Mary Jane's Farm Farmgirl Sisterhood

Mary Jane of Mary Jane's Farm is perhaps Queen Farmgirl.  She has started a Farmgirl Sisterhood that you can join (for $20) to connect farmgirls all over the world with each other.  I remember being a young girl and seeing ads for clubs like this one in the backs of magazines.  Boy was it fun to join!  This was before the internet and all you got for your membership was a card and maybe a newsletter.  But I felt like I belonged to a group people like myself.  Networking has come a long way with the invention of chat rooms, email, blogs, and websites. But my favorite part of The Farmgirl Sisterhood is the old school notion of  earning  merit badges just like in Girl Scouts!  You get your first badge with your membership and can earn badges for anything from knitting to kitchen know how.  I just joined and can't wait to start earning badges and connect with other farmgirls.  I invite you to join!  Visit Mary Jane online at www.maryjanesfarm.org and join the sisterhood at www.FarmgirlSisterhood.org .  Mary Jane also publishes farmgirl books and a monthly magazine that promotes the "Everyday Organic Lifestyle".

Green Housekeeping vol. 2: Free Recipes

Baking Soda and white vinegar have multiple uses around the house. Vinegar is a natural disinfecant and baking soda absorbs odors, so they make a great natural cleaning duo.  Here are just a few recipes:

Drain cleaner
1 cup baking soda plus vinegar (about a quart)
          Pour baking soda down drain.  Slowly pour vinegar down drain.  Allow to fizz and then continue to add more vinegar until you've used up the quart.  Let sit for about 15 minutes, then flush with hot water.  This is a good maintenance cleaner for drains and it will assist with clearing up soap residue that contributes to clogs.  However, it will not clear big clogs caused by hair.  The best way to tend to hair clogs is prevention!  Use a drain catch and empty it daily.  You can also use this recipe on kitchen sinks.

Soap Scum Scouring Cleanser
Spray bottle filled with white vinegar plus 1 small box of baking soda (this will last you quite a while...)
         Spray area to be cleaned heavily with vinegar (sink, tubs, tiles, showers).  Vinegar is a solvent, so allow it to do some of the work for you by letting it sit for a few minutes before scouring.  (But not so long that the vinegar dries up or you will have to spray it again!) Then sprinkle some baking soda on the area to be cleaned.  Using a wet scrubbie pad (you can buy "green" ones in the store now) or a loofah*, apply elbow grease to the area to scrub off the soap scum.  It will come off just as easily as if you had used a toxic cleaning agent. Rinse well to remove all the baking soda.  You may even want to wipe the area down with a little all purpose cleaner (see vol 1 recipe). 
*A loofah is the inside of a gourd that has been dried out.  Commonly used in the shower on skin as an exfoliating device, it can also be used as a household scrubbie.  To get more use out of your loofah, slice a piece off about an inch or 2 thick and save the rest for later.

Laundry Booster
Add 1/2 to 1 cup baking soda to the wash cycle with your soap.  Add 1 cup vinegar to your rinse cycle in place of fabric softener.  Note:  your laundry will come out smelling mildly of vinegar if used in the rinse cycle.  To combat this (if you are offended by the smell as I am) add about 10 drops of essential oil as well.  I like to keep a separate gallon of white vinegar aside just for laundry and I pour a few tablespoons of lavender essential oil directly into the container.  I just shake it up each time before I pour it.  This makes my laundry smell like lavender and vinegar, but the vinegar is less offensive!  It will fade nicely if you dry your clothes on a clothesline outside in the sun.

Litterbox Deodorizer
Clean out empty litterbox with vinegar.  After you add your litter, sprinkle some baking soda* in the box and mix.
* Save an empty plastic jar with a lid from your grocery shelf and poke some holes in the lid.  Add baking soda and 1/4 tsp essential oil.  Stir well to mix.  Sprinkle onto litter to freshen.