LOVE to talk about green cleaning. No really, could talk about it all day long. I do not understand why so many folks rely on mainstream cleaners with their noxious and toxic chemicals. The green stuff works just as well and it is safe for humans and safe for our planet. There is just no reason to buy up most of the stuff you will see in the cleaning isle of your conventional grocery store. NO REASON. And before anyone brings up price I will concede that bottle of mainstream all purpose cleaner “may” cost less than a bottle by Seventh Generation. But you don’t have to buy pricey bottled cleaners at all. Ever heard of vinegar, baking soda, lemons, borax and the like? Yeah, I thought so. Cheap and effective green cleaning for pennies.

Here is what I use in my house:

Vinegar - Words cannot describe how much I love to clean with vinegar. I keep it in a spray bottle under the kitchen sink and I use it all the time. I use it as an all purpose cleaner, floor cleaner, laminate floor cleaner, window and glass cleaner, and I use it as a follow up to baking soda in tubs, sinks, toilets, and showers. AND I also use it as a hair rinse for our No Poo routine. Just recently one of my kids got head lice (the offender shall remain nameless) but we used vinegar daily to dissolve the glue from the nits. We got the lice under quick control and no one else in the house got lice either. How much more amazing could this stuff be?

Baking Soda – A scrubbing powder for grime. I use it in tubs, toilets, showers, sinks, etc. It can also be mixed with essential oils to make a scented scrub. Just put it in a Ball jar, drop in some essential oils such as Tea Tree or Lavender, slap a sprouting lid on top of it for a homemade shaker! This can be used to deodorize carpets as well. Sprinkle and let sit for 20 minutes and then vacuum up.

Essential Oils – Many essential oils have antibacterial properties that make them perfect for cleaning. Plus they make the house smell great. My homemade kitchen floor cleaner is vinegar, water, and tea tree oil. My homemade shampoo is pure castile soap, water, and peppermint oil.

Pure Castile Soap – Safe, natural, and effective. We would be LOST without our big bottles of Dr. Bronners. In addition to adding it to homemade cleaners and shampoo I also use it in my washing machine and to clean my carpets with my SteamVac.

Borax – I use this in my dishwasher coupled with baking soda.

Natural and Green Cleaners to Purchase

I will on rare occasions buy a cleaner. Some of my faves are the Seventh Generation Cleaner with Lemongrass and Thyme that I linked to in the first paragraph and the Cedarwood and Sage Cleaner from Trader Joe’s. I really like both of those and will buy them when the mood strikes me.  I also have some Bio+Green Crystals that you add to water. Those are pretty nifty too. You add the packet to a water bottle and they dissolve (packet and all) and you have a pretty good cleaner at your disposal.

If you need further help I have a FREE green cleaning ebook you can read with homemade cleaner recipes! I made it in 2009 but it is still relevant of course. Pass that link on to anyone you know who may benefit! I also like the book Creating Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule. It is not green per say but it has a great tips about getting it all done in less time.

So what do you use to clean your house? How do you keep it green?

** Read what some of the other Green Moms Weekly do here and here.

Our schedules are so hectic these days that it seems we hardly have time for the important stuff; let alone daily housecleaning chores. So is there a solution? A few months back I heard someone taking about once a month cleaning and it was a light bulb moment. We HAD to try and see if this helped us in our home. I actually don’t dislike cleaning but with 3 messy kidlets and a husband who works long hours outside the home I was getting burnt out. Plus I work to, I just do it at home. That cutesy saying about rocking your babies instead of sweeping your floors isn’t so cute when your kids are getting older. Also my aversion to having company when the house is untidy was being challenged with the arrival of new neighbors who are always over at our place it seems. Thankfully there is a way that you can reduce your housecleaning to just once a month; mind you it is going to take a little advance planning, but it can be done.

Steps to Once-a-Month House Cleaning

Reducing your housecleaning to just once a month entails a good deal of organization and advance preparation, you are also going to have to enlist the cooperation of the rest of the people in your house, because it really will take everyone working together to make it work. It goes much easier if you come prepared to make it worth their while in the allowance department. I know some don’t like the idea of allowance but we use it primarily to teach money management and they know that helping out is required whether there is payment or not. Everyone who lives in our house has to contribute to its management.

Before you start your once-a-month housecleaning there are a few preparations that you are going to need to make. The first is making a list of the housecleaning chores that you normally do on a daily or weekly basis. Once you have made this list, split it up into chores that HAVE to be done on a daily basis (such as washing dishes, picking up toys, feeding the pets, etc. ) and chores that do not have to be done on a daily basis.

If you look at the list, chances are that you are going to find things like “cleaning the bathroom” and “mopping the kitchen floor” and things of that type. Let’s use cleaning the bathroom as an example: it is quite feasible to clean the bathrooms just once per month PROVIDED that the rest of the individuals in the house are willing to take steps to keep the bathroom from getting messed up before the month is up.

