essential oils Archives - Big Green Purse

AspenClean’s Natural Cleaning Products GIVEAWAY!!

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 03:18:49 +0000

You shouldn’t have to worry if the cleansers you use in your home could make you sick. But sadly, many of them contain chemicals that cause flu-like symptoms, headaches, nausea, and even make asthma and other respiratory illnesses worse.

KEEP READING – GIVEAWAY DETAILS BELOW!

Start by Following @AspenClean on Twitter

Not AspenClean. This company’s natural cleaning products get the job done by using only safe, EcoCert Certified ingredients that have not been tested on animals. They’re kid-safe and pet-friendly, too.

Here’s another benefit from AspenClean: They’re scented with infusions of organic essential oils. Many conventional cleaning products contain phthalates and synthetic fragrances whose chemical foundations have been linked to reproductive disorders and learning disabilities. At AspenClean, you’ll find cleansers that leave your home smelling like lavender, bergamot or grapefruit. Goodbye headaches, hello serenity!

Ready for one more benefit? They contain NO triclosan or other antibacterial agent. The products do a great job removing dirt and grime, and preventing bacteria & viruses from growing in the home. But they DON’T contribute to our growing resistance to antibiotics by putting antibacterial agents in their soaps, scrubs or sprays.

I love AspenClean’s backstory. The company was founded in 2004 in Vancouver, Canada to fulfill a mission to create healthier, greener alternatives to cleansers whose ingredients were linked to cancer, reproductive difficulties and asthma.

Since that time, they have developed natural-based products for both the kitchen and the whole house, including:

AspenClean Natural Cleaning Products

Kitchen Cleaner, formulated to tackle greasy dirt and work on multiple kitchen surfaces

Liquid Dish Soap, perfect for dishes and countertops

Superscrub Powder, a gentle but effective and non-toxic abrasive to clean up sinks, pots and pans, stoves and ovens, and up in the bathroom, toilet bowls and bath tubs

All-in-One Concentrate, infused with organic grapefruit and lavender essential oils; enough to make 40 bottles of all purpose cleaner, or use as is on all washable surfaces

Glass Cleaner, for tackling glass, windows and mirrors without leaving streaks

Bathroom Cleaner, a foaming compound that will help get rid of soap scum and hard water marks.

BONUS: AspenClean also sells microfiber cloths that make cleaning more effective and completely replace paper towels.

FREE NATURAL CLEANING PRODUCTS GIVEAWAY!

In honor of our Big Green Purse Simple Green Holiday Challenge, AspenClean is offering the Big Green Purse community a Whole House Cleaning Kit for one lucky winner! The kit contains:

√ All Purpose Cleaner, with an All Purpose Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

√ Bathroom Cleaner, with a Bathroom Microfiber Cloth

√ Glass Cleaner, with the Glass Microfiber Cloth

√ Kitchen Cleaner, with the Kitchen Microfiber Cloth.

If you were to buy this kit of natural cleaning products, it would cost you $75 (CAD), plus shipping. But if you WIN it, it’s yours for free.

Here’s How You Win Your Natural Cleaning Products Kit from AspenClean

The giveaway is free to enter. All you need to do is

Leave a comment below this post on why you think green cleaning is so important!
Follow @AspenClean on Twitter and send a tweet using @AspenClean and #greenclean

Want to boost your chances of winning? Drop on over to the Big Green Purse Facebook page and leave us a comment there, too. Authors of all comments left between now and close of business December 22 will be entered into the giveaway, with a winner chosen at random.

Get an Additional Discount

Though there’s only one giveaway, everyone can take advantage of a 10% discount off anything you order between now and January 1 from AspenClean. Just use this promo code:

GreenClean10

Orders over $100 qualify for free shipping, and if you’re shipping to the US, you will not pay tax. All prices on their website are in Canadian dollars, which means purchases will actually cost about 25% less (depending on the exchange rates).

Remember, enter twice, by leaving a comment below and on Facebook. After you do, please share this post on your social media. The more people know about natural cleaning products, the healthier we’ll all be!

Note: Sponsorships from great companies like AspenClean lets us introduce you to great products you might not know about but could be perfect for helping you lead the greener, healthier life you want. All editorial opinions, of course, remain our own and we never work with a company or sponsor that does not meet our strict standards. Thanks!

The post AspenClean’s Natural Cleaning Products GIVEAWAY!! appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Essential Oils: What They Can Do, & What They Can’t

admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 01:16:54 +0000

Essential oils can pep you up, make you happy, clear your head, and soothe dry skin. Some oils actually have germ-fighting capabilities. Others can help you ward off a cold. But there are so many essential oils, which ones help you with what ailment? And how should you use them so they work their magic without any ill effects?

Rocky Mountain Oils has pulled together this infographic to explain what essential oils are, what they can do, and how to use them. I hope you find it useful. I sure did!

