Non-toxic household cleaner from orange peel & vinegar :)

Months ago, I came across a tip on Pinterest on how to make an all-purpose household cleaner using orange peel and vinegar. It seemed like a great idea, so I decided to give it a try. My son loves oranges, so I have a steady supply of peels.

What you need to do is just put the orange peels in a bottle and soak them in vinegar for about a week. Most bloggers who live in cooler climates would recommend soaking them for 2 weeks. But, for hot and humid Malaysia, I find that a week is just fine. If you decide to soak them for longer though, that's fine too :)

Bottle bag clip

Hi earthlings! Greetings from London! Just wanted to let you all know that my bottle bag clip idea was published on 30 Days 30 Things a few days ago :) I have to admit that I did not come up with this brilliant idea myself, a friend had emailed it to me, but I thought I should take pictures of how it can be done and then re-share it with the world. Enjoy and be sure to upcycle those bottle caps! 

 

Happy Earth Day fellow earthlings!

Earth Day is almost over here in Malaysia, but to me, everyday is earth day.. so let's watch some cool and educational environmentally-friendly videos courtesy of Planet Green! Share them with your friends and family!

* Image via Planet Green.

We Love the Malaysian Tiger!

To show our love for Malaysian tigers and to support the Tiger Blogfest 2010, coordinated by Planet of the Monyets, Amir and I decided to paint an "I love tiger" poster for our home. First, I showed Amir some pictures of tigers on the Internet. He really liked the baby tigers, and so that's what he chose to paint.

Amir using a pencil and crayons to draw the outlines.

Mixing paints.

Look mum! I can paint with my eyes closed!

The finishing touch were the tiger's stripes!

Amir's completed baby tiger poster. Roar!!

I think it's really important for parents to teach their kids about tigers. I spoke to my 6-year old about how tigers are being hunted for their skins, and how how their homes in the forests are being destroyed. That's why there are so few of them left. I told him that if we don't protect the forests, tigers and other animals, we might lose them forever. The stories made Amir sad, but it also made him appreciate tigers more. Now for a very important message...

The tiger is our national animal. Our heritage. But today only less than 500 of them remain in the wild. As Malaysians, we need to stand up and protect our heritage. Speak to your children. Speak to your leaders. Everyone of us can make a difference.

For further information, please visit MYCAT, WWF Malaysia and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

My blog's green :)

I received an email from Christin Gericke of Make it Green today, saying, "Thank you so much for participating in our initiative and making your blog carbon neutral! Your tree will be planted this month by the Arbor Day Foundation. We thank you for the support!" She says there are still some trees looking for a sponsor, so if you have a blog or website, make yours carbon neutral too!

Make your blog carbon neutral!

I received an email today from Christin Gerick of "Make it green," Germany, who told me about the "Make your blog carbon neutral" initiative that aims to make 500 blogs carbon neutral in honour of Earth Day 2010. So far, 230 blogs have already signed up, and they're looking to recruit more.

According to the Mach Grun (Make it Green) website, a study conducted by Alexander Wissner-Gross, PhD, a physicist at Harvard University and environmental activist, has found that an average website causes about 0.02g (0,0008oz.) of carbon dioxide for each visit. Assuming an average blog gets 15,000 visits a month, it has yearly carbon dioxide emissions of 3,6kg (8lb.). This can mainly be tracked back to the immense energy usage from (mainframe) computers, servers, and their cooling systems.

Christin explains that the goal of "Make it Green" is to reduce our blog's carbon footprint, firstly by raising awareness of the severe environmental damage caused by carbon emissions, and also to neutralise these emissions via tree-planting initiatives in Plumas National Forest in Northern California, an area that has been devastated by wildfires.

To help the replanting effort, they need the support of bloggers from all over the world. For every participating blog, they plant a tree. One blog - one tree. This is made possible by Make it Green, a German-based company called kaufDA, in cooperation with the Arbor Day Foundation.

I am just so amazed they they can actually do this, and I'm extremely excited at the prospect of my blog's carbons being offset by a tree in California! Thanks for informing me Christin, and I'm very happy to lend my support. I hope you will too. All it takes is a few easy steps to "Make it Green":

1. Write a blog post about the initiative + insert your favourite button
2. E-mail the link to your post to CO2-neutral@kaufda.de
3. They plant a tree for your blog in Plumas!

To learn more about how you can participate, please visit Mach's Grun's "How you can join" page.

Images via Mach's Grun.

PS: The naysayers can go shove it, it's my blog and my carbon footprint, so I'll do whatever I want with it.

An hour of blissful darkness

  Amir basking in the glow of my jam jar lanterns.

It's now 10.54pm in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. My family and I have just celebrated Earth Hour 2010 :) At first, I was at a lost as to what to do in the next 60 minutes, but then I lit some candles in my jam jar lanterns and spent time with my son while my husband took a nap.

