Your dishwasher is spic and span, and it’s starting to make your cluttered refrigerator look a little bit…well…gross. Don’t despair! We’ve got you covered with some Earth-friendly fridge-cleaning tips. Not only does cleaning out the fridge keep things sanitary, you can do your part to make it more energy efficient!

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The quilts were all visibly worn-looking, weak, and discolored along their fold lines. On my Nana’s friendship quilt, some of the color of the embroidery that served as the signature of the women who pieced the quilt had bled onto other parts of the quilt that they’d been shoved against for thirty years. The quilt on the hanger is in the worst shape–the plastic had stuck to it in a few spots (it’s a nine-patch my Nana made in the 1970s, out of polyester), and it didn’t really want to completely unfold anymore. I have a master’s in library science that focuses on archival management, and I sew, and y’all? I FREAKED. OUT.

The thing is, my family doesn’t hate these quilts and want them to die. The recognize that these quilts are works of art, loving legacies from women long gone from us, and records of our ancestry, and they very much want to treasure them and preserve them for future generations–they were just doing an ass job of it.

Here’s how to not be such an ass.

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Well, not exactly, but really close. My mother, like many others walks out of retail stores that smell like heavy cleansers and would sooner live in filth than in a house with Pine Sol. I’m not as sensitive as my mother, but I’ve tried to keep my house friendly t her and others like her.

Today I cleaned the house from top to bottom with EcoDiscoveries products and guess what my mother smelled? Nothing.

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In the US, accidental ingestion of chemical-based cleaning products accounts for many trips to the emergency room and calls to the Poison Control Center.  Bleach is a strong corrosive and may cause pulmonary edema or coma if ingested, while ammonia can damage the eyes, respiratory tract, and skin.  These aren’t the only harmful ingredients in conventional cleaning products, but manufacturers purposely omit many dangerous ingredients from labels.  Additionally, chemical cleaning products end up in our waterways, soil, and landfills, where they contribute to oxygen-depleted ocean dead-zones, release harmful gases into our air, and poison both humans and wildlife.

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Regular home cleaning contributes to better health for your family and visitors.  Many popular chemical-based cleaning products, however, contain powerful chemical toxins that may negatively affect human health.  In an increasingly polluted world, a greater number of families strive to make our homes relatively safe havens in which our families thrive – not sources of toxic chemical loads.

Consumers and health officials have long ignored the dangers of conventional cleaning products.  Clever marketing campaigns – not to mention memories of our mothers bleaching every hard surface in the home – promote the familiarity and effectiveness of conventional cleaning products.  We’re often unaware of the many harmful ingredients in chemical-based formulas, and manufacturers frequently make ingredient labels inconspicuous.  Luckily, growing interest in healthy living has resulted in a large number of new and effective eco-friendly cleaning solutions.

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Ya’ huh! It’s totally not a typo. I just found out the most amazing thing, microfiber. You can get microfiber rags at auto supply stores in really dull shades of grey, red or beige. Microfiber is already adored by green moms who use cloth diapers. You can also pick them up at specialty Grocery stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joes for a little more cash but it much more appealing colors. Jeff thinks everyone should tuck a towel in their pocket (rumor has it that Jeff wears cargo pants).

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A couple days ago, I recounted my story about how I was forced to abandon my abode (a small tent) due to a blight of mold.  The old children’s song of the first lyric is what Pittsburgh’s been singin’ all summer.  The second is a little ditty I’ve been singin’, ever since I kissed that tent goodbye.

I haven’t tossed the tent in the garbage (that wouldn’t be very sustainable!)  I do plan on redeeming it: even if it ends up stained by the mold, its function shouldn’t be reduced by the event.  Since my close encounter of the fungal kind, I’ve been doing research about methods for removing mold.  Read on for sustainable solutions for dealing with moldy clothing.

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Some days I fall victim to the green noise syndrome; I’m so overloaded by the green options all around me I don’t know where to go. Bath and cleaning products are one place I always thought I had it right. If I buy the organic, I’m good to go. Or am I?

I just learned last week that in March, Seventh Generation, Method, and other companies that produced green cleaning products were under scrutiny by the Organic Consumers Association. When testing around a hundred “cosmetic, personal care and household cleaning formulas, [the Association] found that nearly 50% of them contained detectable levels of 1,4-dioxane, which is known to cause cancer in lab animals.” Method, Planet Ultra and Seventh Generation’s “natural” dish cleaning products were among those products that tested positive. All manufacturer’s who tested for 1,4 were asked to remove their “organic” and “natural” labels or they’d face a lawsuit. Just when I thought I was cleaning consciously, I have to go through another round of making change in my lifestyle.

