Spring Green Cleaning: Scrubbing the Fridge Condenser Coils

For this installment of our Spring Green Cleaning series, we're going to tackle a messy and oft-forgot job--those condenser coils on your refrigerator. Cleaning your refrigerator coils is actually important for keeping your fridge running at peak performance, and most experts recommend doing it annually.

I'm going to give you two different methods of cleaning the coils: the low tech way and the high tech way.

Low Tech Green Cleaning for Refrigerator Coils:  

1.     Unplug your refrigerator. 

2.     Locate the coils. They are usually in the back or at the front of the fridge.

3.     Remove the grille or any covering that stands between you and the coils. The owner's manual for your fridge should have directions if you're unsure how to do this.

4.     Use an eco-friendly dish brush with an extra long handle and simply give the coils a good scrub.The Full Circle Laid Back Dish Brush is perfect for this. Keep cleaning until you don't see any dust or debris on the fridge.  

5.     Clean up the floor where you worked with a green floor scrubber like the e-cloth Deep Clean Mop, 

       or use a Bambooee Sweeper Sheet with your static cling sweeper to clean.

     6.     Replace the grille as needed and plug the fridge back in.

High Tech Green Cleaning for Refrigerator Coils:

     1.     Follow steps 1 to 3 in the Low Tech section above.

     2.     Vacuum the coils with a hand-held vacuum like the Vapamore MR-50 or a canister vacuum with a hose attachment.

     3.     If dirt remains, you can use a microfiber cleaning cloth the the e-Cloth Stainless Steel Cloth to wipe it down. Just make sure the coils aren't hot to the touch before you start to wipe.

     4.     Clean the floor if necessary, replace the grille if needed and then plug the fridge back in.

That's all there is to it! You can have the project done in less than 30 minutes and not have to worry about it until next spring.

                                                                               Ahhh-thank you!!

Four Great Paperless Wedding Invitation Sites

This week, the Huffington Post did an interesting piece about paperless wedding invitations, explaining both the pros and the cons of skipping paper-based invites in favor of completely online electronic invitations. The pros of course include saving paper, reducing expenses and making RSVPs easier to track. The main cons were that some people may still not have access to electronic invitations and the lack of formality.

I was curious about what type of options were out there for sending paperless wedding invitations, and I ran across some sites with some pretty impressive services. If you're considering electronic wedding invitations or wedding invites, here are three sites you should check out:

Celebrations.com - Formerly known as PINGG, Celebrations.com has electronic invitations for every event that you can imagine. For weddings, they have over 100 designs, and each one was made by an artist or a design company. There is everything from very elegant to casual to photos where you can upload your own images. If you need some paper-based invitations you can have limited quantities of your evite printed. The site is free to use, but there are enhanced features that require paid memberships.

Paperless Post - Paperless Post has a huge selection of wedding invitations with designs from Kate Spade, Kelly Wearstler and Oscar de La Renta. The site has specialists on staff to help you retouch photos, create custom fonts, match colors, add monograms and more. Like Celebrations.com, you can use Paperless Post solely for online invitations or for a mix of evite and paper invitations. To use Paperless Post, you have to spend coins. When you first sign up, you receive a starter set of coins, and then you can purchase more as needed.

Paper Free RSVP  - A completely online system, Paper Free RSVP has fewer designs from which to choose, but they offer some unique features, including a customized invitation video that guests get a link to when they open your e-card. The cost is $99 to sign up, and you can invite an unlimited number of guests. Along with collecting RVSPs, the site also has table planning and catering management apps that you can use for easy planning. Custom invitations designs are also available with all of the other features for $400.

Do you have any experience with any of these evite services for weddings? Do you have a favorite we didn't cover? Tell us about your experiences in the comments section.

Where Toxins Could Be Lurking in Your Kitchen

You want your kitchen to be filled with warmth, the scents of delicious foods, the laughter of your family, but toxins? No thanks. Unfortunately, the average American's kitchen is home to many toxins, but you can eliminate many of them. Here are the six biggest sources of toxins in the kitchen.

1. Cookware - That Teflon coating that makes your pots easy to clean, also contains chemicals that can flake off in your food.

Solution: Invest in stainless steel, cast iron or ceramic cookware and an eco-friendly dish scrubber and dish sponge. It may require a little elbow grease to clean, but you won't be exposing yourself to toxins.

 TWIST DISH DUMPLING SCRUBBER                  TWIST NAKED SPONGE KIT

2. Plastic Dinnerware - Much of the plastic dinnerware on the market contains BPA, melamine, phthalates and other nasty chemicals that have been proven to be toxic.

Solution: Switch to certified nontoxic nontoxic plastic and stainless steel dinnerware for you and your kids. Products from thinkBaby, Green Sprouts, Green Toys and Preserve are all great solutions.

 THINKBABY BLUE FEEDING SET                  GREEN SPROUTS WARMING PLATE

3. Wooden Cookware - Many people automatically think that wooden spoons, cutting boards and other utensils and essentials are safer to use than plastic, but unfortunately, many of these products are glued together using toxic formaldehyde-based adhesives.

