Grow Your Own Potatoes

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Rob

If you’re anything like me, you absolutely love potatoes. Maybe my love for this vegetable comes from my Irish heritage, or maybe it’s because no matter how they’re prepared, potatoes are just that good. Wouldn’t it be great if you could grow your very own potatoes at home? Well, thanks to some great tips from our friends at Housekeeping, you can now learn how to grow fresh potatoes at home, using a bucket. Here’s the article….

20 DIY Blogs Show You How to Plant Potatoes in a Bucket

Planting potatoes in a bucket may sound funny, but it’s actually an efficient way to utilize your space and save yourself some back-breaking labor during harvest season. You need ample space to grow potatoes in a garden, and the soil has to be turned and soft enough for the potatoes to grow and thrive. It also needs to be free from diseases and pests, and maintaining the garden can end up being a lot of work. If you don’t have the space or the time to get a potato garden up and running, you may want to consider growing them in a bucket instead. Take a look at these 20 blog entries to learn the ins and outs of successfully growing potatoes in a bucket.

Preparing the Buckets

Before you begin planting, you want to make sure the buckets are clean and that you have poked or drilled drainage holes in the bucket. Putting gravel in the bottom of the bucket will help with drainage, as well keep the holes from clogging up.  Figure out what kind of soil you want to use in the buckets and get ready to start planting! These five blog posts will give you all of the instructions you need for preparing the buckets.

Planting and Growing the Potatoes        

After you’ve planted the potatoes, you’ll need to continue adding soil as they grow so that the potatoes form under the dirt.  Make sure to keep the soil moist but not wet, because that will cause the potatoes to rot.  To learn more about caring for the potatoes, read these five blog articles.

Harvest Time

When you harvest potatoes in a garden, you usually use some sort of potato or pitch fork to bring the potatoes up to the surface.  There is no way to know where the potato tubers are going to be, so you most likely will stab some potatoes with the fork. Unfortunately, when that happens, you end up losing those potatoes.  When harvesting a bucket of potatoes, however, you just dump it out on a tarp and pick up the potatoes. No potatoes are damaged and there’s no back-breaking digging involved!  Check out these five blog articles that explain all of the harvesting details.

Tips & Tricks

To perfect growing potatoes in a bucket, you’ll need plenty of tips and tricks, such as making sure that the soil you use in your buckets contains manure. The nutrients in manure will help your potato plants grow and produce a larger crop than if you just used plain garden soil.  The five blog posts below will explain various tips and tricks for growing potatoes in a bucket.

Posted in Interests, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Paw-Mazing Chase

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Rob

BLOG-PAWMAZINGWhat exactly is The Paw-Mazing Chase? The Paw-Mazing Chase is modeled after the television show “The Amazing Race”. However, in this game each team consists of one person and one dog, or two people and at least one dog. Each team receives a sealed envelope containing a clue. Each deciphered clue will then tell each team which store at the Table Mesa Shopping Center to go to next. There are 20 stops. The first team to finish the race wins!

The Paw-Mazing Chase will start in the Table Mesa Shopping Center in South Boulder- event registration, beginning and end will be outside Boulder’s Natural Animal Hospital. This fun-filled event will take place on Sunday, June 2nd, 2013. The cost to register is $35 per team. The winning team will receive a prize gift basket valued at over $1,000 and a new Apple iPad Mini! All proceeds benefit Canine Partners of the Rockies.

Clean Conscience is excited to support our friends at Out U Go and Only Natural Pet, who are sponsors for this great event!

 

Out-U-Go!

 

Posted in Interests, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Tips For Cleaning Your Bathroom

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Rob

Hate cleaning your bathroom? Welcome to the club. Cleaning the bathroom is one of the worst household jobs. One of the reasons it’s such a pain, is how long it takes to get everything looking it’s best. Between mildew and soap scum, the bathroom gives you plenty to scrub and scour, which takes time and a lot of effort. Wouldn’t it be great if you had a few tips to help make cleaning the bathroom a little easier? Well, thanks to this article from Enviro Maids, you now have those tips.

 

Bathroom Cleaning Problems Solved

Cleaning the bathroom is one of the most dreaded household chores. What usually bothers people the most is how long it takes them to get their bathroom looking sparkling clean. Getting rid of mildew, soap scum and water spots usually requires a good amount of scrubbing, scouring and polishing. We have some tips to make the task a little less frustrating and to take some of the dread out of this chore. Best of all, you can get the job done using common household products.Bathroom Cleaning Problems Solved

Dingy shower curtain liner

Don’t toss your shower curtain liner just because it has some dirt and mildew buildup. Extend the life of your liner and save money in the process by tossing liners in the washing machine. For plastic liners set the machine on the gentle cycle with warm water and regular laundry detergent or 1⁄2 cup of vinegar.

