Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me

A friend of ours, Charmaine Manley Design, is always on the lookout for the most environmentally friendly ways to take care of certain problems and she is willing to share her finds with us over here at GLR!

Today’s tip is about how best to scare away flies. There is no death involved, no harsh chemicals or sticky substances. The best way to scare off flies is a bag full of water.

Nope, I’m not kidding at all! It seems that a friend and fan of This Old House who lives in the Miami, Florida region of the United States tested the experiment out and was amazed to find that flies actually flew away from the dangling bag of water.

He placed a smelly pan of something outside to attract the flies and then held the bag full of water near the swarm. Apparently within just a few minutes the flies were all scared off. And no one had to kill them to do it!

The theory is a fly sees the bag as something predatory looking to trap it for dinner, a spider web or hornets nest perhaps, through the refraction of light over their many eyes and that shoos the fly away. It seems this practice is most popular in more temperate climates. From what I’ve read it only appears to work on flies, not stinging insects such as bees, mosquitoes, wasps or hornets.

Take a regular old, large zip top, clear plastic bag. Fill it about half way with plain old tap water. Use a heavy duty string or twine to tie the bag shut and leave plenty of slack on one end so it can be strung up on a hook above the area you are looking to protect and have a fly repellant that is environmentally friendly, non-toxic, safe, inexpensive and simple.

Some people also place a penny inside. A theory on this is that the fly sees the penny as a big spider in the web and they want to stay away. Since we unfortunately can’t get inside the mind of a fly we just have to test it to see if it works.

I do not have problems with flies but I’m sure many of you do. If this is something you test out I would love to hear about your experiences with using this method for effectiveness!

Housecleaning and a Question for Readers

Good morning friends of GLR! Those of you who stop by frequently will notice a few changes over here, specifically over in the right sidebar. In an effort to add to the growing list of links that I love to visit, (and hopefully you do too) I have removed all thumbnails in favor of a link list. It looks cleaner and to me seems easier to navigate since it is now in alphabetical order.

The next change I am thinking of making is beginning to sell advertising space. This amazing blog has definitely been steadily growing for the past six months and although it is great fun, there is definitely a good deal of work involved to keep it going daily. So with that said I have put a little poll over on the right regarding thoughts on cost of advertising. If everyone would be so kind as to click a selection over the next week I would greatly appreciate it! Also, if none of those numbers sound reasonable I would love a comment to let me know what might work better and why.

The final bit of news is still in the works and I do not want to jinx it. But…I assure you it is pretty cool and I will be revealing all in short order!

I hope everyone is having a lovely day and has a chance to answer the poll! Thanks everyone you totally rock!
♥love♥

Kicking Off Eco-Fashion Fridays

In a new concept here at GLR I have decided to provide a themed posting once a week. The theme is Eco-Fashion Fridays! In my low emission travels I have come across so many amazing designers of environmentally conscious fashions from little girl’s hair accessories to couture and everything in between so it seems appropriate to feature these amazing designers here on the blog and of course grant a Leaf Rating for their efforts.

The ratings I will be based on a few key factors:
☼ Resources
☼ Materials
☼ Cost
☼ Lifecycle

Additional factors may come into play of course as each item and / or company will have their own unique footprint (carbon or otherwise!).

So to kick things off I am featuring the designer who started the idea churning in my mind this past week while I was catching up on a marathon replay of the most recent season of the Bravo TV show Project Runway, this past season winner, Leanne Marshall.

Her clothing is beautiful but designed for a high fashion market that the majority of us will find slightly out of our budget. She announced to the world that her final collection made use of about 50% sustainable materials. Her clothing is well made and although there is a slight flair for the dramatic in her pieces, overall her designs could be worn by just about any woman for years due to the element of classic feminine style present.

All of these reasons prompt me to grant Leanne Marshall Three Green Leaves!


Leanne Marshall’s amazing evening gown.



I will keep my eye out for a budget conscious line from Leanne as I feel her work could easily translate into mass appeal. Keep up the amazing Green design!