How to Keep Lizards Away Naturally

 

檳榔/pinang/Areca catechu is a fruit we can commonly find along the street around Singapore neighborhood. You may have seen it around but never pay much notice to it.

You may have heard of 檳榔西施，the scantily dressed girls selling pinang in Taiwan. In Taiwan, there's plenty of stores along the street selling pinang. Drivers especially love to buy pinang as it helps to keep them awake.

Do you know there's another use of pinang? This innocent looking fruit can help to keep away lizards, and it's free. Choose the ones that has turned orange (the green ones are not ripe yet). Just peel open the fruit (as shown on the picture below), and leave it where lizards are known to enter the house. Throw the fruit away after they start to turn black/moldy and replace with new ones.

Learnt this from my mum, who heard about this in the market. Apparently it's become a popular way to get rid of lizards that many aunties are looking for pinangs everyday, resulting the fruit going "out of stock" occasionally.

give it a try, and share with me your results. I personally find it pretty effective! :)

How to Rid Cockroaches Naturally Easily - DIY Cockroach Spray

Had a bit of a cockroach situation at home recently, and I refused to succumb to using a insecticide. I can't imagine how toxic insecticdes can be, not to mention the the smell is horrible. So I started googling for ways to resolve the cockroach problem naturally. 1 solution I found was really easy, and the ingredients are readily available in every household. Reviews seems to be really positive too so I decided to give it a try, and it works! It works very well, and there's no horrible smell. Awesome!

What you need

Water

Dishwashing Liquid

Spray Bottle

Time required: 3 mins

Add water, and some dishwashing liquid (there's no fixed proportion, but you can use the ratio of 90% water, 10% diswashing liquid as a guide). Shake the mixture, and your very own DIY cockroach spray is done!

Simply spray on the cockroach, and you'll find the cockroach flipped over and die. What the mixture does is the layer of dishwashing liquid will form a barrier on the cockroach’s body so it can’t breathe.

Easy Peasy! :)

How to remove Black Molds in the Bathroom

My washroom sink has this issue of black molds growing at the side. After some observation, I realized these are the spots where water is trapped whenever we use the basin. I refused to use the popular way of using bleach to treat the problem, since bleach is really toxic, and I read that what it does is simply bleaching the area so you don't see the mold, but not really treating the issue. I refused to buy the commercial mold remover in the supermarkets since they are loaded with toxic chemicals as well. Hence, I started my quest of experimenting with natural ways to solve this moldy issue. Did a search, and some ways that people have suggested, and I've tried and tested:

1. Vinegar

How? Spray the area with vinegar, allow it to air dry and repeat every week. 

My verdict: This doesn't work for me, or maybe I'm not patient to try it long enough. and it smells terrible, especially when you are brushing your teeth every morning. not the best way to start your morning.

2. Baking Soda

How? Mix baking soda with water to form a paste (around 50/50 ratio). Apply on the area affected by molds. let it sit in it for a while (I'll usually let it sit for a few days), then scrub it with a old toothbrush. Repeat the aboove a few times.

My verdict: It works. I can see the black molds lightening each time. But you need patience. Depending on how bad/old the mold situation is, you will probably need to do this a couple of times.

3. Tea Tree + Baking Soda

How? Spread tea tree oil on the affected area, and cover with baking soda paste.

My verdict: So far, this has the most effective results, and I can see the lightening of the molds alot faster than just using baking soda alone.

Natural solutions are usually quite mild since they doesn't contain harsh chemicals, so don't expect instant results. You'll need patience, and do it a couple of times. but for health, and a toxic-free enviroment, it's definitely worth it. :)

The Story of Cosmetics

The Story of Cosmetics, released on July 21st, 2010, examines the pervasive use of toxic chemicals in our everyday personal care products, from lipstick to baby shampoo. Produced with Free Range Studios and hosted by Annie Leonard, the seven-minute film by The Story of Stuff Project reveals the implications for consumer and worker health and the environment, and outlines ways we can move the industry away from hazardous chemicals and towards safer alternatives. The film concludes with a call for viewers to support legislation aimed at ensuring the safety of cosmetics and personal care products.

TOXIC BEAUTY: What makes you beautiful can makes you sick

Skincare, cosmetics and makeup have become part of our everyday lives. Most women (and even some men these days) cannot think of living without their bottles of creams, lotions, serums, masks, shampoos, foundation, lipsticks, eye liners and mascaras.

However, you'll be surprised (or if you're like me, horrified) to know that in our attempt to achieve beauty, we are actually intoxicating and poisoning ourselves, slowly, bit by bit each and everyday.

Was doing some googling on toxins in beauty products and this article jumped out. It says

"Research by Bionsen, a natural deodorant company, found that the average woman's daily grooming and make-up routine means she 'hosts' a staggering 515 different synthetic chemicals on her body every single day."

WOW. 515 different synthetic chemicals on our body every single day? Are they sure?

All the shampoo, hair sprays, eyeshadows, foundation, lipstick, nail polishes, are killing us slowly each end everyday. When I was reading this article, I did a quick check on my supplies, and I'm sad to find that alot of my everyday products do contain these chemicals. Well, I read this article some time back, and I'm now slowly trying to change my products or reduce the use of products that I don't really need (which is why I rarely go for manicures anymore). I have to admit. It's a tough journey. Ever since I learnt about how harmful all these synthetic chemicals can cause us, I tried to read the ingredients list of almost everything I buy. and it's sad to know that it is so difficult to find products that are really free of these chemicals. Don't believe me? Go grab any of your shampoos, powder, facial masks or whatever, and take a look at the ingredient list. Very likely you will see ingredients like Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Talc, Fragrance, Methyl Paraben etc.

I remembered when I was young, my parents always say "whatever that is applied outside is ok" since we are not eating it. but I learnt that this concept is so wrong. just because we are not eating it does not mean we are not ingesting it.  When we apply all these "things" that contains toxins and chemicals, they can get into our system through our pores, and into our blood stream. so it is really NOT OK.

Here are some ingredients you should learn to register in your brain, and avoid when choosing your cosmetics and makeup:

imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, butyl paraben, ethyl paraben, petrolatum, propylene glycol, PVP/VA copolymer, stearalkonium chloride, synthetic colors, synthetic fragrances, talc, diethanolamine (DEA), monoethanolamine (MEA), triethanolamine (TEA), dioxane, 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1, 3-diol (bronopol), benzalkonium chloride, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), chloromethylisothiazolinone, and isothiazolinone.

You'll realize all these ingredients sound so alien and complicated that it's even hard to pronounce and recognize. Honestly, I'm only able to register a few of the simple ones like whatever-paraben, petrolatum, talc, fragrance. so my trick is if I see a list of ingredients I don't understand, I'll try to avoid it. but, you will soon realized it is SO FREAKING DIFFICULT finding products without these chemicals. It's not about price or brand. At first, I thought it's the drug store brands trying to "cut cost", hence they use these chemicals. but NO. Big High-end beauty brands include these ingredients too. A simple example is "talc". Go take a look at Watsons and Sephora. You'll find it's a huge challenge trying to find powder without talc. I didn't believe it when my beauty therapist told me. but she's right. there are products without talc. but you really need to look hard. will share some of the more toxic-friendly products I've found in later articles.

Infographic from dailymail showing most worrying chemicals found in the products and possible side effects. credits: dailymail

These may not kill you immediately. but as these toxins accumulate in your body, and could not flush out in time, they will cause harm to your body, killing you slowly.