Green SAHM

Goodness I do a lot of laundry. That’s how it goes with small children, especially with one still wetting the bed despite diapers.

We’ve been washing our clothes in cold water for years. That’s almost always sufficient, and I’ve never even tried a “cold water detergent.” The regular stuff works just fine.

You can get some great laundry tips on the U.S. Department of Energy’s site. I’m not surprised to see that they neglect to mention line drying clothes at this point, but the rest of the advice is good.

Almost everything I wash comes out fine, as I said, with a cold water wash. Those things that don’t I try a couple things.

Dawn Dish Soap

Great for removing grease related stains. It may take an hour or two, but for tough stains I’ve left it on overnight. Clothes that otherwise appeared ruined come clean.

Baking Soda and White Vinegar

Rub baking soda into the stain. Spray or pour white vinegar. It will bubble up and work on the stain. This works well on carpet stains too.

Not every stain is going to come out. I think that’s one of the big lessons of motherhood. Kids are really good at ruining the appearance of their clothes, sometimes in a single wearing. To me that just means you maintain a playtime wardrobe. Children really don’t care, as a rule, if their clothes are stained or torn if they’re comfortable and allowed to have fun.

It’s spring, a favorite time for people to clean out their homes. But for a lot of people that means using all kinds of chemicals that are harsh on their hands as well as the environment.

Good thing there are plenty of alternatives.

Start your spring cleaning by decluttering. Get rid of the stuff you just don’t need. Whenever possible, resell it or donate it to a thrift store rather than throw it away.

Don’t get rid of things you can reuse just because they’re getting old. Think about creative ways to repurpose things that have broken, and remind yourself you don’t need new versions of things that still work.

Cleaning Without Harsh Chemicals

Have a supply of white vinegar, baking soda, olive oil and lemon juice on hand for cleaning. Vinegar cleans in the kitchen and bathroom by itself or watered down remarkably well. Combine it with baking soda if you need something a little stronger.

The basic way I mix baking soda and vinegar is to sprinkle the baking soda on first. I keep a spray bottle of vinegar so that I can spray the area with the vinegar to get the reaction going. The baking soda also provides a mild abrasive good for scrubbing.

This mixture also works on cloth furniture and carpets. Just work the baking soda into the stains a little with your fingers first, then add the vinegar. I’ve heard it’s safe to run through steam cleaners as well, if you want an easier time cleaning carpets. I haven’t tried that much myself yet, but spot cleaning has been amazing.

With a 3 year old and a 5 year old, we have plenty of spots to test this on. I’m quite delighted with our results.

The olive oil and lemon juice are for your wood furniture. Mix a cup of olive oil to 1/2 cup of lemon juice in a squirt bottle and use just as you would other furniture polish.

Vinegar diluted with water works well for cleaning mirrors, and gives you a chance to use your old newspapers. Newspaper works amazingly well for cleaning glass, and no worries about leftover lint. You can use a little isopropyl alcohol in the vinegar and water mix if you like. This is the combination I’ve used:

1 cup isopropyl alcohol
1 cup water
1 tbsp white vinegar

Mix in a spray bottle and you’ll never miss the blue stuff!

Finish Off Your Spring Cleaning By Planning for the Future

There’s little point to decluttering year after year. As you finish your spring cleaning, promise yourself you’ll think before you buy, and you’ll buy less stuff.

When you buy, buy with the future in mind. This is why buying from thrift stores is good, and buying quality products that won’t wear out quickly makes sense. It’s why buying sustainably produced products matters.

As individuals, the differences we can make are small. But we can have an impact on what is socially acceptable, and the long term impact of that matters.

Technorati Tags: spring cleaning, homemade cleaning supplies, decluttering

Finding environmentally friendly cleaning supplies has become much easier of late. Brands such as Method and Seventh Generation are available in many areas, and sometimes even in big box stores like Target. It’s pretty nice.

Method’s products are pretty nice. I use their wood floor cleaner and it does a good job. And like their other products, it’s biodegradable and non-toxic. The packaging is nice and simple, and the products are affordable. Very nice for a stay at home mom’s budget.