Solution: Replace your wood with Bambu bamboo cooking utensils that are made with nontoxic adhesives and are more sustainable than wood.

                                      BAMBU BAMBOO KITCHEN BASICS SET

4. Produce - Unless you only buy organic, the fruits and veggies that you use to cook with are major sources of toxins.

Solution: Clean your produce with Eat Cleaner wipes or sprays prior to enjoying them fresh or in recipes.

  EAT CLEANER PRODUCE WIPES           EAT CLEANER WIPES -  GRAB N' GO PACK

5. Clean Products - Chemical-based cleaning products can contain a host of toxic chemicals.

Solution: Use Microfiber green cleaning cloths that lift away bacteria and dirt with the help of just plain water.

                                 E-CLOTH GENERAL PURPOSE CLOTHS - 4 PACK

6. Food Storage - BPA and other nasty plastic additives are found in many of the Tupperware containers and similar storage solutions for food on the market.

Solution: Use tempered glass or nontoxic plastic products like Wean Green, Fit & Fresh and Green Sprouts.

    WEAN GREEN GARDEN PACK           GREEN SPROUTS FOOD STORAGE CUBES

                               FIT AND FRESH LUNCH SET - REMOVABLE ICE PACK

Spring Tablescape Ideas with Green Disposables

1. Daffodil Delight - Set fresh cut yellow daffodils in tall vases in the middle of the table. Choose crisp white table linens and set the table with Bamboo StudioMalibu Dinnerware. 

Finish with MyDrap Napkins in Lemon Yellow and you have one delightful table.

2. Birdie Beautiful - Place some wooden birdhouses in the middle of the table decorated with some spring greenery or left au natural. Use a shabby chic rose-printed table cloth along with our Bambu Veneerware dinnerware

and MyDrap Napkins in Sand or Ecru to complete the look.

 Sand  Ecru

3. Totally Tulip - When Easter flowers make their appearance on the market, buy some potted tulips. Cover the pots in upcycled spring colored wrapping paper or fabric scraps. Place on a gray tablecloth with Leafware dinnerware and MyDrap napkins in Fuchsia. 

4. Brilliant Buffet - Having a large party with a buffet setup? Cover the table with a white cloth and buy some turquoise chevron or polka dot fabric to use as a runner along the middle of the table. Hang Hip Hooray Spring Garlands on the front and put our Eco Products Divided Plates and other green disposables along with MyDrap napkins in Caribbean Blue.

Have any spring tablescape ideas of your own that feature green disposables? Share them in the "Comments" section!

EPA to Make Hazardous Waste Tracking Electronic

This week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency passed a new rule that will eliminate the use of paper for tracking hazardous waste in the United States. Instead, a system called e-Manifest will be used to track what types of hazardous waste are being transported through the country.

The e-Manifest is good news for the environment on a number of fronts. First of all, it will allow for a faster response in cases of spills and disasters, reducing the impact on ecosystems and communities. In addition, the elimination of paper will mean less paper waste produced by the government.

In addition to helping to better protect the planet, e-Manifest will also save between 300,000 to 700,000 of work time per year and save for more than $75 million. There is still work that needs to be done before the rule can be fully implemented and e-Manifest can be launched, so the EPA states that the system will not be up and running for at least another year.

10 Upcycled and Recycled St. Patrick's Day Crafts

St. Patrick's Day is just a couple of weeks away, and if you want to decorate the house or deck yourself or your kids out for the holiday, you have a great opportunity to upcycle and recycle some items. Here are 10 of our favorite eco friendly recycled or upcycled St. Patrick's Day craft ideas:                             

1. DIY Pots of Gold for St. Patrick’s Day - Laughing and Losing It has a fun tutorial on how to turn old paper towel rolls or toilet paper rolls into pots of gold for the kids. 

2. Lucky Leprechaun's "Pot of Gold" Kid's Craft - Neetu at Super Mommy will show you how to use a rinsed plastic takeout container to make an adorable pot of gold with your kids. 

3. Pinch Proof DIY St. Patrick's Day Headband - In this tutorial, The Brass Paperclip Project shows you how to use old belts that your kids have grown out of into rainbow headbands for St. Patty's Day or any other occasion.

4. Beer Bottle Candle Holders - Join Jessi at Practically Functional to learn how to transform green beer bottles into pretty votive holders. 

5. Recycled champagne cork St. Patrick’s Day earrings tutorial - Make It Easy Crafts has an adorable DIY shamrock earrings project made out of old corks. 

6. St. Patrick's Day Clothespin Wreath - Got some old clothespins lying around? Transform them into a festive wreath with the help of Patti Allen from Celebrations. 

7. Shamrock Mason Jar Luminaries - Take old mason jars and give them new life with this project from Pauline Molinari from Club Chica Circle, as featured on Mom 4 Real. 

