Thursday, April 29, 2010

~Green Cleaning~

With Earth Day being last Thursday, there was a lot of "green" talk on the blogosphere, and of course in communities too! I really appreciated Stephanie's view of Earth Day and "green" living. You can read it here. It's worth the read!

I attended a little workshop on "green cleaning". It was fascinating, and not only did I learn a lot, but I came home with two cleaning products I made in the class: a disinfectant and an all purpose cleaner!

I'm excited about learning more about green cleaning. So far I have loved cleaning with the two cleaners that I brought home. They smell so good and I know that as I spray them I'm not releasing harmful chemicals into my home!

As I replace my cleaners I plan on sharing my recipes. To me "green cleaning" equals "healthy cleaning". A lot of companies are now offering "green" products. But if you read the ingredients or look closer online (since they are not legally required to list their ingredients, you might not find a complete list anywhere) the ingredients are about the same as regular cleaners. So I have come to the conclusion that they have fewer chemicals in them, but they are not free from chemicals. This may not be the case for every green cleaner on the shelf, but for the ones I have looked into it has proved to be the case.

So the obvious solution is to make your own! :-) It is very inexpensive to buy the ingredients for your own cleaners. I checked, and my grocery store (Meijer) has all the ingredients, with the exception of the essential oils. Now, I did say it is inexpensive, but if you go out and buy all the ingredients at once, it will cost you something. However, once you make up your cleaners you will see how long the ingredients you purchased will last!

Next up: recipes for the all purpose cleaner and disinfectant
Tell me: do you make your own cleaners? and if so, what are your favorites?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you are the one who shared the window washing cleaner...someone did anyway. And I use that. I really like it. :) Not sure it is completely "green" but it is better than windex, that's for sure. it was 2 qts water, 1 tsp dish soap, 1/4 rubbing alcohol. cleans up nice and rarely any streaks.

Susan said...

I'm not big into "green" things, but I AM beginning to see the money-saving benefits of making my own cleaners. I do like to use baking soda to clean my countertops and stovetop. I've also used it to clean my oven. It's a great scrubber. I use it when I would normally use something like Comet powder.

I also use baking soda and vinegar in our tub drain. I pour down some baking soda, then pour some vinegar and let it bubble. It will foam up out of the drain and then gradually work its way down. Follow that with boiling water, and the drain runs free again. Love it!

Anonymous said...

Susan, I use baking soda and vinegar down the drains too. :) Reminds me...I need to do it again, been awhile. Like the idea of the baking soda to clean the countertops and stoves.