I made the switch over to natural cleaning products when I was pregnant with my first child.  I started doing some reading and I knew cleaning products could be harmful to breathe or to be on your skin, so I decided to find some safe products to clean my home, and I’ve stuck with them ever since.

First of all, Johnny bought me this really cool book called Better Basics for the Home.  It is literally full of all kinds of recipes for things you can make yourself.  From furniture polish and window cleaner, to shampoo and toothpaste, to flea and tick powder!  There are usually several variations for any type of product you want to make.  I’ve used olive oil and vinegar to polish my furniture, and I’ve used tea tree oil and lavender oil mixed with water to do other cleaning.  I make my own soft scrub with castile soap and baking soda, and it works great!  I also use vinegar for lots of things.   I  highly recommend this book if you’re interested in natural cleaning.

I also use a few Method products to clean with.  For convenience sake I have some of their disposable all surface wipes, and I also like their window cleaner and I purchased the oMop recently.  I love all of these products and I bought one of their microfiber window cloths to use on my windows and mirrors.  It is wonderful!  And now I don’t go through all those paper towels anymore!  I have also used their laundry detergent for several years and really like it.

Speaking of microfiber, do you know what an awesome product it is?    Did you know that you can clean with only microfiber and water to clean and remove dirt and bacteria.  No chemicals needed!  Check out these two articles to learn more!  The Strange Case of the Missing Microfiber and Better Cleaning  Through Microfibers.

I hope you have learned plenty of new things about green cleaning!  Now I’ve got to go clean the bathrooms!

Great subject, right?  Well, since I’ve been doing a lot of this in the past week, I thought I’d share some techniques with you.  Nathaniel got hit with the stomach bug, then me, then Gabriel.  Johnny feels like a hunted man today since he’s the only one left.

A few years ago, Parents magazine (the September 2006 issue to be exact) printed an article about how to do all sorts of different things.  One of those things was “How to Clean Up Throw-Up”.  I tore it out for safe keeping because I knew the information would be invaluable at some point in my life.  So here is what they said, along with my own helpful pointers – from experience, of course.

1. First, use a paper towel to lift away any solid remains.  For hard surfaces, cat litter works to soak up what’s left so that it can be scooped up and thrown away.  You don’t have a kitty?  Sprinkle baking soda or cornstarch on the affected area to absorb the throw-up (and the odor.)  Make sure to do the baking soda thing.  I did it one day, and forgot to do it a different day.  It really does make a difference in SMELL!
2. For carpeting and rugs, consider investing in dry-cleaning fluid (do a test run to make sure it won’t bleach out the color.)  After cleaning up the vomit, pour the fluid over the stain.  Blot with a dry, white cloth.  Rewet the stain with a squirt of mild liquid detergent, then blot again with the cloth.  Flood the stain with water and blot, repeating until there’s no soap residue.  I have never tried the dry-cleaning fluid, but I do have this Woolite POD, and it works great!!  In fact, I need to go buy another one.  I used mine up this past week.
3. If your child vomits on a wood floor, use a pH-neutral cleaner or a solution of white vinegar and warm water.  If you’re cleaning a mattress, car seat, or the living-room couch, sponge the stain with cool water, then cover the spot with baking soda and allow to dry, then vacuum.  We have wood floor in a large part of our home, and my white vinegar did the trick again!  But I will admit, there was a crazy weird fume when I cleaned up the puke with the vinegar.  My floor is still good, though!

While I hope this information will help you, I hope you don’t have to use it anytime soon.  Stomach bugs are NO fun!

Is anyone else afraid of salmonella poisoning?  I think I might be on the edge of freakish about it.  I wasn’t before we had children, but now, well, it’s a different story.

When I buy chicken at the grocery store, I always get a produce bag and use it as a glove to pick up the chicken and then cover the entire package so I don’t have to touch it.  I mean, come on, I’ve seen that gross chicken juice pooling up in the bottom of the chicken refrigeration thingy.  It’s totally yucky!  The chicken stays in that bag until I’m ready to open it.

Every time we’re having chicken for dinner and I have to get that bag of chicken out of my fridge to place it into the sink, I have a great fear.  The fear is that one of my children is going to fall down or get hurt in some way and need immediate help while I am covered in chicken juice.  Am I crazy?  I guess I’m just a lit-tle overly cautious in this area because I’m from a very small town.  I’m talking 500 people.  And do you know that I’ve heard of two different babies in my hometown getting salmonella poisoning??!?  Hospital stays were involved!!  OK, so if you don’t think I’m crazy, then read on for my chicken preparation procedure.

• Get out spray bottle of vinegar
• Get out plastic baggies and open each one, kind of propping them up and open
• Get out a fork and knife
• Put the bag of chicken in the sink and remove the outer bag
• Use a knife to cut open the chicken package
• Use a fork to stab chicken and place very carefully into one of the propped open baggies, trying not to touch outside of bag at all
• After all the chicken is safely into baggies, pickup tray and plastic bag and throw in trash as quickly as possible
• Place fork and knife in sink and wash hands thoroughly with soap and water
• Close baggies and place in fridge or freezer
• Spray white vinegar like crazy anywhere chicken juice could have possible dripped – fork and knife, counter top, sink, etc.

That is my process.  Are you wondering why I use white vinegar?  Vinegar kills bacteria, mold, and germs.  A straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—the kind you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses).  And, as you might have guessed, it’s totally non-toxic.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my phobia.  We’re having chicken tonight, so I’m off to spray my vinegar.

Going Green is such a trendy thing these days.  I have to say, I’m glad it’s coming into fashion.  I’m not such a weirdo anymore now that most of the things I’ve been doing for several years are becoming common.  Lately I’ve been reading up on the harm of PBDEs (I will be writing more about these fire retardants later) and I ran across this great list at EWG. I know I’ve already told you some of the things that are important and easy to change around your home (see Is There BPA in Your Baby’s Bottle?  What About His Toys? and So What are Phthlates, Again?) , but I just love EWG’s A Parent’s Guide to Going Green so much, that I wanted to give you the highlights.

1. Choose better body care products. (Use EWG’s Skin Deep to find some!)
2. Go organic & eat fresh foods.  (Choose organic fruits & veggies, and milk & meat without added growth hormones.  Limit canned food and infant formula because of BPA.)
3. Avoid fire retardants. (More to come on this in a post soon.)
4. Pick your plastics carefully.  (You want to avoid BPA and phthlates!)
5. Filter your tap water.
6. Wash those hands. (Skip the anti-bacterial soap!)
7. Skip non-stick. (Toxic fumes are emitted when overheated.)
8. Use a HEPA-filter vacuum.  (They capture the widest range of particles and get rid of allergens.)
9. Get enough iodine. (Very important if you’re pregnant or have a baby.)
10. Use greener cleaners & avoid pesticides. (Look for less toxic cleaning alternatives like vinegar and make your own.)
11. Eat good fats.  (Get those Omega-3’s!)

This is a very helpful list in my opinion.  Please read the guide yourself for a few more details that I left out, if you have time.  It’s not too long and you’ll be glad you did.