NOTE: Although Rocky Mountain Oils hasn’t gone through the process needed to be able to label its bottles as certified organic, the company makes the following assertions: “Our oils have not been adulterated with fillers, synthetics or fragrance enhancers in any way. We have all the oils GC/MS tested to ensure that there are no added chemicals, pollutants, or pesticides in the oils that we offer. Check out this page on our S.A.A.F.E Promise. We offer the test results on the website for each oil by the batch code on the bottom of the bottle.”

* This post was sponsored by Rocky Mountain Oils. Sponsorships enable us to provide expert content at no cost to you. Our editorial opinions remain our own.

The post Essential Oils: What They Can Do, & What They Can’t appeared first on Big Green Purse.

How to Buy Non Toxic Mosquito Repellent or Make Your Own

admin — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 19:54:27 +0000

Mosquitoes are out in full force, but before you run for the big toxic guns, read this post. We’ve researched several options to help you buy non toxic mosquito repellent or make your own.

First Things First: Cover Up!

Before you worry about repellent, remember the first rule of mosquito protection: Cover Up.

Yes, I know it’s summertime, and that means shorts, tank tops, and flip flops. But if you’re going to be out at dawn or dusk, which is when skeeters are most active, or working in your yard just about any time, or walking in the woods, cover your skin so mosquitoes have fewer places to bite.

Wear lightweight long sleeves, long pants or at least capris, socks and tennis shoes or sandals that cover most of your foot, a hat, and maybe a bandana around your neck. It sounds like a lot, but you can get very airy fabric that won’t overheat but still protect your skin.

You can also try something like Columbia’s Insect Blocker Hybrid Mesh Jacket, pictured right:

If you’re sitting on a porch or on the grass at an outdoor concert, drape a light shawl over your legs and arms for the same kind of protection.

BONUS: If the mosquitoes are particularly fierce, you can spray your clothes, rather than your body.

PLUS: Don’t let the buggers breed. Here’s how to reduce mosquito breeding on your property.

How to Buy Non Toxic Mosquito Repellent:

Read the Label, Look for These Ingredients,
Try These Products

Read the Label

Before you buy any repellent, read the label to find out what’s in it that makes it so offensive to skeeters.

Remember: repellents repel, they don’t actually kill.

If the container says “kills on contact” or something similar, it is definitely too potent to put on your skin. Don’t spray “Off” or “Raid” to kill mosquitoes, especially in an enclosed area, where you could end up inhaling those potent chemicals.

Look for These Ingredients

Essential Oils – Lavender, Lemon Eucalyptus, Geranium, Peppermint, Castor, and Lemongrass are commonly used as the “active” ingredients in DEET-free, commercially available mosquito repellents.

They may be combined with purified water, coconut oil, glycerin, lecithin, and various kinds of salts to reduce the potency of the oils and so they can be easily sprayed on your skin.

Please NOTE: Essential oils are very concentrated. Even though they’re “natural,” some people are allergic to them.

No one should put an essential oil directly on her skin without diluting it first. You can dilute it in water, in fragrance-free lotion, in coconut oil, in shea butter, or in other natural carriers.

As with any product, find the one that works best for you. You may want to try a couple of different brands (see below) before you settle on the one that does the best job of keeping you pest-free.

Picaridin – Pronounced pih-CARE-a-den, this is a synthetic compound that was developed by the Bayer company from a plant extract related to table pepper. You may see it also sold as KBR 3023, Bayrepel, or icaridin.

Appalachian Mountain Club, which compared DEET to picaridin, reports “studies have shown picaridin to be as effective as DEET in repelling mosquitoes. Unlike DEET, however, picaridin is odorless, non-greasy, and does not dissolve plastics or other synthetics.”

If you cannot find a DEET-free spray that uses essential oils, look for one with picaridin as the active ingrdient.

What About DEET?

DEET is one of the most effective chemicals used to repel mosquitoes and ticks. It is not classified as a human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; EPA believes that when DEET is used in moderation, it is safe.

However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control note that DEET can cause severe psychological effects and serious skin reactions when applied too frequently and in high temperatures. There have also been cases of DEET being found in the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies, which means that it passed through the placenta after the mother applied insect repellent containing DEET to her arms and legs.

That is enough to motivate me to use non-DEET alternatives!

Try These Products

Here are some commercial products that I have tried that work well for me. You may be able to find them locally where you shop, but we also carry them in our Amazon store.

[show-logos orderby=’none’ category=’insect-repellent’ activeurl=’new’ style=’normal’ interface=’grid’ tooltip=’false’ description=’false’ limit=’0′ ]

Make Your Own Mosquito Repellent

You can also make your own mosquito repellent. Here’s how.

1) Pick up a bottle of an essential oil like eucalyptus, lavender, citronella, or geraniol, or try some combination.

2) Get a 4- or 6-ounce pump bottle, and rinse clean.

3) Add somewhere between 10 and 20 drops of oil to several ounces of water and shake well.

4) Spray on exposed skin, always avoiding your face.

5) Alternatively, mix a vegetable oil like coconut oil with essential oil, using no more than 2% essential oil; then rub on exposed skin.

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