For the first day of Spring, the Auburn Goodwill will be hosting a one-day only sale featuring everything you need for spring projects!  The sale is Sunday, March 21, from 10 am to 6 pm.

The sale features work jeans (Carharts, Levi’s, etc.) for only $2.49 each, hand and power tools, toolbelts, and gardening supplies.  Make sure you get there early to stock up – doors open at 10 am!

With Spring well on it way and promises of 60 F degree days on the horizon, biking has been on mind.

And just in time!  Spring is the season of bike swaps and I found a few scheduled in northern New England over the next few weeks.  If you know of any bike swap events in your area, please leave us a comment and I will add them to the list!

1. The 2009 Great Maine Bike Swap

If you are on the hunt for new bike, need to swap out your old bike, or would like to oogle thousands of bikes at once, make sure you are at this event.  The Bicycle Coalition of Maine is hosting this event on the followings days:

April 19, 2009:

University of Maine, Student Recreation and Fitness Center, Orono, 10am - 2pm

AND!

April 26, 2009:

University of Southern Maine, Sullivan Gym, Portland, 10am - 2pm

2. Portsmouth Bike Swap at Papa Wheelies

April 26, 2009

653 Islington Street, Portsmouth,

11 am to 5 pm (rain date: May 3)

If you live in the Seacoast area, don’t miss out on this event!  The event is at Papa Wheelie’s and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes (SABR), a non-profit advocacy group for cyclists in New Hampshire and Southern Maine.

3. Earl’s Famous Bike Swap Sale

May 2 & 3

2500 Williston Road, S. Burlington, VT,

9 am to 5 pm on May 2; noon to 5 pm on May 3.

To participate in this swap, you must check in your used bicycle on Thursday, April 30 for Friday, May 1, between 10 am and 6 pm.  Visit Earl’s Cyclery & Fitness for more information.

Can’t make it out to the Bike Swap?  Do you have an old bicycle to donate?  You can drop them off at any our Goodwill retail stores!  Please keep an eye on the blog, as we have some posts coming up about bike repair, bike shop recommendations, and more!

Happy Spring!  With the much-anticipated arrival of the Spring Equinox, I thought it would be a good time to highlight some green spring cleaning tips.

Even here in Maine, I have been able to open my windows for hours at a time and the fresh air is such a relief after months of hibernation.  Curtis Hamilton, our green guru here at Goodwill, has compiled some green cleaning tips to get your home and office ready for the warm weather slowly heading our way.

Making Your Own Green Cleaners

There is no need to spend lots of money on household cleaners, when you can use common food and cooking products already found in your home.  I’m going to highlight four common products you can use to keep your home clean and chemical free.

Before I begin, a note of caution: when making your own cleaners, it is important to follow directions exactly—do not add other chemicals!  When mixed, some ingredients will burn your skin, cause fires, or explode.

1. Vinegar

Vinegar is a common household item which has many uses. Its main component is acetic acid and at about 5% this makes it great for cleaning and disinfecting. Always look for vinegars made from grain or plant material. There is a type out there which uses synthetic alcohol this is made from crude oil (hint: not very green!).

All-purpose cleaner

You will need: a spray bottle (recycled plastic, please); white distilled vinegar; lemongrass essential oil or tea tree oil; earth friendly dish liquid (such as Planet or Seventh Generation)

1. Fill half the bottle with water

2. Fill the rest of the bottle with vinegar (to nearly full)

3. Add 15-30 drops of lemongrass or tea tree essential oil

4. Add 2-3 drops of liquid soap

5. Cap the bottle and shake.

This works on most surfaces, such as floors, counters, bathrooms, and glass.

Note: If you use this spray on glass that has been cleaned with a commercial cleaner, first wash the glass with warm soapy water to remove wax build up.  Do NOT use this spray on marble, as the vinegar will cause damage.

Other uses for Vinegar:

Disinfect counters:

Use full strength and at night so the smell is gone in the morning.

Soap scum remover:

Mix 50/50 with water.

Sink Clogs:

Boil vinegar and pour down a clogged drain to remove the clog.

Weed Removal:

Mix with salt for use on driveways and sidewalks

Glass cleaner

Mix 2 parts vinegar with 1 part water. This also can be used in place of windshield fluid in your car. It will also de-ice at this strength.

2. Lemon Juice

Lemon juice has slightly less cleaning power than vinegar, but the smell is much more congenial. It can be safely added to vinegar, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide.

3. Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is a safer alternative to bleach. Though it is a type of bleach, but when it breaks down, it only leaves behind water and oxygen. Bleach leaves behind salt and other substances that react with many chemicals.  When buying hydrogen peroxide, make sure you buy the 3% solution. The commercial grade solution is 35% which is very caustic and can be fatal if swallowed. The following recipes use a 3% solution. Be sure not to mix vinegar in the same container.

Veggie Cleaner: To remove pesticides and bacteria, mix 50/50 with water, spray and rinse, or ¼ cup in a sink of cold water. Dip and rinse.

Whiten Clothes:Use instead of bleach on your whites in the laundry.

Tooth paste:To make whitening toothpaste, mix with enough baking soda for a paste.

Skunk Shampoo

If your pet gets “skunked,” here is a remedy that is easy and cheaper than store-bought shampoo. It does not keep, so it’s best to have the ingredients handy, just in case. You will need:

one quart of hydrogen peroxide

1/4 cup of baking soda

one teaspoon of liquid soap.

Mix ingredients together and use like shampoo on your pet.  Be careful to keep the shampoo out of your pet’s eyes.

4. Baking Soda

Also known as sodium bicarbonate, baking soda is a great green tool and has many uses.

Antacid: Make your own version of Alka-Seltzer at home!  Combine one tablespoon of baking soda, 8 oz of water, and a few drops of lemon juice.

Fire retardant: Throw baking soda on a fire; as it burns the baking soda will produce carbon dioxide which will starve the fire of oxygen.

Desiccant (drying agent): put baking soda in the fridge or freezer to remove excess moisture and absorb odor.

Do you have green cleaning tips to share!  Leave us a comment!