This means that towels will need to be hung up; that everyone who uses the sink will need to wipe it out with a sponge when they are finished (which will be under the sink) and that the last person to use the shower in the mornings needs to wipe it down. Clothing removed before showering needs to be tossed in the hamper (which is in the corner) and anyone who accidentally sprays the mirror needs to clean up their mess (rags are under the sink too).

As you can see, while it will take cooperation, there are also some things (such as having the right equipment in the right places) that will make the job much easier. Go through each of the housecleaning chores on your list like this and find ways that you can keep the chore from NEEDING to be done more than once a month. For things that need to be done daily or weekly we have the back bone of our cleaning system which is our 15 clean-up that every member in the house does daily. We do it together, turning on some music, and then assigning sections of the house. This means that main rooms are picked up and swept daily, dishes are done, plants and garden are watered, laundry is brought down to the basement, etc. Due to the once a month cleaning schedule we don’t assign bathrooms anymore with the exception of once weekly when the trash is collected and the toilet is cleaned in both bathrooms. We also don’t require any mopping unless the floors are really dirty. We actually have gotten lax on these cleanups since we moved into this house last September but part of our once a month cleaning plan was reinstating those sessions and making a chart to keep track of jobs more specifically.

Once you have made the necessary preparations to prevent the need of the chore being required more than once a month (and made sure that everyone is aware of what they need to do) you then need to make a housecleaning list of the chores that you can do once a month and estimate how much time will be required to do each one. Chances are that if you can complete all of your household chores in 1-2 days depending on the size of your house and the number of people in your household. Our once monthly jobs are mopping all hard floors, shampooing our carpeted areas with Dr. Bronner’s soap, cleaning and organizing closets and dressers, cleaning garage and basement, finishing laundry, washing windows, sweeping the porch and deck, cleaning walls and baseboards, scrubbing the kitchen and bathrooms, and all the bigger jobs that you don’t need to do weekly or that are much more manageable due to everyone being required to keep things cleaner on a daily basis.

Now, choose one weekend a month that you can devote to cleaning. Start early on Saturday morning and simply clean your way down the list, top to bottom. Now you have three weekends at your disposal – not to mention all your free evenings (minus 15 minutes for us); time you can use for the important things in life!

Now your turn. What cleaning method works best for your family?

I am not one who feels inspired to clean in the springtime. I grew up in Arizona where winter was a whole different ball of wax than what you find here in Ohio so when Spring rolls around… you won’t find me inside the house cleaning! I am going to be outside enjoying the sunshine and early spring flowers.

While I am not a fan of the cold I do not get depressed in winter as so many do… due to lack of outdoor time and sunshine. I do find myself drawn indoors most of the time but I find it sets off a sort of nesting instinct. Out come the warm quilts (I have a blanket fetish), I clean and declutter, and generally just try to make sure our hybernation chamber is comfy and clean.

This week I bartered for help cleaning house. In fact I plan to get permanent help in that regard but I can’t wrap my mind around paying someone to do what I can do myself so I have devised a way to trick myself. I will cancel the YMCA family membership we never use and cancel our cable and use that money to pay a house cleaner twice a month. Then I won’t feel like I am paying out extra money. Now I just have to sell my husband on the idea but since he almost never watches TV, I think I can do it.

This week I got busy cleaning carpets, cleaning windows, cleaning the oven, scrubbing everything down, rearranging furniture, and cleaning out closets. In return for help with all that I am teaching someone step by step how to set up an online business and make money at home.

In addition to cleaning, this time is also perfect for winterizing. My daughter’s room is freakin cold no matter what we do, so I decided to make room for a twin size bed in my own bedroom for her and she will just sleep there for winter. We already have our toddler in our bed so the only one missing is my oldest boy.

We have a very drafty closet on one end of the house so that got loaded from floor to ceiling with fabric, rugs, blankets, books, storage bins, etc to insulate more. We brought a futon out into the living room for the kids since the cold leather couch was discouraging them from sitting out there to read or watch DVDs. And a Wii is going out here after Christmas so we wanted it to be cozy. Next week I will set to work making a draft snake (filled with rice) for the front door, because we have a wicked draft coming in at the base of the door.

Oh and anyone else ever get sick from the Peppermint Castile Soap from Dr. Bronners?? We used it to clean the carpets and the peppermint smell was so strong and it made me so nauseous that I had to leave the house for awhile to avoid vomiting. Guess I need to use less of it next time… either that or I am so sensitive to fragrance that I need a plastic bubble now.

So tell me… do you “nest” in the winter? What do you do?

Food-borne illnesses often begin in the kitchen. Bacteria that tend to live in kitchens include staphylococcus, salmonella, shigella dysenteriae, and e-coli. These germs tend to proliferate on sponges and cutting boards, but they can be on countertops and other surfaces as well. I am less of a germaphobe since my green journey began and I fear the harsh chemcial cleaners more than most germs. Since meat rarely makes an appearance in our home anymore I don’t have to worry as much either but I still like to keep things sanitized… as long as it is done safely.

You can combat most kitchen germs with natural remedies. Here are some natural substances and their role in kitchen sanitization.

