So, I was thinking that since it was a bit chilly outside today that I'd do some laundry, read the kids some books, and maybe tackle my closet since, as usual, it has gotten out of hand. (It seems to be the place that everything from storage boxes to scrapbook supplies to hand-me-downs ends up.)
Little did I know that my closet had also become one of last week's cookie eating hide outs by my children. I don't regularly look under the storage boxes that have migrated to my closet so I didn't realize - until I picked one up today - that the kids had also inadvertently left behind crumbs from their secret festivities.
And where there are cookie crumbs left behind that mommy doesn't know about...there are ants.
In my closet! Gross! Yuck! Puke!
Now, before I get into the blood bath, let me say this. I'm all for ants outside. They can live free and be merry...outside. The moment anything other than my family starts living, in my house, without paying rent?! Well, it's eviction time, honey.
So what's a crazy about-to-yak green mama to do? I saw one of my all-purpose cleaner spray bottle near by, so I leapt for it and started spraying. And to my instant astonishment, the ants...stopped moving! At closer inspection, they had in fact kicked the bucket.
One spray and the ants didn't have a chance to escape. Hip hip hooray!
The stuff that I sprayed, my trusty EPICAll Purpose Cleaner, is a totally green, eco-friendly, ocean-saving product that does everything from cleaning sticky jelly finger prints off the kitchen table to freshening up the bathroom. No where on the bottle does it say that it's also the most powerful non-toxic, eco-friendly ant killer out there...But it is!
I've since used this every time I see a blasted ant in the house. They tried migrating to the kitchen, but I stopped them in their tracks. I haven't seen one since...phew! ;)
I am so amazed that this stuff works as well as it does - fast, efficient, green - I had to blog about it.
If you hate ants and need a non-toxic, eco-friendly product that works, get some! Trust me, it really works.
The following guest blog post is by Cassidy Randall, Program and Outreach Coordinator for Women’s Voices for the Earth
Moms know that the ads we see are often the front lines for whether a product gets bought or ignored. A large and increasing number of greener moms may read up on blogs, read reports and articles and try to look up chemical names of material safety data sheets, but not everyone does this. Many moms are still influenced by ads that say “this will get your laundry smelling like a spring breeze!” and buy the bottle—along with the messages and ads that are sold to them.
That’s why I find it so unnerving that Procter & Gamble has issued a complaint to green company Seventh Generation, asking them to take down one of their online advertisements for the inexcusable crime of talking about safety.
The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ ruling upholding Procter & Gamble’s claims against Seventh Generation’s commercial implies that companies can’t make claims based on the safety of their products, even though more and more research shows that consumers are increasingly making purchasing decisions based on product safety due to health concerns.
Case in point: a recent report by EcoFocus Worldwide found that the category they term “EcoAware Moms” (more than 51 million women) have $1.45 billion in buying power, and that of the top five products that these women are buying more often, two of them are safer cleaning products: chemical-free cleaners (47%) and plant-based cleaning products (40%). You’d think companies would want to advertise the relative safety of their products to this powerful consumer group.
More disturbingly, the ruling upheld Procter & Gamble’s claim that chemicals in conventional cleaning product chemicals have no connection to a rapid increase in illnesses such as autism, ADHD, asthma, allergies, immune system deficiencies and birth defects. But scientific research continues to mount, linking chemicals in cleaning products to chronic health problems. Women’s Voices for the Earth has released three reports compiling the science on certain chemicals in cleaners and impacts to human health, finding:
A class of chemicals called APEs are linked to reproductive harm and fertility problems.
Phthalates are linked to genital malformations in baby boys, reduced sperm count, and increased asthma and allergic reactions in children.
Triclosan is hormone disruption and is linked to increased risk of breast cancer.
Synthetic musks are bioaccumulative, showing up in blood, breast milk, and infants, and may break down our bodies’ defenses against other toxic exposures.
These are just a few of the chemicals of covered in WVE reports—for more, visit the WVE website at www.womenandenvironment.org. For the past several years, WVE has reached out to all the major cleaning product companies, pressuring them to remove these chemicals of concern. Procter & Gamble has not removed ANY chemicals of concern identified in WVE reports (SC Johnson has removed 4, Clorox has removed 5, and Seventh Generation products contain none, for comparison), and has ignored WVE’s inquiries on whether the company uses synthetic musks or phthalates in their fragrances.