Polish dull brass fixtures — quickly

To get your brass fixtures looking shiny and new, you don’t have to turn to expensive brass cleaner. Polish them the natural, inexpensive way with baking soda and lemon juice instead. Make a paste with equal amounts of baking soda and lemon juice. Dip an old toothbrush in the mix and lightly scrub the fixtures. Let the solution dry a few minutes and then buff the fixtures with a clean cloth.

Battle mineral deposits on faucets

Those white, crusty mineral deposits that sit on your faucet can make your entire bathroom look dirty. Banish these deposits with white vinegar. Before heading to bed one night, head to your kitchen for your white vinegar. Saturate two paper towels in the vinegar and wrap them around the faucet. Leave the vinegar-soaked paper towels around the faucet overnight. In the morning, remove the towels. Fill the sink with warm water, plus a squirt of dishwashing liquid. Dip an old toothbrush in the solution and scrub the faucet to remove the final bits of mineral deposit. Rinse and dry with a soft cloth.

Preventative tip: After getting ready in the morning, take a minute to wipe down the faucets with a terrycloth towel to help remove soap scum and prevent mineral deposits.

Filmy Shower Doors

Stubborn soap scum and water spots can leave a cloudy film on your glass shower door. Get your door sparkling again with the help of salt, baking soda and white vinegar. Spray vinegar on the door and let it sit for a few minutes. Next, create a paste with equal amounts of baking soda and salt. Use a damp sponge to rub this paste over the door; then rinse well with warm water. To prevent future filmy buildup, get in the habit of using a squeegee to wipe water off the shower door and walls when you’re finished showering.

Clear clogged shower heads

When your shower head suddenly develops low water pressure or the water stream spurts in all directions, mineral deposits clogging the holes are usually the culprit. Fill a clear plastic bag (gallon size) with white vinegar, about 1/2 full. Submerge the shower head into the vinegar and secure the top of the bag to the shower head with a rubber band. Soak for one hour or longer followed by gently scrubbing the holes with a toothbrush. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Posted in Cleaning Tasks, Cleaning Techniques, Cleaning Tools, Green Cleaning, Interests, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Give The Gift Of A Clean Home This Mother’s Day

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Rob

BLOG-MOTHERMother’s Day is this Sunday. This year, instead of giving your mother the typical gift of flowers or chocolate, why not give her a gift she can really benefit from. A house cleaning gift certificate from Clean Conscience is a great Mother’s Day gift idea!

While flowers are a nice gift, they’re often just put in a vase and somewhat forgotten about after a few days. Chocolates are also a popular gift idea (though not original), and are often times either eaten that day or forgotten about until they are thrown away.This Mother’s Day, give your mother a house cleaning gift certificate. It is an original, thoughtful gift which will actually help your mother out this year.

Most mother’s spend a good portion of their time cleaning up after their children, this Mother’s Day why not return the favor with a gift certificate from Clean Conscience. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

And a special Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, Sheila.

Posted in Clean Conscience News, Green Cleaning, Interests, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Moving? Call Clean Conscience For A Cleaning

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Rob

BLOG-MOVINGMoving can be a stressful experience. There always seems to be so much to do, and so little time to do it in. One contributing factor to the stress of moving is making sure the place you’re moving out of, or into, is clean. Luckily for you, Clean Conscience now offers a Move In/Out Cleaning Service, to help relieve you of some of the burdens of moving.

Clean Conscience will clean your apartment or house, with a customized cleaning to fit your budget and needs. They also offer a cleaning service for your new home before you move in.

To make your moving experience a little easier and less stressful, call Clean Conscience to schedule a cleaning service today.

Boulder Residents Call: (303) 647-5018

Denver Residents Call: (303) 495-5656

Posted in Clean Conscience News, Cleaning Tasks, Green Cleaning, Interests, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Keep Your Painted Walls Looking Good

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Rob

Painting a room can be a bit of a pain, and having a room painted by a professional can be expensive. The pain of painting yourself, or the cost of paying someone else to do it will keep coming back unless you take care of your painted walls. This article from Enviro Maids, tells you how to prolong the life of your paint.

Keep Painted Walls Looking New

Keep Painted Walls Looking NewYou might not think about washing your walls, but doing so really makes a difference in making your entire house look cleaner. It’s also a money-saver. You spent endless hours staring at paint swatches and paid good money to hire a professional painter, so why not extend the life of your paint? A good cleaning every once in a while can keep your walls looking clean and fresh and saves you some money. Follow our tips to keep your walls looking like they’ve just been painted — all it takes is periodic dusting, prompt spot and stain removal and a little bit of elbow grease.

