Malcolm's Tips

Malcolm's Current Tip

September / October '08

During an initial consultation, a potential client asked me, “How do I know if items stored with mothballs in sealed bags have aired out enough to be safely placed in drawers in my home?”

After gently advising her that mothballs are extremely toxic and that it’s preferable to use a non-toxic alternative such as cedar sachets or blocks, I then told her that it’s safe only if you can no longer smell the odor of mothballs when your nose is pressed to the surface of the object in question. Anytime you can smell an odor, it's an indication that molecules of the substance emitting the odor are present. The same holds true for food and beverages. If our bottled water or packaged food tastes like plastic, then we can assume that there are molecules of plastic present in the water or food.

Learn to be aware of these simple warning signs. Trust your nose and your tastebuds and pay heed to them.

Malcolm's Past Tips

August '08

Although the round metal ring on your set of measuring spoons is perfect for keeping the spoons together when you’re working with them, it can be a nuisance when you want to separate the spoons to ensure a more thorough cleaning in your dishwasher.

Here’s a really simple way of separating the spoons to keep them from “nesting” in the dishwasher:

Place a fork, handle down, in any section of your flatware basket. The fork has three spaces in between the four tines. Slide the flat handles of each of the three smallest measuring spoons between the tines of the fork, allowing the “spoon” ends to rest closest to the tines. Let the fourth measuring spoon dangle loosely from the ring, as ballast. Voila! The spoons will now remain separated for the entire wash cycle.

July '08

Here's a handy tip for saving space in your kitchen trash can and/or recycling bin:

Orange juice, milk, and soy milk cartons

The goal here is to neatly collapse the carton so that it ends up in the same configuration as a paper grocery bag when folded flat.

Hold the carton upright in front of you with your hands on either side and with the pour spout to the right. If the carton has a pour spout with a screw-on or flip-to-close cap, the spout should be facing you.

With the index fingers of both hands pressing in on the left and right sides of the carton, push hard in the center of both sides along a vertical line from top to bottom, forming a v-shaped indented crease in the middle. If you don’t have enough strength in your fingertips, use the knuckle of your index finger instead.

As you form the vertical crease on either side with your index fingers, collapse the carton by squeezing the front and back panels together until they touch. Now the top and bottom can be folded towards you and, using the kitchen counter top for support, pressed down until they are flat also, just like the bottom of a grocery bag in its folded state.

With soy milk and juice cartons that have pour-spouts with screw-on plastic or flip-to-close caps, follow the instructions above to collapse the carton and, while holding it as flat as possible, tighten the screw cap or close the flip cap. The carton should stay flat by itself now!

Plastic soda bottles

You can use a variation of the same technique with most plastic soda bottles, Just pinch the sides of the bottle together from top to bottom as much as possible, then screw on the cap, and the bottle will hold its collapsed shape indefinitely.

Plastic water and milk containers

For half-gallon and gallon soft plastic water and milk containers, just place the empty container on the floor on its side and stand on it until it’s flat. To prevent the bottle from expanding again, just reach down and screw on the cap while you’re still standing on the bottle.

If all of this is too “Monk” for you, just stomp on the offending carton or bottle to flatten it and then toss it in the trash!

June '08

(JCGC!)

How many of us have experienced the following? It's been over nine months since we've phoned our best friend from college who is now living in California, or our aunt or uncle or grandparents. We've been "waiting" for that perfect two hour empty time slot, because every time we call them, we end up on the phone for hours, and we don't want to have to cut the conversation short, and … well, you get the picture.

Or we avoid cleaning our place, because we're waiting for just the right time when we can do the whole thing in one fell swoop, but the dirt keeps accumulating, and the cat hair tumbleweeds are piling up in the corners and behind the doors, only now we sure as *!%! don't feel like cleaning because we have more important things to do, and we hate cleaning anyway, and maybe next weekend we'll feel like it, but the weather is incredible, so we decide to go to the park instead, and … STOP!

Just take small bites one at a time a whole lot sooner! Call those people you care about and let them know up front that you can only talk for a little bit, but that you decided not to wait so long between calls this time. The same goes for cleaning — tackle just one cleaning chore at a time. When your bathroom sink has gotten so dirty that you can't stand looking at it any longer, clean just the sink. Don't get sucked into doing the toilet and the shower and the shelves and organizing the medicine cabinet and scrubbing the floor and then vacuuming the entire apartment until 2:00 AM. Clean whichever thing bothers you the most at the time, and then … STOP! Keep biting off one little chunk at a time and, before you know it, your place will be presentable again.

