is hilly, and what I remember most about camping there as a kid. All campgrounds in the park are close to the lake, river and hiking trails. There are some campsites that offer lake views or are close to the river. There are a lot of evergreens in the park, which did attract a lot of bees to the camp sites.

Must See and Do

Hiking

There are a lot of hiking trails at Arrowhead, so many that we didn't get to all of them. Their length and difficulty varies, offering hikers of any skill level a number of different routes through the park. This park is made for cycling and most trails allow you to ride on them. This really does extend the range that families can go exploring in the park. We went when B was too young to take trail riding on his own bike but if we were to return we would absolutely explore the park fully from our bikes.

When it comes to hiking, the trail we used the most was Stubbs Falls because it was easy, not too long and takes you right over the Falls. We went back several times doing all or part of the trail each time, just to spend time at the Falls.

Lunch at Stubbs Falls

You can get to the waterfalls via the Stubbs Falls trail or a canoe down the Little East River from the canoe rental area. Wear the right foot protection because the rocks can be slippery and you do not want to fall into the river. Bring a blanket and a picnic lunch and find a nice spot where you can watch the waterfalls.

Big Bend Lookout

It is a quick walk to the Lookout so it can get busy. Go early in the morning when you can enjoy the view on your own. The history of the bow and what led to its current state is pretty interesting so the park has detailed it on all plaques at the Lookout.

Canoeing

Arrowhead Lake was like glass the whole week we were there making it perfect for canoeing. The lake isn't too big so you also have the option to head up Little East River or Big East River.

Winter activities

There are only a few Provincial Parks in Ontario that you can go to at different times of year and swear that it is a completely different park then when you were last there. Arrowhead Provincial Park is one of those parks. The park is open year round, home to numerous winterized yurts and a fantastic outdoor winter activity program.

Final Verdict

Arrowhead is a good car camping park and while it doesn't have enough activities to bring us back for a full week, it would be a park that we would visit again for a weekend.

Must Have's for Camping at Arrowhead
Rain boots made from recycled materials
Light weight snack containers
Lunchbot containers
Stainless steel wine glasses

Follow along with my camping series as we try to camp at all Provincial Parks in Ontario. You can find my other posts here.

Related Posts - Check them Out
Pick the Perfect Campsite
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Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - 2 Ways

2015-11-02T22:28:00.002-05:00

I feel like food is my love language this fall. Apples! Pumpkins! Cinnamon! We have hit the sweet spot between Canadian and US Thanksgiving where it is perfectly acceptable to eat all.the.fall.foods. When you are making your pumpkin pie or wondering what to do with leftover pumpkins from Halloween consider pulling the seeds out of those suckers and roasting up some holiday goodness. And because variety is the spice of life I have made our seeds in 2 different ways....Sweet and Spicy.

Sweet Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients
Pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions

Wash pumpkin seeds after removing them from the pumpkin (use the rest of the pumpkin to make pumpkin pie tarts!). To easily remove the pumpkin guts from the seeds add the seeds to a colander and cover with water. Swirl the seeds around so they float to the top and the pumpkin meat settles on the bottom.
Spread the seeds onto a baking sheet lined with a tea towel and allow to sit for at least several hours. I prefer overnight.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the tea towel from the baking sheet and spread the seeds around on the sheet. If you have too many to form a single layer, remove some and create a second batch (how do you think I got both sweet and spicy ones this year!).
Add maple syrup to the seeds, mixing it in. Add more if it doesn't look like everything is coated.
Add brown sugar and cinnamon and stir.
Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Taste to see if they are to your desired crunchiness. If they aren't, bake in 5 minute increments.

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

Pumpkin seeds

1 tbsp coconut oil (room temperature)

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

pinch of salt

Directions

Follow Steps 1-4 above.
Coat seeds in coconut oil and stir to cover.
Mix all spices in a small bowl and start by adding half to the seeds. Stirring to coat.
Bake for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Taste the seasoning of the seeds and if it is not spicy enough for you add the remaining spice.
Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Taste to see if they are to your desired crunchiness. If they aren't, bake in 5 minute increments.

What is your favourite way to roast pumpkin seeds?

Related Posts - Check them Out

Baking with Real Pumpkin

Organic Apple Crisp

Eat Healthy and Reduce Waste

Make Your Own Halloween Treat Bags

2015-10-26T23:02:00.004-04:00

It isn't always easy to find healthier Halloween treats to hand out and it is even harder to find non-candy treats that won't get your house egg'd. Last year I got the last minute idea to hand out stickers instead of candy but couldn't find any individual boxes of stickers. Instead I bought sheets of stickers and a bunch of other small items to make treat bags. The total cost was less than 46 cents per bag with the lollipop making up half of that cost.

Make Your Own Halloween Treat Bags

I made these bags for the kids and for the teenagers I handed out just candy. These bags works well for kids with allergies too as the main feature of the bag isn't the candy.

What You Need

Brown paper bags

Crayons/markers/pencil crayons

Stickers

2-3 items to put into the bag

Craft ideas - Pencils, erasers, stickers, tattoos

Toy ideas - Dinky cars, rubix cubes, playing cards, bouncy balls, jacks, yo-yo's, finger puppets

(Tip - check out your local dollar store or party store for the best value)

Candy ideas - Florida Naturals, Yummy Earth Organics, Jason's PB Cups, Glee Gum, Annie's Bunny Fruit Snack, Surf Sweets, Equal Exchange Chocolate, Endangered Species Chocolate, Pur Fruit Bar

Instructions

Shake your magic 8 ball to figure out how many kids you think you will get this year. Typically it is the (Number of kids from last year * 2)/300 (if rain or snow expected) or 1.5 (if normal weather expected). Don't forget to add the co-efficient for Halloween falling on a weekend. In this case multiply by 7 million and then divide by the weather variable.
Get your kids to work drawing random Halloween type objects on the front of each bag.
Cut a the stickers and tattoo sheets into sections so that each bag is getting 3-4 stickers/tattoos
Add everything to the bag, fold the bag down 2 times and seal shut with a sticker. If for some reason the stickers won't hold it shut, try stapling it instead.

What do you give out for Halloween? What do your kids typically bring home?

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This post contains Affiliate Links that when used help to may for running this blog.

Organic Apple Crisp

2015-10-06T22:32:00.001-04:00

I love fall. Maybe it is the ability to finally wear sweaters and tall boots again or maybe it is the small break between OMG WHY ARE MY EYEBALLS SWEATING and OMG WHY ARE MY EYEBALLS FROZEN that make me appreciate normal temperatures. In reality it is probably the food. Turkey, pumpkin, apple...I'd eat that. We found a local organic apple orchard a few weeks ago and ventured out to pick our own. I didn't really plan it out knowing I would get a certain amount of apples. I kind of just went into it thinking... Apples! Fuck yah! The result was 15 pounds of apples. I tried to pawn some off on my 6 year old niece by telling her they were magical but that still left me with 13 pounds. I put one in B's lunch every day, and by one I mean the same one because it keeps coming back uneaten. When life gives you 12.99 pounds of apples there is only one thing to do with them. Apple frickin crisp.

Apple crisp can be made in a variety of ways. That is probably why it is also called apple crumble. Don't ask me the difference because they are both just apples topped with delicious stuff. My lord, Google is telling me that apple cobbler is also different. (Oh look, I'm not the only person who thinks about this kind of stuff).

Apple Crisp
For this recipe I use organic ingredients wherever possible (for everything but spices)

Ingredients - Filling
5-6 apples (the amount you will need will depend on the size of your baking dish)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup raisins (optional - but come one now you are crazy if you don't include them)

Ingredients - Topping
6 tbsp room temperature butter (note - for a lighter topping use half butter half coconut oil)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (note - for a lighter topping use 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 flax seed powder)
1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Peel apples and cut into large chunks.
Put apples into an oven safe dish (I like a cast iron pan). Add the remaining filling ingredients. Stir to combine.
Cut butter into small cubes and add to a medium sized bowl.
Add remaining topping ingredients and use either a pastry blender or your hands to combine. You want the butter to full combine and pull together similar to cookie dough.
Add more butter or flour as required to reach the desired texture.
Add topping on top of the apples.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, until apples are tender and topping is crisp. Use the broiler for a few minutes if apples are done but topping is not.

