Friday, August 8, 2008

Green Cleaning

Lately I've been enamored by all products green. Dishwashing soap, laundry detergent, toilet paper, even clothing. There are a ton of cleaners out there marketed to us greenies. The bottle are beautifully shaped, sexy even, and they smell like rosemary and lemon, or lavendar and clary sage. When I purchase them, I feel like a wise medicine woman, tapping in to the secrets of botany and herbology.. I fee like a dread-locked hippie in an ankle skirt, ready to run through a meadow of daisies. I feel like I get bonus good citizen points in the great record book of the socially conscious.

The one problem I have with green products is their cost. They are more expensive than their toxic counterparts. It's much cheaper to just go ahead and die of cancer. With gas and food prices up, we're looking to shave cost on just about everything we normally do. My new solution to this dilemma lies in a $3.00 giant vat of white distilled vinegar. I mix 2 parts vinegar and 1 part water into my spray bottle. And, walla! environmentally safe, health conscious, CHEAP cleaning product, at your fingertips. Plus, you can just keep re-using the same plastic bottle. Extra green points.

I've been using it to clean everything in the house. Shower, microwave, sink, toilets. Vinegar kills almost as much bacteria as bleach and it's good for the environment and doesn't give you diseases when you breathe it in. Plus, it's not streaky. Plus, your kids can spray it and learn to clean with you. The only down side is that it's kind of stinky. The funky smell only lasts for about an hour.

More tips on cleaning with vinegar here...

So, make some cleaner, hand it to your husband and kids, and go buy some shoes.




11 comments:

  1. Isn't it funny--we've gone full circle--my mom used vinegar to wash windows back in the olden days when I was a child!! I still remember the smell! Of course we use it to clean doggie pee--gets rid of unpleasant odors!

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  2. I love the green products as well. A friend of mine passed along this great cleaner. Baking soda with a bit of castille soap and a drop or two of lavender. I use it for my every day cleaner-counters, sink etc. It smells yummy :) The cost of lavender and castille soap at first seems pricey-but a little goes a long way!!!

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  3. Okay Jodie, my name is Kara and I am an addicted "blog-hopper" and I admit it...there! I said it! :)
    I found your blog via Sadie Arnold. I have to say that I have always thought about "going green" in the household cleaning department, but have never tried it...you have inspired me to try your nifty vinegar cleaning solution...and mostly, I love your idea about how to use the "saved dollars" with a fab shoe purchase! Brilliant, I tell you! I can’t wait to see how that one goes over with my hubby! :)

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  4. OK. I'm curious about where to buy lavender and castille? Is that a dumb question? Great post Jodie!

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  5. Hi Jodie - Lisa Davis here - cousin to Michael from Tennessee. I am just getting my "blogging gear" set up. And have been enjoying reading about you and your family via Nancy's blog. Actually I talked to Nancy today, it was great. Any hoo, I have your same sentiments about the cost of "green products"! I am all about doing what we can for our environment and our future generations, but it would be nice if these products were more cost effective. At any rate, I enjoyed your vinegar cleaner ideas and the link to more info. We are painting our son, Blake's, room right now and the smell is bad, so I'm off to the kitchen to see if I have vinegar to find a cure. Thanks.....

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  6. Hello! I found your blog through Jen White's -- I'm a northwesterner living in southern california. I love Portland and Seattle, but not the gloomy grey. Enjoy your blog -- and felt right at home in your 'mother earth' description going green. I've also discovered the vinegar / baking soda solution to clogged drains -- safer on pipes and environment. A note about the smell of paint ... I just painted my apt with non-VOC / non toxic paint (of course, a little more $) but amazingly, no smell. Fresh Aire - has a vegetable based colorant.

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  7. Gotta be honest ... my mom used vinegar to clean our house growing up ... and now ... I can't STAND the smell of it.

    Funny.

    P.S. But I'm sure your house smells wonderful!

    xoox

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  8. OK, now I feel old.... I remember my mom using vinegar and water to wash windows. I thought it was soooooo uncool that she wasn't using Windex. :)
    Thanks for the cool memory, Jodie!And good for you for going green...time for me to go buy a vat of vinegar myself! :)

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  9. Yes - I too just recently went green with all my cleaning supplies - good book: Clean house, Clean Planet (Amazon.com) And all you have to do is put your fav scent into the mix and you suddenly feel like your in a spa!

    On another note, call me and we'll work out pics this sunday if that's something you still want to do. 2:00 does work for me. 425.495.1473
    C

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  10. If anyone knows how to temper the stink of vinegar, please post here! It's effective but wow does is smell bad....Ideas anyone?

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  11. Using white vinegar (which your probably already using) add a little lemon juice, it's supposed the help neautralize the smell.

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