Non-toxic silver cleaning

Hi All! Have you ever polished silver jewelry or any other sterling stuff you might have around and noticed how toxic and revolting the cleaning agent smells? It's also really NOT a friend of the Earth, your lungs, your home, and so forth. Nonetheless, I was desperate to clean the frame one of our wedding photos is in as well as some of my jewelry which was so tarnished I was worried it was pitting. So, your green tip of the day is: ECO-FRIENDLY SILVER POLISH. Yay!

For serious and large jobs, rub toothpaste over the tarnished (or all) areas. I used Tom's all-natural. Rub off with a soft towel (an old t-shirt works well). For smaller jobs, like earrings or bracelets, line a pan with foil, put all items to be polished on top of the foil and sprinkle generously with baking soda. I used Bob's Red Mill all-natural. Then, slowly pour very hot water on top until your pieces are submerged. When they look as clean as you want them to, remove carefully from the water and rinse well. My jewelry is gleaming, my frames are beautiful, this was easy, cheap, non-toxic and super fun for kids to watch.

Useful kitchen utensils, green tips of the day

Here are some of the items that have become indispensable to me: 2 T measuring cup- do you know that 1/8 c = 2T? do you know that I find it so much easier to get out my 2T measuring cup when a recipe calls for either 2T or 1/8 c? I got mine at Williams-Sonoma.

Fish spatula and fish tweezers- Tom swears by his Rosle fish tweezers for removing pesky fish bones; I love the fish spatula because it actually does what it says- flips your pan-sauteeing fish without breaking it up!

Splatter screen- this is a fabulous tool for keeping your cooktop relatively grease free when cooking anything in hot oil.

Microplane- I’m sure many of us have and use this item on a regular basis but it is beyond compare for zesting citrus, grating fresh nutmeg, and, of course, grating hard cheeses.

The onion goggles I mentioned in a previous post: http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-527622/Onion-Goggles

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Green Tips of the Day

Instead of throwing out the millions of rubber bands that come from the market, your mail, etc, why not make a rubber band ball with your kiddies or for a fun desk item? Ours is now huge, fun, colorful and out of the landfill!

Don’t throw away your wine- and beer-bottle corks. Cork comes from the cork tree which means those trees must be harvested. Cork is recyclable- look for a recycling bin at your local Whole Foods Market, or make a fun trivet or bulletin board using a make-your-own set from Wine Enthusiast or amazon. They’re durable and help you remember (or not) fun times associated with drinking special (or not) bottles.