Before cleaning your walls the first step is to assess what type of paint your walls are covered with. Semi-gloss and glossy enamel paints tend to stand up best to washing. Flat, satin, and eggshell latex paints, on the other hand, may fade or rub off with overly abrasive cleaning. It’s always best to test in an inconspicuous spot first.

Dust first

Before you do any washing, run the dust brush attachment of your vacuum over ceilings and walls. You’ll want to remove as much dust and cobwebs first. Often, this is enough to get your walls looking clean.

Prep Step

When vacuuming isn’t enough to get rid of tougher stains and smudge marks, a bit of old fashioned elbow grease is required. To avoid stripping or causing fade spots on the paint, always start with the gentlest materials possible — in this case, water and natural sponges. Avoid using colored sponges since the dye can be deposited onto lighter-colored walls. When water isn’t enough to remove stubborn stains, a mixture of warm water and mild detergent should get the job done.

Before starting, be sure to lay down old sheets or canvas drop cloths to catch soapy drips and to protect your floors. You’ll also need two buckets — one for cleaning and one for rinsing.

Get Cleaning

Begin at the bottom of the wall working your way up, alternating between the wet, soapy sponge and a wet, clean sponge to rinse; each sponge should have its own bucket. Rinsing with clean water is essential to prevent soapy residue from being left behind. Rinsing also ensures that any new dirt and grime won’t cling to the soapy residue left behind.

Rub in a gentle, circular motion and make sure to wring out the sponges well to avoid drips. Work in sections, and once you’ve completed a section, dry the area with a clean, soft cloth.

If you need to take a breather, never stop for a break in the middle of washing a wall. Stopping the job before you finish the entire wall can cause “wash marks”: a wave effect caused by stop-and-go wall washing. Always wash an entire wall in a single session.

Prevention tip: Always try to clean a spot or remove a stain promptly. The longer a stain stays stuck to the wall, the harder it’ll be to scrub off later. For spot-cleaning, try a paste of baking soda and water gently rubbed over the stain, then rinsed with clean water and dried with a soft cloth.
Posted in Cleaning Tasks, Cleaning Techniques, Interests, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Keep Weeds Out Of Your Garden

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Rob

Today is the first of May, which means if you have a garden weeds are going to begin to take over soon. To help you keep those pesty weeds out of your garden, our friends at Housekeeping, have 15 tips for you to help keep your garden weed free. Here is the article…

15 Ways to Keep Weeds from Growing in Your Garden

Cultivating and maintaining a garden, whether ornamental or edible, can be a relaxing and rewarding hobby. Watching plants that you’ve nurtured and carefully chosen begin to thrive in your garden is a joy, but there are some unwelcome guests that are eager to crash your garden party. Weeds are persistent and difficult to get rid of, and can spoil the look of an ornamental garden altogether. These 15 tips can help you keep the weeds at bay.

  1. Remove Weeds as They Appear – It’s tempting to put off the chore of weeding until the weekend, but a few days of growth can give those weeds quite a foothold. Remove them as they appear to maintain some semblance of control.
  2. Install Black Plastic Under Topsoil – A layer of black plastic under topsoil that you’ve brought in can prevent weeds in your lawn from growing into flower beds and vegetable gardens. Just be sure that you supply plenty of soil to support healthy root growth of the plants you want.
  3. Apply Mulch – Mulch is a gardener’s best friend. It helps to retain moisture, prevent soil erosion and block weed growth.
  4. Use Intensive Planting Methods – Choosing plants that are tolerant to crowding and planting them close together will make it difficult for weeds to thrive, as there won’t be enough space for their root systems.
  5. Apply Herbicides – If you’re not planning to eat anything from your garden, commercially-available chemical herbicides can kill weeds. There are some herbicides that can be used on vegetable gardens, but you should be sure to check the labels carefully.
  6. Use Weed-Free Soil – Bringing in bagged soil is a great alternative when the existing soil isn’t ideal for gardening, but you should always make sure that you’re choosing sterilized soil that’s clearly marked as “weed free.”
  7. Make Cover Crops Work for You – Cover crops like clover and vetch can act as a natural barrier against weeds, preventing their growth altogether.
  8. Install a Drip Irrigation System – While a sprinkler provides much-needed water to everything in your garden, including the weeds, a drip irrigation system will only water the plants that you want to grow. In dry climates, this can be quite effective at preventing weed growth.
  9. Use a Weed Prevention Product – There are chemical weed prevention products on the market that come in granule form that will stop weeds from germinating. They may not be ideal for all gardens, but they’re effective.
  10. Look for Double-Duty Products – Some fertilizers also contain chemicals that inhibit weed growth. Choosing products that do double duty will reduce the amount of work you have to do while supporting a healthy, weed-free garden.
  11. Prevent Seeding – A weed that seeds on the other side of your lawn can cause growth in the garden, as many seeds are carried on the wind and can move quite a distance. Be on the lookout for weeds in other parts of your property and remove them.
  12. Compost Carefully – When you compost for fertilizer, the temperature of your compost heap may not be high enough to kill any weed seeds in the mixture. Make sure that you’re not introducing weeds to the compost heap by tossing them in as you pull them out of the ground.
  13. Mind the Gaps – Just as a weed yards away from your garden can cause trouble, so can those pesky ones that grow in the gaps of walkways. Sprinkling a healthy dose of baking soda, salt or even borax can kill those weeds, preventing their proliferation throughout your garden.
  14. Know What You’re Dealing With – A weed is really just a plant that’s growing where you don’t want it to, which encompasses a wide range of plant life. Knowing the specific type of weeds that you’re battling can help you tailor your approach accordingly, so read up on your weeds.
  15. Watch for Hitchhikers – Potted plants from a garden center or nursery are much more convenient than those you start from seed, but weeds can take root in those pots, too. Be sure that anything you transplant is something you want, and avoid the introduction of undesirable shoots that might be lurking on the perimeter of the pot.

