Creation Care Resources

For my full-time day job I am the Communications Director

for my church. Last year we offered a great sermon series

titled "Creation Care." It looked at our role as God's children

to take care of this earthly home on which we've been placed.

It was really well received. So much so that several local

churches have asked to use our resources from the series

to share with their congregations. We've posted these

resources on our website, including copies of the weekly

sermons, Creation Care tips for various areas of life,

a downloadable Caring Consumer Card, as well as

other worship resources. Stop by and browse for yourself!

Today, in honor of Earth Day, I thought I would

share the tips for Creation Care At the Home:

1. Do not use the drying cycle of your dishwasher; opt to hand-dry dishes with reusable dish towel or let air dry.
2. Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out. CFLs save 75% in energy use and last up to 10 times longer. As a bonus, you'll save money on your electric bills!
3. Planning to paint any walls? Be sure to use low VOC paints. These nontoxic paints are healthier for you and your family, and they are bright, beautiful and durable as well.
4. Use creation-friendly cleaning products, such as Method brand products (found at Target). When your shopping for environmentally friendly cleaning products, look for a green label and choose natural products that list all their ingredients. Green cleaning products should not contain ingredients such as chlorine, glycol ethers, dyes, petroleum-based solvents or nonylphenol surfactants. They should be bio-degradable and nontoxic. Truly green cleaners are not tested on animals, either.

The best thing about these tips is they can be done every day,

not just Earth Day. But today is a great day to start!

Go ahead, show our planet some love.

What are you doing to care for Creation?

(Source: Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4)

Cleaning Kitchen Sponges Tip (and more from Real Simple)

Well, with Holy Week and Easter this week, this will be

our last installment of "Let's Get Spring Clean" month.

I didn't get all my ideas posted, but hope that some of

the ideas and tips were helpful. I've still got a long way

to go to finish Spring cleaning in my house, but that's life, right?

Thank goodness for even small marks off my to-do list!

A friend of mine just emailed me a great tip -

perfect to wrap up our month long focus because

it's easy, practical and actually DOABLE!

To clean your kitchen sponges and kill 100% of

bacteria like e-coli, simply dampen your sponge

and place in the microwave for 4 minutes.

The steam not only cleans your sponge but also

loosens any stuck-on food and gunk inside your

microwave, making it easy to wipe away - no scrubbing!

Real Simple gives a variation of this tip here

(plus other uses for your microwave).

I also love their Daily Cleaning Checklist.

They also have a great article on

"New Uses for Old Things" in the kitchen here.

And "New Uses for Old Things" around the house here.

Some of my favorites include:

Make no-mess pancakes with the help of a ketchup bottle:

Pour in batter, then squeeze out precise portions.

No more worries of camisoles and sundresses slipping

off hangers when you wrap the ends with rubber bands.

Forget unruly plastic bags that seemingly regenerate

under your sink. An empty tissue box keeps them

neatly corralled and ready for use.

Use fork tines to poke holes in the foil seals of oil and syrup

bottles to better control the way (and amount) they pour.

New Game Plan

In my effort to live more intentionally, I've committed to a house cleaning game plan. Better to do a little at a time instead of getting overwhelmed with the mess, right?!

So, last night's assignment: Kitchen/Dining Room

In one short hour, I was able to scrub the sink, wipe down countertops and backsplash, scrub the stovetop, clean the microwave (desperately needed!), reorganize the snacks into the pantry, sweep and mop the floor, de-clutter the breakfast bar area where we dump everything, and pack lunches for today.

And let me tell you, waking up to such a pretty kitchen this morning sure was relaxin

Today's assignment: Living Room/Office/Foyer.

What makes you feel more in control on a daily basis?

Crafters First Aid: Super Glue!

I heard the neatest tip this morning from

a gal I work with who used to be a nurse for

years and years. She was in hunt of

Super Glue to fix a paper cut.  

"WHAT?!" I said.  "Isn't that stuff toxic?"

She explained that the super sticky stuff

was originally used as a sealant during veterinary

surgeries and later discovered to work on any

wet-tissue situation...including bones and, 

in her words, "holding brains together."  Ha! 

I know.  Wow, right?

I don't know about all of that, but I found

this quote on MotherNature.com:

"It's really the best thing there is,"

says Rodney Basler, M.D., a dermatologist and

assistant professor of internal medicine at the

University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

"It eliminates pain in about three seconds,

because it immediately stops the air

from hitting nerve endings--and air touching

the nerves is what causes the pain.

Just place a drop on the cut

and repeat it the following day."

What a great tip to have in your arsenal

the next time your craft knife slips or

those pesky scrapbook papers get unruly.