Additional Topping Ideas

If you want to have oats in your topping just remove some of the flour and adjust the butter accordingly to accommodate the additional dry ingredients.

Now if you are like me and you have 12.99 pounds of apples you are going to have to make a lot of apple crisp/crumble/cobbler to get rid of them all because each recipe only uses 5 or 6 apples. What I do is make apple crisp a few times a week until I can't even look at an apple anymore then I follow this recipe to ensure I have some apple crisp filling on hand throughout the year.

Freezer Apple Crisp

Ingredients
5-6 apples
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Directions

Peel apples and cut into large chunks.
Add apples and raisins to a cast iron pan and slightly saute on medium heat.
Add cinnamon and nutmeg and stir.
Allow to cool and then place in containers and put into the freezer.
When you are ready to use simply pull it out of the freezer, thaw and then follow the directions above for apple crisp, cutting baking time in half.

Crisp, Crumble, Cobbler...which is your favourite?

Related Posts - Check them out
Baking With Real Pumpkin
Cast Iron Care for Really Busy People
Campfire Nachos

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2015 Election - Green Party of Canada Platform

2015-09-28T22:24:00.003-04:00

The Green Party of Canada has long been forgotten sibling of the election and yet everyone seems to love them. Their platform is well thought out and contains serious plans that will tackle the issues that Canada is currently facing. The biggest challenge that they will face is how voting splitting will affect the election results, causing people to vote for who they want to defeat the Conservatives instead of voting for who they truly want to win the election. I have reviewed the Greens platform for environment, energy, transit, food/agriculture, education and economy. You can find my review of the other platforms here - Liberal, Conservative, NDP.

As always the most important thing you can do is educate yourself on the platforms and get out there and vote. If you have eligible children, speak to them about the issues Canada is facing and encourage them to participate in the Turkey Vote Challenge .

Environment

As expected, there are strong commitments to the protection of our environment in the Green Party platform. Not only do they want to mitigate the damage that the Conservative government has done but they want to make Canada a leader in climate change commitments and clean energy. The Greens have set a goal for climate change with the overall plan to be to virtually eliminate fossil fuel usage in Canada by mid century. They goal is to reduce climate change emissions by 40% of the 2005 levels by 2025 and an 80% reduction of the 1990 level by 2050.

Eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies (saving $1 billion/year) to the fossil fuel industry.
Create Green Technology Commercialization Grants at the cost of $1 billion/year to accelerate emerging technologies and give Canadian entrepreneurs a head start. It will help these technologies get to market, grow our sustainable economy and create local jobs.
Work with the provinces to develop a national price on carbon as part of the Carbon Fee and Dividend Plan. Funds generated from this plan would go to Canadians over the age of 18 as a annual carbon dividend.
Provide $75 million/year to rebuild public scientific research with Environment Canada, Health Canada, Parks Canada and Fisheries and Oceans.
Implement new legislation to ensure that any new laws are based on transparent and ethical information.
Work with First Nations and the provinces on the responsible development of Canadian natural resources.
Stand against all new raw bitumen export schemes to protect the coastal waters and the communities that surround them.
Demonstrate climate leadership at the UN Climate Summit
Hire trades to improve efficiency of public buildings by sealing all leaks. This will reduce carbon emissions by 30%.

Energy

The current Canadian energy economy is highly focused (and reliant) on the Tar Sands and XL Pipeline. Plans to move Canada to clean technology and away from fossil fuels will impact this economy and jobs associated with it. The Greens energy plan will create clean-tech jobs for those currently working in and relying on the fossil fuel industry. Additionally they will create more jobs by refining in Canada instead of shipping our resources off to be refined in other countries.

Invest in infrastructure that promotes renewable energy transmission between provinces and reduces the waste in our current energy system.
Work with the provinces to phase out coal fired generation plants within Canada.
Expand the home renovation tax credit to create incentives for people and businesses to make their homes/businesses more energy efficient or to install renewable energy.

Transit

The Greens will develop a National Transportation Strategy to increase the access to transit and improve the frequency of service.

Invest in local public transit
Expand VIA rail by investing $600 million by 2017 to a total of $764 million by 2020 in order to make rail travel more appealing for business travelers and tourism.

Food/Agriculture

OMG a party is talking about food!!!

Fund farmers markets, CSA's, small farms, wineries and microbreweries.
Shift government supported research away from biotech and energy intensive farming and towards organic and sustainable food production.
Adopt stricter regulations to prohibit caner-causing chemicals in our food and consumer products.

Education

The Greens plan to eliminate tuition fees for college and university students by 2020 as well implementing a debt forgiveness plan for existing students with debt about $10,000.

Eliminate charging interest on new student loans.
Increase funding for bursaries.
Create a national Community and Environment Service Corps which will provide $1 bullion/year to municipalities to hire Canadian youth.

Economy

Create a Canadian Sustainable Generations Fund which will invest in skills training, education, energy efficiency, renewables and emerging technologies. The fund will be capitalized by increasing tax rates on large corporations to the 2009 level of 19% and eliminating tax haves and tax credits.
Roll out a Sustainable Jobs Plan by investing in municipal infrastructure ($6.4 billion/year) the Greens will create well-paying, local and sustainable jobs.
End gender based discrimination in the workplace and eliminate the generate wage gap.
Provide tax breaks to employers who implement onsite child care programs that support women re-entering the workforce after having children. This will also encourage extension of breast feeding opportunities, use of public transit to get to work and access to children throughout the day.

What do you think of the Green Party platform? Would you consider voting for them?

Related Posts - Check them out
2014 - Ontario Green Platform
Greenpeace Activism - Can it be considered piracy?
Environmental Impact of the Election

2015 Election - NDP of Canada Platform

2015-09-20T22:41:00.001-04:00

I've been sitting here a good 10 minutes thinking I must be missing something. The NDP is the 2nd party that has such a vague platform that it makes me think they just aren't putting it all out there on their website. It is actually really shocking how little content there is. I went to the NDP website looking for information on environment, energy, transit, food/agriculture, education and economy. Like with the Conservative platform, I will keep checking back to see if they add more because...there has to be more right? You can find my reviews of the other platforms here - Liberal, Green, Conservative.

As always the most important thing you can do is to educate yourself on the platforms and get out there and vote. If you have eligible children, speak to them about the issues Canada is facing and encourage them to participate in the Turkey Vote Challenge

Environment

The NDP want to strengthen laws that will protect Canadian waterways and develop new sustainable development legislation. They also want to make polluters pay for the cleanup from their pollution (which they currently have to do now but perhaps the NDP wants to extend it to more than just the physical cleanup?).

Energy
The NDP plans to ramp up renewable energy production to reduce climate change emissions.

Transit

By transferring 1 cent from the existing gas tax to municipalities, the NDP will be helping communities fix roads and bridges. They also plan to develop a Better Transit Plan which will shorten commute times and create 31,000 municipal level jobs. The estimate the transit plan will cost 1.3 billion/year.

Food/Agriculture

The NDP platform does not cover food/agriculture which is a gap due to our current need for transparent labeling in our food system.

Education
The NDP platform does not make mention of anything relating to education.

Economy

By closing the stock option tax loophole (which costs Canadians $500 million/year), the NDP will be able to reduce the small business tax rate from 11%-9%. He will also raise the corporate tax rate to 17%.

(see I wasn't joking, that's it). What do you think is missing from the NDP platform?

Related Posts - Check them out
2014 - Ontario NDP Platform
Environmental Impact of an Election
Nissan Leaf - The Pros and The Con

2015 Election - Conservative Party of Canada Platform

2015-09-15T22:18:00.003-04:00

The fact is that a lot of Canadians do not trust the Conservative Party. This isn't unique to the Conservatives but it is certainly focused on them right now. The 2015 election platform is broken up into numerous small articles that take up several pages of their website. They are laid out well and outline what historically the Conservatives have done and what their plan is to further the initiative in Canada. The focus of most of these plans is on what they are already done with little on what new plans they have for going forward. I will be reviewing the Conservative Party platform for their ideas on environment, energy, transit, food/agriculture, education and economy. You can find my reviews of the other platforms here - Liberal, Green, NDP.