I haven’t yet tried Seventh Generation’s products, although I’ve spotted them in my area. Heard plenty of wonderful things about them. I fully intend to give them a try one of these days, though.

There are two main reasons why I haven’t used a lot of these products. Number one is simply that I haven’t run out of my old, nasty chemical cleaners. Much as I dislike them, I can’t see just throwing them away too. So when I need a little extra cleaning power I drag them out.

My supply of those is slowly running down. We had a lot because when we moved here a bit over two years ago we had two different people give us very complete housecleaning kits.

But my main cleaning supplies are baking soda and vinegar. I do a lot with these. My husband thinks I’m kind of nuts, but he at least did understand when I pointed out that the large bottles of vinegar at the grocery store were just a tiny bit more than the regular size bottles. He struggles with the green side of things, but tell him I’m saving money and he’s fine.

For laundry I have my eye on Bi-O-Kleen. It would mean retraining my husband on the quantity required, since it takes about 2 tablespoons for top loading washing machines, but that also means a smaller box does a whole lotta laundry. Since my son is going through one of those “leak through the diapers each and every night” phases, a greener laundry detergent would me most welcome.

All in all, I’m enjoying my steady switch over to greener cleaning. It takes some time, but I like my combination of using environmentally friendly cleaners now and eventually using up the chemicals rather than just throwing them out.

Technorati Tags: green cleaning, method, seventh generation, biokleen

My daughter and I went through her clothes yesterday because my inlaws got her a bunch of new clothes and some of what she has is looking a trifle worse for wear, if you get my drift. The kind of stuff that happens when clothing is worn by a highly imaginative and active 5 year old.

She’s quite typical for her age in some ways. Very reluctant to get rid of any of the old clothes. The shirt in the very worst condition that she of course adores I showed her the exact problems, and she finally agreed that it didn’t look too good.

But we still had a lot of clothes that she doesn’t want to get rid of, but have obvious stains. So today I’m going to have her help me work on stain removal.

I’ve been looking around for good homemade stain removal options. The one I’m thinking on is a very simple recipe:

1 squirt dishwashing liquid
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 quart water

Mix and store in a squirt bottle. Spray on stains and allow to sit for a half hour or more before washing as usual.

Hopefully this will help to revive some of my daughter’s favorite clothes. One shirt was stained on its first wearing, so I really want to get it looking good again.

I just love doing this with products that are safe enough that the kids can participate. It’s good for children to learn how to do basic household chores from early on.

Technorati Tags: homemade stain removal, household, natural, parenting, clothes, stain removal

Vinegar is one of the great nontoxic cleaning supplies most people have in their homes. Today I thought I would share some ways you can use it in the kitchen.

1. Cleaning the microwave.
   Soak a cloth with vinegar. Microwave on high for 15 seconds. Once you can handle the cloth, it can be used to wipe the now loosened splatters.
2. Removing coffee and tea stains from cups.
   Combine vinegar and table salt in equal portions. These can rub the stains right off the cups.
3. Remove buildup from the coffeemaker.
   Run 1 cycle of cold water mixed with 1/4 cup of vinegar. Repeat with water only. If you can still smell vinegar, repeat again.
4. Degrease oven vents.
   This is good to do about twice a year. Use a sponge soaked in vinegar to remove grease from the vents of your oven hood.
5. Limit mildew buildup inside the refrigerator.
   Wipe down the refrigerator door seals with vinegar.
6. Degrease pans.
   Simmer 1/4 inch water and 1/2 cup vinegar in a greasy pan for 10 minutes. Wash as usual.
7. Open clogged drains.
   Depending on the severity you can do a couple of things. Light clogs pour 1/2 cup baking soda followed by 1/2 cup vinegar down the drain. Allow to work at least 5 minutes or up to 1 hour. Rinse with boiling water. For more serious clogs, add 1/2 cup salt to the baking soda/vinegar mixture from above. Allow to site for 1 hour before rinsing.
8. Countertops may be wiped with vinegar.

There are many more things that you can clean vinegar with. It’s a very safe cleanser for most surfaces. Some people dislike the smell, but in my experience this fades nicely once the vinegar has dried.

Technorati Tags: homemade cleansers, vinegar, kitchen cleaning, cleaning products, uses for vinegar