Dear Eco Wing,

Now that the semester has come to a close and my life is squished into cardboard boxes, I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on the last set of adventures before embarking on a new one.

It's been a very, very full semester of planning, planting, and cooking...in the best way possible, of course. I sprayed aphids until they filled my dreams. I filled my fridge with sauerkraut. I ate probably way too many beets. And I'm so glad that I did.

A student's life isn't easy, and it's not always fun. But I can honestly say that my memories with the Eco Wing girls has been some of the best from this year. Knowing that somebody--multiple somebodies!--on campus cared about my passions, even if they seemed a little weird or gross to others, was such a comfort. Having adventures and making food was a fantastic way to relieve stress. Most importantly, I am so happy that I've had the chance to be part of this community in a new way and really connect to these girls--my classmates, my neighbors, my friends. I think that our scheming and creating this semester has prepared me not only for my work with Environmental Department  next year but also for becoming the kind of person that I want to be for the rest of my life.

I'd like to express my hope that we keep updating each other and making records here of our ideas, realizations, projects and experiments. I'd like to wish next year's Eco Wings the best of luck. I hope you are inventive and silly, and I hope you make messes. I hope you come to us when you need us, and I hope you do things we never even thought of.

Cheers to a great year, and cheers to whatever comes next!

And send many tomatoes.

xoxoxo
Yona

Cleaning!

After my roommate and I returned from study abroad, the subject came up of buying new cleaning products for the bathroom. I said no.

 I wanted to try cleaning the bathroom with all natural products. This is not only safer for me and my roommate, who do the cleaning and use the bathroom, but also reduces the amount of chemicals going down the drain and contaminating water. I’d heard about cleaning with vinegar and baking soda, so I set about teaching myself to do so.

There are so many how-to’s and videos about how to clean your bathroom with natural products that it was kind of overwhelming. I realized I had to develop my own system that works for me. I improvised and came up with this process. It works for me but may not work for you, so practice and tailor it to your own needs/ means.

 

The tools:

Sponge- I used a regular green and yellow one, the “natural” ones from specialty stores are quite expensive

Plain white vinegar- Vinegar is the agent that kills germs. It is not as strong as other synthetic cleaning products, but it is less toxic because it breaks down easily. Use diluted with water (1:1)

Baking soda- Acts as a deodorizer and abrasive

Towels

Old shirt (leaves less lint on the mirror)

Old toothbrush for scrubbing grout

The process:

For cleaning the sink, bathtub, and toilet I used pretty much the same process. I squirted the vinegar mixture on the surface, or poured it on the sponge, or dipped the sponge in a cup of it. I then used elbow grease to scrub the surface.
 

For tougher areas (TUB) I sprinkled baking soda on top and scrubbed.

elbow grease!!!

 

For scrubbing the tile/grout in the shower, I mixed the baking soda and vinegar so that they would foam/bubble.
 

 For the bowl of the toilet I poured vinegar around the top of the bowl, then shook some baking powder into the water. I used a toilet brush to mix it so it would foam and then waited a few minutes before scrubbing it like usual. For the mirror, since I don’t have a spray bottle, I poured vinegar on the shirt and used it to wipe the mirror and dried with a dry side of the shirt.

 

Sqeaky clean!

My thoughts:

-          Vinegar is made from corn, which is often farmed usnsustainably.

-          These products don’t smell or foam so it doesn’t feel like my old idea of “clean”. Just a cultural thing I need to let go of. (Well, the vinegar does smell, but it goes away very quickly).

-          Because they are not toxic chemicals, there’s no real need to rinse. I just wipe off with a towel and save water. :)

-          I think it is much cheaper to use, haven’t done the calculations though
 

-          Because it doesn’t smell and they aren’t chemicals and they are cheap, I tend not to be careful with the amount I use: I probably waste a lot of vinegar and baking soda.

-          I don’t need to use gloves or feel bad for inhaling fumes.

 

look at that cutie ;)

Now to figure out cleaning the tile floor….

 

Would you ever clean your bathroom with just baking soda and vinegar?