But for those times when your friend in California or your parents or your in-laws unexpectedly announce on a Wednesday night that, "We'll be in town this weekend, and we'd love to stop by and visit for a bit!" — JCGC! (Just Call Green Clean!)

April / May '08

(It's Easy When You Know the Secret)

I briefly mentioned micro-fiber cleaning cloths in my tips for January -- here's how to use them for cleaning brushed stainless steel surfaces.

To remove water spots and drips, oily smudges, and greasy fingerprints, first wet a micro-fiber cloth with warm water and then wring it out until it's damp dry. (If it's still dripping, keep wringing until it begs for mercy!)

Fold the cloth over several times to form a thick pad. Before cleaning stainless steel, it's important to use your fingertips to check your cloth for any grit that could scratch. Wiping only in the direction of the brushed texture helps to minimize visible scratching, just in case you missed any grit on your cloth.

Next, apply a couple of light spritzes of your favorite non-toxic all-purpose spray cleaner to one side of the cloth (we use EnviroNaturals® Natural Citrus All-Purpose Cleaner), and then wipe the surface using moderate pressure.

Finally, flip the cloth over to a side containing no all-purpose cleaner and wipe the surface again to remove any remaining traces of cleaner. You'll notice a thin film of moisture that will completely evaporate within 5-10 seconds, leaving the surface incredibly clean and streak-free. If you have a lot of cleaning to do, just rinse your cloth under warm water to remove accumulated dirt and soil, wring it out thoroughly, then re-apply some all-purpose cleaner before continuing.

March '08

• Go Ahead - Knock Yourself Out ! •

(The Toxic Underwear Incident)

One of our young male clients, desperate because he had no clean underwear for the next day, came up with what he thought was a brilliant solution. (Pun intended.) Why not kill two birds with one stone by washing his underwear in the kitchen sink with the still sudsy water leftover from that night's dinner dishes? Oblivious to any possible danger, he added some chlorine bleach to the mix, and was nearly asphyxiated by the resulting mini cloud of poisonous fumes! Fortunately, his girlfriend was in the next room and was able to physically help him get to a window and fresh air!

"So ... what on earth happened?!", you ask. Well, almost all brands of supermarket dishwashing liquids contain compounds of ammonia. If you read the fine print on their labels, you'll see warnings about not combining them with products containing chlorine. Our hero didn't realize it, but by mixing chlorine bleach with his dishwashing liquid containing ammonia, he caused a chemical reaction that released extremely toxic chloramine gas. This gas is so toxic that even small quantities can cause coughing and choking. Prolonged exposure to more concentrated amounts can result in severe lung damage. Young children and asthma sufferers are particularly vulnerable to chloramine fumes.

Incidents like the one experienced by our client are actually quite common and can happen to anyone. Most occur as the result of mixing a cleaning solution of household ammonia and bleach in the same bucket, using the faulty logic that, "If one cleans great, the two together should clean even better!" Always read product labels carefully to avoid the possibility of harmful chemical interactions.

Better still, by using natural, non-toxic, non-reactive products whenever possible, there's almost never a need to worry about the possibility of such incidents.

EnviroNaturals® Natural Citrus Hand Dishwashing Liquid, with the pleasant natural aroma of freshly-squeezed oranges and tangerines, is a safe, ammonia-free alternative to commercial dishwashing liquids. It creates super long-lasting suds that easily cut grease, oily films, and baked-on food residue from dishes, pots & pans, glassware, and utensils, yet it's kind to your skin. It's extremely concentrated, so use it sparingly - a little goes a long way! You may order EnviroNaturals® non-toxic cleaning products by sending Malcolm an email or by calling him at our toll-free number.

February '08

• Don't Kill the Good Germs! •

(Food for Thought for Parents)

Although many parents are obsessed with cleanliness and the eradication of germs in their children's environment, it's not necessary to clean using "killer" disinfectants -- their use only serves to create more resistant strains of bacteria. The mist from Lysol® spray disinfectant, when inhaled, has the same killing effect on beneficial bacterial flora on your mucous membranes and inside your lungs that it has on the pathogens on your toilet seat. Why use a horrendous product such as Lysol® spray, when you're sharing straws, glasses, and kisses anyway!

January '08

3 to 4 oz. distilled white vinegar
1/4 tsp non-toxic dishwashing liquid (We like EnviroNaturals® Natural Citrus Dishwashing Liquid)
Add water to make 16 oz. total.