WD-40.....did you know?

'Water Displacement #40'

The product began from a search for a rust-preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a 'water displacement' compound. They were successful with the 40th formulation, thus WD-40. The Convair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts. Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you. When you read the 'shower door' part, try it. It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as on glass. Then try it on your stove top ... Viola! It's now shinier than it's ever been. You'll be amazed.

Here are some other uses:
1. Protects silver from tarnishing.
2. Removes road tar and grime from cars.
3. Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4. Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making them slippery.
5. Keeps flies off cows.
6. Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7. Removes lipstick stains.
8. Loosens stubborn zippers.
9. Untangles jewelry chains.
10. Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11. Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12. Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13. Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14. Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
15. Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16. Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17. Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes.
18. It removes black scuff marks from t he kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the finish and you won't have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19. Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!
20. Gives a children's playground gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21. Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.
22. Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
23. Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
24. Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25. Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.
26. Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
27. Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28. Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles
for easy handling.
29. Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
30. Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31. Removes splattered grease on stove.
32. Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33. Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34. Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35. Removes all traces of duct tape.
36. Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
37. Florida 's favorite use is: 'cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers.'
38. The favorite use in the state of New York, WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.
39. WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a little on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. Also, it's a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.
40. Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
41. WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
42. Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and rewash. Presto! The lipstick is gone!
43. If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.

P. S. The basic ingredient is FISH OIL

Putting those plastic coffee cans to good use.......

Need some some tips for putting empty plastic coffee containers to good use? Wash them thoroughly in soapy dishwater, rinse well, then air dry. Or you can do what I do and run them through the dishwasher before reusing. Here are some ways I reuse plastic coffee cans:

1. Make a mini-compost bin next to your kitchen sink. Once it is full just add it to your compost bin outside, or spread it over your garden. Rinse the can and reuse.

2. Use them as canisters for flour, sugar, rice, cereal and pasta in your cabinets. Just label each one and they can be stacked easily to save space.

3. Remove the lids and use them to organize your shoes. A pair will fit vertically in each container. For high-heels, hang the heels over the top edge.

4. Use plastic coffee can lids under potted plants.

5. Plastic coffee cans make wonderful paint cans. I store all of my leftover paints in them. Just paint a swab across the top of the lid so you'll know what color is in the can.

6. Use plastic coffee cans to transport and store toilet paper and other items you want to keep dry when camping.

7. Bird seed and pet foods can be stored in plastic coffee cans.

If you have other uses for empty plastic coffee cans I would love to hear them!

(Click on the coffee cup for ways to recycle coffee grounds.)

Happy Recycling in 2009!

Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Debbie

Patchouli Rose Home Decor and Fashion has arrived!

Good morning.....today I would like to share some exciting news with you. I have just launched a new website....Patchouli Rose....home decor and fashion. I have always loved this decorating style and after buying Robin Brown's new book, A Bit of Velvet & a Dash of Lace, about her business, Magnolia Pearl, I was on a mission to start my own bohemian style home decor and fashion site featuring repurposed and recycled items. So, welcome to Patchouli Rose! I will be adding more items regularly, and after the first of the year I will be adding my own line of handcrafted boho items. I hope you'll take a minute to look around Patchouli Rose, then come back here to leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Happy Holidays!
Debbie

A new environmental magazine......

My new blogging friend Maggie of Secret Women's Business posted about a new environmental magazine on her blog a few weeks ago. The magazine is "Positively Green" and is geared toward women. If you would like to know more just click here.

Protecting the Environment at the Holidays

I found some wonderful tips for recycling and reducing waste during the holidays on the Bath and North East Somerset Council website and wanted to share them here with my readers. Reduce, reuse, and ENJOY!

Tips for Recycling and Reducing at Christmas

Christmas can be a very wasteful time of year but with a bit of thought there's a lot you can do to help reduce the amount we throw away over this period. We have compiled a list of tips in conjunction with Recycle Now to give you ideas on how to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost more at Christmas.

Food and drink
Buy your fruit and veg naked (without packaging!) and then you can pick the best ones too!

When shopping for your Christmas feast, use a re-usable shopping bag or re-use old plastic bags.

Don’t forget to put the vegetable peelings from your Christmas dinner in your home compost bin.

If you’re having a party over Christmas time, opt for reusable plates, cutlery and glasses. Some supermarkets offer free loans of glasses to help keep costs down.

Gifts
Think about buying recycled gifts for your loved ones this year. There are some great ideas at www.recyclenow.com/shopping including recycled glass tableware and jewellery, recycled plastic Ipod cases, cosmetic bags made from juice cartons and a whole host of unusual gifts.

Buy an event or an experience as a unique waste-free gift.

Instead of using wrapping paper, try using reusable gift bags or boxes, a Christmas themed table cloth, tie a silk or velvet bow around the gift or use a Christmas stocking,

Use old comics, magazines, newspapers or pantomime programmes to wrap presents that can all be recycled after the festivities. Keep large sheets of wrapping paper to reuse next year.

Buy wrapping paper made from 100 per cent recycled materials and recycle it in your green box afterwards (providing it’s white backed paper)

Buy rechargeable batteries for all the children’s news toys and electrical gadgets - for every 500 charges you’ll save 499 batteries being thrown away!

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Cards
Try sending e-cards this year. E-cards mean no paper at all but the sentiments are still there.

Keep the Christmas cards you receive this year and re-use them next year as gift tags or to make in to cards again.

Eat your words! Why not make biscuits or buns with icing messages instead.

Save money and the environment – why not donate the money you normally spend on cards to a charity?

Or make sure you buy cards made from 100 per cent recycled materials.

Remember to recycle your Christmas cards in your green box once you’ve finished with them.

You can also help support the Woodland Trust Christmas Card Recycling Scheme who are aiming to plant 24,000 trees providing they can collect 100 million cards for recycling. To take part, please take you cards to any of the following stores before 31 January:

WH Smith, Tesco, TK Maxx, Marks & Spencer

General
Remember you can recycle 13 different items in your green recycling box and you can put your cardboard and brown paper out for free for the fortnightly cardboard and garden waste composting collections.

Start your own compost heap - it’s a great place to put all your vegetable peelings from Christmas dinner, plus all those extra newspapers and cardboard.

Recycle real Christmas trees. During January we will collect your real Christmas trees (without decorations) for free if you put them out as part of the cardboard and garden waste compost collections.

Take old toys, gifts and clothes to a charity shop where they can find a good home. These are also great places for picking up unusual gifts!

If you receive an ipod this Christmas, you may find yourself downloading and throwing out your old CDs. Make sure you recycle any unwanted ones and log onto www.recyclenow.com to find your nearest CD recycling company.

Make a new year’s resolution to recycle more stuff, more often!