Note - due to the way the Conservatives have laid out their Platform I am not convinced that it is all there. I will be checking back every few days to see if more has been added and will update this post accordingly.

Environment

The Conservative Party is often not known for being a friend of the environment so it is not surprising that their current platform does not focus on this subject. In fact, while they do plan to increase manufacturing and mining in Canada, they have zero plans to tackle the impact of these types of industries on our natural environment. They do discuss conservation but their plans are focused on hunting and fishing. For example - "The modernization of the Migratory Bird regulations will improve the management of hunting for migratory birds in Canada and will remove unnecessary barrier to hunting."

They do however have plans for specific natural environments including:

Providing $15 million over 3 years to partner with the Pacific Salmon Foundation to restore estuaries in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island BC and preserve the lower Harrison River to restore salmon spawning.
Complete the establishment of a National Marine Conservation Area Reserve in the Southern Strait of Georgia at a cost of $35 million over 10 years.

Energy

The Conservative Party has no plans to address clean and renewable energy or energy efficiency in products.

Transit
The Conservative Party has no plans to support provincial transit plans or issues.

Food/Agriculture

The Conservative Party has no plans to preserve or protect our food system outside of their plans for the BC waterways that support salmon populations.

Education

Increase the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit from $2000 to $2500 and extend it to the 3rd and 4th years of training. This will cost an additional $60 million per year.
Provide an additional $8 million per year to the Foreign Credential Recognition Loans program to help internationally trained professionals complete the foreign credential recognition process.
Enhance the RESP program by doubling the federal grant for low to middle income families. Low income families will see an increase from 20 cents to 40 cents/dollar for the first $500 contributed. Middle income families will see an increase of 10 cents to 20 cents/dollar for the first $500 contributed.

Economy

The Conservative plan for the economy focuses on tax deductions for businesses and supporting business growth within Canada.

Lowering the small business tax rate from 11% to 9%
Lower the EI premiums on businesses and workers by 20%
Extend and enhance the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit to 25% for 3 years to support mining exploration and investment. Total cost will be $60 million per year.
Invest $20 million over 3 years to support the Canadian lobster industry.
Pursue free trade agreements to ensure Canadian goods can gain access to new markets.
Aid in the expansion of the cruise ship industry in Canada by funding the new maritime terminal at the Port of Montreal (up to $26 million) and funding the expansion of the Ross Gaudreault terminal in Quebec City (up to $26 million).
Establish and support ($100 million over 5 years) a new (non-profit) Advanced Manufacturing Hub in Burlington ON to support business development, applied research and technology adoption for manufacturing firms.
Establish an Investment and Trade Promotion Office to coordinate federal programs and polices to attract new manufacturing to Canada and to help existing Canadian companies to increase market share globally.
Provide $9 million over 3 years to Destination Canada to attract anglers, hunters and snowmobilers from the USA.

You can find the Conservative Party platform here.

What do you think about the Conservatives plan? Is there anything that you think is missing?

Related Posts - Check them out
2014 Ontario Conservative Party Platform
Standing Up by Sitting In
Environmental Impact of an Election Campaign

2015 Election - Liberal Party of Canada Platform

2015-09-13T23:40:00.003-04:00

The winds of change are upon us and more than ever I feel the responsibility for reviewing all the party platforms and translating them into plain language. The Liberal Party has been the butt of many a joke this year, mostly at the hand of the Conservatives. I for one, would like to base my vote off of more than if I like Justin Trudeau's hair or not. (FYI - I'm on Team Justin's Hair). I will be reviewing the Liberal Platform for their ideas on the environment, transit, food/agriculture, energy, education and economy. You can find my review of the other platforms here - Conservative, Green, NDP.

Environment

The Liberal Party of Canada's platform for the Environment focuses on investing in clean technologies, taking action to fight climate change, creating clean jobs, restoring credibility to environmental assessments, preserving and promoting National Parks and protecting our waterways. The majority of their plan is undoing the cuts that the Harper government made in the last decade including:

Launching an immediate public review into the cuts that have been made to the environmental assessment process to develop a new comprehensive process that ensures decisions are based on science and evidence. The process will be transparent to the public, analyze upstream impacts and greenhouse gas emissions from the project.
Review of amendments that Harper made to the Fisheries Act and the elimination of the Navigable Waters Protection Act to restore lost protections and incorporate more modern safeguards.
Reverse the $40 million that Harper cut from the federal government’s ocean science and monitoring programs.
Restore $1.5 million in federal funding for freshwater research.

As Canada's largest employer they want to lead by example and change their own internal practices to be more sustainable. They will be a test bed for new clean technologies, implement EV charging stations at all federal lots and convert their fleet to electric vehicles. They also want to dramatically increases its use of clean technologies in energy, buildings, and procurement.

"Canada has lost 71% of its clean tech market share during the Harper decade. Our global rank is 19th."

Clean Technology

By modifying the requirements of the Canadian Exploration Expenses tax deduction the Liberals can redirect the savings towards the investments in new clean technologies.

Invest $200 million more annually to create sector-specific strategies that support innovation and clean technologies in the forestry, fisheries, mining, energy, and agricultural sectors.
Invest $100 million more per year in organizations that have been successful at supporting the emergence of clean technology firms in Canada, including Sustainable Development Technology Canada.
Consult on ways to enhance the scientific research and experimental development tax credit to generate more clean technology investment.
Add electricity storage technologies and electrical car charging stations to the list of investments that are eligible for accelerated capital cost allowance.

Climate Change

Attend the UN Conference on Climate Change along with the provincial Premiers and then work together to develop a framework to combat climate change.
Creation of national emission reduction targets based off of economic and scientific analysis and providing funding to provinces to help them achieve their targets.
Support provincial carbon pricing policies.
Fulfill Canada's G-20 commitment to phase out subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.

Environmental Protection

Recognize the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the land, and will respect legal traditions and perspectives on environmental stewardship
Develop new Ambient Air Quality Standards to reduce the pollutants that cause smog, haze, and acid rain.
Increase the amount of Canada's protected marine and coastal areas from 1.3% to 5% by 2017 and 10% by 2020.
Formalization of a moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic on BC's North Coast.

Promoting National Parks

Canada is home to so many fantastic parks and Crown Land but the current government has cut funding to the Parks and created a situation where large segments of our population can not afford to even set foot in a Park. The Liberal Party is proposing to change that.

In 2017, admission to all National Parks will be free. After that, admission will remain free for all children under 18 and any new Canadian citizen.
Expand Learn to Camp programs with a focus on getting low and middle income families to experience the Parks.
Invest $50 million per year to advance the development of Canada’s parks system, as well as manage and expand National Wildlife Areas and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries.
Increase science spending in our National Parks by $25 million per year to allow for early identification of ecological stresses and avoid permanent degradation.
Restrict development inside the parks and work with communities outside the parks to grow their eco-tourism industries and create jobs.

Energy

Most of the Liberal Plan for energy focuses on generating more clean technology (found in the Environment section above) which will drive efficiency in both the grid and in products using energy from the grid.

Working with the provinces they will develop a Canadian Energy Strategy that increases the amount of of clean renewable energy in the grid and ensuring that energy efficiency standards for products is improved.
Establish a Canadian Green Investment Bond to support both large and small renewable energy projects.

Transit

While transit infrastructure in Canada is managed at the Provincial and Municipal level, the Federal government still provide funding towards improvement projects. The Liberals plan to more than triple the current federal investment over the next 4 years to $6 billion and quadruple it over the next 10 years to $20 billion. With this funding comes flexibility for municipalities to invest it in a manner that works for them.

"It is estimated that traffic congestion costs the GTA/Hamilton area $11 billion per year. This loss of economic activity translates directly into lower wages for Canadian workers and lower standards of living for families. This is happening right across the country."