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Excerpted with permission from Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care by Jossey-Bass, A John Wiley & Sons Imprint.

For such a little person, a baby sure goes through a lot of laundry: diapers, bibs, sleepers, undershirts, blankets, sheets, socks, pants . . . and of course all the items the baby spits up on that also need to be cleaned—often. That’s why having a baby in the house turns the mundane washer and dryer into wonder machines of incredible convenience. This increase in laundry loads is also a good reason for you to focus your green efforts on the laundry room.

The Green Washing Machine

If you’re buying a new washer, remember to look for Energy Star models. Traditional top-loading washing machines use about forty gallons of water per load, whereas Energy Star washers use only about 25 gallons per load. That’s a 40 percent savings in water, which translates into an energy cost savings of almost 50 percent.10Make that new machine a front-loader. Front-loading machines work on a horizontal axis that saves both water and energy. A top-loading machine must be filled with water in order to keep the clothing wet and then an agitator swirls the water around, but a front-loading machine uses less water because the tub does not need to be filled completely; the tub itself rotates, making the clothes tumble in the water.

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I recently persuaded her to try a few organic products and, low and behold, she has been very pleased with the results. So … here are a few tips to getting your parents, friends, mother-in-laws and other skeptics to slowly embrace healthy alternatives.

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With the Eco-Me Home Kit, you provide the white vinegar, baking soda, olive oil, and water, and you’ve got everything you need to make an all-purpose cleaner, a wood polish cleanser, and a scrub cleanser, too — at a fraction of the cost of most store-bought non-toxic cleaners.

The Eco-Me Home Kit contains:
2 spray bottles for mixing spray cleaner and polish
1 jar for mixing scrub cleanser
1 natural bristle scrub brush
1 handy mixer
1 microfiber cleaning cloth
1 bottle Eco-Me Home Cleaning Essential Oil
1 natural fiber storage bag
Easy to follow instructions on how to mix ingredients (right from your own kitchen).

The essential oil contains tea tree, lemongrass, rosemary, and lavender pure plant oils, and helps purge surfaces of mold, mildew, grime, and water stains (plus it smells great!). The kit is available at eZoetic.com for $26.00, and you’ll also find an Eco-Me Baby Kit, Eco-Me Cat Kit, and Eco-Me Dog Kit there, too. Now it’s easier than ever to “green-it-yourself!”

Eco-Me is a company that provides 100% natural eco kits. I call them “starter kits,” as they’re an easy way to get started using more environmentally-friendly products. In fact, you mix these yourself so you know exactly what has gone into them.

They currently have five kits: Home, Body, Baby, Dog and Cat kits. Not owning a dog or cat (or baby for that matter), it was the Home kit that I was sent for review.

Containing two empty reusable plastic bottles, a reusable tub, a microfiber cleaning cloth, natural fiber scrub brush and a small bottle of Home Blend essential oil, the large box bag it comes in was pleasantly light. The two bottles are for “All Purpose Spray Cleaner” and “Wood Polish Spray Cleaner” with the tub being for “Home Scrub Cleaner.” Each one has really simple instructions on the side and a measurement guide. For example, pour white vinegar up to this mark on the label, water up to this mark, and then 1 unit of essential oil.

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In business, going green is more than a marketing slogan: it’s the new way of doing things. It’s an edge — a method by which you can improve your company’s bottom line while acting responsibly toward your customers, employees, and the environment.

Back home, you’ve swapped your incandescent bulbs for CFLs; installed low-flow shower heads, weather stripping and an electronic thermostat; you’re eating more local and organic foods; and recycling is finally second nature.

Good job. But how does one scale personal progress in green living to the more complex structures of the 21st Century workplace? At home, you have full control. But in a business setting, there are co-workers, customers, and possibly investors involved — and nobody is ever in a hurry to change traditional operating practices. Bringing sustainability into the workplace is a long-term commitment, whether you’re responsible for two employees or two thousand.

The good news is this: green business is profitable business. So. to help you get started, Lighter Footstep has rounded-up twelve specific specific actions you can take to starting greening the way you work. Pick a few, drop them into your organizer, and let’s get started!