1. Grapefruit seed extract, or GSE

GSE is an extremely broad-spectrum antibiotic substance. It is made from the seeds (and sometimes the peel and leaves) of grapefruits and grapefruit trees. I use it in this natural carpet cleaner recipe.

According to author and herbal scholar Stephen Harrod Buhner, “GSE has been found to be more powerful as a cleaning disinfectant than standard hospital preparations.” In other words, it works better than the disinfectant the hospitals use! GSE is active against a large number of bacteria, including the ones listed above. It is even effective against haemophilus influenzae, which causes ear infections, sinusitis, and meningitis. To make a disinfectant spray, add 30 to 40 drops to 1 quart of water and shake.

2. Vinegar

An acidic solution, vinegar kills some germs and microbes and inhibits their growth – if it didn’t, it would not be used to preserve foods (think pickles). To make a sanitizing spray from white or apple cider vinegar, mix 1/4 – 1/2 cup vinegar per cup of water. You can add some essential oil of bergamot, orange, or lemon to this solution to make it smell good and add even more antibacterial action (bergamot is a citrus fruit and its essential oil has, like all citrus, antibacterial action). I use white vinegar in my own cleaning as well as Vinegar of 4 Theives.

3. Hydrogen peroxide

A 1996 study showed that hydrogen peroxide, when combined with an equal amount of vinegar, is a potent bacteria killer. Salmonella, shigella and e-coli were all vanquished by this solution. You can also spray hydrogen peroxide directly onto countertops, or mix it with an equal amount of water.

4. Tea tree oil

Also an anti-fungal, clinical research has shown tea tree oil to be effective against many antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It definitely works to kill staphylococus, e-coli, shigella, and salmonella. In a spray bottle, combine and shake 2 cups water, 1/2 tsp. liquid soap, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, and 20 drops of tea tree oil.

5. Neem oil

Neem oil comes from the seeds of a tree that is native to India, and is more than a sanitizer. It is also an insect repellent, and keeping insects at bay is an important component to kitchen cleanliness. It does not dissolve well in water without some sort of emulsifier, such as liquid soap. The best way to make a neem cleaner is to mix the neem oil in a vegetable-based, liquid soap such as castile (think Dr. Bronners). Then, use a few drops of this soap to clean your kitchen counters or try mixing the neem-soap mixture with water in a spray bottle. Shake it well. You can also use Neem Oil spray soaps in your garden and in the shower. I love Neem oil!

Don’t let anyone tell you that green means dirty and germy because it just isn’t so! My younger brother likes to call me a dirty hippie to bait me… well he got the hippie part right at least.

One of the first steps in moving towards any greener, more sustainable lifestyle has to be the step where you ditch chemical cleaners and start using cleaner, greener options. It is my number #1 recommended step in fact because everyone has to clean house and by using green cleaners we make our homes and our planet safer.

Its not always an easy switch though. We may get used to using harsh cleaners like Clorox or Windex and using something more mild like baking soda and vinegar seems like more work. I know when my husband quit his old job that took him out of town all but a few days a month and he was around to do some cleaning, he was kinda baffled by my cleaners. He kept asking how do I clean this up with no paper towel and no cleaners? I would point to the cleaning cabinet and you would have thought it was empty by the look on his face. What was he to do with spray bottles, peppermint Castile soap, vinegar, baking soda, and ripped up towel remnants?

For his sake, and my own, I usually try to keep a couple non homemade green cleaners on hand so he won’t have an excuse not to help with the cleaning. Other people just want to use conventional cleaners and that is okay… there are greener choices available. I get lots of requests from companies to test their green cleaners and since I know I will use them I agree to act as a tester on occasion. The cleaners below are some of my latest adventures in this area.

The ones pictured above are called wowgreen and there are 12 of them from an all purpose cleaner, to a dish soap, to a wood and dust shine. I got a big box from the company and dove right into testing them since I had some guests coming over… the kind of guests that bring TV cameras. I rather enjoy cleaning and do it thoroughly so they got a good run. Ultimately they clean pretty good but not good enough to keep me buying them. They don’t blow my homemade cleaners out the water but they do have one very cool feature. You buy the bottles once and then refill them with little packets of concentrated cleaner and water. It is a much better alternative then buying bottled cleaners over and over again at the supermarket. But with homemade cleaners I can refill my own bottles AND not have the little plastic pouch of concentrated cleaner to throw away.

Another drawback was the fact that all the cleaners have dye in them. They are all groovy colors like red, blue, yellow, and orange but that is not necessary and the dyes can’t be natural. They also stained some of my white rags which is kind of annoying. But they didn’t give me hives like many of the more conventional cleaners do so that is a good sign. All in all I I found them efficient but they didn’t “wow” me. I ended up donating what I had left (which was a lot) to someone who could use them.

A company called Earth Care Market sent me some of their cleaners and I like their stuff much better although I had tried most of it before. The soap nuts they sent are already a hit here. The Wipe-Its are coin sized pellets that turn into a paper towel-like cloth wipe and I have tried them before to. I like them a lot but not so much for every day cleaning. I keep some on hand for vacations, camping, and hiking though.

