An Eco-friendly Cleaning Kit by Shannon Lush

by: Rent to Own
article from : http://www.lifestyle.com.au/

Shannon Lush is an Australian publishing sensation and radio star. She is the author of best-selling books Spotless, Speed Cleaning and How to Be Comfy (over one million sold in Australia alone).

Below is the list on Shannon Lush's all-important eco-friendly Cleaning Kit. Learn the value of non-toxic must-haves like bicarb soda, white vinegar, unprocessed bran and tea tree oil.

1. Bicarb Soda – an alkaline and mild abrasive. Also a natural cleaning agent. When mixed with white vinegar cleans hard surfaces very efficiently.



2. White Vinegar – a mild acid. When mixed with bi-carb soda a chemical reaction occurs.



3. Methylated Spirits – an alcohol solvent, which removes pen marks



4. Lavender Oil – when mixed with water it becomes a mild cleaner and deoderiser – good for finger marks on walls and general light cleaning. Also an effective air freshener and personal insect repellent. Mix 1 teaspoon per litre of water



5. Lemon Oil – extracted from the peel of the lemon, very good at keeping spiders and other insects at bay and also for stain removal



6. Tea Tree Oil – an oil extracted from the tea tree bush. It’s used as an anti-bacterial. Also good at getting sticky marks/labels off jars etc.



7. Oil of Cloves - cold pressed oil from the dried flower bud of the clove tree. A useful mould inhibitor and insecticide. To lift mould from shoes add a quarter of a teaspoon of oil of cloves to 500ml bottle of Baby Oil. Daub onto leather with pantyhose and wipe mould away.



8. Unprocessed Wheat Bran – a light abrasive and absorbent, when mixed with white vinegar and placed in a pair of pantyhose makes an effective cleaner for soft toys, dusty lamps, sisal flooring and more



9. Tea – Contains tannic acid which cleans timber. Make up a teapot with 4 or 5 tea bags and pour into a bucket of boiling water. Mop the timber with pantyhose dipped in the tea.



10. Pantyhose – Mildly abrasive fibres become more abrasive as they get wet – this won’t damage surfaces but cuts through grease and grime. To make a pantyhose mitten just wrap the hose around your fingers and fold the open end over your finger tips to form a glove - this can then be washed and re-used. This is a very good dust lifter when used with lavender oil and water.

These items can be found in supermarkets and pharmacists. Naturopath stores like The Body shop carry the Tea tree oil and the other oils can be bought from local essential oil suppliers such as Hotels and Spa Essentials (http://www.hotelandspaessentials.com/; tel nos. 8382167 8382170).

VERTICAL VEGETABLE GARDEN

BY: http://www.renttoown.ph/
FROM: http://www.instructables.com/

Hoover: A lady from Somerset, England solved a problem by creating a vertical herb garden. Below is the step by step process that ANYONE can follow. This is a great idea especially for those living in condominiums and apartments with a little balcony space to spare.



''How to solve a problem like cats digging and toileting in the vegetable patch'', and growing vegetables in a very small garden. I needed a solution and the answer occurred to me after watching The Chelsea Flower Show on TV and seeing walls of flowers and herbs. The only thing I had on hand was a hanging pocket shoe storage and I decided to use it to grow my plants in.

STEP 1: Materials needed

- Hanging pocket shoe organiser
- Pole and attachments ( curtain pole or pipe fittings, screws).
- Strong metal saucepan or utensil hanging hooks
- Compost of a good quality moisture holding type.
- Selection of plants or seeds... e.g. mixed leaf salad, herbs,sorrel, peas, mini tomatoes.
- Piece of wood 2"x2" as long as the width of the pocket store to keep the base of pockets away from the wall.
- Trough planter to catch drips.

STEP 2: Attach pole to shed or wall



I attached a strong chrome pole with metal fittings to the shed or wall. You could use a curtain pole. Make sure it is at the correct height especially if you want to grow plants in a trough below ( see step 7). This uses the surplus water from the pockets above.

STEP 3: Attach hanging shoe organizer



Use strong hooks or wire to attach the shoe store. They must be strong enough to support the weight of the compost, plants and water.

STEP 4: Test drainage



Pour water into the pockets to check the drainage, if they don't drain then make a few small holes in each of the pockets.

STEP 5: Fill each pocket with compost




Add a good moisture retaining compost, fill to 1" below the rim so that water does not pour out over the rim.

