Let me start out by saying that nothing irritates me more than a Febreeze commercial. How stupid is it to spray a cleaning product and then smell it directly? I know some kids have probably tried to imitate this moronic commercial at home. Do you think they actually bottle up sunshine and roses? There are chemicals in that product! Why would anyone want to inhale that directly into their lungs? Let me just turn on my gas burners and start inhaling some fumes while I am at it! Huffing is sooo much fun-let's teach kids how to do it on T.V. I know they are being funny-but it is MORONIC if you ask me. Who is with me?
Using safe products to keep my home clean is a topic that means a lot to me. I have a baby, three cats, and a bird in my house. I want to keep it safe for all of my family members. About three months ago I boxed up all of my toxic cleaners and threw them away. I really started to think about natural ways to clean my home. I wanted to be able to clean when Eliza was around me (maybe even on my back). I figured that if the cleaners were giving me a headache, they would torture my baby's delicate system. Thankfully the University of Google provided me with plenty of information.
Under my sink you will find:
- distilled white vinegar
- baking soda
- Borax
- Seventh Generation Dish Detergents
- some microfiber cloths
- Method hand soap
That is it for now. I can basically clean everything with these products. I still use paper towels too much and plan to cut down on my use. Not that these are toxic- but I can hear the trees falling each time I pull one off the roll. I plan to expand my product making in the future by using essential oils to jazz them up. I prefer lavender and lemon scent. We all know I could use a calming scent right about now. I freed up a ton of space under my sink. The added bonus is that it costs much less than if I were to buy a zilion toxic products. I think we are so brain washed by big business and television that we need all kinds of things to keep our homes clean. In reality- we really need a few simple products under our sinks. Mr. Clean called and told me all that fresh scent nonsense is a load of bull donkey. The chemical clean smell does not mean it is actually clean.
*I have found that soaking icky clothes in Borax before putting them through the wash really helps with explosive diaper stains.
and now for your viewing enjoyment...
I found this video on UTUBE and it is really informative. It gave me tons of new ideas and I hope it gives you some too!Disclaimer: This entry in no way states that I clean my house on a regular basis. I can usually be found playing with Eliza, reading, watching Ellen, or blogging instead of doing said housework. It simply states that if and when I do clean- I try to keep it green!
8 comments:
Thanks for the great info! It is so funny how opposite we are sometimes. I am the first one to go out and buy something as soon as I see it on tv. Clorox wipes, toilet wand, bathtub scrubby things ... you name it I will buy it. You mentioned febreeze and I think I have like 10 of those in my closet at home. (I do not sniff them though.)
Anyway I was thinking about trying this a while ago because I saw it somewhere as a way to save money. I ended up forgetting all about it ... but now I am determined. I will add all of these things to my shopping list for this weekend. I must say that all of that cleaning stuff really costs a lot of money. I usually end up wearing a bandana over my face and gloves up to my elbows when I clean the house. I also feel bad for Chewy (the bunny) when I clean the downstairs because I get nervous the fumes are hurting her. (That makes a good excuse to not clean that much haha.)
I also read somewhere else that you DO NOT need to use anything that says antibacterial when you clean.
Oh my gosh, that commercial drives me crazy! Sounds like we have a lot in common. We threw out ALL of our chemicals last year after our pets died. It was the best thing we ever did. I also became a vegetarian. Thanks for stopping by my blog, yours is great.
Your daughter is a cutie!
Dan, your always thinking of these great ideas and passing them on, thanks!!
Not only does it seem like a safer way to clean, but will save money too!
I've started reading "Skinny Bitch" I'm really going to consider better food choices, lol, like no meat!! I'm just not sure if i could do without turkey tacos! We'll see!!
P.S. - Brian thanks you, lol!!
Hey Chica,
I would LOVE to incorporate all those things into my cleaning routine...my friend Nicole has been an advocate forever...and I saw an Oprah special on all those green products and LOVED it...but Sean is such a pain in the a** about things like this when I try to put them into play...any advice there mama? Maybe if I slowly introduce. Can you get borax in the supermarket? What is it exactly?? HELP! I have to watch the video you put on there...but American Idol is on...which is taking priority over green right now, lol...but I will!
That was GREAT into! I am going to have to come back to this post when I can process it better! I too hate when commercials get us to smell things like that. I secretly have it out for smelly markers! I can't imagine a product that encourages kids to sniff it! Not good!
I am right there with you girl as far as the Febreeze commercial goes! And I LOVE Seventh Generation and Method Products. Oh and another great tip I picked up from a friend of mine... You know those "mops" like the Swifer... well instead of buying the refills for it her and I use prefold diapers on them! That way when we're done mopping up our floors we just toss the dirty prefold cloth diapers in the wash! Prefolds are also great for cleaning counters, sinks etc. Then just wash them when you're through. It works great for us and saves on the paper towels!
Love your blog BTW! Thanks for stopping by mine...
I'm with you! We've used baking soda and vinegar for our housecleaning for years and years. Cheap and safe!
We use baking soda and vinegar for everything. Except toilet cleaner. I am still evil on that one, b/c I always get to the bathroom last. I have every excuse not to clean it, so by the time I do, I need something heavy duty to get the job done. Bad. I need to work on that :) Never tried Borax. Mostly b/c it is toxic, unlike bleach that breaks down almost immediately.
Post a Comment