 

Posted in Interests, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Toughest Room To Clean

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Rob

When it comes to cleaning your home every room can be a bit of a pain, but which room is the biggest pain of all? After doing a little research online and asking friends and family, the room that seems to give people the most trouble when it comes to cleaning is………….the kitchen! BLOG-KITCHEN

Although the bathroom and bedroom were a fairly close second and third, the kitchen appears to be the overwhelming choice for toughest room to clean. So, why is the kitchen so tough to clean? The obvious reason of course is that’s where you cook (and sometimes eat) your food. That means that when it comes time to clean your kitchen you must, clean off your stove top, clean out your oven, clean off any counter tops you may prepare food on or eat on, and clean all dishes and your sink.

Another reason the kitchen tops the list of tough rooms is, cleaning in and around the refrigerator is one of the most daunting cleaning tasks in the entire home. Cleaning out the fridge is a pain because it’s time consuming removing all of the items and then having to replace them. Cleaning on top and behind the fridge is tough because it is physically demanding.

Then of course there is the floor. The kitchen floor is one of the toughest to clean. With the inevitable spills of food and drink on the floor, the kitchen floor doesn’t just get swept or vacuumed, the kitchen floor gets scrubbed. Getting on your hands and knees to scrub a floor is demanding work, not only on your knees, but on any muscles used to get those stains out.

Those are a few examples of why the kitchen is the toughest room in the home to clean.

Posted in Cleaning Tasks, Interests, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

How Dangerous Can Traditional Cleaners Be?

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Rob

BLOG-TOXICMany people are aware of the harm traditional cleaners can have on the environment, they may not be as aware of the negative effects they can have on people. A few years ago in Memphis, Tennessee, a woman accidentally blew up her car when she lit a cigarette. The reason for the explosion? Fumes from the cleaning products she had in the trunk of her car ignited when she lit her cigarette. The explosion blew out her car windows and caused first and second degree burns.

Now, I’m not saying that if you used traditional cleaners that you’re going to blow yourself up, but it is just another example of how dangerous the chemicals in cleaning products can be. Besides the rare, (yet real), possibility of chemical cleaners exploding, they also cause harm to people in other ways. Some chemicals in cleaning products have been linked to things such as asthma, skin irritations, and some long term effects like brain damage and even cancer.

Being aware and knowledgeable of the materials you bring into your home is the first step towards protecting yourself and your family from any potential harm that may come from the chemicals in cleaning products. Be sure to read the labels of any cleaning product you bring into your home. Look for words like, “Warning” or “Caution”, they actually tell you a lot about the product, just by which words they use on the label. Here is a list of words you may see on a label, and what they mean.

“Caution”- This means that the product is slightly toxic.

“Warning”- This usually means that the product may be flammable and fairly toxic.

“Danger”- This means that the product may harm your skin if touched or your throat and stomach if ingested. It also means the product may be very flammable.

“Poison”- This means that the product is highly toxic, meaning it won’t take much to cause serious damage or even death.

