Children love books, that’s a fact. They seem to never have enough of their parents reading them stories. They never get tired of going through the same books again and a again, ten times, twelve times, million times. Yet the parents will soon go crazy if they don’t put a stop to this. Today I’ve discovered something that’s going to change the life of many parents, offering them a bit of peace while their kids entertain themselves: Touchoo electronic book applications. If you have an iPod or an iPad, all you need to do is install and launch the application, then let the child enjoy the stories and interact with the characters via the touch screen interface. I thought this could be useful, so I decided to write about it, to spread the word. Here’s a short video introducing Thumbelina, the classic Hans Christian Andersen story, adapted for the touch screen:
Archive for June, 2010
I’ve got this very good friend who is concerned with chemical free cleaning. Being allergic to a lot of things others don’t even notice, I bet she pays attention to whatever may help her stay symptoms-free for as long as possible. However, eco-friendly detergents are almost twice as expensive as regular ones, so she can’t afford to buy those all the time. This is how we got to talk about our grandmothers and about their secrets of cleaning their homes with natural substances. Indeed, I still remember vinegar as being a must-have cleaning product in my grandma’s arsenal. She mixed it with various other foods to obtain cleaning solutions for windows, floors or carpets. Lemon was another universal cleaner. There were many other things which I don’t remember anymore, but I know it’s possible to have a perfectly clean house without using so many harsh chemicals. I agree a bigger scrubbing effort may be required, but if you care about going green, saving the environment and living in healthier conditions, then this is a small price to pay.
One of the cleaning methods I like lately is steaming. There are steam cleaners which don’t cost a fortune and yet do a good job in the household. I think I’ve paid about $50 for my steamer and I’m pleased with the way it cleans the floors. It works only with water, so it’s much easier to finish the cleaning now. I have pets and I always had to take of rinsing the floors very well, so they don’t carry detergent residues on their paws. I think this is one of the cheapest methods of green cleaning, wouldn’t you say so?
Now I have to ask you what other methods of chemicals-free cleaning do you know? What do you think in terms of costs: is is cheaper for a family to use only natural cleaning products?