green cleaning.

happy earth day!

as many of you know, i'm quite the clean freak. but over the past few months i have been increasingly bothered by the types of products i use... what chemicals i spritz about the house and the resulting fumes i breathe in. slowly i've been going through my cleaning arsenal, trying to figure out what i need and what i can replace. i started to "go green" by picking up a clorox greenworks bottle the other week, but even then, i was left questioning - what exactly is in these products? yes, it does have epa's design for enivronment seal and claims to be 99% natural, but what does all this really mean? needless to say, as one not liking to be duped by a slick "green" marketing campaigns - which we are now constantly bombarded with - i decided to heck with it all; i'm making my own products!

that's right - i'm embracing good old fashion vinegar, baking soda, and the like. if it was good enough for my grandmothers and the generations prior, it should be good enough for me. so after searching online and finding some great resources on thedailygreen.com, MSLO's site and a select number of blogs, i put together a comprehensive list with SIMPLE ingredients. time to phase out my cleaning cabinet from mass-produced to home-made.

here's my list (if you want quantity ratios, just ask):

1. all purpose cleaner (vinegar, borax, washing soda, castile soap, water, lemongrass oil)
2. window wash (lemon juice, club soda, peppermint oil, cornstarch)
3. gentle powder scrub (indian clay, baking soda, lemongrass oil)
4. laundry detergent (indian clay, lavender oil, baking soda, borax, sodium percarbonate)
5. carpet cleaner (castile soap, water, vinegar rinse)
6. carpet freshner (baking soda, lavendar oil)
7. shower spray (water, tea tree oil)

first up, i need supplies. after a 5 minute drive down wilson blvd, i got to clarendon's market common to jump start my new project yesterday. after returning some not-quite-right throw pillows at c&b and pb, i used the returned funds to get my gear. stop #1 - whole foods. i found dr. bronner's castile soap (on sale too!) and picked up some essential oils in lavender, lemongrass, tea tree and peppermint. stop #2 - the container store to pick some of my favorite casabella products - supply caddy/bucket and 2 spray bottles - as well as some hermetic jars and powder shakers for the dry materials/mixes.

then i had to make a trip down route 50 to the pet store to pick up some more food for our "ravenous wolves" - recently nicknamed by one of our friends after spying both f&w scarfing down their kitty kibble like a hungry pack. ha! lucky me, target was right next door, so after making even more returns (i'm picky), i filled my cart with the essentials - baking soda, vinegar, borax, club soda, etc - and even grabbed a few method products that i just didn't feel like making right now - wood polish (alternative: olive oil & lemon juice), floor wash (alternative: castile soap, vinegar, water, essential oil), toilet bowl cleaner (alternative: castile soap, baking soda, vinegar, water, essential oil), & dish soap (alternative: ?)

after getting home, i surveyed my materials and started to clearing out the under-sink cabinet full of cleaning supplies. i really really hate to have things go to waste so i am planning to use up everything i have first. if i've survived this long with toxic household chemicals, i don't think a few more weeks are going to kill me. so this effort will be a phased approach, but i did want to have everything ready to go whenever those products do run out. at this point, the only thing left to get is bentonite (indian) clay which i'll probably have to order online anyway... i also plan to design some nifty labels/instructions on the mac and personalize my custom collection. one step at a time though. :)

till then, i'm looking forward to truly loving my home the safe eco-friendly way. yay for green cleaning!