Although I don't consider myself a completely "green" homemaker...I try my best when & where I can. Mostly, I started the journey not to jump on the trendy wagon...but because of Jo's health. There is no known cause or cure for Autism. It is linked to environmental hazard exposure either to the mother, baby or during pregnancy. As well, as the possibility towards genetic disposition & possible toxic harm from the MMR vaccine.
Since both my Mom & Grandma lost there lives to Parkinson's Disease, which is also neurological based & possibly from long term toxic levels of metals/hazard exposure. I really take notice of certain things because of both reasons.
Jo also suffers from asthma & allergies. I've always had to be cautious with household cleaners, laundry soaps, laundry softners, bath soap etc. The last several years I switched to homemade house cleaners, that were all naturally based. (Mostly vinegar to clean bathrooms & kitchen, along with baking soda. Olive oil & lemon to polish furniture etc.) It was saving us money & we could breathe safely.
We haven't used fabric softener for over 7 1/2 years. Two years ago I made wool dry balls for the dryer. Which surprisingly do make clothes/fabric softer. Then I found out the wonderful use of vinegar in the rinse cycle of the wash-softens clothes & cleans the inners of the machine! Bonus!
The end of '09-beginning of '10 I had a few health issues & honestly, felt overwhelmed by life. Part of "taking care of myself" first, so that I could take care of others, meant asking for help where I needed it the most. I hired a housecleaner to help me out 2x's a month. It was making a world of difference for my sanity & underlying grumpiness. Just that little bit of extra help to get the deep dirt cleaned has been great! The bad thing I fell into was caving to her needs of commercial cleaners. We have a language barrier & she didn't understand how to use my homemade cleaners. She definitely has her preferences of cleaners & simply won't clean appropiately without them. I know-I'm crazy to have gone & bought her the toxic stuff, I'm her boss. But....her pricing is budget friendly & no one can underbid her in our area. Otherwise, I can not afford the extra help.
Well, I've had to cut back on her services a lot more this summer. Having the kids at home & going on our little outtings-costs a little more. I couldn't justify the costs of "extra help" & couldn't see how she'd get her work finished with my boys under foot. I reclaimed my house towards natural cleaners & slowly have eliminated the toxic junk from under my sink. Yippee!
I was in a time crunch this past week & couldn't brew up some bottles of cleaner on my own. Mostly because I want to try essential oils in & I'm still educating myself before purchase. Like, why is tea tree oil considered a bio-hazard, even though it's all natural? I'm still trying to figure that all out, especially since essential oils ain't cheap!
While I was shopping in Target I decided to try Meyer's Cleaners. I've heard good stuff about them. I tried out the Lemon Verbena spray. O, my, the fumes are just about as lethal as the commercial junk I just got rid of! Why? All of the ingredients are natural. I get the worst headaches just squirting down the kitchen counters! Sydney, my labradoodle sneeezes away also & begs to go outside when I use it! Which makes me wonder, am I hurting Jo's lungs or making his asthma worse? I totally don't get it & wonder is this the hazardous effects of essential oils? Would we experience the same effects with putting essential oils in my own cleaner brews? If so, why on earth do certain "greenies" swear on the stuff?
Going Green is totally confusing these days & advertisers, plus the internet don't help!! They've caught on to the profit in labeling the products as "green' or "natural"-but are they really healthy for us? I'm not a chemist or have an education figuring out the odd ingredients in these products. Just wondering, because I'm just a simple gal, trying to simply keep my house clean. But I also love aromatherapy benefits. So, if it's gonna smell good & make me smile or sing a little while getting my work done....score! Should I just go back to what I was using & light candles while cleaning?
I love comments, so if any one has any advice or wisdom please leave me a note or two.
I used to make my own "green" cleaning products, including laundry detergent...but somewhere along the way I lost the time to do so...and haven't found it again! Sometimes I use products like the Meyer's you mentioned and water it down. Still works fine. The only essential oils I used in my cleansers were lavender & lemon...since you only need a couple drops it never bothered me. Good luck & if you get it all figured out let us know!! ;)
ReplyDeleteI have no clue. I'm a simple cleaner, too. But I prefer to keep my aromatherapy in my bath products, not my cleaning products. A clean house just smells clean. I don't need it to smell like lavender or lemon verbena.
ReplyDeleteI think the best air freshener we can use is opening the windows and letting the fresh air cleanse our homes :)
~Lisa