Their Clean-It Mop might have been a nice change of pace from my usual routine… which is to use my feet and two rags to clean my hard floors. BUT I didn’t have a mop stick on which to attach the mop head and wasn’t about to buy one (plastic) just to test out a mop head that would only last a few weeks. So I donated it as well and is was liked well enough but I am told it fell apart rather quickly.

The last thing that I tested was the big winner IMO. It is Vaska laundry detergent. Soap nuts are good and all but the shipping aspect is a pain in the butt. I would like to try making my own but as yet have not ventured there. When we ran out a few months back I just got a bulk tub from Costco with powdered detergent. Well, in addition to the stuff smelling noxious and giving me a headache if the lid falls off, the powder does not want to dissolve in my washer. I am not sure if that is a detergent problem or a washer problem but little pebbles of detergent all over our clothes did not go over well with me. Getting the Vaska liquid herbatergent was a life saver.

I love the smell, it is really mild, and it gets the clothes cleaner than the powder did with no visible residue. It uses herbs and potent botanical cleaning agents for high performance stain removal and extreme freshness. INGREDIENTS: Plant based surfactants, vegetable conditioner, water-soluble degreasing agent, lavender extract (leaves no scent) and filtered water. My recycling center recycles the bottles too so I would definitely buy again.

Vaska is also getting pretty cool press too. One of the oldest Chinese laundry services in California recently switched to Vaska AND it won a Wash Off with Tide at the Fashion Institute of Technology. There is no reason to use harsh chemical cleaners when the greener, natural stuff works just as well ya know?

Thanks much to the companies for sending me products to test. I am kind of “harsh” when it comes to green cleaners, so sorry bout that. Some products I just have no use for. All that I tried were decent but Vaska is the only one that made me sit up and take notice.

Our new place has wood laminate floors. So far I am not crazy about them… I would much rather have real hardwood floors but it is what it is. They get scuffed easily and they feel so thin it is like walking on vinyl. It is actually a very thin layer of wood with a couple paper layers on top that are printed to look like a wood grain. Then a coating seals the paper.

You can easily strip the top coat and start degrading the paper if you use harsh chemical cleaners and then you have ruined laminate floors. But all the scuffs and visible spots make you want to clean it… a lot! Oily cleaners are a no-no because it collects on the surface and attracts dirt and dust.

I think I have found my system for dealing with these floors and it is no muss no fuss… just the way I like it… green too. Just remember that if you have new laminate floors under warranty you will need to pay attention to their rules but you should be fine.

1. Sweep the loose stuff – I use a good old fashioned broom and dustpan and sweep up crumbs and other loose debris.

2. Fill a small bucket with warm water and add 2-4 tablespoons white vinegar.

3. Take two terry cloths and wet them in the water and vinegar solution. Wring them out and walk across the floor with them with sweeping motions. Scrub scuffs with your toes.

4. After the floor is clean you can let it air dry or take two microfiber towels and walk with them on your feet to dry and dust the floor.

Viola…beautiful floors and the vinegar smell only lasts 15 minutes or so. Another super easy way to clean these floors is to use the Rubbermaid Spray Mop. The spray bottle can be filled with vinegar and water, or any cleaner you want, and the cloth pads are washable. LOVE it!

I have been a fan of Ecostore products ever since I tried out a vast array of their green baby products including the Nappy Balm and Sleepytime Bath Soap. This week I tried some of their green cleaners and was impressed once again. Not only are they a company dedicated to green products, they fully disclose ingredients and they will be coming soon to Meijer stores in the Midwest, so they will be readily available. This company started out in New Zealand so now the US can benefit from their quality and safety standards. I think it is pretty awesome and I like Meijer too.

Ecostore offers more than 100 products, and each one meets the most stringent environmental and sustainability standards. Their products are good for the user and for the planet or they don’t sell them. Also because they know how expensive it can be to buy natural or organic products, they have super-concentrated each formula so it goes a long way and you get your money’s worth.

This week I test drove the Dishwash Liquid and the Pure Oxygen Laundry Whitener.

The dishwash liquid has very nice, fresh scent and it was very sudsy which I like in a liquid dish soap. Ingredients include:

I would definitely buy it.

The pure oxygen whitener contains oil of citrus and coconut and other plant-based ingredients. It cleans and whitens clothes and does not contain any harsh chemicals that could irritate delicate skin. It did get our whites whiter I think but I cannot compare to something like bleach because we don’t use it. Ingredients include:

• Carbonates (simple mineral salts)
• Sodium percarbonate (oxygen producing whitener)
• Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
• Citrates (from citrus)
• Highly biodegradable surfactant
• Natural citrus oil

I am not a stickler for keeping whites gleaming white…I don’t place that much importance in it but I think this is a great alternative for those that are. ;)

Green cleaners are not negotiable in our home. We are just too sensitive to the chemicals in conventional cleaners. My son had a severe reaction to toilet cleaner a couple years ago and I got hives the last time I touched bleach and Windex. So we use green cleaners around here. Some I make and others I buy. It just depends on my mood at the time but a green clean is not negotiable.

