Tag Archives: cleaning

On day three of our challenge to make our homes more natural our next step is actually buying the products you need.

This is where you will have a small expense in the beginning but it will even out over time.  Most of these items you can buy at your local grocery store.  Some you my have problems finding and will have to order online but find a place that does free shipping and then it doesn’t cost much.

Things to buy

• borax
• baking soda
• washing soda
• vinegar
• alcohol
• peroxide
• fels naptha bar soap
• Dr Bronners soap
• essential oils—I have peppermint and orange
• tea tree oil
• 3 good spray bottles – try and get 3 different colored ones

Most all I purchased at Walmart.  Make sure to buy the more costly spray bottles ($3) as they will last longer than a cheaper one.  The only thing I bought online was the essential oils and Dr Bronners soap.  I got mine from vitaminshoppe.com but check the prices at amazon as well.

Once you gather all your ingredients we will begin by making your all-purpose household cleaner.

There are literally thousands of house cleaning products on the market today, all claiming to kill 99.9% of germs or bacteria. In theory, this is great; however in reality, these products do more harm to our bodies than good.

 

But while the chemicals in cleaners foam, bleach, and disinfect to make our dishes, bathtubs and counter tops gleaming and germ-free, many also contribute to indoor air pollution, are poisonous if ingested, and can be harmful if inhaled or touched. In fact, some cleaners are among the most toxic products found in the home.

Did you know that nearly 80% of the chemicals found in everyday cleaning products have not been tested for long-term effects? By using these products, you may very well have a clean house today, and possible cancer in the future.  (Insert cancer page.
The Cancer Prevention Coalition lists hundreds of toxic and deadly chemicals that are in household cleaners.

 

When it comes to cleaners, the consumer has little to go on beyond the warning labels that manufacturers are required to put on their products. The labels DANGER, WARNING and POISON give only a very general idea about the seriousness of the unknown substances a product contains.

While cleaners are the only household products regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission under the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act, their sellers aren’t required to reveal these products’ ingredients. These ingredients are considered “trade secrets,” so government regulations are actually designed to protect this proprietary information, not to protect human health or the environment.

We can’t just blindly believe  that products are safe just because they are widely available and for sale. Cigarettes are sold and yet we know the effects they have on the body. They are proven cancer causers.

Just because something is labeled as natural does not mean that it is safe. Let me remind you that arsenic is a naturally occurring substance and yet, it kills. There is no law or set of guidelines to instruct companies as to how they can or can’t label products with use of the word “natural”. Don’t let that word persuade you at all. It means nothing on a commercial product.

OK if that isn’t enough to convince you to want to make the switch, how about do it for the money.  Making your own all natural cleaners is very frugal and cheap.  Plus you know each and every ingredient in the bottle

 part 3 items to purchase

This  series is to help you slowly make the transition to a more natural home.

Take it in steps as with everything that you do with your life.

If anyone had noticed my cleaning supplies 6 months ago, they would see all the dangerous chemicals that I had.  I think it is safe to say that most people carry them in their homes and never really think much about the dangerous that may lurk in them.  Even though every bottle has a huge warning that this is poisonous!!

One walk down the grocery store isle and you can see the  hundreds of products out there with all their pretty little packaging..  The smell might over take you, probably make you sneeze.  That can’t be good.  What is in all that stuff? and why are we putting it onto the floors where our babies crawl on?  The  media is screaming with ads of cleaners that promise to do this and do that. We will continue to be lured into their marketing schemes to buy the newest and greatest cleaner out there.  And let our pocket books get more and more broke each month.  So why do we do this?

I am human, I get lapsed in my duties just like everyone else. Would you believe 6 years ago I used to sell all natural cleaners and laundry soap? Then I had baby after baby, and I got lapsed. Seems it was easier to waste the income my husband worked for plus I was so programmed from society to believe that everything had to smell like bleach or it wasn’t clean. But no more, the reason for writing this blog is for me to be accountable in my actions. I try and make wholesome foods for my family, but then I forget that what they are breathing in everyday is just as important.

We spend more time in our homes than we do anywhere else. Our homes are where we eat, sleep, and spend time with our family. This is why it is so important to keep our homes clean and free of germs and bacteria that can make us sick but in a natural, non caustic way.  And do you know we can do it inexpensively?  Especially over time and probably help cut down on some respiratory illnesses due to breathing in all that stuff?

So why 21 days? Research has shown that it takes 21 days to break a habit. The best way is day by day, baby steps. Ever hear the expression,“How do you eat an elephant? “Answer—one part at a time. Going all natural in your home is a good habit to get started on. Over the next 3 weeks we will implement something in your life that will help you live chemical free one bite at a time. Let’s get started.