Procter & Gamble is the maker of Mr. Clean®, Tide®, Dawn®, Febreze®, Cascade®, Gain®, Swiffer®, and more. It seems like a company with such high-profile brands would want to advertise their safety. And if companies aren’t allowed to advertise how safe their products are, then consumers should be able to look on a product label to decide for themselves—too bad Procter & Gamble is only disclosing a few ingredients on their website, and no ingredients on product labels (as U.S. law doesn’t require ingredient disclosure for cleaners, few do). At least consumers can look on Seventh Generation product labels to see all ingredients and make a choice based on safety at the point of purchase. The bottom line is that harmful chemicals shouldn’t be in cleaning products to begin with. Join Women’s Voices for the Earth to eliminate toxic chemicals that impact women’s health from products we use every day!
Sign our Twitter petition to the American Cleaning Institute http://act.ly/2dc
Did you know...cleaning product companies can keep toxic chemicals that could impact your health a secret from you?
APEs are linked to reproductive harm and fertility problems
Phthalates are linked to genital malformations in baby boys, reduced sperm count, and increased asthma and allergic reactions in children
Triclosan is hormone disruption and increased risk of breast cancer
Synthetic musks are bioaccumulative, showing up in blood, breast milk, and infants, and may break down our bodies’ defenses against other toxic exposures.
Join Women's Voices for the Earth for this Twitter Party Wednesday, 9/15 at 6:00PST/9:00EST Party hashtag: #toxiccleaners Go to www.tweetgrid.com to join the party!
Join WVE for this Twitter party, which coincides with the American Cleaning Institute’s Annual Meeting! Help send the message that you don’t want disinfectants linked to hormone disruption or laundry detergents contaminating breast milk, and that cleaning product companies can no longer keep toxic chemicals that could impact your health a secret from you.
Follow @women4earth to get the dirt on cleaners, ways to reduce your exposure, and a fun and easy call to action on Twitter and Facebook to make real changes!
Women’s Voices for the Earth is a national organization that works to eliminate toxic chemicals that impact women’s health by changing consumer behaviors, corporate practices and government policies. http://www.womenandenvironment.org
The snow is melting, the weather is warming...and we green mamas know what that means. It's that time of year again. Spring cleaning time!
No, no. Don't dread. I actually love this time of the year. After being closed in all winter - kids (and husbands) dragging in dirt and whatnot on snow boots, wood bits and ash from the fireplace, the house closed up tight to keep in the warmth - I can't wait to open all the windows, let the house air out, and clean it like Martha Stewart is coming to town!
I know she's not stopping by, but you never know...
So, that brings us to cleaning, which really isn't all that fun, but necessary to create and maintain a healthy home environment for our families. Plus, if you have a husband like mine, you have to keep the house in tip top shape in the event that he brings home guests, unannounced! I can't even count how many times he just happens to bring hoards of people over, without more than a 5 minute warning (sometimes none!!!). This is why I always keep my house walk in ready.
Husbands...gotta love them ;)
Keeping a house walk-in ready helps keep your house in order so that weekly cleaning isn't a huge undertaking, just as weekly cleaning helps keep your house clean enough so that spring cleaningisn't a month long process! And don't we all just love spring cleaning, as it gives us a chance to dedicate time towards all those things that we 'miss' or 'ignore' the rest of the year.
"Oh, I didn't even notice that closet was stuffed full of crap...now how did that get past me..." Hmmm...
So, what are these things we ignore? Well, that depends on who you are. Me? I ignore the stove and windows. My niece and nephew, when they were young, LOVED to clean windows. Don't ask me why, but whenever they came over to visit Aunt Lia's house, that's what they wanted to do...who was I to deny them?! But they've grown up and, well, I think they're onto me ;)
I'm not a big fan of a huge spring cleaning, so that is why I do a little bit here, a little bit there, year round. The closets I reorganize and rearrange on an almost monthly basis. I think I might have an illness, because I enjoy it...a lot. But it helps keep the overflow of stuff to a minimum since I'm constantly weeding out and donating items that my family no longer uses or needs.
