Yes, it's been forever since I have written. I apologize. I was going to merge all three of my blogs into one, but decided that this blog should stay as it is.
What's on today's agenda? Cleaning products!
Four years ago I switched to all natural cleaning products and never turned back. I started out with the Seventh Generation products that were even found in our local conventional grocery store. According to the book "The Better World Shopping Guide", the Seventh Generation company receives an A+. A lot of factors are considered when rating a company such as the environment, human rights, animal protection and more. This book is definitely a worthwhile purchase and has turned me into an even more responsible shopper. I love how on each Seventh Generation product there is a little environmental fact.
Here is one from their site: (Credit to Seventh Generation)
If every household in the U.S. replaced just one 4 pack of 400 sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissue with 100% recycled ones, we could save: 1,450,000 trees, 3.7 million cubic feet of landfill space, equal to 5,500 full garbage trucks, 523 million gallons of water, a year’s supply for 4,100 families of four, and avoid 89,000 pounds of pollution!
When I read things like this, I wonder why bathroom tissue that's not 100% recycled isn't outlawed! I won't even get into the health benefits of using all natural products...
Yes, natural cleaning supplies are indeed expensive and I think that's exactly what keeps more people from using them. But did you know that you can make your own with a handful of ingredients most people already have in their homes? Baking soda, vinegar and water (with a little essential oils such as lavender for a yummy smell and tea tree oil for some disinfectant) are all you need! The book "Clean House Clean Planet" is a must-have for anyone looking to make their own cleaning products. A friend has my copy, so I am not able to share any of the brilliant "recipes" in it at this time, but if you do a google search you'll find plenty of information and recipes on various sites.
This is a very affordable option for natural cleaning products. The vinegar smell does not linger and if you add some lavender essential oil, it will smell great.
Another company I love is Earth Friendly or ECOS. I've had a wonderful experience with their customer service as well. I ordered some of their dish washing detergent and it didn't work too well in our washer. I contacted their customer service and they gave me tips on how to make it work better, as well as refunded my money for THREE boxes and sent me a free bottle of their dish soap! Wow! They were so kind and friendly to work with. I definitely recommend this company. I love their pear scented dish soap :) Another one of their products I couldn't live without is the Toilet Kleeener. A mother's group I belong to had a meeting in the spring about natural home and natural cleaners and all the of the mothers complained about not getting their toilets clean enough. This has always worked great for me, in three separate households with three very different types of water. I've never had a problem!
So go throw away (or better yet...give away!) your old Windex and 409 and replace those chemicals with something your body and home will thank you for!
