My 10 tips for a cleaner, greener home.

I have to be honest...the chemicals used in cleaning products in the US are terribly strong. I realized this after I noticed Bunny girl, then a toddler, getting the sniffles every time I'd clean our glass table with a popular name brand glass cleaner. Today I'm much wiser and to ensure Bunny girl and Bunny Boo's health is kept foremost in mind, my Hubby and I have taken tiny but significant steps to try and keep our home and the things we own/use clean with safer alternatives.

We're also trying to set an example to Bunny girl as she's a little sponge and we believe it's important she value the resources we have and do her part of trying to conserve the same.

Here are 10 tips from our family, that help keep our home cleaner and greener:

1. While washing the children's clothes we use the best natural disinfectant there is....vinegar. It beats using any other additional laundry disinfectant and if you hang your clothes out to dry in the sun...well that's just the best!
2. While washing dishes, we found using half a lime/lemon to scrub out caked residue on frying pans helps loosen the residue and clean the pan well, even if you don't using dish washing liquid.
3. We've also found that using baking soda on grimy kitchen counter tops helps clean off the crusted bits that stubbornly stay firm on the counter and even the stove top. (If the grime is really stubborn try a mix of baking soda and vinegar...should do the trick!)
   
4. Now that we've moved into our own home and FINALLY have a backyard, we're planning to start growing a few vegetables. Not only will they be pesticide free but we'll finally have vegetables that grow naturally (without any human interference to boost growth)
5. To help our vegetables grow, we'd use our own compost to act as a great fertilizing agent. The compost would be made of the food waste generated from our kitchen, which would ordinarily be trashed. (The food waste would be collected in a pit dug in our garden and be mixed with the cut lawn grass and left for a minimum of twenty days to become compost )
6. We've been trying to replace our light bulbs with energy saving bulbs. I've discovered Armorlite bulbs are great as they're bright, do not generate heat and help cut down our electricity costs.
7. We also make it a point to keep all footwear in the garage or in the closet (as we enter the house) as we strongly feel we prevent pesticides and other microbes from getting into the living areas especially as the floors are carpeted. This has helped keep the carpets relatively clean.
8. We use our Flings Bins as our 'recycle' bins. They're great reminders for all of us to place the waste plastic in one and waste paper in the other. It's also great that Hubby has recently found a recycling center near his work place. So twice in a week, our bins are emptied out and brought back home to collect new recyclable waste.
9. Bunny girl and Hubby carry their lunch to school and work in reusable lunch containers. We try our best to avoid using plastic sandwich bags and foil as far as possible.
10. We recently also invested in a high volume high efficiency washer to cut on electricity costs and be able to run large volumes in the wash. This ensures the washer is not run every other day and since we sun dry all our clothes (except when the weather is gloomy or wet) we ensure our electricity consumption is minimized.
    

I'm sure you have some 'green' tips you'd love to share. Hop over and add your wealth to the 'green' chest of knowledge here.



P.S I'd love to know if anyone has tried using Coke to clean out a dirty toilet. Heard it works but honestly I have my doubts about it!!


** EBMR Disclaimer: “I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Mrs. Meyers blogging program, making me eligible to get a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Labels: Mommy Tips, Twitter Moms

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 9:56 PM