Green Options

One of the first “green” cleaning products I ever used was Simple Green.  I would clean carpets, cars, bathtubs, floors, etc. with this green liquid.  I even converted my mother to a Simple Green user.  As I became “greener”, I switched to homemade cleaning products and greener labels.

It is only recently that I began to wonder if Simple Green really is as ecologically friendly and safe as the name of this cleaning product implies.

A friend of mine’s baby just crossed that threshold from sweet smelling breastfed diapers to the offensive food eating bowel movements.  Diaper changes are now done in a hurry, especially when other people are around, and the baby has joined the ranks of the rest of the family that can stink up a room.

PureAyre makes several organic odor eliminating sprays that really do work for the smells babies, kids, and adults produce in the bathroom.

In our family of four, we have only one bathroom. Sometimes in the mornings, we can’t wait for the air to clear before another family member needs to brush their teeth before school.  We keep a bottle of PureAyre on the back of the toilet, and it really does works to eliminate odors without masking them.  I don’t really understand how it works, but the strong smells just seem to disappear.  I’ve tried lavender bunches, matches, scented candles, etc., but nothing compares to PureAyre’s ability to eliminate odor.

My mother hates odor. She’s not like “eww, that smells like garbage.” She’s like, “eew, there’s an undertone of fake gardenia in that fabric softener.”

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.

Back to school fundraising hawking giftwrap, magazines and chocolate rubs against the grain of my eco, nutritional, and anti-consumption lifestyle…so what’s a financially strapped school to do?

Enter GreenRaising.com, an all-green gift hub of gorgeous recycled wrap, cool reusable bottles and bags, fair trade chocolate, green school supplies, soaps and lotions, even cleaning supplies!

This fabulous one stop portal imparts an earth-friendly message, while helping financially strapped schools and youth organizations with socially responsible spending. (um, could our government sign up?)

Did you know that the Greek root of the word “ecology” means “house”?  If everyone created a healthy, green environment in our homes, it would extend to the greater good for the planet.  My evolution into environmentalism began with caring about endangered species issues to natural beauty products to vegetarianism to green cleaning.  Seventh Generation and the Children’s Health Envrionmental Coalition’s Blue Buttefly.org have teamed up to create a green cleaning guide for safer homes titled Naturally Clean:  The Seventh Generation Guide to Safe & Healthy, Non-Toxic Cleaning.

Naturally Clean is written by Jeffrey Hollender, Geoff Davis, Meika Hollendar, and Reed Doyle. The book is divided into seven sections:

1. Case for Change at Home: These chapters are about the chemicals in household cleaners and the negative effects they have on our health, including cancer, asthma, hormone disruptions, and multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS).
   

   Like almost anything else, there is a good side and a bad side to all the molecular manipulation chemists practice. There are safe chemicals, and there are unsafe chemicals. Our problem today is that we don’t really know which are which.

Usually, I make my own cleaners or simply use Ecover dish soap on everything. I figure if it is safe for my dishes, it is safe for everything else.  One place I struggle though is the bath tub/shower.  I have tried every homemade concoction under the sun from vinegar to cream of tartar, but those stubborn mineral stains remain. I have finally found the solutions: Seventh Generation Natural Tub and Tile Cleaner.

My spring water comes from the roots of an old oak tree and is gravity fed to my home. This may sound idyllic, until you see the mineral stains it leaves on the shower and tub walls.  I scrub and scrub until I get tendonnitis, but those stubborn stains return in about a week.  Like my toilet, I like to keep my bathtub clean for my little ones.  Seventh Generation Natural Tub and Tile Cleaner has simplified this tedious job.  I simply spray it on, let it sit for about three minutes, then gently scrub the stains away with a walnut scrubber sponge.  No more crazy scrubbing until my arms ache, and since it is made by Seventh Generation, I am not worried about my children being exposed to this cleaning product.

Rain, rain, go away.   Come again some other day…
Mold, mold, meet your end.  Never, ever come again!

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.

Young children like to be helpful, and I don’t want to discourage their desire to imitate my house cleaning (even though I often have to re-clean what they have done).  We use all natural cleaning products in our home not only because we care about the environment, indoor air quality, and have a greywater system, but in order that our kids can safely help us clean.

Basic H2 Organic cleaning concentrate was the first official Earth Day product in 1990 and has hundred of uses. From windows to stovetops, the concentrate allows you to mix the appropriate amount of water for your use.  This little 16 oz. bottle of concentrate can mix up an unbelievable 48 gallons of safe, powerful cleaner.

Basic H2 is quite sudsy, so I suspect it contains SLS; however, I am not sure this as much of a concern for a cleaning product as it is for a beauty product.  As long as your child’s skin doesn’t come into contact with it, it would not be irritating. Shaklee, the makers of Basic H2, will not release full disclosure of ingredients because, “We do not list the  specific ingredients for all of the cleaners as some of the formulae are proprietary.” This is common with household cleaners, but they state their products are from sustainable sources such as corn and coconut (SLS is coconut-derived).

Before you can open your doors for business, you need an office. Stocking your office with needed supplies is a great opportunity to show your green side and make sustainable choices. From furnishings to paper clips, there are eco-friendly options out there for every office need.

Whether you’re working from home or from a downtown high-rise, you can conserve paper, reduce energy use, and produce less waste by keeping the environment in mind for all your office purchases. In this article, I’ll share ideas for stocking your green office and sources of green office products.