Better Life Green Cleaners are a nifty new option for green moms. They are called better life because as parents we want a better, healthier life or our family when we shop for products and these products meet that need. The company was founded by two dads and life long friends (Kevin and Tim) who wanted products that’d be good for their kids, our kids, and our planet.

They have also seen the trendiness of the word “green” and they wanted to stand apart as a company who walked the walk and actually sold safe products instead of just greenwashing questionable ones.

I know you want to try them. Well, Mama Goes Green is a store that sells sustainable goods for practical families. The owner Sara has graciously offered one of my readers a Better Life Non Toxic Cleaners Set.

It includes:

I Can See Clearly, WOW!™ glass cleaner  – It is solvent-free (no ammonia, alcohol, or ethers) and pH neutral, so it’s safe to use on acrylic and tinted/treated windows and glass.

Even The Kitchen Sink™ gentle scrubber- This naturally powerful gentle cleaning scrubber works wonders on tubs, tile and grout, toilet bowls, shower doors, stovetops, glass cooktops , stainless steel sinks, porcelain, ceramic, enamel, stone, cultured marble, non-polished solid countertops, and laminate. If concerned, test in an inconspicuous area first.

What-EVER!™ All-Purpose Cleaner- Use this safe cleaner on any washable non-porous surface, including: countertops, appliances, sinks, toilets, baseboards, walls, floors, tables, chairs, showers and tubs. Better Life products are ethoxylate-free so waterways and marine life will not be harmed.

This set is valued at $22.50 and one lucky reader will get it free, courtesy of Mama Goes Green. Thanks Sara!

The winner is #5 Andrea! Congrats!!

Mostly I have been using the Multizyme, which is an all purpose cleaner. I use it on everything from kitchen counters to cabinets and stovetops. It wasn’t quite as good at getting rid of greasy spots in the kitchen but most gentle cleaners have that issue…it just took a little baking soda to get the job done.

I used the mold and mildew cleaner to spot clean in the basement after a humid summer with great success and I used the airzyme fragrance free odor eliminator down there too. I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked and without using a perfumey smell to simply mask things (think Febrize). They also have cleaners for the kitchen, tub and tile, glass, and nursery. I give them a thumbs up! Now I am ready for guests!

Anyway…I decided to start with the first room in my basement. It will serve as a playroom and homeschool room for the kids but as you can see from the BEFORE pictures below it was in a sad state. On the left side of the room I had a bounce house that the kids would almost never play on. So that got moved to another room in the basement and I “hope” the kids will let me sell it at a garage sale.

The right side of the room was full of miscellaneous junk and tubs with toys which were scattered everywhere. Much of the stuff was my brothers as he moved in with a 2 bedroom apartment’s worth of stuff and his bachelor pad (also in the basement) is only 20×30. I moved all that stuff out into the next room over and he and I will figure out what to do with it.

We also have a problem keeping the stairs and landing clean as whenever someone (including me) is too lazy to take something downstairs we just er…uhm… throw it down there. I vow to put a stop to that. ;)

So here is what I did in the room:

1. Scrubbed the wood stairs and banister with BabyGanics floor cleaner.

2. Scrubbed the epoxy floor (also with BabyGanics) and realized that it needs a new coat of paint but I am thinking I may wait on that until I can tile it.

3. Set up a couple of my old fabric cutting tables to use for arts and crafts and homeschool projects. On them I put bins for supplies. I also put up some educational posters and charts from a rockin education supply store I just discovered.

4. I put all the toys in plastic tubs I already had on hand and we will get one out at a time.

5. Set up a music area with an electric keyboard we haven’t touched in years and daddy’s old acoustic guitar. Now we can jam down there together. :)

6. Put an unused futon down there for seating, as well as a couple chairs.

7. Put a TV and DVD player in one corner for videos. If my son ever develops am interest in video games this would be a good place to keep them.

8. I took my daughter’s wood play kitchen from her room and put it down there. Since she never spends time in her room she might get to play with it more now.

9. Moved most of the kids books and games to the playroom on bookshelves. We also have a special basket for library books so we don’t loose any.

10. Cleaned out the small windows in the basement…cobweb city. I used BabyGanics Window and Surface Cleaner.

11.  Cleaned some rugs and put them down on the floor including my favorite pink rag rug I got a garage sale last year.

12. Put up baby gates to keep my youngest away from the stairs and from wandering the rest of the basement…at least until it gets spring cleaned too.

I also made a really cool discovery. I have a laundry shoot underneath the carpet in my closet! I saw it from the basement side of the floor. So someday when I finally rip up that carpet to see if the hardwood underneath is salvageable I will have a laundry shoot. :)

I also put together my yard sale wish list for this room: homeschool supplies, a desk (preferably an old fashioned school desk), a sewing desk, and art supplies. I also started my “to be sold at our yard sale” pile.

Still to do: Get a desk or table for my laptop and for sewing. Also the stairs have a banister but are otherwise open (an accident waiting to happen) so that needs to be addressed pronto.

Here are the AFTER pictures:

The kids and I LOVE it. Spring Cleaning is going good so far. How is yours going?

[tags]spring cleaning, playroom, homeschool[/tags]

I have boxes of stuff in my basement that I never opened and went through. I have an unorganized laundry room (read: clothes all over floor), my bed linen closet is a horror, I have many walls that need a coat of zero VOC paint, a light on a vaulted ceiling has been burnt out since we moved in, my kitchen cupboards are so stuffed they won’t close, and dagnabbit I can’t find my darn sewing machine and I want to sew some stuff! This is the tip of the iceberg.

So…I am putting my feet to the flame here. I am starting a big green spring clean and I will chronicle the journey here and yes I will be posting BEFORE pictures so you can know my shame. :(

What I plan to accomplish:

1. A clean home using green and natural cleaning products.

2. An organized home with less clutter.

3. A more simplistic home with less stuff I don’t need.

4. A clear idea and list of stuff I DO need. Then I plan to shop at yard sales, estate sales, and thrift stores as much as I possibly can and not buy new.

5. More organized play/fun/crafting/art areas set up for myself and the kids so we won’t be constantly running out of supplies or making such a mess. And of course more fun is good too. :) We also need areas for homeschool projects.

Want to join me? Blog along with me and document your own “Big Green Spring Clean!”. Feel free to grab the banner at the top of this post if you want to. I have a smaller one too. Let’s see what we can accomplish together…

Sign Mr. Linky below if you are blogging about spring cleaning:

[tags]spring cleaning, organized, laundry, green cleaning[/tags]

My son had to have two bottles of hand sanitizer to go to school. I had to buy or they would and then charge me. Luckily they accepted Clean Well hand sanitizers which use essential oils from plants to kill bacteria.

There will be times when soap and water isn’t at hand though so I even can see the benefit of hand sanitizers…at least the safe and more natural ones. When I take my kids to the play center at the mall for instance I bring some, also I take some to Chuckie E. Cheeses. This past week with my illness we all used them to see if I could spare my kids getting strep throat…so far so good. We tried a few new products actually from an online store called For My Kids. The On-the-Go Hand Sanitizeris an all natural germ fighter. You just spray, rub, and go. It smells heavenly with a blend of witch hazel, lavender, eucalyptus, and sweet orange essential oils.  The spray has antiseptic, antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antifungal properties. They make my hands feel energized and refreshed.

I have also been using their Vinegar of the Four Thieves, which is a centuries old formula that has been used to prevent contagious disease. I had heard of it before but I had never used any or made any of my own. You can use it everywhere you would use disinfectants, like those horrible smelling ones from Clorox.

The For My Kids formula contains a blend of organic ingredients: lavender, peppermint, rosemary, rue, sage, wormwood, camphor, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves,  garlic, and calamus cold-infused for six weeks in white distilled vinegar. All this week I have been using it to spray doorknobs, the telephone mouthpiece, cutting boards, my son’s highchair, and even our bedroom linens. I think it smells pretty awesome too. My mom picked up my phone to use and asked why it smelled like steak sauce. It does kind of remind me of A1 steak sauce, LOL.

What I liked the most about these products though was that they came in a nice cobalt blue glass bottle. I can use these bottles for a long time to come around the house and no plastic and no waste is a HUGE bonus. They last a long time and they are very affordable in price too.

Safe, natural, and eco friendly…what more could I want?

Trust me I get it. I always like to spend my dollars with the most reputable and ethical companies. As more huge corporations buy up our beloved products though this will become increasingly hard to do (remember Clorox just bought Burt’s Bees too)…but not impossible. Buying a green cleaner from a company that primarily produces chemical cleaners might be likened to buying a hybrid from GM, whose VP just went on record as saying that global warming is a crock of sh*t.

So what is my verdict? I like Clorox Green Works.

I have been using several Green Works products for the last few weeks and they do a great job cleaning. And while they seem to be only 99% natural (Clorox claims that they are listing all ingredients on the labels of the Green Works products, something they do not do with their conventional cleaning products) I think this is an awesome accomplishment for mainstream, highly affordable, and highly available cleaner. According to the San Francisco Chronicle the remaining non-natural 1% contains the preservative Kathon (derived from petrochemicals) and a couple dyes to tint the cleaners those lovely shades of green.

My opinion? Not bad. You see when I go to my local Kroger store I don’t see any Dr. Bronners, or Seventh Generation, or Method, etc. If they did have them I am guessing that most mainstream people would scoff at the price tag compared to a bottle of 409. But along comes Clorox Green Works…a MUCH safer cleaner in comparison and priced just as affordably as other cleaners. Now all the consumer has to do is decide between the regular cleaner they always get or this new cleaner from a company they recognize as being efficient, and it says “natural”. How many people might now be motivated to buy the safer product? How many mainstream people will be converted and end up ditching the majority of the chemicals they were using? The potential to convert is a powerful one and one big reason I support this product. I live in a VERY economically depressed area and I think moms here deserve safer products too and they won’t care a lick about greenwashing or supporting the most ethical companies. They will care about feeding their families and if they can now afford to buy safer, conventional cleaners….they are happy and I am happy for them. You won’t see me slapping that Green Works out of their hand to lecture them about not supporting Clorox and their other “toxic” products. A safer home is a safer home…anyway you slice it.

