Green Cleaning Tips

I would like to introduce you to the concept of Green Cleaning. The "green" movement means that you incorporate products and actions into your life that help save and protect the environment. There are so many ways to live green, whether you buy your loved one free-trade Chocolates for Valentine's Day or you use cleaners in your house that will protect your health and the environment.

Here are some "green" cleaning tips from this above mentioned article:

- use home recipes for making cleaning solvents (good article on this here)
- look for hydrogen peroxide bleaches and leave on for 10 minutes
- don't use any products that say "corrosive" on the bottle!
- don't be afraid to call the 1-800 number on the bottle and ask specific questions like, "Is this product safe for people with asthma?" and such and demand a satisfactory answer!

Some other tips:
- open a window as the first step for cleaning! Fresh air can make all the difference!
- in general, buy cleaning products from a health-food store if all else fails.
- Use The Safe Shopper's Guide for purchasing products.

Green cleaning items include:

• Baking soda
• White vinegar
• Murphy's liquid soap (or liquid castile soap)
• Scouring pad
• Cotton washcloth or a sponge
• Cotton rag without much lint
• 16 oz. spray bottle

Try to incorporate Green living into your home, especially the way you clean it. Even thinking of this lifestyle conjures up images of wide open windows and laundry air-drying on the line outside. Try it yourself, sit and think for a second of what living a green lifestyle would look like to you (leave a comment!). What a nice lifestyle to try to emulate!