It is a new year and you have made your New Year's resolutions. To eat healthier? Live lighter? Be greener? All of the above and more? Citizenpip is here to help! A mom-powered business, Citizenpip was inspired by the belief that making small changes in your daily habits can make a significant impact. Citizenpip offers eco-friendly, practical, and safe reusable lunch kits that make it easy to pack a waste-free lunch.

Citizenpip generously sent me one of their Soup To Nuts Kits (pictured above) for review.

The Soup To Nuts Kit includes:

All of Citizenpip's "munchgear" is "muck-free" containing no lead, no BPA, no PVC, and no phthalates. What it does contain is great little air-tight containers perfectly sized for snacking at lunch. Now your child can have their favorite sandwich at school without it getting smooshed in a brown paper bag. Not to mention, there is no bag to throw away! Maybe you want to take some leftovers to work for lunch the next day? No problem, the silicone-seal leak-proof containers can handle an ooey-gooey entree too. Each BPA-free polypropylene container comes with four flaps on the lid, that snap onto the bottom, to securely seal the contents inside. I sent my 13-year old with it on a school trip and she arrived home incident free. Since she only packed a sandwich and some dry goods that day I thought a little more rigorous testing was needed. I filled each of the containers with various levels of water, packed them into the lunch bag and carried it around in my purse (Yes, I have a big purse) for the day while running errands. I am not as rough and tumbly as an 8-year old boy, but jumping in and out of the car, running to and fro car to store - it is darn cold out there(!) - throwing my purse in shopping carts, and sloshing around while schlepping groceries into the house, I think I put it through its paces. Happy to report that I and the contents of my purse remained dry, I decided to go Mythbuster style and see just what would happen if I were an 8-year old boy.

Dropped from three feet or more and still good! While I honestly believe that glass is better than plastic, I do realize that not everyone may be at that stage and reusable is definitely better than disposable. I love that this kit comes with it all - beverage container, utensils, and napkin are all included. Not just one napkin mind you, but a whole week's worth! Who has time to do laundry every night after returning home from work? No need to worry about that with this kit. There is even an insulated container for packing soup on those cold winter days - like today.

For the complete lineup of Citizenpip products check out their website: www.citizenpip.com

To get your New Year's resolution off to a fun, convenient, eco-start Citizenpip is offering up their Square Meal Kit (pictured above) to one lucky reader in the continental US. Thanks Citizenpip! Leave one of your green resolutions in the comments below by January 13 to be entered to win. I will announce the winner the following day, January 14. Good luck!

Check out my Monday post over at the Green Phone Booth about the wonders of getting real - a reel mower that is.

Back in October, I made the leap from disposable razors to shaving with a safety razor and have never looked back. I absolutely love it! I am in my fourth month and have only changed the blade once. My original estimate was one blade per month, with a savings of $236 - $336 and not having to buy blades again for eight years! At this rate I can double that!

So far I have only nicked myself a total of maybe three times. I would have done so with a regular razor also. Ankles and knees sometimes get the best of me when shaving half asleep. It takes no more time than it did when shaving with a disposable. I have nothing but praise for the safety razor. I like it so much that I gave one to the chitlin girl for Christmas.

She left the next day to spend the rest of Christmas break with her mother. I had not thought about it since. The other day I remembered that I never showed her how to use it.

So I asked, "Did you figure out how to use the safety razor?"

She replied, "Yes, it took me a little while to figure out how to open it, but I got it."

"So how is it going?" I pressed on.

She looked at me quizzically, "What do you mean?"

"Well, have you cut yourself yet?" Bracing myself for the answer.

"Why would I cut myself?"

So, there you have it folks. The safety razor: So easy a 12 year old can do it!

Winter in Wisconsin is dry, dry, dry. Sure there is a lot of precipitation; in fact, this has been our snowiest December on record, but all that moisture is locked up inside each snowflake. A frozen desert, of sorts. My hair is a mess, my eyes are dry, my skin is scratchy, and I wake up parched. This is the time of year when you can walk across the carpet, touch some unsuspecting soul's ear and watch the sparks fly! We do not have any carpet, but the wood on our floor is contracting leaving cracks between the boards, much like the skin of my hands. Two days of cooking and constant hand washing for the holidays has turned the backs of my hands into sandpaper.

After swearing off synthetics, petroleum based, and plastic my medicine cabinet is a bit deserted as well. I had just finished off a big bottle of what I thought to be pure aloe vera gel from this summer (should have known it wasn't from the unnatural green color) and had yet to find a suitable alternative. Or had I? In my cabinet sits a lonely jar of coconut oil I had intended on using as hair conditioner after reading Crunchy's post about it. That was months ago and I still have yet to try it. Perhaps once my Aubrey conditioner runs out. Anyhoo... if it is good enough to eat and can soften hair, why not skin?


I have been using it daily for about a week now. My hands are healing, my legs are no longer a white, flaky, scaly mess, and I have stopped scratching myself raw. It comes in a glass jar - yea, no plastic! - you can buy at the grocery store. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, but quickly turns to liquid from the warmth of your hand. You will need something to scoop/scrape it out with. Popsicle stick, tongue depressor, butter spreader, whatever you have on hand will be fine. Scoop some out and rub it on. I apply all over my body without any cravings for piña coladas. It really has no smell.