Green Works products worked extremely well for me and did not cause me to break out in hives…which I will certainly do if I pick up a bottle of Windex or 409. I also adore the scrumptious smell and that surprised me because I am very sensitive to fragrance. Green Works smells very lightly of limes…yum.

These products are made from renewable resources, they are biodegradeable, sustainable, and 99% petrochecmical free. They are also not tested on animals. It is not the “perfect” natural cleaner but hey that’s okay…baby steps. I hope that more moms will make the switch to a more natural cleaner thanks to Green Works.

As for me, I will probably stick with what I already use. Why fix what isn’t broken? But I will enjoy using up what I have left of my GW products.

[tags]Clorox, green works, natural, cleaners, greenwashing[/tags]

So here is a run down of what I generally use to clean:

Furniture Polish - 1 cup olive oil, 1/2 lemon juice. Mix in a spray bottle and shake before every use. Spray on rag and then rub furniture.

Window Cleaner – Put 1/4 cup vinegar in a spray bottle along with several lemon peels and then fill to the top with water. Spray all surfaces and use a lint free rag to wipe off. Crumpled newspaper works well to wipe up after too.

Scented Soda Scrub – Mix several cups of baking soda with several drops of peppermint or Candy Cane blend essential oils. It smells heavenly and can be used as a deodorizer too. Often times I sprinkle it on carpet and then vacuum to make the whole house smell yummy. I use this along with my window cleaner to clean tubs and sinks.

Floor Cleaner- For floors I use a small amount of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap diluted in water and a 1/2 cup vinegar. Plain vinegar and water works too. I use a broom and dustpan to sweep them first (no vacuum) and I wash them by putting two cloth rags on the floor and sliding around on them with my feet…no mops. It is a good workout. Just put on some music…The Hustle…and away we go.

Natural Dishwasher Soap Recipes – Follow that link to 2 homemade recipes I use.

Natural Carpet Cleaner Recipe- I also use soap nuts on occasion but I am using BabyGanics now. I have white carpet…these natural cleaners DO work.

I also use lemons to clean my garbage disposal, bleach cloth diapers in the sun, and boiled in enamel pots to remove stains. Also, because I have white Corian sinks (and counters) I will throw some cut up lemons in the sink and them seep in boiling water to remove stains…which I find that Corian is prone to get. They come right out.

For rags I use old towels cut into squares and I have some microfiber towels as well.

So…as you see my cleaning regimen is pretty simple and no fuss. I hope you enjoy trying some of these recipes in your home!

For additional info I really like the book Clean House, Clean Planet.

It is important to me that I only clean my home with products that are safe, natural, and green. Conventional cleaners might be effective in cutting through dirt and grime but they do so at the expense of our health and the environment. While many might use cleaning products like Windex or 409 with very little prior thought or concern….I actually like to know what I am spraying all over my home. These cleaners contain many chemicals that can be toxic, reactive, corrosive, or flammable. There is also the potential that they can cause serious health issues and environmental damage. Technological advances allow us to do things faster, easier and more efficient than ever before but those advances and products have to be safe!

Remember my story awhile back about how my son reacted to chemicals in toilet cleaner? All he did was sit down at a toilet that had toilet cleaning chemicals in it and I ended up calling 911. I don’t want my children to be exposed to harmful chemicals day in day out and I get hives at the drop of a hat so I avoid conventional cleaners all together.

Usually this means I make my own with simple and natural ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, pure castile soap, vegetable oil, lemons. etc. They work so well and they are so easy to make I usually won’t bother with buying any of the green cleaners on the market. I have tried many of them and they just don’t live up to the hype or they won’t disclose their ingredients like a certain company that Oprah endorses…ahem.

That said though, I was REALLY impressed with the BabyGanics line of cleaners. So much so that a few of these products are going to have a permanent home in my cleaning cabinet. These products are specifically formulated for the safety of children, pets and growing families, and they are environmentally safe. The BabyGanics line of cleaners is:

And a big plus for mommy…they work! Below I have given my thoughts on each of the BabyGanics products. I tried the unscented and the lavender scent versions alike.

BabyGanics All Purpose Household Cleaner - You just can’t beat and all purpose cleaner that cleans a multitude of surfaces through out the house. Instead of petroleum-based ingredients, or added dyes that are common triggers for respiratory and skin irritation, BabyGanics created an all-natural cleaning blend that is based upon natural soybean and palm kernel oils. I used it on kitchen and bathroom counters, on my stove and range, on my hardwood dining table, on walls decorated with crayon, and probably dozens of other places. I LOVE this cleaner and the lavender scented version is scrumptious. I am not big on fragrance so my kids noticed the yummy scent immediately and they liked it.

