Friday, September 28, 2007

Going Green - one product at a time!

Slowly, we are switching the household over to more green products - I've started with the cleaning supplies but I've run into a problem. I love love love those Lysol disinfecting wipes, use them in the kitchen & bathrooms. And I use them a lot. The only time I've looked for a identical replacement I found a pack of 25 made by Method - that's not enough for me & it was the same price point as the larger containers of the non-green variety. Have y'all found something comparable? Another thing I've trying to replace is the [lazy people's favorite] Windex wipes - I use these only in the bathrooms and have not replaced them since we last ran out. I bought the Method window & glass cleaner for our master bathroom shower & I love it so I used my last, dried up and waste of a Windex wipe when I cleaned the mirrors with the Method cleaner BUT I haven't discovered a decent cloth to use with the spray! Most cloths (facecloths, towels...) leave fluff behind & streaks & I cannot stand that since it usually looks worse when I've finished...does anyone know of a good cloth I can use (microfiber?) on mirrors that can be reused and not have to washed every time I use it? I do not want to use paper towels cause that seems a little counter-productive to me, plus my husband uses paper towels like normal people use their pants to wipe their hands on ;) so I don't need to contribute to that usage.

I can tell you that I love my new Method products - the glass & shower cleaners. I use a potent Tilex shower cleaner in our shower cause it needs it but refuse to use something that hardcore in Liam's bathroom & I've been very pleased with the results!

An organic product that I LOVE are the organic cotton pajamas from WALMART (GASP!) - they are adorable & wash really well! Their price point is about $9-11, a little higher than I would like to pay (jesus, how cheap am I?) so I only buy about two sets a season and usually one has become my favorite set of jammies for our little boy.

Anyone have any favorite green/organic products that they would like to share?

5 comments:

Nikki said...

Hmmm..I don't use alot of wipes. I do use old tshirts and sheets for rags though, and they do much better at not leaving fibers behind than towels. If you don't have any to spare, try goodwill?

I love the Method stuff too. I DID realize the other day that Seventh Generation makes a dishwashing detergent - YAY!

jennifer said...

Yeah, not sure if I can touch someone else's sweaty shirts ;) But I will look into any old shirts to use! Those you can wash too! I don't like liquid dishwasher detregent & I have a whole bottle of their stuff sitting in the garage...maybe I'll try it again though!

Nikki said...

Oh, I have both the liquid and the powder! No more Cascade!

Christina Schmidt said...

I also use old shirts/socks. I wash them first!

I love the Seventh Generation cleaning stuff, gave up on dish soap and laundry detergent. It never cleaned anything right. I just use All Clear and nothing else in the laundry. Cascade for the dishes and this was after multiple experiements with other products...

Love dish soaps though - Mrs Myers, Seventh Generation and one more I cannot think of Eco something?!

I also have tried these dryer things filled with lavendar. They rocked but Kevin not such a big fan so I went back to Bounce... A failure.

I also love the Kiss my Face shaving "cream". I have some form of it and it smells like a pina cola or something. Also, Nature's Gate hair products are nice and Tom's of Maine dental floss and mouth wash. I have an odd obsession with Colgate and nothing makes my mouth feel clean except that. Hmm, I think that is everything though I am sure these is more.

I stopped using anything "throw away" products but I do admit I still wipe the windows with paper towels - old habits are hard to kill!

Dynelle said...

Hello, I'm new to your site and do I have exciting news for all of you interested. (Please excuse any miss spelled words as I've had to learn to read and write again). There is an "Earth Friendly" product from www.youngliving.com called "Thieves". I started using Young Living products after spending 4 months in a coma back in 2006. I had been exposed to toxic levels of mold at a job site where I was a super intendant. I was in a unit taking pictures when the demalition crew came a day early, put on their protective gear and started tearing the walls down. Needless to say they disrupted the spores and I breathed them in. It took 10 months, but it took over my lungs, which then caused me to be put in a coma for 4 months. Since I've been awake,5/5/06, I've had to stop using any and all chemicals as 1. it's not good for anyone & 2. I can't breath when using them. So I did my research and found that the "Thieves" household cleaner is the best thing I've ever found. Not only does it work on everything, but my 7 yr. old daughter can even use it and now helps clean her own bathroom and anything else around the house. "Thieves" is made of therapeutic-grade essential oils and all natural products. My partner tried to clean our slidding class door with Windex, then vinager and newspaper and still it left streaks. I told her to get the "Thieves" household cleaner & finally no streaks. We use it for everything from our laundry, dishwasher, bath/shower spray (tile walls)- ex. after a shower, we spray the walls down with our mixture and walk out of the shower. Leave it on...when we go to clean our bathroom, we spray again and wipe it off. It keeps the nasty things from growing. It's highly concentrated in which it has the measurements on the bottle for whatever condition you're tackling. We went to the $1 store and bought spray bottles and that's what we use. We labeled them so we know what is in each bottle & what it's used for. We even used it to remove algie/mold from our house (live in FL), EX- preasure washed house w/ "Thieves" & then used a mop to spread "Thieves" mixture on house and left it. We've gone over 3 yrs. without having to preasure wash again. Works great on sidewalks too. It can be pricey, but it's highly concentrated. You get 14.4 oz. for $21.50 WHSL (become a member for $50); or $24.89 Pref. Cust.; $28.29 Retail. Go on line and check it out. My family even defuses the Essential Oil blend through a cool air deffuser, (also sold on web site), as it helps keep mold, algie & dust out of my breathing air. I researched the "Thieves" due to my medical condition & found this book called, "Nature's Mold Rx, the Non-Toxic Solution to Toxic Mold" By: Edward R Close, PhD. There are over 20 case studies shown that the Thieves oil alone killed over 98% of mold species in mold infested environments, when bleach and other so called "mold killers" couldn't kill it off permanantly. I tell people about my story and this product to help. I never want anyone to go through what I've gone through and continue to have to go through due to being exposed to Toxic levels of "Aspergillus"/mold. I know that once you try this product, you wont want to have anything else in your home or around your family. I hope that this helps at least one person out there. Take care and best wishes to you all. God Bless! Dynelle