Amir and I exchanged stories and even staged a mini puppet show with his soft toys about why we had to turn the lights off. As he continued playing, I closed my eyes for a little, and took in the quiet all around us. I realised that I haven't just turned off the lights, but it seemed I had turned off my mind too. I needed it. 

My mum was very supportive of Earth Hour, and seemed genuinely appalled that some of our neighbours didn't join in. Alas, the hour of bliss came and went, and at 9.30, we turned a light back on. My husband continued sleeping and I made myself a quick vegetable stir-fry dinner. Amir loved Earth Hour. So did I.

How did you spend your Earth Hour?

Tiger Blogfest 2010

Hey peeps, let's gear up for the Tiger Blogfest 2010, shall we? The Planet of the Monyets are calling for blogger participation, and so far the response has been good, but it can be better with your help. Sign up for it now folks! Together, we can help save the Malaysian tiger from extinction!

Also, I wrote a little something on the Tiger Blogfest for Venusbuzz, in the hopes that more people will join. Check it out!


PS: I'm still thinking about what to write or do for the Tiger Blogfest thingy! Where on earth have I put all my ideas?!

Brighter Planet

Here's an idea for online activism. Today, I added Brighter Planet's 350 challenge badge to my right sidebar. As soon as I signed up, they sent me this message:

"Thanks for joining the 350 Challenge! By displaying our badge, your blog will help us offset 122,500 lbs of CO2 -- that's like turning off 38,000 light bulbs for a day! With your support, we're putting more clean energy on the national energy grid, and together, we can help fight global warming, one blog at a time. We'll check out your site today so that we can add you to the list."

Isn't it amazing that they can do that? To find out how they do it, check them out, and add their badge to your blog. Just click on the badge below to visit Brighter Planet's 350 Challenge site.

Australian Museum's climate change reminder postcard

It seems I WILL be going to Sydney next week after all. I'm leaving on Monday, and I'm so happy that I get to go! Incidentally, I received a postcard today, which I sent to myself while I was in Oz back in June. It was from an exhibition called "Climate Change: Our Future, Our Choice," that I saw at the Australian Museum.

It was a very, very cool exhibition. It talked about pollution, carbon emissions, energy efficiency, sustainable living, endangered wildlife etc. In the exhibition, they had a station where you could stop and write a pledge to do something about climate change. You then put the cards up onto a peg on the wall, and leave it there until they mail it back to you, to remind you of your pledge. It was such a cool idea that I couldn't resist making a pledge.

While I'm happy to report that I have stuck to my pledge, I forgot all about the postcard until it arrived on my desk this afternoon (see above). Here's the back:

Horrible handwriting, I know, I'm surprised that the postal workers managed to get my address right. I'm even more intrigued by the lack of a postal mark...

To see more pledges from the exhibition, go here. Vote Earth!

Magic lanterns for writing by moonlight

On a recent trip to Ikea, I found wonderful tealight-sized scented candles (Tindra). There was cinnamon, apple, vanilla... and maybe one or two more fragrances, but I got the vanilla. It smelt the best to me. I was about to purchase some tealight holders, when I decided to put them back. I thought I had a better, and most importantly, "free" solution for it.

See, I've been saving up my used jam and feta cheese jars and reserving them for a higher purpose. I knew they would make great tealight holders, and I was right! Check out the lovely way the glow above. These are my magic lanterns... each night, I light two vanilla-scented candles and set them on my desk. They gift me with a sense of calm and fill me with delight, as I write by moonlight...

Earth Hour 2009 @ home

The management of the apartment I live in decided to encourage the residents to join in Earth Hour. We were to convene in the playground area, the 'heart' of our apartment block, sit around in the dark and munch on snacks as a community.

The committee president asked me to give a 'talk' to the children in the neighbourhood, which was pretty exciting. I ended up speaking to them about the whats, whys and hows of the event.

One of the apartment blocks in darkness.

I talked to the kids about how we use energy to power our homes and schools. I told them how electricity is made, and what the burning of fossil fuels means to the environment and the people, animals and plants that live on earth. I think I did okay, and the kids were so cute. I think some of them actually listened. LOL.

Kids munching away on tid bits by candlelight.

Of course, I came prepared and was armed with 'bait'. I kept a steady flow of 'keropok' (prawn crackers) coming, so they sat there munching, as I yammered away. I think I managed to single-handedly spoil the dinners of children from at least five different families. A great achievement, wouldn't you say?

Then, one of my neighbours brought along a few of her international students from Help University. I ended up leading an impromptu discussion on Earth Hour with them also.

My son was the least interested in what I had to say. He kept at least a 5-metre distance from me at all times - a clear sign that he's had enough of mummy's 'lecturing' at home perhaps. Oh well.

He was upset when it was all over though. He thought the 'party' was a lot of fun, and he said he wanted to hear me talk some more. He was probably just tired and cranky. I took him home, gave him a bath and put him to bed.

All in all, a very productive Earth Hour for me :)