Food/Agriculture

The Liberal Plan does not touch on preserving and protecting our food systems outside of their plans to protect waterways and the fish habitats within them (found in the Environment section above). I see this as a major gap in the Liberal Plan as there is a need for a national framework for labeling and nutritional guidelines.

Education

Invest $515 million/year in K-12 education for First Nations to start for a total of $2.6 billion over the next 4 years.
Ensure improvements are made to First Nations education infrastructure by investing $500 million over the next 3 years.
Increase Post-Secondary student support for Indigenous students by $50 million.
Invest $40 million annually to create more co-op placements in STEM and business programs. The plan is to pay 25% up to $5000 of the salary to an employer that creates a new co-op placement in these fields.
Work collaboratively with the provinces and post-secondary institutions to develop and expand the Pre-Apprenticeship Training Programs and provide up to $10 million/year to help with this program.
Introduce a new Teacher and Early Childhood Educator School Supply Tax Benefit that applies to the purchase of up to $1,000 worth of school supplies per year for their students, providing a cash benefit of up to $150 annually back to the teachers

Economy

There is a large Liberal Plan for the economy but I am not going to go into the whole thing. You can find it here as well as included in each of the other Plans. One part of their economic plan is to create Green Bonds that will make green infrastructure projects more attractive to private investors by offering loan guarantees, reducing financing costs and risk, and bundling small projects into attractive offerings for investors. The Green Bonds will apply to projects that focus on the electrification of transportation, smart grid technology, and transmission lines for renewable energy, electric vehicle charging stations and networks, retrofits of buildings, and clean power storage. There are plans for these bonds to also be available to the public to invest in these kinds of projects.

"The simple fact is that in 2015, pretending that we have to choose between the [environment and the economy] is as harmful as it is wrong." - Justin Trudeau

You can find all of the Liberal Party of Canada Plan here. Note the interesting plans around work-life balance and parental leave found here.

What do you think about the Liberal Plan? Is there anything that you think is missing?

Related Posts - Check them Out

2014 Liberal Party Platform - Ontario Election

Time For Change - Yours and Mine

Environmental Impact of An Election Campaign

Upcycle Old Clothes Into A Pencil Case

2015-09-10T23:06:00.000-04:00

This is the first year that we have had to buy our own school supplies and when I received the list it made it very clear that everything had to be void of all personality. No characters, no distracting patterns. There goes my idea of buying a shark pencil case from Etsy where you actually put the pencils into the sharks mouth. I still wanted B to have something that fit into the rules but also his personality, so I decided to hand make his pencil case.

You can stop laughing now.

It was important to me that I find a way to make this without having to buy a lot of materials. I really wanted to use what we already had on hand. We have a butt load of pants kicking around that have holes in the knees, including PJ pants. From that I picked jeans as the main material and the shirt from a PJ set that has massive ripped knees in the pants. It is also PJ's that reminds us of many inside jokes making it the perfect choice for the inside of B's pencil case.

Don't have a sewing machine? No problem! I don't have one either so this bad boy was hand stitched.

What You Will Need
Jeans, cords or any other material
PJ's, shirt or any other material
Zipper (10 - 12")
Thread
Scissors
Small binder clips
Pins
White pencil crayon

Let's Sew!

Cutting the jeans/outside material

Step 1 - Pick which part of the jeans you want to use. I was going to use the back of the jeans so I could incorporate the pockets but I couldn't get the sizing to work so I settled for the back of the one leg. I didn't pick the front of the leg because the material was very thin due to all the sliding that occurs in this house.

Step 2 - Start by trimming along the seam of the jeans to a point that is larger than the size of pencil case that you want to make (I just cut it right up to almost the pocket).

Step 3 - Measure the size you want your pencil case to be, making sure you measure against what you are going to put into it. I cut mine to 24cm (length) x 18cm (height). Mark your measurements with a white pencil crayon and cut.

Cutting the secondary outside material

Step 4 - Pick which part of the PJ's you want to use for the inside of the pencil case to make sure you don't cut into that when you are cutting the strips for the outside material.

Step 5 - Cut two strips that are the same length as your square of jeans and each have a height of 5cm. If you chose old pj's or a t-shirt as your material you have to watch for the stretch and ensure it doesn't effect your measurements. You can always trim the material to match the jeans later if you cut it too big.

Sewing the outside material

Step 6 - Lay the secondary outside material down with the side you want showing on the outside of the pencil case facing up. Lay the jean material on top with the side you want showing facing down. Pin the two pieces together, noting that the secondary material may stretch and need to be trimmed.

Step 7 - Repeat step 6 with the second strip of secondary material for the other side of the jean material.

Step 8 - Sew both pieces together allowing a small seam allowance.

Cutting the inside material

Step 9 - Cut along the seam of the PJ top until just the front panel remains,

Step 10 - Measure a square that matches the size of the newly sewn outside material (length 24cm x height 28cm) and cut to this measurement. Again, watch for the stretch in this material and how it could affect your measurements.

Zipper Time!

It is okay if your zipper is longer than your material. You can cut it and surge over top of the zipper to make a new stop or you can leave it long and just have it tucked inside the pencil case.

Step 11 - Lay the inside material down with the side you want to see facing up. On top of this lay the zipper facing upwards, lining it up with the left side of the material. Lay the outside material face down on top of the zipper and pin/clip once lined up.

Step 12 - Sew along the zipper allowing for a small seam allowance (amount depending on how much of the zipper you want to see). Stop sewing when you get to the edge of the material. This is a really great video on how to sew a zipper.

Step 13 - Flip the material over so the outside piece is now facing up with the zipper on top. Flip the bottom up so that the secondary outside material is sitting on top of the zipper and pin/clip into place. This will feel like you are doing it wrong but trust me, you aren't.

Step 14 - Follow the same instructions as in Step 12.

Sewing the sides

Not going to lie. I got really confused during this part and was convinced that I had completely messed this thing up. It took a lot of sitting back and looking at what I had done and walking through what I wanted to happen until I figured out how to fold that material to sew it where it needed to be sewn. If you mess it up and sew in the wrong place that is okay, just carefully unstitch and start over again.

Step 15 - Flip the material inside out so the inside piece is facing out towards you. The zipper will be upside down so unzip it a bit so you can still access the pull when you need to. Pin/clip the first short edge and sew from the bottom all the way to the top and over the zipper.

Step 16 - Repeat Step 15 on the opposite side.

Finished product

Step 17 - Unzip the zipper all the way and flip the pencil case material so the inside is now inside.

Step 18 - Tie a small ribbon to the zipper pull to make it easier to open. I opted for a piece of material that B had pulled off of his quilt that his Great Grandma made.

Variations

Try using the material that is around the pockets of the jeans so that when the pencil case is sewn it has pockets on the front and back. This will be a handy place for putting materials that are currently in use, like different coloured pencil crayons while colouring or an eraser and ruler while doing math.

Simplify the pattern and eliminate the inside material. The look of the inside of the jeans when you open the pencil case will still look really cool. To do this skip Steps 9-10 and eliminate all steps that involve the inside material in Steps 11-14.

Leave your mark by stitching a small heart (or other shape) on the front bottom corner. Do this step before you begin sewing pieces together, ensuring you account for the seam allowance.

Made your own version? Let's see it!

Yes I probably should have just done this whole post as a video but that would have required me to clean the house so.....

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Campfire Nachos

2015-08-19T16:00:00.000-04:00

I like to call these my Clear Out the Cooler Nachos because they are a great way to use up the leftover veggies, meat and cheese that you may have kicking around in the cooler. Add leftover veggies and chicken from fajitas or ground beef from burgers or spaghetti sauce. The possibilities are endless and it is a great way to reduce any food waste that you may generate while camping. They are super easy to make and require very little time to prep and cook, which let's face it....is the perfect recipe for camping. After all, I prefer to spend my time like this vs slaving over a hot stove/BBQ/fire.