Share the ride

Organizing an office carpool can be as easy as posting a notice on your lunchroom bulletin board. While the immediate personal benefits are obvious — reducing employee impact on traffic while preserving our finite energy resources — it’s a great team-builder, too. Look for opportunities to place notices on company intranets and newsletters, and consider incentives for groups which manage to organize and sustain meaningful ride-sharing.

Shut down electronics at night

Every night, computers display screensavers to millions of perfectly empty cubicles. While it’s convenient to be checking email within moments of picking up your morning coffee, a computer works approximately as hard to produce a screensaver as a spreadsheet or any other routine task. That means many office computers waste twice as much power idling as they do actually working. Take a moment to shut down at the end of the day. Modern desktops boot fairly quickly, and you’ll save thousands of watts per year.

Dine out on eating in

Client lunch dates are an important part of business culture. But if you’re routinely leaving the office to eat — particularly if that involves driving — consider packing lunch. It’s probably healthier for you, you’ll save gas, and you’ll recover all that weekly driving time in workday productivity. Are you responsible for other workers? Make sure they have facilities to lunch-in, as well: seating away from their desks, access to a microwave, and a sinks for cleaning reusable utensils and food containers.

Get paperless

Moving to digital documents — through creation or by scanning paper documents into a database — is usually mentioned as a means to save trees and paper. This is true. But the biggest payoff, from a business standpoint, is in data recall. Most modern desktop operating systems now feature robust search functions which drill deep into a document text’s and its particulars, such as who originated it and when. Paperless offices can save storage space and thousands of man hours each year, just by getting their data off paper and onto networks where people can access the information. It’s win-win: save forests and precious time with digital documents.

Recycle the paper you must use

Whether you’re disposing of scanned documents or just juggling the little scraps of paper than tend to multiply like bunnies around the office, recycling is a no-brainer. Not only is it kinder to the environment, recyclable paper may actually be a salable commodity for larger offices and businesses. Set up convenient recycling hoppers around your workplace, along with smaller bins for each desk and cubicle. There’s no reason the zero waste can’t mean the office, too.

Be smart about lighting

Does your workplace have windows? Is their light blocked by cubicle walls and storage units? It might be time to rethink the arrangement of your workspace. Natural lighting is healthy and free — and it sure beats those industrial fluorescent tubes. Consider decentralizing the way individual spaces are lit. Rather than roof fixtures, it may be smarter to install energy efficient lighting at each desk. Of course, if you’re going CFL, be sure to add expended bulbs to the things that get properly recycled. And your mom was right: turn off lights when you’re done with them. Millions of watts are wasted each night lighting empty offices and parking lots. Save energy and curb light pollution by illuminating only what you really need.

Leverage instant messaging and teleconferencing technology

During World War II, offices and alleyways were plastered with posters urging resource conservation. One of the most common was, "Is this trip really necessary?" The slogan still applies today, particularly in view of broadband network connections and powerful real-time instant messaging and teleconferencing tools. With fuel prices up and travel more expensive than in previous years, it makes sense to replace some trips and conventions with electronic events. Not every computer needs a camera — and this might represent a security risk to some companies, anyway — but teleconferencing is a great way to save resources while improving communication with customers and co-workers.

Green your office cleaning supplies

Office supply cabinets contain some of the most powerful toxins allowed for sale — often in institutional quantities. Just as at home, swapping chemical cleaning agents for non- or less-toxic natural equivalents can go a long way toward greener, safer indoor spaces.

Reduce indoor air pollution

Indoor smoking is already a thing of the past in many parts of the world. But offices remain loaded with plastics, artificial fibers, and finished surfaces which may disperse Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) into the air. Some kinds of common office equipment — fax machines, copiers, and printers — emit pollutants and odors. Keep office air conditioning and ventilation equipment in good repair. Locate offending equipment away from occupied workspaces. And take air quality concerns into consideration when making purchase decisions.

Replace the watercooler with a quality filtration unit

There’s no reason "water cooler talk" can’t be "water filter chat." The ubiquitous water cooler is a nice convenience for office workers, but bottled water, even five gallon quantities, isn’t a good deal. Consider installing reverse osmosis water filters, instead. In many cases, the quality of filtered tap water exceeds that of bottles, particularly when you take haphazard cleaning of office coolers into account. Go with the filter, and encourage employees to bring stainless steel or food-grade polycarbonate water bottles to work, rather than wasting paper cups.

