Aid and Relief Awareness for the World

Ok, it’s not easy for all of use to ride a boat and speed on obstructing illegal fishing whalers in the North Pacific or rusty oil tankers in the Atlantic, but there are some things we can do inside the comfort of our own home.The first and very logical thing to do is stop wasting natural resources. Take care of that leak in the bathtub, buy a new TV or PC monitor that consumes much less electricity, recycle the old one (instead of just getting rid of it), install fluorescent lights and a solar water-heater, all those little things that may seem trivial and too little, but make a real difference when you multiply it by 1.000.000 people. You can even place your old bathtub on your rooftop and use rainwater for your garden, it will save hundreds of liters of water in just one year.

But there are some other things that you probably haven’t thought about, like saving some very nasty chemicals and toxic materials that you’re responsible of releasing in some ocean on a daily basis.

Here are some very easy alternative solutions for “greener” housekeeping. Please be advised that, although most chemicals are harmless and can be found in any kitchen, these recipes are NOT intended to be applied or used by children, so keep them safe.

Alternative Pesticides

• Soap: Use 50 gr of crumbed soap in 1 lt of warm water. Spray with the solution.
• Water and tobacco: Use 1 hand full of tobacco in 4 lt of water, leave for 24 hours. Spray with the solution. Caution: this solution is poisonous, keep away from children.
• Hot chili peppers: Boil 2-3 hot chili peppers together with 1/2 onion and 1 clove of garlic. Leave for 2 days and then strain. Spray with the solution. Keep in refrigerator.
• Nettle: Super protective and restorative solution for plants. Just boil in water and spray with it.
• For mosquitoes and flies: Use a small flower-pot of regal or carnation.
• For ants: Use lavender oil on a spot and you will never see them again.
• For cockroaches: Use some cucumber peels, this is the solution of the best chefs.

General Cleaning Solution 1 (GCS1)

Take 4 lt of water and dissolve 50 ml of ammonia, 50 ml of vinegar and 115 ml baking soda (about 23 teaspoons). Add the juice of 1-2 lemons for fine scent. This solution is safe to use and it can be easily washed off with plain water. For stronger cleaning effects, double the amount of ingredients. Caution: DO NOT use chlorine products with this solution, mixing chloride and ammonia will produce toxic gases.

Easy cleaning for some not-so-easy stains

• Mud: Make a solution of 30 ml of baking soda in 250 ml warm water (about 1 full glass) and rub the stain with it.
• Fruits-Wine: Pour a lot of salt or very hot water on the stain immediately and then soak in milk.
• Oil-Fat-Grease: Pour boiling water on the stain and then some baking soda or ammonia and water.
• Chewing-gum: Rub with ice or leave in deep freeze for some hours, the gum will be easy to break and scrub off.
• Ink: Soak in milk or clean with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and water.
• Blood: Soak in very cold water, the colder the better. You can also use some mild acid like lemon juice to dissolve the red stain (iron becomes brown rust)
• Coffee: Use the albumen of 1 egg in mildly warm water and rub the stain with it.
• Rust: Use salt and lemon juice, leave out in the sunshine to dry off.
• Mould: Cover the stains with thick soap solution, then salt, and leave in the sunshine but keep the spots wet. Repetition may be required.
• For carpets: Use vinegar with water and soap, for red wine stains use white wine and warm soap water.
• For ovens: Use a strong GCS1 solution (described above) and add more baking soda. You can also take a shallow pan (NOT aluminum) and use 50 ml of ammonia and water, warm up the oven for 20 minutes and put the pan in. This will make the burned fat more crusty and easy to wash off.
• For dishes: Use soap water with added vinegar, good for fatty remnants.
• For windows and mirrors: Wash with soap water and a 4:1 solution of water and vinegar. You can also use a spray solution of 120 ml ammonia, 25 ml vinegar and 1 lt of warm water. Use a newspaper for the final wiping for clear results.
• For drains: Use 50 ml of baking soda first, then 125 ml of vinegar, finally a lot of very hot water.
• For stained copper: Use salt with lemon juice or vinegar.
• For stained chrome: Ammonia with warm water.
• For stained bronze: Use a 1:1 mix of salt and flour with some vinegar.
• For stained silver: Boil 1 lt of water, add 15 ml salt and 15 ml baking soda, leave out to cool off for 3 minutes and use it with a soft cloth.

“When the last tree is burnt, the last river is polluted, the last fish is killed, only then the human will realize that he can’t feed on money.”

Source: “Guide for the Green Consumer” by Greenpeace, 1994.