Being Green is NOT for me: Part 2

About a month or so ago, I was cleaning the house. I got out my bleach and was mopping the floors. Apparently I didn't use the right water-to-bleach ratio. My throat started burning and my eyes started watering. I had to step outside. The thought crossed my mind... it doesn't seem safe to be using bleach wtih these kinds of results. But, that's what you clean with when you want a good deep clean, right?

Soon after that incident I saw a blog post on a friends Facebook page. I wish I could find the link. It mentioned that when large companies have their employs clean with bleach, they're required to use gloves and sometimes masks. Yet, here we are soaking our toddlers toys in it! I slowly started switching to some products that claimed to be green, i.e., more expensive. Sometimes I couldn't bring myself to pay the price. Especially, when a big ole' jug of bleach was so cheap! The writer of the blog I had read shared several common household products that you could clean your house with. They were green and inexpensive!

 I figured I would give it a try. The first thing I noticed was the price differences. These are the items & prices of what I usually would buy:

Lysol: 2.09

Pledge: 2.93

Windex: 2.00

Carpet Cleaner: 2.50

Toilet Cleaner: 1.78

Clorox Wipes: 3.99

Bleach: 1.98

Total = 17.27

This is what I bought that day:

Rubbing Alcohol: 2.29

Peroxide: 1.49

Baking Soda: 2.39

Oil: 3.94

Lemon Juice: 2.29

Vinegar: 1.99

Total: 14.39

A savings of: 2.88

However, the sizes were way larger on the green items and you use much less.

Once I combined the oil & lemon and diluted the vinegar I ended up with this:

I'm sure you're wondering what I did with the items pictured above. So, here it is:

Toilets: Straight Vinegar

Tubs: Spray straight vinegar, Sprinkle with baking soda, Scrub. Rinse

Glass/Windows: Peroxide. Keep in the brown bottle. Just add a spray nozzle

Wood Polish: Oil and Lemon juice mixed (a dab goes a long way)

Counters: Diluted Vinegar

Carpets: Sprinkle baking soda to help with odors. Rubbing Alcohol to take out stains

Floors & Walls: Diluted vinegar 

I was really leery as to whether or not this stuff would actually work. The boys had spilled chocolate pudding on our new tan dining chairs. The rubbing alcohol took it right out! The peroxide on the glass left a brilliant streak free shine. The "furniture polish" left everything sleek looking & dust free.

 Mark came home from work the first day I used thse items and his first words were, "The house looks great!" His seconds words were, "Why does it smell like vinegar? It stinks!"

It did take me a little while to adjust my nose. I had to learn clean was not just the smell of bleach or lemon Lysol. I just started opening the windows and after a bit didn't even notice the smell any more. 

Mark still wasn't quite sold. The next week he went to clean the bathrooms. He used bleach. He came out coughing & his eyes watering. He had also used the wrong ratio to dilute the bleach. He agreed to do it my way. 

I had been using newspaper, instead of paper towels, to clean the glass. I wasn't thrilled with the results. I decided to pick up some new rags that I can re-use. Two micro-fiber for the glass and two dusting rags. They work really well, even after washed.  

All that being said... I have discovered that I don't have to be completely green. I can be almost green and still make a difference. My baby steps are taking me somewhere. Maybe one day I will be almost Amish. Well, maybe. The point is - if I can do it, you can do it! Honestly, even if you're where I was a few years ago and you're not really concerned with being green; keep in mind, the few steps that I've taken have also saved money (not just in the long run). It's a win /win.

Hopefully, you've found this information as thought provoking and useful as I did.

Happy Cleaning to you! 

Being Green is NOT for me: Part 1

When I was a kid we learned about recycling and the importance of it in school. We recycled our soda cans, milk jugs and cereal boxes. That was about as far as it went.

I realized when Alexis started school she was learning a lot more about "being green". It was everywhere!

She started paying more attention to the numbers on the bottom of our trash and then telling me: "mom, you need to recycle this!" So, we did. I realized I should probably be a better example to her. However, I didn't really know how. Being "green" in my mind meant using cloth diapers, hand washing / line drying my laundry and buying an electrical car. None of which were gonna happen. I mean honestly, I like the convenience of disposable diapers and washers/dryers way too much. I was certain being green was not for me!

Awhile back I read an article about a woman named Nancy Sleeth. She was a stay at home mom & her husband was a physician. They were not religious. They were making good money. They had a beautiful large house in New England, filled with beautiful things.

Things began to change for them. I won't go into all the details. You can read more here:  http://www.amazon.com/Almost-Amish-ebook/dp/B007MATZXE/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1347606736&sr=1-2&keywords=almost+amish#reader_B007MATZXE

Basically, they ended up giving away one of their vehicles, sold half their stuff and moved into a house that was the size of what their garage used to be. He quit his job and she transitioned back into being a teacher. She wrote a book called, "Almost Amish". I thought to myself, these people are awesome! They are being green and accomplishing great things in the process. It was inspiring, yet scary.

I began to think maybe I could do some small things. Sleeth had given some fairly easy examples, baby steps if you will, in the excerpt I read from her book. For my first baby step, I decided to stop buying bottled water. I know this seems like a very small step. But, it was kind of big for me. I like convenience. With more than one kid, who doesn't? We were buying a case of water (24 bottles) at least every 10 days. Now we weren't only a little greener, (ahem, more green) we were saving a little money.

Even Mark can get on board with that!

I tried to do other little things. I worked on making sure the lights were off, even though we don't pay for electricity. I switched all our bills to paperless and canceled some magazine subscriptions. I started walking to places around base instead of driving (That one was a little short lived). This was all me attempting to be green.

                                                                                                     (cont. in part 2)