What You Need
Cast iron pan
Non-GMO nacho chips
Your favourite nacho toppings
Campfire or a BBQ

Directions

If you are cooking on a campfire make sure that you have a grill on top to place the cast iron pan onto. If you don't have a grill then you will need to wait until you have hot coals and not flames.
If you are cooking on a BBQ pre-heat it on a medium setting.
Once your campfire or BBQ is hot and ready to go start to prepare your nachos by adding the nacho chips to the cast iron pan.
Add a thin layer of shredded cheese to hold the chips in place.
Add your favourite toppings ensuring that any meats are cooked ahead of time.
Top with more shredded cheese.
Place the cast iron pan on the fire/BBQ (if using a BBQ make sure you close the lid if you can).
Cook time will vary based on the heat of your fire/BBQ so watch it closely. You will know it is done when the cheese it fully melted.
Serve with your favourite sides like salsa, sour cream and homemade guacamole.
Don't forget to clean your cast iron pan afterwards!

What are your favourite quick and easy camping recipes?

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Pick the Perfect Campsite

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Camping at Bon Echo Provincial Park

2015-08-16T23:30:00.000-04:00

B had his last ball hockey game the morning we were planning to leave for Bon Echo and of course it was late in the morning when all other games of the season had been played at 8AM. I planned in advance, starting packing days before and yet was still not ready in time to go to ball hockey with the boys. They went without me while I finished laundry (why is there always so much laundry?) and started to pack the coolers. I had pre-made 3 huge iceblocks by freezing water in old vinegar jugs and in my head I totally thought that there would be enough room for all the food plus them in the cooler. The cooler full of food and food spread out on the floor around me as I sat there trying to find a million different ways to make it all work told a different story. So many years playing Tetris as a child had completely failed me.

1 minor meltdown, kale, spinach and the second carton of eggs left behind in the fridge and we were on the road. You know when you are driving to a campsite and the closer you get the cleaner the air gets. The scenery changes from people hustling to work or running errands to old growth trees and giant rocks. People seem happier and much more laid back. The camping effect wraps it arms around us as we see the signs for Bon Echo and turn off the main road and into the park. It takes a lot for me to fall deeply in love with a park, especially when I am spending a full week there. I often wish I could combine the sites of one park with the lake of another and the hiking trails of a third park but that obviously isn't possible. Within a relatively short amount of time I knew that Bon Echo was an amazing park and somewhere we could see ourselves coming back to year after year.

Camp Sites

Bon Echo is a park with something for every experience level of camper. Sites vary including: traditional car camping near amenities, car camping deeper into the woods and further from amenities, Yurts, walk in sites close to amenities and back country canoe and hiking sites. For a trip of a week or longer you could easily combine several of these camping styles to get the most out of the park.

Car Camping

The park is divided into 2 main campgrounds, Mazinaw being near the amenities and Hardwood Hills being much further away. The Sawmill Bay campground within Mazinaw is very hilly and doesn't offer a lot of privacy between sites but there are some sites that have direct beach access and what looks like fantastic views of the lake. Fairway campsites within the Mazinaw campground are fantastic, offer privacy and are close to the lake, beach, river and the Narrows. We did not venture into the Midway campground in Mazinaw or Hardwood Hills campground to see what they were like.

Site 388 was really great

Walk in Sites

There are a select number of sites that are right on the lake and can only be accessed by walking a few hundred meters from the parking lot. The views are stunning and this style of site is a great way to easy yourself into back country camping if you haven't tried it yet.

Back Country Camping

Bon Echo offers both canoe camping and hiking in sites. Joe Perry Lake has sites close to the put in for those novice paddlers and then sites further away for the more experienced. Camping on Joe Perry Lake allows you to enjoy the back country from the comfort of the same site.

Must See and Do

Canoeing

We zig zagged across the Mazinaw lake for half a day enjoying the scenery, looking at the pictographs on the Mazinaw Rock and fishing. We started at the canoe rental area and headed for the Mazinaw Rock first so we would get there before the tour boats started. Back through The Narrows and into Lower Mazinaw Lake for fishing. We tried a lot of spots in the middle of the lake and along the shore and while we had a lot of nibbles, we had no bites. The winds had picked up while we were along the shore so crossing the lake twice required a lot of extra effort. We stopped at the dock for the Scenic Trail along the top of the Mazinaw Rock and hiked to 2 of the 3 lookouts.

5 hours on the lake and no canoeing related arguments....,yah that is pretty successful.

If you are unsure about camping in the back country without seeing it first you can try canoeing Joe Perry Lake for a few hours on one trip and if you like it and it matches your skill level, come back on another trip and back country camp.

Fishing

We fished 5 of the 7 days we were there and didn't catch a thing but that didn't take away from the fun we had each time we almost caught one. We fished from our canoe but the easiest way to fish at the park is from land. We would head out to The Narrows or the river every day to spend an hour or so trying our luck at catching something. Make sure you have a valid fishing license and that you read up on what fish is in the park so you bring the right lures.

Fishing at The Narrows

Take a Day Trip to Sharbot Provincial Park

There are two provincial parks within an hour of Bon Echo and Sharbot Provincial Park is worth the drive. It is a small park but the lake is wonderful and your camping pass for Bon Echo gets you in for free. We rented a canoe and spent the day fishing on the lake and having a picnic lunch on the beach.

Hiking

If you are looking for challenging back country hiking you can head out on the Abes and Essens Lakes trails but if you are looking for something a little lighter the trails in the main park are perfect. We set out on the trail to The Narrows which is just over 1 kilometer in length and easy terrain. Along the way you learn about the history of the park and how it all began. We spent a lot of time at The Narrows, which is the spot where the Upper and Lower Mazinaw lake meet. The trail takes you right to the point where the lakes narrow to only a few meters and offers great views of the Mazinaw Rock.

View from the 2nd lookout point

Across the lake you will find the scenic trail that takes you to 3 lookout points on top of the Mazinaw Rock. You can get there by canoe or by purchasing tickets for a ride on a boat. The hike is short (just over 1 kilometer) but it contains a lot of stairs so it takes about an hour. We only made it to the 2nd lookout because the trail started to head further into the woods and I didn't feel we were prepared enough to be out there. Flip flops and snakes are not a good mix.

Final Verdict
Bon Echo is a fantastic park that offers something for everyone. We found that we were able to do a variety of things and still felt relaxed at the end of the day. Our plan is to go back and spend 3 nights in the back country canoeing and then the remaining 4 night in either the walk in sites or traditional car camping.

Must Have's For Camping at Bon Echo
Rain boots made from recycled materials
Light weight snack containers
Dry sack
Fishing rod
Reusable water bottle
Cast iron pan

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Reduce Food Waste While Camping
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The Pressure to Walk the Walk

2015-07-28T22:19:00.000-04:00

I hope I have never given the impression that I am the perfect little tree hugger. I'm not and in fact, none of us are. The fact is that there are just too many areas of our lives that impact the environment so it is virtually impossible to be dark green in all of them. I try not to judge when I see someone post pictures on Instagram with plastic cups, bottles of water or big ass SUV's but I can't even bring myself to heart them the majority of the time. Not because I am disgusted or think its ridiculous but because I don't want my so called "approval" by double tapping to ruin my green street cred.

Don't worry, I totally get how ridiculous that sounds. Because it is ridiculous. It is also the reality when you put yourself out there online as an environmentalist. People just expect more and in turn I expect more from myself. A few weeks ago we were out at a restaurant to celebrate Joe's birthday and they sat us at a table near the tortilla making machine, which I am pretty sure is really a machine to hypnotize kids into not touching their food. The result - 1/700th of B's dinner was left on his plate. The waitress asked if we wanted the food packed up, and of course we did because I never want to teach B that wasting food is okay. She brought the container and I put B's leftovers in it and then when it was time to go I told Joe that he had to carry it because I could not be seen carrying styrofoam.

I worry what others will think of me if they see me carrying styrofoam or if I offer them a drink in a plastic cup. After a broken glass incident this month I'm now on the hunt for non-breakable, plastic free inexpensive glasses for poolside. The reality is that this mythical glass does not exist, it's the unicorn of glasses. The internal pressure to get rid of my requirement for inexpensive glasses and go with expensive stainless steel tumblers is strong. It's a tug-o-war with my green conscious on one side and on the other side is a responsible adult who realizes that spending over $300 on glasses that will be used once a year is a really dumb use of money.