Coconut oil does not immediately absorb like a lotion. If that is what you are looking for you may be disappointed. I am okay with it for the winter. The bit left behind protects and provides moisture all day long. My skin is still silky soft when it is time to snuggle in for the night. Being fair skinned, I assume rubbing oil on my body in the summer would be a bad thing. Fried lobster anyone? Speaking of summer, I purchased my coconut oil back in July. It was hot upstairs and the oil liquefied. I recommend storing it someplace cool during warm temperatures. But for now I am digging it. It is all natural, plastic free, and it works!

After making the decision to lead a more sustainable life, I gave up my beloved Electrasol tabs and started the search for an eco-friendly dishwasher detergent. The first one I tried was 7th Generation Free & Clear Automatic Dishwasher Powder. I hated it. It did not get my dishes clean and left them in a cloudy haze. So I moved on to BioKleen Automatic Dish Powder. I actually like this stuff. It has a pleasant smell and does a pretty good job of cleaning the dishes. There was some residue left after the final rinse, but I was willing to live with it. Then one day I ran out. It is not available locally. I had been ordering it online from drugstore.com or Amazon. Being unprepared, I picked up a bottle of Earth Friendly Products Wave Auto Dishwasher Gel at my local grocery store.

I LOVE it! No residue, clean dishes, available locally - yes! Phosphate free, chlorine free, caustic free - Yes! Plant based and totally biodegradable - YES! Yes! Yes! Yes! Packaged in plastic - yes. What? Packaged in plastic - Oh, man. It was damn near perfect. They even have a rinse agent I like, also packaged in plastic. Shucks.

All this plastic is wreaking havoc on our planet and on ourselves. Something must be done. Scores of people have decided to cut plastic from their lives. I, too, have committed to reducing the amount of plastic my family consumes. So it is with a teary eye that I must bid adieu to my new found favorite. It was fun while it lasted.

So now what? I know, I know. 7th Generation dishwasher powder comes in a cardboard box. See above. I hate it. As much as I want it to, it just does not work for me. Surprisingly, the answer lies just on the other side of the wall of my dishwasher, in the washing machine. Huh?




Adjust the quantity or baking soda ratio for hard water. I have also read recipes using washing soda instead of baking soda. I store mine in a glass pickle jar under the sink. No more plastic. I have been using this combination for several weeks now with no complaints. My dishes are clean, in fact I think they are cleaner now then when I was using actual dishwasher detergent, and there is no residue left behind. Once my rinse agent runs out I will switch to white vinegar to be truly plastic free.

I have dry, frizzy, naturally curly, unruly red hair. I have struggled with it well into my adult life. Growing up, my mother was a hair stylist; giving me all too easy access to every chemical I wanted to tame my mane. Anything I tried just made it worse. My tresses have endured a barrage of perms, relaxers, dyes, flat irons, curling irons, hair dryers, shampoos, conditioners, mousse, gel, and hairspray. Finally, after my college years, I came to the realization that the best thing for it was to just let it be. My hair seems to do whatever the hell it wants anyway so why fight it?

By limiting myself to just one gel (currently Kiss my Face upper management), I also discovered that my hair does not need daily washing. I used to shampoo and condition twice a day every day. No wonder my hair was dry and frizzy! Just because the back of a conventional shampoo bottle tells you to use daily does not mean you have to. It is a myth folks, no really, it is. You actually do more damage than good by daily washing. I am not saying you should be sporting dreadlocks either, just rethink what clean means. An added bonus of giving of hairspray is a cleaner bathroom. You know that crusty film that seems to blanket everything from the sticky cloud descending on your head? Gone! My counter top, mirror, bottles, floor, toilet, everything in a 5 foot radius had this dull film on the surface from spraying hairspray. Boy am I glad that is gone. Now my bathroom shines!

I made the switch from Pantene to Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap over a year ago. It is all I use as a body wash, to shave, and shampoo my hair. It works wonderfully for all three. I can even clean the shower with it! Dr. Bronner's is all natural, made with certified organic oils, is certified fair trade, 100% vegan, and comes in a 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottle. While all of that is great, the real reason I love it is that my hair has stopped falling out. I used to lose handfuls of hair in the shower while using Pantene. Gross! Unclogging the drain, double gross! It seems to me the sole purpose of shampoo is to clean your hair, keeping it healthy and on your head. What's up with that, Pantene? Have you ever read the ingredients on the back of your shampoo bottle? You should. METHYLCHLOROISOTHIAZOLINONE What? SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE Bless you.

Living on the Edge.

Back in August, Burbanmom threw out the idea of more eco-friendly hair removal. I have been thinking about it heavily since then. I am a long time consumer of disposable razors. Well, disposable razor heads anyway. I have been using the Venus Divine for several years now. The replacement blades cost anywhere from $2.50 to $3.50 a piece! At that price I try to go as long as possible before changing blades. Shaving daily, I will go a month or more before switching, usually resulting in a nick or two and afflictive razor burn. One of Burbanmom's alternatives resonated with me. The safety razor. After reading many, many reader's comments, discussions with my husband, Q&A with my Father-in-law, thorough internet research and running out of Venus refills it was time.

I purchased the Weishi Double Edge Safety Razor Starter Kit from RetroRazor off Amazon. I selected this particular razor because it specifically stated it was for beginners. I have been shaving for years, so I am not really a beginner, but was extremely nervous about using the safety razor and wanted to play it safe. The kit cost $25.99 included the razor, three 5 pack blade samplers, a cleaning brush and info sheet packaged in a muslin bag.