Spring Cleaning the Eco-Friendly Way (guest blogger)

This article is by guest blogger, Nicole Sanders.  I always love hearing how people have enjoyed learning that greening your cleaning does really work!

Spring Cleaning the Eco-Friendly Way

by Nicole Sanders

As you may have guessed, spring cleaning is one of my favorite seasonal activities, and I can’t wait to get started on my annual cleaning session. Not only does this make my home more inviting, but it also allows me to better the environment. If you are looking for a few spring cleaning tips, check out my favorite eco-friendly housekeeping tips that will leave your home sparkling.

Gather the Essentials

Before I begin cleaning, I make sure that everything is ready to go in a portable container. Fortunately, green cleaning products are inexpensive and easy to find. Start with the basics such as vinegar, baking soda and rubbing alcohol. Then grab a microfiber dust cloth, a natural sponge, or a scrub brush made from natural fibers. If you plan on doing some deeper cleaning, add a few natural products designed for the specific task. With your kit of eco-friendly supplies on hand, you’re ready to get started. 

Bathroom Tips

One of the best home cleaning tips I’ve found is to first clean your bathroom by sprinkling baking soda in the toilet. This way, you can let it sit while you wipe down the sinks and fixtures with a microfiber cleaning cloth. To make your fixtures shine, dab a small amount of rubbing alcohol. After you clean the bathroom, use your scrub brush to finish up the toilet.

Eco-Friendly Laundry Methods

Green cleaning should be incorporated throughout your house, yet many people still rely on chemical products when doing laundry. However, I have found that natural laundry detergent and fabric softeners do a better job at eliminating stains. I always make my laundry detergent from scratch using baking soda and shaved soap. When I am short on time, I enlist the help of a cleaning service that uses a natural laundry detergent. Finally, I complete my laundry by airing it out on the clothesline, or by tossing a sachet with lavender into the drying cycle.

Kitchen Scrub Down

In the kitchen, there are several home cleaning tips that will keep your appliances and windows clean with very little effort. For cleaning your oven, simply sprinkle some baking soda and let it sit. Then, wipe it down with some rubbing alcohol and watch as the build-up scrubs away easily. Vinegar can also be used to clean up your appliances so that they shine. In the kitchen, green cleaning should also include a thorough cleaning of the floors using natural products such as vinegar and water. You can also use an eco-friendly floor cleaner. 

Whether you are using a cleaning service or conducting your own spring cleaning, make sure you’re only using natural products that are safe to use in and around your home, especially if you have young children or pets. Not only is this more effective, but it also leaves your home sparkling—minus the chemical residue. As you finish up your cleaning project this spring, make sure to keep these eco-friendly products readily available so that you can keep your home spotless and toxic-free year-round

How "Martha" are you with Betsy Karetnick

As an accomplished broadcaster, journalist and media host, Betsy Karetnick is a dream to interview. We had a great time sharing cleaning conundrums, secrets and lots of laughs. Betsy worked for seven years with Martha Stewart Living Radio on the Morning Living Show and has a vast knowledge of everything that pertains to lifestyle. We talked about stains, cooking and took questions from our listeners. You can check out her blog at www.iamnotarestaurant.com

Here is a post from Betsy:

As I was erasing evidence of kids and pets from my front hallway, a thought mentioned by cleaning coach Leslie Reichert popped into my head. When I was on her radio show on W4WN.com, she asked, why do so many people hate to clean? Some of it may have to do with the factory like nature of cleaning (I was pretty sure I’d been in that hallway with a similar sponge not too long ago). Some with the connectivity inherent to the job – rats, now that the walls are clean, I can see the light fixture is filthy…OMG, cobwebs above the doorframe! But I think sometimes we’ve lost sight of just how easy it is to keep a clean house in a century that offers magic in sponges and vacuums that move by themselves. As a radio host for more than seven years on Martha Stewart Living Radio I tried to focus on the upside of cleaning. Yes it is remarkably repetitive, but there is much to be celebrated too.

Here are a few things I've learned along the way from experts like Leslie and from a huge family of listeners.

1.      Everyone needs to be appreciated. I don’t care what you clean – thank yourself for a job well done. Every Monday we used to play “How Martha Were You” over the weekend. It seems like a silly game until you realize you processed 12 loads of laundry, cooked, entertained, organized…all while driving endless carpools. Promise yourself a reward after de-griming the kitchen. Enjoy a cup of tea with two chapters of a ridiculous novel.

2.      If your kids give you clothes that are inside out, wash them inside out, fold them inside out and return them inside out. Either they will start to right their clothing or they won’t care. If they don’t care, neither do you.

3.      Teach children laundry skills. And take a lesson from me – discuss emptying pockets first! Have you ever seen what gum and ink can do to a dryer?!!

4.      Cleaning equals a free gym membership. Don’t believe me? Try this. Vacuum your whole house. Fill a bucket with hot water, a drop of dish soap and a dollop of white vinegar. Mop your wood floors. After each room, either “skate” two dry t-shirts around the room or dry the floors on your hands and knees. Repeat the following week and get back to me.