This bad boy was found in the pool on the shelf that B normally plays on.

I have always prided myself for being a person who walks the walks both personally and professionally, so having to admit to myself that I am not 100% always sustainable has been hard. I have painted an unrealistic picture in my head of what that means and while 'm realistic about what environmental improvements I can't make at this point in my life - like going off the grid - I am just learning to do the same with smaller steps like the occasional styrofoam takeout container.

In times where I feel like I can't do it all I am sticking to my 6 Awesome Truths About My Life

I will never support Nestle or Monsanto
5 minutes in nature will de-stress just about anyone
I love my EV and will never own an ICE again
Support local businesses first
"The dose makes the poison" as my friend Penelope says
1 person's small steps do make a difference

What would be the 6 Awesome Truths About Your Life?

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The Secret to Removing the Entire Weed

2015-06-03T22:09:00.003-04:00

We have all been there. Spending countless hours on a beautiful Saturday hunched over our gardens pulling weeds as quickly as possible so we can just be done with it already and sit down with a cold beverage. But they always come back and they normally bring a few new friends with them. A few weekends ago I had the day to myself and decided to tend to the gardens. I put my headphones on, cranked up the tunes and started pulling those suckers out of their warm little homes. I don't know when I came out of the zombie dandelion pulling trance and started to pay attention to exactly what I was pulling out of the ground when when I did I was surprised at what I saw.

Dandelions have really really long roots. Like twice as long as I thought. I had one in my right hand that had a pretty long root and in my left hand was this super bulked up dandelion with roots the length of my forearm. I quickly noted one major difference between the two weeds. The one in my right hand had a wet end to the root while the one in my left hand had dry ends to the roots.

The reason? I had unknowningly broken off the root of the dandelion in my right hand, leaving some of the root in the ground where it will eventually come back to haunt me. The dandelion in my left hand was dry because I had gotten all of the root out of the ground.

See, this guy must be on the roids

I have tried the fancy weed tools and not once have I pulled out roots as long as I did when I was doing it by hand and really paying attention to what I was doing. The key is to show the dandelion who is boss without going all hulk on it.

Stand directly over top of it, grabbing it by the stem where it meets the soil
Start to pull it directly up slowly and firmly. The key is to doing it slow and with enough force that it won't break off.
Don't twist or else it will break off and leave some in the ground.
Make sure you fill in the hole with dirty so there isn't an easy place for a new weed to grow.
If in a garden, cover with mulch, if on the lawn, make sure you seed as a lawn full of grass or ground cover will prevent weeds from having a place to grown.

Most often when I pull a weed out it looks like the one in the middle of the picture up there. A long root that looks like you got it all. But in reality they can be much longer. The key to know if you got it all is looking at the ends and ensuring you don't see any milky white liquid.

What about those other methods using hot water or vinegar or salt?

Those work too but you should watch the use of them in your gardens or on your lawn because they can cause other plants around them to also die and they can prevent new plants from re-growing in its place.

I have used hot water to kill weeds that were growing between the stones on our patio. I took only 1 application and within a day the weed was dead and I could pull it out. Remember to fill any root holes in with more polymeric sand (or whatever filler you used between your stones).

I have used vinegar to get rid of a vine that just would not go away. 8 years I have been in an epic battle with this vine and each year I think I kill it and then the following spring it comes back. There are no other plants in the area so I am not worried about killing anything else when I attempt vine-murder. It continues to come back not because the vinegar didn't work, but because this paricular vine has very very long runners that the vinegar can not reach.

What is your favourite weed removal method?

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Reduce Food Waste While Camping

2015-05-24T23:37:00.000-04:00

I love camping. I hate the campsite booking politics, the prep work, packing, driving and setting up but once all that is done I love it. That first moment when you turn into the park and head down the road where you are completely immersed in the sights, sounds and smells of nature. Pulling up to the campsite, cracking open the cooler and grabbing a cold drink that is completely deserved after all the planning, packing and driving. Those moments make it all worth it. As does the food. Oh the food. Glorious, glorious camping food. I prefer to spend my time canoeing, hiking and relaxing vs spending hours making meals. Over the years I have found several ways to keep our meals healthy and quick to prepare all while producing very little food waste.

Be realistic about how much time you want to spend cooking. You may think that you are going to make fancy over the campfire meals but the reality may be that you don't want to spend the time preparing the fire to even start making that kind of meal. Or it may be too hot. Or wood is too expensive (seriously $9 for a bag of wet wood???). Plan quick and easy breakfasts and lunches and go big for your dinners.

Quick and Easy Meal Ideas

Salads that you make ahead and store in glass jars. Add dressing when you serve.

Chicken kabobs that you pre cut and marinate in a glass container.

Pre-make muffins or banana bread at home for a quick breakfast on the go.

One pot pasta is quick and makes less dirty dishes!

Pre-make chili or pulled pork and freeze at home. Add your cooler and reheat a few nights after you arrive.

Make soups in advance and put in glass container for an easy lunch.

Plan your meals so that you cook a bit more for one meal and use the leftovers for another meal. BBQ chicken for dinner becomes chicken on salad for lunch the next day. Have fajitas for dinner and the next day use the leftover veggies as part of taco salad for lunch. You can even use the leftover wraps to make breakfast burritos on the third day. Planning your meals this way will save you time, require you to pack less food and result in less food being wasted.

Dinner - Homemade burgers with roasted potatoes

When you make this meal for dinner you will get two additional meals the following day and it is a really easy meal to have the first night you arrive at your campsite. Make your burgers at home and pack in a glass container. Remember to make a few more than you would typically eat so that you have enough to make Sloppy Joe's grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch the following day. This allows you to use up your leftover hamburger buns as well. For breakfast use the leftover roasted potatoes to make hash browns and serve with eggs and bacon.

Dinner - Chicken fajitas with rice

This is another meal that will get you two meals of leftovers. Make chicken fajitas for dinner and use up the remaining wraps the following morning by making breakfast burritos. For lunch make chipotle lime chicken bowls using the remaining chicken, veggies, avocado, rice and sour cream.

Breakfast - Breakfast Burritos

When you are making the bacon for your breakfast burritos make more than you need and set aside in your cooler for use in a caesar salad for dinner. Cut up any leftover burger buns and sautee with butter and herbs to make croutons. Serve with pasta for a really quick dinner.

Dinner - BBQ chicken with corn on the cob, sweet potatoes and green beans

If you make more chicken then you need for dinner you can use it for a variety of meal ideas like adding on top of a salad or adding into a wrap. The leftover sweet potatoes and green beans can quickly be reheated and topped with an egg in the morning. The extra corn can be used to make a healthy corn and edamame salad for lunch or as a dinner side dish.

Breakfast - Hard boiled eggs with bacon

Make hard boiled eggs in advance and in the morning fry up some bacon for a fast breakfast. Cook some additional strips of bacon, cool and store in a glass container in your cooler to use for lunch the following day to make this awesome kale, bacon and egg salad.

Pack condiments in smaller jars. I re-use old jam or mason jars. They will take up less room in your cooler and reduce the chances or ruining an entire jar of something if it does happen to spoil. I normally have a bullet proof coffee each morning but don't bring a blender with me when I camp so instead I pre-make coconut coffee creamer to add to my coffee and keep it in the cooler in a mason jar.

Make snacks ahead of time but know that you will eat less than you think you will. I want to say that I never come home with apples and oranges still in the cooler but I always come home with apples and oranges in the cooler that I saw every time I opened it but still did not eat. I love packing energy balls, nut bars and granola because they are easy to grab whether you are at your campsite or on the go. Oh, and if you did eat those oranges.....keep the rinds to make muffins or cakes on the campfire.

Plan you week so you are using the most perishable items at the start of your camping trip. This will reduce the chance of them spoiling. Towards the end of the camping week is when I plan to have pasta, soups and tuna. If we go camping for an extended period we plan to stop and grab additional meat and produce part way through so we don't have to bring it all in the beginning.

Make sure you plan meals that everyone will enjoy. Or else you may end up with someone revolting. Looks like someone hates kale.

What tips do you have to share that reduce food waste while camping and help you prepare healthy meals?

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25 Days of Spring Cleaning for a Healthier Home

2015-04-12T21:54:00.001-04:00

Regardless of the amount of snow on the ground, I am jumping into Spring and starting by cleaning the entire house from top to bottom. A few weeks ago, something in me just clicked and I decided to do a full house overhaul. Cleaning, decorating, finally completing the honey-do list...I am going to get it all done. I have broken down Spring Cleaning into 5 weeks, cleaning 5 days each week with 2 days of rest or you know you can just call those your laundry days. Fucking laundry. I have pulled together my favourite cleaning tips and tried out the ones that are popular to see if they really work (spoiler alert - they don't).

I tried cleaning in two different ways, either room by room or by grouping like items together. While there is more instant satisfaction in cleaning a full room, it takes longer than cleaning like items all throughout your home. My recommendations below will be based on that approach, but if you prefer to clean room by room you can simply modify the list to suit that approach. It should only take you an hour or so each day, depending on what you are cleaning. Some weeks I combined items only because I had more time and wanted an extra day off. You could breeze through the entire list if really wanted to or if you really love cleaning (who are you???).

Start high and work towards the floors. You don't want to clean one area and then when cleaning an area above it and get dust (or whatever) all over the area you previously cleaned. Not that it happened to me when I cleaned the bathroom fan after cleaning the toilet the previous day. Nope, not at all.

Open the windows as often as possible. If you live in a colder climate you probably haven't had the windows open since September. As soon as it is sunny and above freezing crack those windows for at least a few minutes.

Week 1 - Ceiling Fans, Lights, Window Coverings, Windows, Mirrors

It is important to clean your fans so they don't recirculate dust throughout your home. It is especially important to give them a good cleaning after they haven't been used for awhile. I spray mine with a vinegar/water/grapefruit essential oil mix and then wipe off with a reusable cloth. I have always found this to be more effective than using a vacuum or just dry dusting.

Don't forget your bathroom fans. They can become quickly clogged with dust which makes them less efficient at removing moisture from the air. This could increase your chances of growing mildew and mold. Remove the cover and soak in the sink with warm water and castile soap. Remember to unplug the fan before cleaning. Spray a reusable cloth with your vinegar/water/essential oil mix and wipe down the fan. Once done, plug the fan back in a replace the cover.

My favourite recipe for cleaning mirrors and windows is a 50/50 mix of water and vinegar with a few drops of orange essential oil. Instead of a cloth I use old newspapers, which guarantees a streak free shine.

Week 2 - Walls, Dusting, Mattresses, Linens, Pillows

I try not to think about all the really gross things that are living on my mattress and pillows. I watched an episode of Oprah once and they showed the up close footage of someones pillow and I literally yelled BURN IT TO THE GROUND.

Mattress Cleaner

Follow this recipe for mattress cleaner.
Sprinkle on top of your mattress (sheets already removed, of course) and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Vacuum the top and sides of the mattress and then flip it over.
Sprinkle more of your baking soda mix and let it sit again.
Vacuum the top and sides.
If your mattress allows you to sleep on either side then make sure that the side that was the top is now on the bottom.

If you need to replace your pillow consider alternative uses for them instead of throwing them in the garbage.

Week 3 - Appliances, Furniture, Toys, Toilets, Sinks, Front Porch

I have had a particular Pin in my Cleaning and Laundry board for awhile now and I was so excited to try it that I even gave up outside time on the nicest day of the year! There are so many rave reviews over cleaning your microfiber couch with rubbing alcohol and with those reviews comes pictures that show success. I tried it. Oh did I try it. I doesn't work. I scrubbed and scrubbed and when it dried it looked EXACTLY the same. All those blog posts tell you not to use water because that will just increase the number of stains you have. I have always used soap and water to clean my microfiber couch so I knew the secret to success is to clean the entire cushion each time you have stain. You won't get a water ring if you treat the whole cushion in the same manner. The 3rd option I tried was using my steam cleaner. It worked well but due to the inconsistent distribution of steam it was not consistently clean over the whole cushion. It also was really had to make it work on the vertical cushions.

Clean Your Microfiber Couch

Mix castile soap and water in a reusable container.
Dip a cloth that is a similar colour to your couch in the water/soap mix and start in one corner of the top cushion. Always start at the top cushion so you don't drip water on a cushion you have already scrubbed.
Rub aggressively, it will hurt but it will be worth it.
Remember to stop and hydrate with wine.
Continue to keep the cloth wet and scrub until the entire cushion has been cleaned.
If you see any of the previous water/juice stains coming through, continue to scrub until they disappear.
Continue on to the other cushions.
Once dry, fluffy the cushions up with a bristled brush or with your vacuum furniture brush.

Going forward I will clean my couch using soap and water and then once a quarter steam clean it followed up by soap and water.

Week 4 - Pantry, Cupboards, Doors, Knobs, Stuffed Animals, Car

Having your car on this list may seem out of place but it really isn't. The inside of your car can get really gross over the winter months, with salt build up and don't even get me started on what is on the floor in the back seat. Cleaning your car will ensure that you don't track any of that dirt back into your now clean house. Tackle it the same way that you would your house, starting at the top and working your way down to the raisin and rock filled floors.

Week 5 - Floors, Carpets, Baseboards, Furnace Filters, Air Conditioning

Baseboards can kiss my ass. Some people get on their hands and knees and scrub them with a toothbrush. I am not one of those people. I vacuum all of my floors (even tile and hardwood) and use the wand tool to get any dust/cat fur off of the baseboards. Then when I am washing the floor with my steam cleaner I wash the baseboards too.

Freshen up your carpets and break the static cling by using my carpet cleaner recipe.

What are your best Spring Cleaning tips?

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photo credit: The Lonely Vacuum Of Space via photopin (license)
There are Affiliate links in this post that when used help to pay for this blog.

Cast Iron Care for Really Busy People

2015-04-07T22:04:00.000-04:00

The last thing I want to do after making a really awesome meal is clean the dishes, so when I moved to cast iron pans I had a really steep learning curve with how to care for them. It has been 4 months and 75% of the time I forget the pans in the sink overnight and wake up to a rusty mess. 15% of the time I clean them the wrong way, but hey 10% of the time I get it right! I have read several great posts about cast iron care but most gloss over how to un-fuckup your pans. And if your pans look like mine, you will need all the help you can get.

Problem - The pan was "left" soaking in water

Pretty much every single time I make a big meal I have an almost full dishwasher and too many dirty dishes to put into it, so I place those remaining in the sink and wait until the dishwasher is done to reload. Piling dishes into the sink can be a hard habit to break when you have cast iron pans. Your pans will rust when left in water for too long, so while it may seem like a good idea to soak them it is actually very counter productive.

What You Need
Scouring pad
Large grain salt
Water
Dish Towel
Coconut Oil

What To Do

Start by scouring the pan with a tiny bit of water. Using your muscles can go a long way.
But if you muscles don't work full then you should resort to salt. Yep salt. Pour a tablespoon full of large grain salt into the pan and keep scouring. Await the miracle to happen before your eyes.
Once you have removed all the rust, rinse and DO NOT LEAVE THE PAN IN THE SINK AGAIN.
Dry the pan immediately and rub the entire thing with a thin layer of coconut oil

The next time you use the pan if you find that it is sticking then you may need to re-season the pan.

Problem - Food is stuck on your pan (and won't come off with scrubbing)

If you have tried scrubbing food off of your pan and it won't come off, or if you want to try anything other than scrubbing the easiest way to clean it is to heat water in it. The stuck on food will just melt away within a few minutes.

What You Need
Water
Wooden Spoon
Stove (or fire if you are camping)
Scouring Pad or Dish Cloth
Dish Towel
Coconut Oil

What To Do

Place your pan on the stove - or just don't remove it from there in the first place.
Add enough water to cover the food.
Simmer on medium low for 5 minutes, stirring every few minutes with the wooden spoon.
Remove the pan from the stove and pour the water/food into the sink.
Give it a quick scrub and run water over the entire pan.
Dry the pan immediately and rub the entire thing with a thin layer of coconut oil.

