Review: Arm & Hammer Essentials Mountain Rain Laundry Detergent

Once again, I have discovered the power of baking soda. This time it was by using Arm & Hammer’s Essentials Mountain Rain Laundry Detergent. For years I had been using Eco’s Laundry Detergent (reviewed here) and was thoroughly satisfied with its cleaning ability. However, despite the pleasant scents the product came in, my clothes never retained that scent for more than a day.

I decided to branch out and consider other products to use. I went to a natural market down the street and considered my options. I was tempted to buy something from Seventh Generation until I spotted this bottle (see photo) from Arm & Hammer.

I am always cautious when considering a product that is labeled “all natural” or “chemical free”, because those terms are not currently regulated by the government. I checked the ingredient label on the bottle. As it turns out, this detergent contains baking soda, coconut-based surfactants, a natural water softener, and water. Hmm, “natural water softener”. What could that be? Salt? That ingredient, whatever it might be, made me a little apprehensive to purchase the product. I then considered the scent, another quality I was looking for. The bottle I grabbed was the “mountain rain” bottle. I unscrewed the cap, took a sniff, and was sold. It is not overpowering, but still smells amazingly good. I decided to give this product a shot and purchased a bottle of it.

I’ve noticed that my clothes now smell like mountain rain after being washed. My whites have actually become whiter too and I attribute that to the baking soda. The $5 (or so) bottle will last over a month, too, so it’s not overpriced.

Overall, I am pretty thrilled about this product. Who knows, maybe in a few years I will find something else that I like better, but for now I love it and would love to find other products with the same scent.

Scrambled Tofu – Breakfast of Champions

Image via Wikipedia

I love to cook, but my love for cooking didn’t quite develop (or flourish) until I made the decision to become a vegetarian. However, ever since that day, I’ve had an interest in learning how to look with tofu. I’ve had it before, for breakfast, lunch, and even dinner, but I thought it would serve well as a breakfast item. Tofu is PACKED full of protein, contains little fat, cholesterol, carbs, or sugar, and is literally a product of a superfood – the soy bean.

My experience in cooking has been to just dive in. I usually read through a few recipes online or in a book and then develop something on my own. This time around, I purchased two packages of medium-firm tofu. I diced green bell pepper, yellow onion, and celery and cooked these in a bit of olive oil with some salt. I drained the tofu* and added it to the veggies once they were cooked. The final product was scrambled tofu and was enough for breakfast for 3-4 days.

The wonderful thing about making this is you don’t have to stick to the same recipe each time. You can add whatever vegetables you want or none at all

I normally eat breakfast around 6:30 or 7:00 am and I am normally ready for lunch by 11:00 am. I found that when I had this meal for breakfast I wasn’t hungry for lunch until noon.

*When draining the tofu, you want to make sure you get all of the water out. I set both chunks in between two dish towels and placed two cartons of milk on top to aid in squeezing out the water.

My best friend (who is an amazing professional cook) suggested not to keep the tofu for longer than 5 days in the fridge. I’ve found that 4 full days is the max time.

Overall – I love having this for breakfast. I’ve found that it is a great alternative to scrambled eggs, it’s quick and easy to make, and it tastes delicious. I probably won’t eat this every morning for the rest of my life (how boring would that be?), but I’d still recommend it to someone who has considered making it.

Follow-Up: Spider Repellent – Safe for You, Children, Pets.. Even the Spiders

I recently published a post (click here) about a safe spider repellent that was easy and cheap to make. For several weeks before using the spray, I had found several spiders crawling around my apartment. In the interest of finding a non-toxic way of warding them off, I searched the internet for a solution.

It has now been three weeks since I sprayed my apartment and I have seen three spiders. I am not sure if the first counts, because I noticed it that evening. The second spider was close to the baseboards, so I am not sure about what to make of that. The third spider, however, was dangling from a cabinet door in a place I didn’t spray.

The important thing (at least in my opinion) is that two of these spiders were about the size of a pencil eraser. The third was about the size of a penny. The spiders I found prior to spraying ranged in size from a quarter to a half dollar. So at least the ones I found after spraying were smaller.

I am not quite sure if this spray does work. I can’t rule it out as a possibility. I am tempted to experiment with it. Maybe set up two tanks/containers where one is clean and half of the other has been sprayed with the repellant. I could then drop a spider into each. One would serve as the control, the other the subject.  That seems like a lot of work and would introduce complications, such as having to choose two spiders of the same species. I am a geologist, not an arachnologist. The experiment would also require knowledge of whether certain spiders are more susceptible to the taste of lemon than others. Again, I am not an arachnologist.

My thoughts are that the repellent probably does work, but may need to be reapplied once a week or every two weeks. In the mean time, I will continue to use it and see if I find any more spiders. I might also look into finding an arachnologist at my school and seeing if they have any answers.

In the mean time, I will leave you with the recipe (modified from the source, see the original post for that) since I didn’t the first time around:

• 6 oz of water
• 1-1/2 teaspoon of liquid dish soap
• 10 drops of lemon oil

Review: Desert Essence Thoroughly Clean Face Wash

I have been using this face wash since last August/September and I like it a lot. The scent was a little hard to get over at first, as tea tree oil doesn’t exactly smell like roses. I decided to ignore the scent and give the product a shot anyhow.

After washing my face with this each morning, I found that it leaves my skin feeling smooth. It lathers and rinses easily and doesn’t require much product each time you use it. In fact, 8 oz has lasted almost 9-10 months. It does leave my skin feeling a little dry, but I counteract this with a face moisturizer, so that’s not a big deal.

I purchased this product for multiple reasons. First and foremost, it is 100% eco- and people-friendly. It doesn’t contain any synthetic ingredients and is not tested on animals. Second, it contains tea tree oil, which is known for its antiseptic properties. This can aid in the prevention of acne. Third, it is 8 oz and I paid about $7-$10 for the bottle. Like I said, it has lasted about 9-10 months. So that’s $0.7-$1.00 per month.

There are many other cleansers out there that have similar qualities, but this was one of the better priced ones. I purchased my bottle at Trader Joe’s, but you can probably find a bottle at any natural market.

Review: Trader Joe’s Oatmeal & Honey Soap

While there is no short supply of eco- and people-friendly soaps on the market, I felt it necessary to post about this particular brand. First and foremost, it ranks as one of the lesser expensive brands (~$1.50-$2.00/2 bars). In fact, I don’t ever recall finding anything that costs less. For some that isn’t such a large issue, but for a college student it is.

To begin with, this soap smells wonderful. It is not overpowering, but still strong enough to leave you and your bathroom smelling good. It is also very gentle on skin. I have pretty sensitive (and dry) skin and this soap doesn’t irritate my skin or leave it feeling dry. Each bar lasts about 2-3 weeks and lathers easily.

I should warn you, however, that you might unintentionally make friends with a bee or two when using this soap. I noticed soon after I started using it that bees seemed to like buzzing around me more than usual. Obviously it’s the honey that’s attracting them, but I wouldn’t be too worried about it.

Trader Joe’s also makes another soap with tea tree oil, but I have yet to try it out. Has anyone tried this soap before? If so, comment and let me know what you thought of it. I’ve considered trying it out, just never have.