5.      Lemons can be your cleaning buddies. Try this recipe for cleaning the microwave. Zap slices of a spent lemon in a bowl of water for 5 minutes. Wipe away debris. Smile.

6.      Lemon juice and mayo make your wood furniture sparkle – I learned that from Leslie Reichert, my favorite cleaning coach. But you need her book (thejoyofgreencleaning.com) for the recipe.

Gloria Gemma's Carol Donnelly Journey

by Carol Donnelly

 

I have lived with a compromised immune system ever since I lost my spleen in a car accident over 25 years ago and there were periods in my life where it seemed that I was sick more than I was well.  Eventually, I got sick and tired of being sick and tired, and decided to take matters into my own hands.

    
The first thing I did was fill a cupboard with the strongest cleaning products I could find—especially ones that claimed to be disinfectants or had antibacterial agents in them or bleach.  Yes, bleach was my BFF.  I used it to wash my linens. I used it to clean my bathroom, and clean the toilet bowl.  I used it to clean my small white appliances.  I even used it outside on the vinyl siding! I thought that using bleach to clean just about everything would kill the germs, and it was killing the germs, but what I didn’t know was that my BFF bleach was also my frenemy.    
   
Two breast cancer diagnoses in five years got me thinking about how I could reduce my risk of another cancer diagnosis, but the big question was: where to start?  There’s so much material out there, and sifting through endless streams of it to find legitimate information was a daunting task.  Fortunately for me, I began working for the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation, and part of their mission is to “increase breast health education…and generate funding for local breast health programs.” The classes they offer at their center, and classes offered by their partners, like Whole Foods, gave me the knowledge I needed to effectuate changes in my environment.
    
One of those classes was taught by Leslie Reichert, the green cleaning coach. What I learned in that hour and a half astounded me! I had no idea that in my effort to keep my house clean and germ-free, I was potentially harming myself and my family. I also learned how to make my own cleaning products for a fraction of the cost of buying them.  Needless to say, I bought her book, and then went home and symbolically kicked bleach to the curb.  Don’t worry, bleach wasn’t alone when it got the boot, I gave a popular scouring powder and several other products the heave ho, too.        

In my journey to get my family and myself healthier, I discovered that “everything old is new again,” and going green is nothing new, nor does it have to be expensive—our grandparents did it, and saved lots of money in the process.    

Sara Snow Is My Guest On Clean Green Talk

Join me as I interview green living expert, Sara Snow. Sara understands healthy and natural living in a way few of us do, and it’s her mission to help impart that knowledge and experience to people all over the world so they too can live a greener lifestyle. Learn how Sara’s family and upbringing shaped her and how that experience earned her the title of “green living’s real deal.” You can call and ask her questions at 1-866-50clean (1-866-502-5326) or join the conversation on my facebook pagewww.facebook.com/greencleaningcoach

Rockin' the Laundry with Kim from Rockin' Green Soap

Kim Webb

Today on Clean Green Talk Radio, we had the founder and CEO of Rockin' Green Soap on our show.  She is a mom of three kids AND is running a very successful company. Kim says she felt deep the inspiration when her son, Jackson, was born. She began blogging and opened her own retail store that sold cloth diapers. She became a cloth-diapering fanatic, owning more than 200 cloth diapers
herself! However, Kim had trouble keeping her cloth diapers stink- and residue-free as she suffered from hard water. Minerals would build-up on her diapers and render them useless. It also caused her diapers to give off awful odors. She found that other moms were experiencing the same problems and were becoming fed up with washing cloth diapers....


Listen below to our interview and all the things we learned about laundry soap.  And we even learned what "Cloth Diaper Mom's" call their smelly diapers...  You'll have to listen to find out!

Clean Green Talk Radio - Our first show!

Leslie and Marie

It was a little scary - at 8:57 AM we still didn't have everyone on the line to start the radio show. But somehow my great producer, Chad, pulled it together and at 9:00 we were on! Our first guest was Marie, Maid Brigade's Consumer Advocate and for her first time on radio, she was VERY comfortable. Actually, she's a celebrity and has been on lots of TV shows.

Donna is ready to go!

   I did miss the opening cue, thinking the music as going to fad out instead of just stop! Overall, I think we did just fine. I had callers from Maine & North Hampton, MA and people chatting on my face book page from all over the country. Donna, my co-host, was wonderful.

  You can listen to the show below. If you leave a comment I'll make sure you get the free sample from Rockin' Green Soap. (only the nice comments will get the samples!) They are our sponsor and have agreed to give everyone that calls or comments a free sample of their laundry soap! So comment away!

Allstate's World's Worst Cleaning Lady

I saw this commercial the other night and it made me laugh.  There actually ARE cleaning ladies that clean like this! I'm working on a free program that will help you find cleaning help you can trust! Stay tuned to my facebook page for more information. www.facebook.com/greencleaningcoach