Even though I am not always the tidiest of persons, I was surprised when a friend of mine contacted me for cleaning advice. Green, cleaning advise that is. She had just moved into a new house that had fleas in the carpets and she wanted me to give her natural options as opposed to "bombing" her entire house. I didn't know if I should be flattered that she thought of me as being so knowledgeable and green, or hide myself with shame as only I could understand how to control fleas (seeing as we have a 150 lb St Bernard). I gave her all the tips that I had, and she emerged (or so she told me) flea-free.
I am always on the look out for cleaner, greener products. One of my favorite good ol' standbys that does almost EVERYTHING is baking soda. You can use it as an abrasive cleaner, sprinkle it on the carpet/rugs before you vacuum, and my favorite: pour half a box of baking soda in a clogged drain, then follow with plain white vinegar: it will gurgle, so close it off with something like a plunger, and once it no longer makes a bubbling noise, uncover it and pour SCOLDING hot water down. It keeps my scary looking drains super clean!
My other favorite is white vinegar. Buy the cheapest you can find, and use it in the method above, to polish windows, or my favorite is to use it as a fabric softener. I got really tired of how much film regular fabric softener left on my clothes, so I now put in about a 1/4 cup of white vinegar with a few drops of essential oil (I usually choose lavender or chamomile). It works like a charm, and no, nothing comes out smelling like pickles.
Recently I discovered a new brand of eco-cleaning products that they sell here in the Netherlands that is from New Zealand: B.E.E. The packaging is very sleek and minimal, which actually had me thinking it was a "traditional" cleaning product for the elite. Instead it was made with biodegradable ingredients and essential oils! For now I'm working on the "Trust Me with your Delicates" detergent, but I will be slowly chipping away at their entire product line. The delicates laundry detergent already has me eagerly washing the mountain of delicates I've been neglecting for ages. Good excuse to get some cleaning done!
Hey Jos! loved your Blog! by the way, can we find these cleaning products in Holland? I try to use the ecover cleaning stuff as much as possible, but I feel like I need an alternative.. some of their products are not good... others, disgusting (the washing liquid make your clothes smell like piss!)... :(
Posted by: Bia Russo | February 23, 2009 at 12:19 PM
Hey Bia! Thanks! YES YES YES you can find these products here. At the least likely of all places - V&D. Just go to the housewares section and they should have them there mixed in with other things like linens, towels, etc. They definitely stick out as they have really cool packaging.
And yes, as much as we try to stick to the "green" products, sometimes we sacrifice the feel (recycled toilet paper) or smell (apparently the laundry liquid!!!)!!!
Posted by: Jos | February 23, 2009 at 12:24 PM