BabyGanics Tub & Tile Cleaner - Normally I use baking soda and vinegar to clean my tubs and showers. It works well but it I have to admit that the BabyGanics tub and tile cleaner is more more simple and just as effective. And of course it has none of the harsh chemicals and harsh acids in conventional tub cleaners that can be corrosive and toxic. The BabyGanics version is a special formula that is based upon a naturally derived urea salt which provides tremendously effective cleaning without the negative corrosive aspects many other products can leave behind. I used it extensively in my home recently and it works pretty darn good. I have been keeping a bottle in the shower to do a quick clean-up every week…otherwise it might be a once a month job in my house. ;)

BabyGanics Glass and Surface Cleaner - This product contains a unique, naturally derived biodegradable surfactant system that eliminates the need for solvents, glycol ethers and ammonia. I usually use a vinegar and water solution but I have to admit the BabyGanic glass cleaner is less streaky. It did a good job getting my car windows clean too and they were pretty grimy from all the salt spray on the roads this winter. I will likely just stick to plain old vinegar and water for indoor jobs but if you don’t like to make your cleaners or you hate the smell of vinegar this could be what you are looking for. I might keep some of this on hand for outdoor windows on my home and car.

BabyGanics Floor Cleaner Concentrate - This was my favorite BabyGanics product and I think it deserves a permanent place in my home cleaning repertoire. Its unique formula includes a combination of all-natural soybean and palm kernel oils and it is designed for use on tiles, laminates, and hard floors. I used it on the tile in my bathrooms, the linoleum in my kitchen and hall, the stone in my dining and foyer areas, the wood laminate in my family room, and get this…my carpet! When I was reading the back of the bottle I was super surprised to see a mention that it could also be used on carpet in addition to hard floor surfaces. So I diluted it according to the instructions and put it in my carpet cleaner and I cleaned some carpet in the bedrooms and in my kids play room. In the playroom the white carpet was starting to look gray and it had some stains from strawberry smoothie. The BabyGanics floor cleaner worked wonders. In fact I think it is one of the best carpet cleaners I have ever used. I have always tried to use soap nuts for my carpet but I find that harsh chemical cleaners are the only ones that can usually lift stains. Well not anymore…I will be using BabyGanics exclusively. Woot! I was very pleased. :)

So overall I REALLY like these cleaning products. They are safe and natural and they work good…a winning combo. I know I will definitely be keeping some of the All Purpose Cleaner and the Floor Cleaner on hand in my own home.

[tags]BabyGanics, organic, natural cleaning, green cleaning[/tags]

The Earth Choice product line is the first and only complete line of environmentally preferable household cleaners created in partnership with the Evironmental Protection Agency (EPA). This group of products debuted in January of this year and it includes products for cleaning glass, showers, grease, toilets, carpets, and toilet bowls. The OdoBan company wanted to create a group of cleaners that were effective yet better environmentally then any other cleaners on the market. They are low VOC, Alkylphenol-free, Phthalate-free cleaning formulas.

So do they actually work? Well, my husband and I had the opportunity to use them quite a bit this past week as we moved out of our house (yes, don’t ask…we are moving again….more on that later). Anyway…the All Purpose Cleaner worked VERY well. We used it in the kitchen, in the bathroom, on the floors, countertops, laundry room, etc. I was very pleased with its performance and the smell was pleasing too and not over powering in the least like most conventional cleaning products.

We also used the Shower Control and it was also very effective at removing soap scum and grime. When I was all done I couldn’t really smell anything but it certainly did have an air of freshness and maybe a faint lemony scent.

Overall both products were effective and next time you swing by Home Depot you might to pick up a few of the Earth Choice products. The planet thanks you.

By now, your windows are probably frozen shut. Think of how wonderful you will feel to be able to open the windows and let in the fresh air! Ah, but before you do, you will need to wash your windows. But first you have to get in the mood, right? Okay, then. Grab your favorite 50′s CD, or how about a Barry White CD? Do you feel the beat? You will be surprised how the music will put you in the cleaning mode.

After you’ve washed the windows, it’s time to take down the drapes and dust those blinds. Are you in the groove? Okay, now take out your spring curtains; iron and put them up. You’re doing great! Now head on in to the kitchen and clean those shelves. If you’re really moving to the beat, you can wash and re-line them. Well done!

Now the exercise portion of this task is about to begin. Take out your vacuum. Put on the CD from Saturday Night Fever and walk the walk as you vacuum your home. Tony Manero has nothing on you! After lunch, the bathroom is next. Oh, you are half way home. Dusting and polishing is next on the agenda. Do some knee bends as you clean and polish the coffee table.

The big finish is next! With the Hustle playing in the background, your kids rooms need tidying up. As you exercise your way through their rooms, picking up toys; you are done!
Dance your way back to the kitchen and have a cup of iced tea. You deserve it. Spring cleaning never felt so good!

[tags]spring cleaning, music, kids, kitchen, exercise[/tags]