Hey Zinnia, In the North they are not as invasive, but all "running" bamboos should be "CONSIDERED" invasive, just like "grass" per se. Didn't see much on your trade list. I have a "WANT LIST" - check it out and see if you have anything for me. Thanks

We are in our second owned house and working on making it our home. We waffle back and forth on whether this is a forever house or a house until we are empty nesters or we may head to NC when dh retires. Our first house felt like home for me once we painted the interior. Dh loved it within the first steps inside. We sold it and were moving to an older home on a quieter spot with larger property, until the deal fell through. We had 2 weeks to find something or get a rental. Since our older son was going to kindergarten the following year, we decided to buy something we were not in love with, but had potential. We are at the 4 year mark and its potential is about to be realized when we break ground on the reno/extension on 11/29. I miss our first house and wonder if it was a huge mistake to have moved. Once this house gets done our way, I sure hope I feel more connected to it because it is costing way more than was estimated (by a family member/contractor) at almost double the expense. The hassle of dealing with the town for permits and a variance is enough to make one scream, many times. I am excited for our plans for it and will have a nice (modest) house, done our way, in a very good neighborhood when all is done. I'd like our sons to feel like they are home and not living in a place that is perpetually in limbo. I will finally be able to unpack our decorative items, hang pictures and put our colors on the walls. Since everything seems tied into something else, there was very little we could do before the big reno that would not get undone or ruined by the process. I am very ready to feather out nest ;) Not living with all the materials in boxes stored around the house & garage will be a big relief on its own.

I won't even begin to list how many cleaning products are in my house. It's. Absolutely. Terrifying. That being said, I'm working on getting rid of much of it and using more natural/earth friendly methods. One thing that I am having a tough time giving up is my toilet bowl cleaner with bleach. I just haven't found anything that makes me feel like the toilet is as clean as when I use some bleach based product. Just mixed up a batch of baking soda, essential oils (eucalyptus and peppermint), a little bit of Dawn dishwashing liquid, and enough water to make a paste. This was used to scrub the tub which gets absolutely horrible because it's an old porcelain tub (but the finish was messed up from the previous owners)...it got it as clean as the harsher cleansers I've used with about the same amount of effort. Bonus is that it smelled lovely, way better than most cleaning products you can buy in the store. Looking forward to hearing more about some of the alternate cleaning products that people use.

I missed the Clinique Happy mention above. I have Clinique's Happy in Bloom and I stopped wearing it shortly after I bought it because it was short lasting. I sprayed some on just now and will time it and I'm loving the scent. I searched reviews & simply love this one, especially if you're familiar with my topics like this one and another I did last night. " 5.0fromballetomane 4 years ago I find the original Happy fresh and musty at the same time, like an orange that has been cut in half and left out in the sun all day and is starting to go bad. Happy in Bloom is without mustiness. It is floral but not suffocatingly flowery, with a scrubbed clean simplicity of freesia and lily of the valley that is confident and dignified. Happy in Bloom smells like integrity and I like that very much. After over a year spent riding out the pandemic with my family, I value easy elegance over aspirational consumption and opulence. My perfume choice reflects that."