Problem - Food isn't entirely coming off when you scrub

Sometimes no amount of elbow grease will remove stuck on food but maybe you don't have enough time to simmer water on the stove. A quick shortcut is to add salt to the pan and quickly scrub it with a scouring pad. Then as always, rinse, dry and apply a thin layer of coconut oil.

Do you have cast iron pans? What is your best trick for cleaning them?

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What Is In Your Vinegar

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2 Ingredient Carpet and Mattress Cleaner

2015-04-06T23:10:00.000-04:00

I have a love-hate relationship with carpet. I love that my feet don't get cold when I get out of bed in the morning. I love how I don't fall tumble weeds of cat fur in the corners. I hate that this means that the fur is sitting deep inside the carpet - taunting me when I vacuum. Years ago I had read that using a carpet cleaner in a powder form would reduce the friction and static of the particles stuck in your carpet, making it easier to suck up.

Traditional carpet cleaners come into two forms, either a foam or a powder. Foam carpet cleaners are sprayed onto carpets and then wiped away with a cloth or with a wet vac. They contain an extremely long list of hazardous ingredients including: ammonium hydroxide, polyacrylates, methylchloroisothiazolinone, propane, isobutane, and of course - fragrance. Powder carpet cleaners are sprinkled onto carpets and then sucked up with a vacuum cleaner. The list of hazardous ingredients is just as long as foam carpet cleaners and while they contain a lot of the same ingredients they also include: sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and filler. FILLER? This is just another way for ingredients to be hidden under a generic term, similar to fragrance.

Your risk of exposure is in the application of both products. With foam cleaners the concern is vapors becoming airborne, while with powder cleaners it is fine particles becoming airborne. Skin exposure can occur from tracking powder throughout the home and from residue leftover on the carpet after you are finished cleaning. Your vacuum will also become contaminated withe products and could be transferred to other areas, increasing your exposure each time you clean. In both product types, exposure can lead to respiratory issues, skin and eye irritation and triggering of allergies.

There are products on the market like Arm and Hammer with a smaller ingredient list and while it is a vast improvement they still contain fragrance, which is the black hole of hazardous ingredients. An easy way to reduce your exposure and create a healthy home is to make your own carpet cleaner.

DIY Carpet Cleaner

What You Need
1 cup baking soda
5 drops of our favourite essential oil (buy here)

What To Do

Place baking soda and essential oil into a glass jar with a lid. Mix well to combine the essential oil. Sprinkle onto your carpet, allow to sit for 5 minutes and then vacuum as your normally would. For a typical sized bedroom I have found that I use 1/3 cup of the mixture. Once a quarter follow the same process and then follow up by using a steam cleaner on the carpets.

Bonus is that you can use it as a mattress cleaner too! Cleaning your mattress gets rid of dead skin and any mites that might be living off of them. Sprinkle the top of your mattress with your homemade powder, let sit for 5 minutes and then vacuum it off. When picking your essential oil for a mattress cleaner think about scents that are calming and can aid in sleep. Make sure you steer clear of ones like peppermint that aid in waking you up. Don't forget to clean the sides and bottom of your mattress too.

Do you make your own carpet and mattress cleaner? What is your recipe?

Related Posts - Check them Out
4 Ingredient Non Toxic Deodorant
Eliminate Mold Naturally
Are You Using Your Steam Cleaner Properly?

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My Favourite FAQ's from Readers

2015-03-22T20:59:00.000-04:00

The whole reason I started this blog is because I was always being asked the same questions. Not only did I think it would be easier to point someone to a well thought out post but it also seemed that there was a gap in readily available information for the average consumer. Over the last 7 years I have been asked some really great questions and they consistently focus on reducing toxins, plastics, waste reduction and my favourite products. Here are my favourite most common questions from readers.

What Brands do you refuse to support?

My list is long. Really long. There are a variety of reasons why I won't support a particular brand. It can be that they use GMO's and have no plan to change this or they could have horrible labour practices or because they are just liar liars pants on fire. The top brands that I boycott are:

Nestle - for their horrendous formula marketing practices and violation of the WHO. As well as their unfair practices of essentially stealing water from those who need it to bottle it for nations like ours.

Monsanto - I'm not against technology and progress. What I am against is people fucking with my food and being bullies to those who are trying to make a living growing real food.

Unilever - I hate brands who use trickery and lie to make their products seem better than they are. Unilever has many brands that are filled with ingredients that are simply not good for you and yet some of these brands pretend to be "natural".

Walmart - It's ironic that a previous employer was a major contractor for Walmart. Which meant that we had a role in building an expanding these mega stores. Walmart has changed the way people shop, and in my opinion, not always in a positive manner. Smaller, family run businesses suffer because of the stronghold that Walmart has.

Kraft - I like companies who apply their values and principles across their entire company. Making products for Europe that are free from dyes but then keeping those same dyes in the products sold in North America is despicable.

What Brands do you love?

Honestly, figuring out who not to support is way easier than picking which brands to love. The companies on that list up there just make it so damn easy to not give them any of my money. I try to support as many small businesses as I can, those that aren't (yet) big brands. Etsy is a great place to find local businesses that you will love. My list of brands I support is really long because so many of these brands don't have a massive product line, instead they focus on a few key products. You can find that list here.

Do you ever regret buying an Electric Vehicle?

Not once have I ever regretted my decision. Yes there are some challenges of owning an electric vehicle, but mostly those just require a change in mindset. The biggest con is not the range of the vehicle, but rather the lack of viable rapid charging options. These vary based on location, but here in Ontario they are few and far between. That leaves me relying on Level 2 chargers which can take anywhere from 3-4 hours to fill up if I am running on empty. That just isn't feasible for a road trip. A rapid charger would give me the same result in 30-45 minutes. Luckily, I can get nearly everywhere I normally go without having to rely on charging while on the road. Mostly, I love that I don't have to rely on fossil fuels for transportation and that I have zero emissions while driving. I will continue to purchase electric vehicles and look forward to the improvements in technology that will reduce the challenges until they no longer exist.

Wait. You actually do an at home Waste Audit?

Ha! Yes I do. I actually do one every year to make sure I am on track to my goal of being completely trash free. Really, how are you supposed to know how to make improvements in any aspect of your life if you don't know where you are starting. It is all about creating that baseline, seeing where you should focus and coming up with a plan of attack. You could take this approach with any aspect of your green journey, I just choose to focus on waste because I feel like it is something that should easily be eliminated.

How do you do it? Where do you find the time?

I'm the first to admit that I am not perfect when it comes to my sustainable life. In the words of my son "Do Your Best and Forget the Rest". So that is what I do. I focus on what is important to me and try not to beat myself up for the times that I do or use something that isn't considered green. I have talked about being a Realistic Environmentalist before and its the best way to describe me. I spend my time researching the issues that are important to me and use that information to make informed decisions. In reality, outside of this blog, being sustainable does not take a lot of my time. Making my own cleaners takes less than a minute, mixing my homemade deodorant is less than 2 minutes. Deciding which brands I will support, well that takes a bit more time, but spending a few hours of upfront research goes a long way to making shopping trips easier. This research allows me to know which brands match my lifestyle and are worthy of my support, and which will never see a penny from me.

Why don't you do more product reviews?

It is important to me that this blog reflects my life and is true to my values. For that reason, you will find that every post here is written by me. I don't pay for content, allow ghost writers or accept posts from people. I don't write straight product reviews anymore because I personally skip over them if I see them on a blog. Normally they just contain a small amount of information on the product and always a glowing OMG SERIOUSLY GUYS review. Instead I will occasionally have a post sponsored by a company but rather than just talk about the product, I write about an issue and how I have found a way to solve that issue. This approach does mean that I make way less money than my peers, but I am okay with that because it is keeping this space the way that I like it.

If you have any questions just leave a comment and I can answer them too!

Related Posts - Check them Out
Reducing Your Plastic Footprint
Stop Feeling Guilty and Put Yourself First
Replacing GMO Foods

photo credit: Frequently Asked Questions - F.A.Q - FAQs on Keyboard via photopin (license)