8. Tutorial: St. Patrick's Day Rainbow Mini Book Cover  - Danielle Hunter from EcoScrapbook has found the perfect use for those plastic tubes that are left behind when your kids finish the bath crayons! 

9. Upcycled & Kid-Sized St. Patrick's Day Bangles - Also from EcoScrapbook is this great craft that uses the empty rolls from duct tape or masking tape to make St. Patty's Day bracelets for kids. 

10. Upcycled St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Craft - This unique project from Nicolette at Momnivore's Dilemma uses broken or scratched CDs and DVDs to create a lovely shamrock craft. 

Which one of these is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section.

Meet KMN Drawer Decor!

Tired of trying to root through the drawers to find all of the pieces of your silverware set? Not only are those messy drawers annoying, but they're also hard on your flatware. Tossing silverware haphazardly in drawers can lead to wear and tear on the metal and shorten the life of your silverware.

Knowing this, we were excited to have the opportunity to add KMN Home Drawer Decor Organizers to our inventory. These products fit into kitchen drawers and allow you to set up the divider system any way that you want to organize your silverware.

The mat and the dividers are made out of food-safe, nontoxic silicone and will simplify setting the table and cleaning up after meals. You can check them out in the KMN Home department!    

Spring Green Cleaning: Tackling Your Kitchen Cabinets

Since spring is traditionally the time for major cleaning, we will be providing some simple tutorials for various cleaning tasks around the house throughout the month. For our first project, we'll be cleaning your kitchen cabinets, so get ready to get organized!

 What You'll Need:

 Eco Friendly Sponge 

White Vinegar

Hot Water

Bucket

Eco Friendly Reusable Towel 

Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

Optional: Nontoxic dinnerware to replace items with BPA 

Dish Sponge for washing any dusty dishes 

1. Start by emptying everything out of your cabinets. This is the perfect time to check any plastic dinnerware that you might own to ensure that it's not one of the three varieties known to contain toxins: PVC, PS and polycarbonate. When you take out your plastics, check the bottoms for the 3, 6 or 7 symbols. If you see any of these, the items may contain BPA, so you should consider replacing them. We have many nontoxic dinnerware options in our collection if you need replacements.

2. If you have any dishes or glassware that you don't use frequently, soak them in the sink to remove any dust, and then give them a good cleaning with a dish sponge like the Casabella Smart Scrub Soap Dispensing Sponge Brush.

3. Mix equal parts hot water and vinegar and wipe down the insides of your cabinets using a natural sponge.

4. Dry the cabinets with an eco-friendly reusable towel like the Full Circle in the Buff Green Dish Towel.

5. Put your dinnerware back inside.

6. Close the cabinet doors and wipe down the exterior with a microfiber cloth. We like the e-Cloth Furniture Pack, which is made especially for wood. The cloths remove up to 99.9 percent of household bacteria and can be used with just plain water.

7. Let the cabinets dry and feel good knowing you accomplished your first spring cleaning task the eco friendly way!

Bambooee Wows the Sharks on "Shark Tank"

WARNING: This contains spoilers. If you didn't get to see Friday night's "Shark Tank" episode (http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/photos/season/5/episode-518/media/episode-518-1) yet, check it out here before you read on.

That said--congratulations to Bambooee! Owners Noam and Irene Krasiansky walked away from Episode 517 of the ABC TV show with a new business partner. Lori Greiner from QVC struck a deal with the couple, acquiring 10 percent of their business for $200,000.

During the episode, Noam enthusiastically demonstrated how Bambooee paper towels and Bambooee floor scrubber cloths worked. His sales pitch had Kevin O'Leary saying he was one of the best salesmen that the self-proclaimed "eco-preneur" had ever met.

What was great about the appearance was that not only did Noam and Irene get to promote their product, but they also had a chance to talk about their commitment to going green. The entire segment of the show helped to raise awareness about paper waste and is sure to have introduced many people to the idea of unpaper towels for the first time.

You can check out both of the Bambooee products featured on the show here at Paperless Kitchen.    

Shocking Review About Toxins and Our Children

A new review of previous studies into the effects of toxins was published this month in The Lancet***. The review examined evidence supporting the facts that six materials are likely toxic for young children, including:

- Fluoride

- Manganese

- Tetetrachloroethylene, a chemical solvent

- Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, which are flame retardants

- Chlorpyrifos, a pesticide

- Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, the pesticide commonly known as DDT

In addition, the review points to an additional 1,000 chemicals that children are exposed to on a regular basis both directly and indirectly that are potentially toxic. The scientists who wrote the review state that exposure to all of the chemicals discussed could lead to serious problems like low IQs, ADHD, autism and other neurological disorders.

The authors of the review are calling for a worldwide review on regulations regarding the use of chemicals. Let's hope someone listens. The idea that all of us are being exposed to so many toxins is downright terrifying.

***The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. The Lancet website is experiencing technical difficulties; therefore, you can read about article here at CNN.