Green Clean

Just as I scrutinize the unnatural items of food that I put in my mouth, YJDKIY is starting in on the unnatural cleaning items I put in my house. I haven't actually stopped to count how many "products" I use each day, but I figure it's well over 12 (shampoo, makeup, toothpaste, soap, lotion, etc. plus all the household ones toilet cleaner, windex, dishwashing detergent, furniture polish, etc), but if each of those have 10 ingredients (of which I can't pronounce any!), that adds up fast.

The first change I made to simpler, fewer ingredients was a while ago: toothpaste. Natural, no additives, less chemicals.

I almost always use a baking soda variety, either Arm & Hammer or this one from Tom's of Maine.

Next up, tackling those pesky weeds. If you've been reading a while, you know my dislike of Monsanto, makers of Round-Up. I just couldn't bring myself to spray those chemicals on places we walk barefoot, the Canine Component lounges, and where rain runs off into storm water drains.

So the ingenious other resident at YJDKIY (not the furry one!) discovered a weed-killer that works. And that he can squirt me with! All safe ingredients - you could even do without the detergent and it would work I think. And work it does! I had serious doubts, but after spraying directly on the leaves, 3 hours of bright sun left even the crab grass shriveled, brown, and dry, ready to be easily removed.

And because of those who DO use roundup, I've added a PUR filter to our tap. No excuse to ever buy bottled water, but more importantly, getting rid of those chemical additives (both intentional and unintentional) in our water. I can tell a definite difference in the smell and the taste. 

Moving to the bathroom. I haven't been able to give up wipes, but I did junk the Clorox, at least, with these disinfecting wipes from Seventh Generation.

They were expensive, smell a little funky, and I'm not doing anyone any favors with the non-biodegradable materials, but I feel better about the ingredients, my hands and nose aren't burning when I'm done, and things still get clean pretty quickly. I'll be weaning off these soon, but will look to other Seventh Generation products to green up my clean.

This isn't really cleaning, but it's green: reusable bags. This one is from Whole Foods. We've all been toting them to the grocery store for a while now, but I'm really trying to take it on other shopping adventures, the farmers market, and just about anywhere I might need to tote something. Plus it's cute to boot so I like showing it off!

Back in the bathroom, shampoo. I've used brands without sulfates & parabens before, but they were either extremely expensive, or not so hot with the hair.

Enter Simply U. I'm still trying to research this company, because I bought at GASP Walmart, but it was under $6, smells good, and works well so far.

And last up, the laundry room. This one still has some room for reform, but less ingredients is better with this Arm & Hammer variety.  Perfume & Dye free.

These are baby steps by far, but at least it is a conscious choice. Next up to fix: makeup and dish washer detergent! What products do you like?