Buy reconditioned office equipment and recycled supplies

Virtually everything for modern business can be purchased in refurbished condition: computers, desks, copiers — you name it. Refurbished goods are often sold with manufacturer’s warranties and are in most respects identical to new items. Expect to save 20-30 percent on refurbished equipment, and up to 50 percent on used. Recycled office supplies are available from paper to printer cartridges. Choosing refurbished or recycled gear is good for the bottom line and for the Earth, keeping older equipment out of landfills and saving resources which would have been used to manufacture something new.

Form a green office committee

Sustainability in business is a day-by-day, department-by-department commitment. Form a standing committee to regularly brainstorm and implement green strategies. And here’s a little secret: it’s usually the front-line employees, not middle managers, who find effective and practical economies. Ask for their input, act on their best suggestions, and reward results.

Get the idea? Once you get started, other actions will begin to suggest themselves. Network with peers to find out what is working for them. Provide green living information to your staff — keeping green issues top of mind is how real change becomes self-sustaining. And and if you already have some ideas on best practices for green business, please share them in the comments section.

Here’s to your success!

Copyright © 2007 Lighter Footstep Media

So what is “green” cleaning exactly? Green cleaning means using cleaning products that don’t endanger you, children, or the environment.

Many people use cleaning products throughout their homes without a thought or concern. They figure that if the product is widely available that it must be relatively safe for use. But these products contain all kinds of chemicals that can potentially be toxic, corrosive, flammable, or reactive. They can also cause serious health issues and environmental damage. Here are some examples of common chemicals found in conventional cleaning supplies:

• Formaldehyde
• Sodium Hypochlorite
• Petroleum Solvents
• Sodium Acid Sulfate

Some of the problems associated with these chemicals are skin irritations, nausea, headaches, nose bleeds, shortness of breath, burns, vomiting, kidney and liver damage, and exposure to carcinogens. Do you want to clean your home with chemicals that have the potential for that kind of damage? Certainly not…don’t take that chance.

These same chemicals also have the potential to harm the planet as well. When chemical cleaners go down the drain, most ingredients break down into harmless substances during treatment or soon afterward. Others, however, do not, and they threaten water quality or fish and other wildlife. Purchasing these mainstream cleaners can end up costing us quite a bit in the long run.

The best option for the health and safety of your family and the health of our planet is to use green cleaning items such as:

• Baking Soda
• White Vinegar
• Pure Castile Soap
• Lemons
• Salt
• Vegetable Oil
• Essential Oils

Using the above ingredients, you can make your own cleaners…

Vinegar, for instance, naturally cleans like an all purpose cleaner. Add one part water to one part vinegar and you have a solution that can clean most areas of your home. Vinegar disinfects and deodorizes. The strong smell of vinegar goes away after it dries. Both vinegar and baking soda have the added bonus of being incredibly cheap.

Baking soda can be used to scrub surfaces similar to commercial abrasive cleansers like Comet or Ajax. Baking soda is also a great deodorizer.

Lemon juice dissolves soap scum and hard water deposits. It also cleans and shines brass and copper. If mixed with vinegar and baking soda, it can be made into cleaning pastes. If mixed with vegetable oil, it makes furniture polish.

Salt removes stains and odors and it absorbs moisture too.

One of my favorite cleaners is one I make in my own home. I mix several cups of baking soda with pure peppermint essential oil to create scented soda cleanser. It smells heavenly.

If you do not have the time or inclination to make your own cleansers, then there are hundreds of green cleaning products available to purchase as well. Here are some of the alternative products you may like:

• Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soaps
• Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds Liquid Cleanser
• Earth Friendly Products’ Creamy Cleanser
• Seventh Generation Natural Dishwasher Gel
• Charlie’s Laundry Soap
• Mrs. Meyer’s All Purpose Cleaner

The cleaners mentioned above are viable options if you are not interested in making your own cleaning products. But as always…don’t take anything at face value…do your research and make sure everything you buy is safe and environmentally friendly!

Tiffany - The Natural Mom

More “green cleaning” at GO:

Hate Chemicals? Clean Green!

Weekly DIY: All Purpose Cleaner

The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) has challenged Walt Disney World Resort to switch to environmentally friendly, non-toxic cleaning products and practices throughout their operations. According to CHEJ, Disney World avoids using toxic cleaners in their Animal Kingdom but not in their theme parks, hotels or restaurants.