STEP 6: Add plants or seeds



Sow seeds or add seedlings I suggest....

- herbs thyme, sorrel, chives, basil

- salad mixed leaf, mustard, cut and come again, or spinach

- cherry tomatoes

STEP 7: "Drip Aid"



Use a piece of wood attached to the bottom back of the shoe organizer to make sure the excess water drips into the trough below.

STEP 8: Maintenance

- Water slowly with a gentle flow

- Add water retaining crystals to the compost. HINT... add water to some crystals in a container and allow them to swell then add that to the compost and fill your containers, otherwise when the crystals swell they can grow so much that they push the compost, seeds and plants out!!

- Plants like tomatoes will need regular Tomato fertilizer (and use slow release granules) as the fertility of the compost will soon get exhausted.

- Do not over pick salad leaves, so the plant regrows.

- It is important to keep a look out for aphids, slugs, caterpillars and other pests.

- Remove diseased, infected or damaged leaves... compost them.

- Remove unproductive plants and compost them

- When reusing pockets add some fresh compost.

Now you have your own organized, vertical vegetable garden!

Furniture Transformer – Boxetti Collection

By: http://www.renttoown.ph
From: http://www.designswan.com

Hoover: More and more companies are coming out with new ideas on compact furniture systems which are expensive at the moment but might become more reasonably priced in the future. Obviously, small spaces benefit the most from these types of furniture. It is exciting to see new ideas on future living concepts!

Boxetti collection is one of the most fancy furniture designs I’ve ever seen. It is driven by three basic design principles – functionality, advanced technologies and contemporary aesthetics of minimalism. Each of Boxetti modules is designed to achieve maximum efficiency of particular demands for functionality and suitability. The capability of the modules to be transformed into compactly solid blocks is essential for the design concept in order to obtain an unobstructed and comfortable space – free of uselessness.




1. BOXETTI_PRIVATE – bedroom module
Boxetti Private contains the set of basic bedroom functions –a double bed, night stand and a wardrobe. The foldaway bed platform is automatically lifted by a remote control, together with a built-in night stand. The unit is equipped with a spotlight and an ambience lighting fixture above the headboard. The integrated wardrobe consists of six sections including shelves, drawers and a clothes rail.



2. BOXETTI_PRACTICE – workspace module
BOXETTI_PRACTICE has a manual foldaway desk top with a block of drawers, a bookshelves system and a upholstered chill-out niche for a more relaxed practice, equipped with a smaller adjustable desk top.



3. BOXETTI_LUNCH – a kitchen module
Boxetti Lunch is a multifunctional kitchen island unit containing all the necessary kitchen equipment. The unit has an automatic sliding surface uncovering a built-in sink with a tap.
The work surface contains a closed space for tableware together with a default set of kitchen knifes.
The part of the top surface is foldable to uncover the oak tree cutting board, the foldable cover has a built-in LED spotlight. The unit is equipped with two extensible bar seats, a space for built-in fridge, a standard set of shelves and drawers.



4. BOXETTI_THRILL – TV and sound system module
Boxetti Thrill is a set of TV and a built-in hi-fi audio system. The remote control automatically transforms the compacted unit into a stunning design object providing a high quality sound and vision performance. Boxetti Thrill contains a built-in sound system and an automatic HAFELE lift system for a flat TV screen up to 46”, High Standart 7.1ch RECEIVER and a Basic BluRay Player. The unit contains a closed section for a DVD collection.

Check out the Video from : http://www.youtube.com

Bridge Building Idea: Modular Mobile Green River Homes

by www.renttoown.ph
from: www.dornob.com



The closer you come to the center of a city the more difficult it is to find unused space available for new construction, except perhaps at the cost of all-too-valuable public parks and other civic places.Building above and below bridges is thus of increasing interest to engaged urban designers around the world.



Like products on shelves, this modular housing system is designed byh3ar to accommodate homes that are plugged into a grid, occupied for a period of time and then removed when necessary. Much like cargo container architecture and other standardized systems, this design is meant for an ever-more-mobile as well as increasingly crowded world.





The location on the water is also no accident: multistory structures become much more accessible by boat-borne cranes already passing along the river, or modified container ships. Aside from a core steel framework each building operates independently and can be pulled back out and shipped somewhere else as needed.

Hoover: Imagine this structure on the Pasig River... Perhaps in the future, this would be possible.