Non-Toxic Cleaning for the Home

...n their travel paths with vinegar or rubbing alcohol to erase their scent, making it hard for them to find their way back in. Block their points of entrance with strong smelling and powdery substances. Start with non-toxic stuff and work your way up to boric acid if you have to. Many people find lines of cinnamon very effective. Other have used lines of baby powder or even lavender buds. If your fruit bowl went bad and now you are plagued by fruit...

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The Wonder of Worms

...ectly. But if done right, ACT is said to foster beneficial microorganisms, making the resulting brew a soil super tonic. The tea is also said to have some efficacy on diseases and pests when applied to the plants themselves. Whether or not this brew is actually as effective as all that has become a bit of a hot-button topic in the gardening community–and a subject on which Erik and I remain firmly agnostic. Until we know more, we’re using the cast...

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I Spent a Year Making a Bed

How’s that for a click bait title? But I really did spend almost a year on this with most of that time eaten up teaching myself how to do marquetry and inlay work. As I mentioned before, my first attempts didn’t go well and I spent a lot of time searching for advice on how to do this particular style of Art Nouveau work that almost nobody does anymore. Sanding and finishing metal and wood right next to each other also proved difficult and I’m not...

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Waxed Cloth Food Wrap (Made in a solar oven for bonus self-righteousness points)

...ce because they have a finished edge, but this project is also perfect for making use of other textiles you might feel wasteful for throwing out, like old top sheets or a dress shirt with one unfortunate stain or fabric scraps from sewing projects. Solar Oven Specifics Beeswax melts at just below 150F/64C. It can discolor if heated above 185F/85C. Its flashpoint is 400F/204.4C. While many home ovens can be set to 150F, my home oven is really primi...

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