Wednesday, May 09, 2007

clean green


I've recently replaced all the cleaning products in our house, and made the switch to "natural" & "non toxic" products.
I actually did this years ago, in fact I worked on the Seventh Generation packaging.
I in fact propped that green leaf.
Now there's a job that I actually felt good about at the end of the day.
anyhow I ended up falling off the natural wagon and found myself buying the standard brands at the grocery store.
To be honest, I actually never really found many of the natural product alternatives to be that affective.
The price didn't help either.
why pay double for something that didn't seem to work as well as the stuff I grew up with?
But these days there's so much more selection and things have really improved.
I've actually found most of the products to be really great.
My favourite brand these days is method.
They have some great scents which always makes me feel like things are cleaner.
With all purpose cleaners like french lavender, pink grapefruit & cucumber, how can you not feel like you are at the spa and not scrubbing the pee off of the toilet bowl?
okay, a slight exaggeration, but hell it does make the task just a little less daunting.
It's all about things smelling fresh & clean.
I also make my own all purpose spray cleaner for things like Lulu's highchair and bib.
tea tree oil + lemon juice+ water.
smells amazing and works really well.
It's nice knowing I'm not exposing her to any harmful chemicals as well.
I have yet to find a decent wood floor cleaner, so I'm still doin' my swiffer wet jet thing.
I also have a secret bottle of fantastic with bleach that I only use if I have a relapse and start jonesing for a little harsh chemical nostril burn.
It's addictive, I swear.
I never really thought about how prolonged exposure to cleaning products has/could affect us until we had Lulu.
Now I'm always thinking about how I can make her environment more "green".
I guess it makes sense.
Our outdoor environment is already polluted enough, why pollute the indoors?
so that's it for now.
I'll get off my soap box.
well, my all natural, chemical free soap box that is.

8 comments:

Tracy said...

fantastic post! (or should i way something greener!) what's in the spray bottle in the pic? curious... xo

crazymumma said...

sigh. my house is really filthy. could you like come over and....well....you know....clean it?

amanda said...

I love this post... thanks for the motivation!

Betsy Mae said...

Good post.
Do you mind if I ask what products you recommend (you can email me if you like)? I use alot of chemicals because I am a bit of a freak (like you have stated about yourself!) when it comes to cleaning. I use alot of bleach for one thing. Anyway, I do want to start using more natural products, but like you mentioned, I found the "greener" stuff to be less effective.

Anonymous said...

I am trying very hard to use only 'green' cleaning products, but I just can't give up the my Comet to scrub out the tub and sink, all the friendly ones I've tried just don't work to get the stains up. I hate to think of all the chemicals that our little ones will be exposed to out in the world-- at least I can make a difference in our home.

Sarah said...

I love Method as well! I try to use as much of it as possible, plus it helps with the Target addiction. Have you tried their soy candles? I want to keep getting better and better at going green so thanks for the tips.

Anonymous said...

Too funny, I posted about Method in a post called Green Clean mere weeks ago, so great minds obviously think alike...I have a Lulu too...coincidence? I think not. Actually I'm jetlagged & a little punchy so apologies. But I'm waiting for the OMop to come to Canada, I can't wait to replace my Swiffer Wetjet!

motherbumper said...

I love the Method products also and I completely, 100% understand what you are talking about.

As per wood floor cleaner, I use one called Down East that I stock up each time I go home to visit my parents. Nature Clean also makes a nice one but I have difficulty finding the specific Natural Floor Cleaner (often stores only carry the all-purpose cleaner).

Good on you :)