Flickr member Candi Mandi's living room was furnished with mostly thrifted finds! It looks bright, clean, and has personal touches without being too cluttered.
• Cure Clock: 7.5 weeks to go
• Assignment: Read Chapter One: Creating Your Own Vision
Green Focus:
• Switch to environmentally-friendly cleaners.
• Make a list of repairs and solutions.
• Members: 1,515 and counting...
How's your first week of the Green Cure going? Have you removed one item from your apartment yet? From what we've heard, a number of you are so gung-ho to get started, you're practically throwing your things out with glee! Keep a hold on that enthusiasm, because there's cleaning ahead. The green challenge? Use environmentally-friendly cleaners. We'll tell you why they're better and which ones work best...
Why Green Cleaners Matter:
Over the last few years we've made the change to using all-natural and/or non-toxic cleaners. There were a few reasons why we thought this was necessary: 1) the impact on our health, 2) the impact on the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency states that air quality within homes can be more polluted than the outdoor air by as much as 100 times, even in the largest and most industrialized cities. This is due largely to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that evaporate, or "offgas," from conventional cleaning products. (You know what we're talking about: that "cleaning" smell, probably from bleach or any one of a host of other chemicals). These VOCs also linger in the hour long after you're done cleaning, especially without proper ventilation, i.e. no window in your bathroom.
Most of the cleaning products we used to use also didn't have their ingredients listed on the label, so we really had no idea what we were bringing into our home. (And while we don't currently have pets or kids, that fact would have been even more sobering if we did.) In 2000, cleaning products were responsible for nearly 10 percent of all toxic exposures reported to U.S. poison control centers, accounting for more than 206,000 calls, over half of which concerned children under the age of six.
Another reason we switched to environmentally-friendly products was because of, well, the environment. Most of the conventional cleaning products we all grew up with are petroleum-based (a non-renewable resource) and have dubious health and environmental implications. Think about it: you're using and then flushing a chemical down the toilet or the sink that's designed to basically annihilate everything that comes into its path. Where does it go? It doesn't just disappear.
Additionally, we thought our use of these ultra-strong chemical cleaners probably wasn't even necessary. This is our home, not a hospital. Does everything need to be 100% germ-free? Unless you live in a bubble, germs are everywhere. The best you can do is keep your home clean to the best of your ability, and that probably doesn't require obliterating everything with bleach.
Our Favorite Eco-Friendly Cleaners:
Here are a few brands of cleaners we've tried and love:
But we're not done! Here on Re-Nest, we've written extensively on natural and non-toxic cleaners (including a bunch of DIY cleaning solutions using products like vinegar and baking soda), so instead of repeating ourselves, we'll just direct you to some of our best posts on the subject:
• Best Green Cleaning Products 2009
• Roundup: The Best Green Cleaning Tips & How-Tos
• Roundup: Best Green Cleaning Tools
• Green and Safe Home Product Resource List?
• Have a Make-Your-Own-Cleaners Party!
• Top Ten: Ways To Clean With Vinegar
• Top Ten: Ways To Green Your Bathroom
• Green Option for A Sparkling Toilet Bowl?
• Best DIY/Natural Cleaning Solutions
• How To: Make Homemade Laundry Detergent
How's your style file coming along? Peacock Feathers pulled this clean, white sofa image as inspiration for her living room, and we love it, too.
Joyce's bedroom is simple, unfussy, and completely lovely.
AT:SF posted this image from FFFFound, and we're really into all the mismatched frames and art prints. Makes for a very personal wall!TODAY'S COMMENT QUESTION
Do you have a favorite environmentally-friendly cleaner?
POST INDEX
• Week 1.5: Setting Your Intention, Tips & Tricks
• Week 1: Setting Your Intention, Intro
CURE INFO
• Main Cure Page - Fall 2009
• Sign-Up Here
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JOIN THE GREEN CURE DISCUSSION:
I've been making my own all-purpose cleaner for years: water, washing soda, a little vinegar, and a little Dr. Bronner's.
I'm working my way through a bottle of Mrs. Meyers' window cleaner, and now that I've finished off the Scrubbing Bubbles (nothing else got the hideous tub in our crappy apartment clean at all), I'm going to start cleaning the tub and shower with a baking-soda-and-Dr.-Bronner's paste.
All of this is super cheap, takes approximately 15 seconds to mix together, and works well. The only ingredient that I've had trouble finding is the washing soda (none of the stores near me carry it), but fortunately it's available through drugstore.com.
view How Green Is My Valley's profile
my general surface cleaner for countertops, table, windows, spot-cleaning the floors, is a vinegar and water mix with a little dishsoap (method naked) and a few drops of essential oils. it's great! i use the same spray bottle over and over, and all the ingredients have other uses in my home too.
baking soda is my scrub of choice, i use a steam mop (no 'cleaners' necessary) and i use method cleaners in the bathroom. oh, country save laundry detergent, seventh generation in the dishwasher.
since i already use natural/non-toxic cleaners, i'm going to make an attempt to use rags more often and cut back on my use of paper towels. i have a dog, a toddler and a preschooler so truly some messes are too gross for washable rags, but i really shouldn't use paper towels to wipe up the counter.
view doubledutch's profile
I never thought of using baking soda to scrub...in the past year I have transitioned over to more 'green' cleaning products yes for the environment but also because of the smell. I have a strong olfactive sense and conventional cleaners just smell frightful.
view saeras's profile
I use Young Living Thieves Household Cleaner because the essential oils safely and gently disinfect and clean all types of jobs--counters, floors, dishes, telephone, handbag, wallet, inside of car, library books, etc. Take a look at this website https://www.youngliving.org/noreendoyle.
view uptown2downtown.com's profile
saeras, i guess you can also scrub with salt if you need something a little more abrasive. i haven't tried it myself. i usually sprinkle the baking soda on and leave it dry, but the scrubby sponge is damp. i've also heard of making a paste from baking soda mixed with dish soap - sort of like soft scrub?
view doubledutch's profile
Had shifted to using baking soda, eco-friendly dish soap aand vinegr for general cleaning.
I never used wipes or kitchen towels. I use citrus fruit/lemon rind (dried) for the scrubbing action and fragrance.
Bathroom and room fresheners are mostly my home made little cloth pouches of cinnamon sticks and baking soda with a hint of charcoal.
Donating set of clothes this week.
view susrith's profile
Ecover dish soap - it smells great, it works, and it doesn't make my boyfriend's hands blister, which 'regular' soap does (no more excuses to get out of dishwashing!)
view jenc's profile