The “Disney Go Green Campaign” sponsored by CHEJ and several Florida activist organizations, kicked off the 2007 Florida Environmental Health and Organizing Conference on Friday. Part of the campaign effort uses the animated characters from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves as spokespeople. On the CHEJ website Grumpy says,

“I’m Grumpy that Disney uses certified green cleaning products to protect the health of animals in Animal Kingdom, but not everywhere else to protect children and me!” [Followed by a factoid] Disney uses green cleaning products in Animal Kingdom and three of its fifteen hotels. They know how to do it!

Many chemicals used in cleaning products contain carcinogens, hormone disruptors and respiratory irritants than can trigger asthma attacks and other illnesses. School districts across the country have implemented least toxic policies to protect students and workers because of these concerns. CHEJ wants Disney World to establish a similar green cleaning purchasing policy.

CHEJ is hoping to put a little pressure on the resort by asking people to e-mail Disney. In the end Disney may have to go green anyhow as there is green cleaning legislation pending in Florida’s House and Senate.

Via CHEJ

Here are a few tips on how to freshen the air inside your home:

• Put baking soda or vinegar with lemon juice in small dishes around the house to absorb odors - especially at the source, such as the refrigerator or garbage area
• For a spray freshener, dissolve 1 tsp of baking soda in 2 cups of hot water and add 1 tsp lemon juice
• Simmer 1 tbsp of vinegar in 1 cup water on the stove, or for a more fragrant alternative simmer cinnamon sticks and whole cloves, or cut citrus fruits and rinds in water
• To deodorize utensils and cutting boards wipe with vinegar and wash in soapy water
• Fill small decorative bowls with fragrant dried herbs or flowers
• Houseplants filter the air and reduce unwanted odors inside
• Scented candles also work wonders. One of my eco-friendly favorites is a line of soy candles by Bluewick. They are made with 100% soy wax, and contain cotton-paper wicks, natural and fragrance oil blends, and recycled packaging (available at 3r living)

What are some of your tips for keeping your home fresh?

Like Rebecca’s Tip O’ The Day noted earlier, baking soda is a wonderful, earth-friendly cleaning product you can get almost anywhere on the cheap. Borax, white vinegar, and cream of tartar are just a few items you can use to make safe, non-toxic cleaning products. This site has plenty of recipes if you want to eschew commercial products completely. However, if you are not into the DIY scene, there are a plethora of cleaning products out there that are non-toxic and biodegradable. I’ve used several, and these are some of the lines that have produced favorable results.

Probably the most widely available, and certainly popular, are Method products. Method produces non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners that are minimally (and tastefully) packaged, and they don’t test on animals. They also just introduced floor cleaner kits (which I am SO resisting buying, since I already have a perfectly good mop and bucket), called the oMop that include those popular disposable microfiber mop pads–however, theirs are compostable. Method’s appeal is their cost-friendliness and availablity–you can get it at your big-box discount store, and it does stand out in a sea of traditional toxic cleaners in those stores.

Seventh Generation makes paper products and cleaning products–in fact, their Free and Clear line has no fragrances or dyes for those with allergies. Their company has rigorous standards for their products, namely that they are all vegetable-based and biodegradable, are not environmentally hazardous or acutely or chronically toxic, contain no phosphates, chlorine, or animal products. They also have awesome coupons on their website.

If you are looking for straight-up awesomely-scented cleaning products that make your kitchen smell like flowers, not chemicals, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day products fit the bill. Their biodegradable cleaners come in three scents, geranium, lemon verbena, and lavender, with a limited run of honeysuckle products out right now for spring cleaning. I love their laundry soap–there’s nothing like lavender-scented t-shirts right out of the dryer.

However, my new favorite eco-cleaning line is Bi-O-Kleen, which I pick up at our local green general store. Bi-O-Kleen products are biodegradable, non-toxic, highly concentrated to reduce packaging, and they have an entire soy-based product line. The best part about Bi-O-Kleen products is that their containers are refillable at many retailers–I just take back my empty bottle, and my store refills it (for a discount, too!) I must insert a personal rave on their automatic dish soap: I’ve never found a biodegradable dishwasher soap that actually worked with our dishwasher, but this soap leaves my dishes completely streak-free. A note on their website–they haven’t updated in quite a while, because their products have completely different (and I think better) label design, but it is the same product line.