A Sports Utility Bicycle

...bike without front suspension, which adds weight and is not necessary for urban riding. And remember that the kit does not work on bikes with rear suspension. I would, however, recommend buying straight from the company as the kits don’t seem to be selling on ebay at a significant discount. Putting it together was relatively simple – it took two trips to the Bicycle Kitchen, an extra length of chain, a rear derailleur cable made for tandem bikes,...

Read…

The Organic Minefield: How organic are your organic eggs, soy and dairy?

...n reason I’m posting this is because they produce useful quick reference charts for brand names and stores. I’ve just found their dairy chart, and wanted to share it with you, and thought I’d share some others as well while I was at it. We’ve posted about the eggs score card before, but it is important enough for a repeat. Check it out: Organic Dairy Scorecard Organic Egg Scorecard Organic Soy Product Scorecard Organic Cereal Scorecard Note: Links...

Read…

Non-Toxic Cleaning for the Home

...ey to clean windows is drying them thoroughly. Very dirty/greasy windows (particularly outside windows which have collected layers of dust and diesel particulate) might benefit from a quick preliminary rinse with plain soapy water to cut the grease and make it easier to polish them up. Dishes Handwashing: Dishwashing liquids are specially formulated to cut grease and leave dishes spot free and shiny. This ease of use comes with some cost, as most...

Read…

How to Organize a Small Workshop

...ial out-feed table for a table saw, miter saw etc. Use chalkboard paint to label cabinets and drawers. Clean as you work. I don’t always live up to this principle in the workshop or in the kitchen, but when you don’t have a lot of room you’ve got to put stuff back and get rid of scraps otherwise things get ugly and dangerous. Thou shalt not store crap in thy workshop. A clean and organized workshop is inspiring. Banish the crap and you’ll make spa...

Read…

Make Your Own Chalkboard Paint II

...e Root Simple compound was making our own chalkboard paint and using it to label all of the cabinets in our garage workshop. In the past month, inspired by a visit from über-maker Federico Tobon, I’ve taken up the task of pimping out the workshop with a proper workbench and table saw. I’ll blog about Workshop 2.0 when I’m finished with the renovation, but the chalkboard paint hack is worth a repeat mention. Thanks to the chalkboard paint, when I w...

Read…