Come March, when the sun shine gets stronger, illuminating the dust and dirt in the house that well, I just didn't notice in the dim winter sun light, I start cleaning walls, ceiling fans, and whatnot as I notice them. And when it comes to cleaning, I use two main ingredients: vinegar and baking soda. That basically takes care of every cleaning need I have. To mask the smell of vinegar, use a few drops of your favorite EO (essential oil). I usually use lavender or lemon. That, dripped into a spray bottle with 1:1 water and vinegar, will clean just about anything, and leave it smelling great too.
Vinegar is great for cleaning everything. Windows, counter tops, bathrooms, carpet stains, all purpose cleaner...and that's just a few things. It's non-toxic, the kids can help you clean, works great in the laundry, and you can cook with it too!
Rub some baking soda mixed with water inside the stove, let it dry, and then wipe it off. It's abrasive, non-toxic, can be used in the laundry, and you can cook with it too!
Great things are worth repeating ;)
For "spring cleaning", I go through the house, room by room, and make a master list of all the things I need to do. If you want to do it all in one shot, select a weekend, a week, or a whole month that you are going to dedicate to getting this list taken care of and stick to it. I post my list by my calendar so I can jump for joy as items get crossed out when they get done.
Here's my list...
Whole house - windows - ceiling fans - wipe down walls (walls get dusty too!)
Kids Rooms - rearrange room (this freshens up the space, makes it new, and I can clean under furniture) - consign clothes (out with the old, room for the new)
Living Room/Dining Room - wash curtains - rearrange room - hang pictures (maybe this year I'll actually get to it!)
Outside (don't neglect the great outdoors!) - clean up after snow plows (I can't believe how much trash they picked up and left!...) - paint outdoor furniture - straighten up, get ready to garden!!! :)
So far I've done the fridge and consigned a great deal of kids clothes they grew out of. I think I'll take a day here, a day there during March to finish everything off on the list. That way I'll have all of April to dedicate to getting my garden ready for May planting!!! Now THAT is my most favorite time of the year!
by guest boat-dwelling mama blogger Cindy Wallach of spinsheet.com ...and yes, Cindy actually lives on a boat...isn't that cool ;)
A friend who was born and raised on the Chesapeake Bay told me a story recently. When he was a boy 40-some years ago on Harness Creek there was so much seaweed they had to constantly pull it off of their oars as they paddled along. And there were so many crabs that he and his little friends were constantly jumping around to avoid them as they waded into the creek. The one word he used to describe the Bay back then was "alive". I can count on one hand the number of living crabs my son has seen the past 5 years (though the dead ones rack up on fingers and toes) and we live aboard full time. Talk about a wake up call.
If you've got greenrunning through your veins, greening up your everyday life is easier than you think. So get to it.
Instead of using...Use these Eco-Friendly Alternatives
Bleach...Borax
Detergent & Soap... Elbow grease
Scouring Powders... Baking soda. Or rub area with one-half lemon dipped in borax, then rinse
General Cleaner... Baking soda and vinegar. Or lemon juice combined with borax paste
Floor Cleaner...One cup vinegar + 2 gallons of water
Window Cleaner... One cup vinegar + 1 qt. warm water. Rinse and squeegee
Aluminum Cleaner... 2 Tbsp. cream of tartar + 1 qt. of hot water
Brass Cleaner... Worcestershire sauce. Or paste made of equal amounts of salt, vinegar, and water
Copper Cleaner...Lemon juice and water. Or paste of lemon juice, salt, and flour
Chrome Cleaner/Polish... Apple cider vinegar to clean; baby oil to polish
Stainless Steel Cleaner... Baking soda or mineral oil for polishing, vinegar to remove spots
Fiberglass Stain Remover... Baking soda and salt in a wet paste
Mildew Remover... Paste with equal amounts of lemon juice and salt, or white vinegar and salt OR diluted tea tree oil
Drain Opener... Dissemble or use plumber’s snake. Or flush with boiling water + one-quarter cup baking soda + one-quarter cup vinegar
Wood Polish... Olive or almond oil (interior walls only)
So, I was thinking that since it was a bit chilly outside today that I'd do some laundry, read the kids some books, and maybe tackle my closet since, as usual, it has gotten out of hand. (It seems to be the place that everything from storage boxes to scrapbook supplies to hand-me-downs ends up.)