So, be sure to read the label of any product you bring into your home carefully before you use it. Of course, to avoid having to worry about some of these dangerous products being in your home, you can always make the transition form traditional cleaners to green cleaners. Green cleaners are the better choice for the safety of your family and the environment.

 

Posted in Green Cleaning, Interests, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

A Little Earth Day Quiz

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Rob

Yesterday was Earth Day, a day when everyone is supposed to try to do something which benefits the planet. Of course, people should try to do what’s best for the planet everyday, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. Here is an article and quiz from CNN, to test your knowledge of the Earth and pollution. Some of the answers may surprise you.

Hey Earthling, it’s Earth Day; time for a quiz

By Ben Brumfield, CNN

(CNN) — There’s a popular saying about our planet and humankind’s negative effects on its ecology:

“We treat this world of ours as though we have a spare in the trunk.”

Since the nearest planets that could possibly sustain life appear to be more than 1,200 light years away, it may be wise for Earthlings to do what we can to preserve the nice place we already have.

Since 1970, every April 22, Earth Day reminds us to do just that.

If you think we have more pressing matters to deal with than keeping Mother Earth in shape, consider the people of Afghanistan.

Earth Day: Beautiful places for wildlife Earth Day: Beautiful places for wildlife

Climate change impacts the world

In 2011, the Green Club of Afghanistan planted more than 28 million trees. That’s nearly one tree per person in one of the world’s most war-torn nations.

Or, turn your sights to the beaches of California where a group of volunteers collected more than 3 million pounds of trash that could be recycled, and that was just a day’s haul.

The best intentions and actions are driven by knowledge, so here’s a little quiz to help you bone up on ecology:

The Quiz

1. How many pounds of trash did the United States create, per person, every day in 2010?

A. 1.23 lbs.

B. 3.46 lbs.

C. 4.43 lbs.

Answer: C — Less than 5 pounds may not seem like much, but if you multiply it by 365 days, that’s 1,617 pounds of garbage per person over a year.

2. The seven worst metropolitan areas for ozone pollution are all in California. No. 8 is in another state. Which is it?

A. Phoenix

B. New York

C. Houston

Answer: C — Houston, but some metro areas that may surprise you are not far behind, like Charlotte, North Carolina.

3. What percentage of hybrid car owners replace it with another hybrid when it’s time to get a new car?

A. 79%

B. 45.2%

C. 35%

Answer: C — Only 35% of people who buy a hybrid once buy one again. With all the praise they receive, isn’t it surprising so few drivers buy a second one?

4. About 70% of the Earth is covered with water. Only a relatively small amount of it is potentially potable fresh water. How much?

A. 1%

B. 2.5%

C. 7.3%

Answer: B — Only 2.5% of water on Earth is fresh water. And 70% of that is locked up in polar ice.

5. Though fresh water would seem somewhat precious, Americans use a lot of it every day. On average, what is the approximate daily water use of each household?

A. 25 gallons

B. 50 gallons

C. 300 gallons

Answer: C — 300 gallons. That’s what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. Meanwhile, more than 750 million people (more than 10% of the world’s population) still don’t have adequate access to drinking water, according to the United Nations.

6. A lot of the water Americans consume lands on their lawns. What percentage, on average, is used for outdoor purposes?

A. About 10%

B. About 30%

C. About 60%

Answer: B — About 30% of U.S. residential and commercial water goes for outdoor use. And up to 50% of that evaporates if you water in the heat of the day, the EPA estimates.

7. Which of the following takes the longest time to break down?

A. Plastic six-pack holder

B. Hard plastic container

C. Disposable diaper

Answer: A — A plastic six-pack holder takes 450 years to disintegrate. Consider the impact of plastic water bottles, which take as long to biodegrade. The International Bottled Water Association says that in the top 10 global markets alone, people consumed more than 61 billion gallons of bottled water in 2011.

8. Which of the following accounts for the greatest percentage of total waste in the United States?

A. Paper

C. Plastics

D. Glass

Answer: A — Paper is by far the No. 1 item Americans dispose of. But it is also the most recycled material.

9. How much solid waste does the United States produce in one year?

A. 50 million tons

B. 150 million tons

C. 250 million tons

Answer: C — 250 million tons, says the EPA. That’s more than 1,000 times greater than one of the largest cruise ships in the world.

10. Which of the following countries had higher emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, per capita, in 2008 than the other two?

A. United States

B. Russia

C. Australia

C — Australia emitted 26.08 tons of carbon dioxide per person in 2008. For comparison’s sake, a full tanker truck can weigh between 12 and 25 tons. U.S. and Russian per-person emissions that year were 22 and 15 tons, respectively.

Posted in Green News, Interests, Sustainability, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment