WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS

Hi Everyone,

The past 18 months have been one of those times in life that I have felt like we have been dished up bucket loads of lemons. More than our usual share. In fact, the whole planet has been given a HUGE bucket full of Lemons to deal with. Every time this happens, the forever optimist in me just keeps digging for the gifts, the silver linings and opportunity to take this time, this Lemon, to change what I see and feel into a positive outcome no matter how small.

Whenever I create an outcome that can bring some joy to someone else or create a meaningful change to the planet and nature around me, it is worth it every time and that is what keeps me going and never lose hope that the sweetness will come again.

So … When Life Give you Lemons – Let’s go make Lemonade together! Hope our little hints and tips today can help!

DID YOU KNOW?

Eco vs Chemical – Sustainable Eco cleaning products can be cost efficient.

With such an abundance of home cleaning products on offer, we need to ask: What do we actually need and what is the average cost per month? Can making the switch to ECO products be more cost effective, with the added incentive of knowing its safe for you and the environment?

The list of chemical cleaning products most homes would use on a daily or weekly basis to keep all main areas clean includes all-purpose kitchen spray, toilet cleaner, glass & mirror cleaner, soap scum remover, mould remover, Gumption, floor cleaners and cleaning wipes.

The latest research has found that the average cost to replace these items is $60 a month.

If we use Marjorie & May Eco products as an example to replace these common chemical items, this is how it would compare.
The best example is our Luv it All – Eco Home Cleaning Kit which consists of:
Natural All Purpose Cleaner – Ready to Use – 500ml
All Purpose – Concentrate for refills – makes up to 24 x 500ml bottles
Natural Deep Cleaner – Ready to use – 500ml
Natural Deep Cleaner – Ready to use – 1lt
Natural Scrub Paste – 300gm
Ultra Microfiber Eco Cloth Set – pack of 8

Upfront cost – $369.95
The solutions will last from 9-12months – the cloths, 3 years or more. Let’s say an average of 12 months for all products.

That’s only $30 per month – a saving of 50%
So … to answer the question are ECO cleaning products more expensive? They simply don’t need to be!

https://marjorieandmay.com.au/shop/collections/luv-it-all-eco-home-cleaning-kit/

SPRING HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

The last few months have once again been difficult. Families with school aged children have had to not only home-school but entertain their children outside of school hours.

With the school holidays starting today, knowing how to keep the kids entertained is even harder. Here is one of our favorite ideas.

As the weather is slowly improving, it’s a great time to get out and about in nature. Get the kids to use each of their senses. What can they see? Get them to describe what they hear. What smells are in the air? What does the grass, sand, leaves feel like on their skin?

Get them to collect samples of nature – without harming the natural habitat of course. The choice of items to collect is endless – rocks, sticks, leaves, fruit, flowers, feathers, sand, seashells.

Once at home, they can make a collage with what they’ve collected, write a story, or start a journal describing their daily nature walk. They can discuss the shapes of their objects, whether the surface is smooth or rough, hard or soft?

Choose a different location every day or second day for your nature outing – around your neighbourhood, the local nature reserve, the beach or local watering hole – at the end of the week compare the different objects they’ve found in each location and discuss how they differ and why.

We’d LUV to hear about your favorite school holiday idea!

Another fun idea for children to make during the school holidays is an Orange Bird Feeder. The kids can keep an eye of all the beautiful birds that this will attract and feed.

https://brightly.eco/orange-peel-bird-feeder/

LUV THIS TOP TIP

10 USES FOR LEMONS WE LUV

When life gives you lemons, the possibilities are endless. Lemons are still everywhere with many people growing a tree in their back yard and giving them away. Here are our top 10 uses that you might like to try or make for gifts.

1. Clean the microwave in a safe and fresh way – Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a microwaveable bowl, half filled with water. Add lemon rinds to the bowl. Microwave for 2- 4 minutes. Wipe down the interior of the microwave with a microfiber cloth.
2. A Quick way to descale your kettle is slice one whole lemon up and place in your kettle. Fill up with cold water and boil. Let stand for 30 minutes, boil a second time and rinse to be ready for use.
3. DIY body scrub with lemon and sugar. There are many recipes on how to make this. A quick version is 1 cup granulated sugar, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/4 cup coconut oil and lemon zest. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and its ready to use.
4. Lemonade from scratch tastes much better than store-bought versions. A lovely summer gift to make.
5. Lemon marmalade is a zesty, tangy preserve that makes a yummy start to the day.
6. Lemon finishing salt- Lemon rind infused sea salt is a great flavor addition on many dishes.
   Here are two recipes to try: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/gordon-ramsays-simple-lemon-salt-recipe or https://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/1265/Lemon-Salt90868.shtml
7. Deodorize cutting boards -Use a lemon to help remove stains from cutting boards and keep them good as new.
8. Get rid of odors on hands- To remove the smell of garlic, fish or other odors from your hands, wash your hands with lemon and soap.
9. Lemon Curd – A tasty edition to any dessert. Here is a recipe you may like to try by Donna Hay: https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/lemon-curd
10. Avoid sticky rice – while rice is cooking, add a spoonful of lemon juice to the water. Cool and fluff with a fork.

What are your favourite uses for lemons? We would love to hear from you!

“When Life gives you Lemons – The possibilities are endless“

Enjoy the weekend ahead and I hope you find your days filled with more sunshine, more sunsets, more bananas, more sunflowers, more lemons, more yellow, more love and laughter.

Take care everyone.

With Love and gratitude.

Pauline Walker
Founder