I have a crush on my neighborhood.
For those of you familiar with Atlanta, we are renting a 1950s ranch house in the urban/suburban area near Toco Hill Shopping Center. It’s one of Atlanta’s first “car suburbs.” (Atlanta’s first suburbs—now considered by many to be intown neighborhoods—were the streetcar suburbs of the 1920s and ’30s. Our section of North Druid Hills was still dairy farms until the mid ’50s when these subdivisions, designed for the city’s new car commuters, were built.)
Why is this woman smiling? Photo credit: RetroRenovation
Maybe it’s that I’m getting older, or maybe it’s the oddly “retro/modern” bent of my current life, but I find myself attracted to and comforted by these aging strip malls and flat brick rectangles of houses on huge lots with carefully manicured lawns.
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Really enjoying reading the website Green Clean (there’s also a book), about using non-toxic everyday substances (mostly baking soda, vinegar, and liquid soap) to make your own household cleaners.
I was already a fan of distilled white vinegar because we use cloth diapers and using vinegar in the rinse cycle (key word there: rinse) helps get out all the residual detergent, prolonging the life of the diapers and keeping them from getting stinky.
I had no idea it could be used to clean my windows and mirrors and declog a drain. I also like the recipes are simple enough for even me to put together without tearing my hair out. No mean feat. Another bonus: fewer products means fewer crap I have to find room for under my sink. Hallelujah!
Also looking for Linda Mason Hunter’s article (from the August 2007 issue of Better Homes and Gardens) on building a Green Supply Closet, if anyone has it.
