Product Review: Demetria Organics

Demetria Organics sells great eco-friendly products that are good for us and the planet. You will find products for you, your pet, and your home.

I was about to try out their organically grown soap nuts. Soap nuts are not a nut at all, they are a berry. They grow on the Sapindus Mukorossi Tree and contain a great cleaning agent in their shells called saponin.

When you put soap nuts in your washer the water and agitation causes the saponin to be released. Saponin is naturally low sudsing which makes them great for high efficiency washing machines. Soap nuts can also be used as a natural all-purpose cleaner, window cleaner, and even shampoo!

I have used soap nuts a few times and they are easy to use and work very well. My clothes are just as clean using soap nuts as they are when I use other natural laundry soaps. I love the fact that when they soap nuts no longer are working I can just throw them in my compost.

If you still aren't sure about trying soap nuts Demetria Organics offers a sample size to let you try them out. Go check out soap nuts and all the other great products on Demetria Organics.

 Here ya go FTC: I was not paid for this review. I was given sample products or the review but these are my honest views. 

Goodbye Emily

I found out today that my families dog Emily passed away. I thought I would share her story.

We found Emily after we bought a new house on 40 acres out in the middle of no where. We were starting to go through the house just after signing on it, while the former owners took a few last boxes. We saw a dog and cat and thought the owners forgot them but they said they weren't theirs.

I'm sure I said "please daddy can we keep them" and I'm sure my dad said yes pretty quickly, he normally did. My mom named her after Emily Dickinson as she liked naming our pets after authors. She was very shy, she wouldn't come anywhere near us. She just would play with her kitten friend (Her name was Juliet and she died several years ago) and a little stuffed bear she had found.

She loved her kitty and would carry her in her mouth very gently (this scared some friends when they saw this) and slept with her and kept her safe. The kitten would come to us but Emily was just to scared. She had been abused and was very scared of all people but men scared her the most.

I sat in the front yard for hours at a time with treats talking softly to Emily asking her to please come to me and telling her I would never hurt her. I will never forget the day she finally let me pet her, she came to the front porch and laid on her back and let me pet her. I got my mom and brother to come look through the window, we were all so happy!

It still took a long time to get her to let others pet her and much longer to get her more used to new people. She was worth every moment of work as she turned out to be the sweetest dog. She was always wagging her tail and looked like she was smiling.

She quickly became close to my brother's Golden Retriever, Blake. She loved to swim with him and play with him. She was so funny, since she had cared for herself she liked to jump and pick fruit off the trees and she caught fish from the pond.

She did stop doing a lot of these things after Blake got lung cancer and died. She was very upset, she and my Golden Retriever, Shelley (Blake's sister) seemed to be depressed for awhile. They both got better overtime but Emily never swam again. It was like that was their thing and she just wouldn't do it with out him. Maybe he made her feel safe, I don't know.

She wasn't an easy dog to train and to be honest she never was that well trained haha. She was so scared you couldn't push on her butt to show her sit, or hold her paw to show her to shake. I used Shelley to show her these things. I would tell Shelley to sit and praise her like crazy and give her a treat. We did this over and over until I could tell Emily to sit and she did it because she wanted what Shelley was getting. We did this for a few other tricks as well.

She had a tough life at times but we tried to give her a wonderful home and loved her to death. This dog would lick you more than any dog I have ever seen. She loved everyone she met. I will miss her terribly but I'm so glad I knew her. She showed me just how much dogs need our love and how important it is to rescue dogs.

When you are thinking about getting a dog, please remember dogs like Emily need you so please adopt rescue dog.

Product Review: PeopleTowels

PeopleTowels are a great way to help you reduce your use of paper towels and napkins when away from home. They are small towels made from 100% organic and fair trade cotton and printed with eco-friendly dyes.

They have a small loop so you can clip them to a purse, backpack, belt or wherever you need one. I like to keep one in my purse. You can use them when out and you need to use the restroom or out to eat when the restaurant doesn't offer cloth napkins.





Check out PeopleTowels today and start saving trees! One of my favorite online stores for reusable items Reuseit.com sells PeopleTowels as well.


 Here ya go FTC: I was not paid for this review. I was given sample products or the review but these are my honest views. I'm also an ambassador for Reuseit.com but this is because I love the store, I'm not paid to post.

Keeping Mice Away

We found mouse poop in the garage, ew! I think mice are really cute but they chew your stuff and carry nasty illnesses. Can't they just stay away from my house? lol

Well once we found this we cleaned up all the poop and then I cleaned all the stuff in areas where the mouse had been with Seventh Generation bathroom cleaner since it is hydrogen peroxide based and then disinfected with Pure Green 24. I have to say I used recycled paper towels for this because I didn't think it would be worth a whole load of laundry when I already have two extra loads due to the darn mouse. I used washable gloves which I will wash and disinfect.

So how do you keep them away? Peppermint oil! Any guess what my garage will smell like tomorrow? haha

Just soak some cotton balls in peppermint oil and place them where you find mouse poop (clean that up please). Simple, non-toxic and smells good!

So do you have any other non-toxic ways to keep mice away?

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Product Review: Simply Chic Bags

Simply Chic Bags is a green store run by a mother and daughter team from Portland, OR. The idea came to them when they started seeing ugly reusable bags that were made in China showing up in their grocery stores.

They wanted bags with more style and that were made in the US. Soon after making bags for themselves they had so many compliments and orders they decided to share this idea with all of us.

They now not only sell a wide range of cute bags but also carry reusable produce bags, wine bags, and more.

I got the chance to try out two of their bags. They are well made, a good size, and of course they are cute. They come in many great colors and styles so everyone should love using them.

I find them to be perfect for gift wrapping. I have always liked reusable bags as gift wrapping because it doubles as a gift and it means less waste. These bags are so pretty they work even better for this!

So be sure to go check out Simply Chic Bags and maybe pick up some for shopping and to use for gifts!



 Here ya go FTC: I was not paid for this review. I was given sample products or the review but these are my honest views.

The Story of Cosmetics

The Story of Cosmetics is the latest film from Annie Leonard the woman behind The Story of Stuff. These films break down the whole system and help us to understand it all.






I don't know about you but I'm pissed off at the amount of work I have to do to keep myself and my family safe from cancer causing chemicals. We need to change the whole system and work together to demand safer cosmetics.


So what's in your bathroom? Are you already working to get the toxins out?

For me I use Dr. Bronner's hand soap, Anti-Body shampoo, EO bubble bath, Nurture My Body shaving cream (and a few other products as well), and Everyday Minerals make up. (There are others but those are the main items)

To find safer products check out the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.