The Greenies Come Out to Play
Read this article online here
Haha -- ok, well, in case you haven't figured it out, I strive to be a
greener person and do not do so to be trendy .. I do so to help
preserve the environment for generations to come. My little sister even
called me a dirty hippie with out the dirt yesterday, gotta love your
family, huh?!!?!
Don't
get me wrong, Iwould not turn down a gorgeous new necklace or
beautifully crafted scarf (hint, tell my hubby I want one of Celeste's
scarves for Christmas) or other cute thing and appreciate a good
imported chocolate (drool). I am not vegetarian, although we eat a
limited amount of meat at our house. We use CFL bulbs and I even make
my own all purpose cleaner and laundry detergent. I cannot stand the
smell of vinegar, though, so I make cleaners from castile soap,
essential oils and water.
About 6 months ago I read some research by a group called Women's Voices for the Earth
on chemicals in cleaners. It really shocked me and got me thinking. And
their research shows chemical cleaners can affect breathing and asthma.
They may not be the direct cause, or they may be, but I cannot find
anything that says such things do not in any way contribute or
aggravate symptoms.
So, why not try it, I already do other things
to help, why not improve my home's environment by using non-chemical
products. Those chemical filled cleaners stink and make my stomach turn
and also cause me to use so much more water than needed because I rinse
like crazy!
I had already been reusing things for crafts and
creating, I even started a compost pile and was digging up garden plots
and visiting the farmer's market when it made sense (it doesn't make
sense to drive 20 miles round trip to buy my green beans for the week),
I buy the local and in season produce at the grocery store and buy
organic when it's availiable, too.
The only thing I use vinegar for
is cleaning the inside of the potty - it works great. Sprinkle in1/4 to
1/2 cup of baking soda all around the bowl, then pour in 1/2 to 3/4 cup
of white vinegar, close the lid and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.
Scrub with toliet brush and the vinegar will get foamy again. If there
is a really bad spot, you can add some kosher salt and let that sit, or
do a borax soak (without vinegar) for 1 hour to overnight.
You do
have to scrub with the cleaners I use, it's not easy-cheesey or
anything, but for the sake of fewer chemicals in your home and around
children it really makes a difference. No worries about breathing too
much cleaner, you can let them help you and not worry about chemical
burns like have happened with those magic earaser cleaners (yikes).
I
have been using the cleaners I make for about 4 months now and the only
time we had to go to the Doc, other than normal check-ups, was for an
ear-infection my daughter got from swimming lessons - major swimmer's
ear. You can hardly contribute that to germs in the house. My house
does not smell like pine sol or bleach clean, but I know it's clean.
And spotless has never been my goal, either -- clean enough to be
happy, but not too clean that you won't use anything and you would go
into convulsions if muddy kids, pets or people walked into your house.
Tomorrow
I will post the laundry detergent recipe, so come back -- it works well
and only uses 1 tablespoon per normal soil load! So, it's a bargin to
boot!