Scrubba Dub Dub!

It’s that time o’ the month again… no, not time to whip out your “WOMEN’S PADS!” Rather, it’s time to talk about the positive changes we’re making in our lives that will benefit us and our planet!

I wanted to mention that we are still loving the BumGenius diapers that I talked about in my last PSBN post. They really are great, and not difficult to keep up with at all. Yay for Cloth Booties!

This month, I want to talk about Household Cleaning Products. Yes, I do actually clean house sometimes. SOMETIMES.

This is not so much a change in our lives, but a bit of a review of what we do, and a revitalization for us. What I mean by that is that for years, we have used Melaleuca EcoSense cleaning products.

Here you see the EcoSense All Purpose Spray (Tough ‘N Tender) and Window Cleaner (Clear Power).

They are free of the yuckies and are environmentally friendly. They work well, but, and this might seem dumb, I dislike the smell of them. But like I said, they work well, and that’s the point of a cleaner. Unfortunately, they are relatively expensive. If you become a member, you get a reduced price on the products – but you have to sign an agreement to spend a certain amount each month (if you don’t order, they’ll charge your card and send you the “auto-order”). We got a bit tired of that, especially after Braden was born and $$ got tight, so we cancelled our membership. Luckily (?) we had over-ordered the things we use to satisfy our monthy requirement, so we had product to use for awhile.  (We also used/use their Tub & Tile Cleaner, Bathroom Disinfectant, Heavy Duty Cleaner, and Laundry Cleaning Products.)

But what to do when it runs out?

A little over a month ago, I saw an Ad in a popular parenting magazine for a new line of products from Clorox that are supposed to be “green.” The article made the Clorox Green Works cleaners sound like a good try.

A few weeks later, I spotted them at Walmart and I happily purchased these:

And to cut down on Paper Towel Usage (Less Tree Killing = More Happy Thoughts!), I’m using these:

I used the cleaners that day and that evening to clean things in the kitchen, and I just want to say…

THEY ROCK.

Seriously, I was very happy with the performance of both the All Purpose Spray and the Window Cleaner.
AND – they smell REALLY GOOD. They are made with coconut and lemon essences, and the smell that lingers after you clean is incredibly pleasant.

What’s more, they are not expensive, unlike some other Eco-Friendly Cleaners I’ve seen on the market. At Walmart, they were competitively priced with other name-brand cleaning products. (Generic brands were cheaper.)

I literally, actually feel happy to be cleaning in my kitchen now, and I HATE CLEANING. (Note how low the liquid level is in the All Purpose Cleaner.)

Because I was so happy with the performance of the first two purchases, I also picked up the Green Works Natural Bathroom Cleaner, Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner, and Natural Dilutable Cleaner (floor mopping, etc).

Our house smells like a fruity, adult beverage. I’m thinking I should start wearing a hula skirt when I mop the floors. And make John buy a ukelele.

In addition to the Green Works cleaners, we have started using an Earth-Friendly dish-washer detergent by Seventh Generation. I have heard really great things about that line, but I’ve always hesitated purchasing anything because it’s quite expensive.

(Seriously, do you know how many times I’ve had their baby-wipes in my hands and ended up putting them back because I just couldn’t take the idea of spending three times as much on them? *cries*)

Anyway, the other stuff we’ve been putting in our dish-washer is Earth-Ugly for sure. So we decided to try it.

I have to admit, I was a bit scared. Luckily, it was all for naught – the stuff works wonderfully. If I can ever get over the sticker shock I may try some of the other Seventh Generation products. (PS: You can sign up at their website and get access to coupons.)

For hand dish-washing, we still use from our surplus supply of EcoSense Lemon Brite.  It works excellently, smells nice, and it’s super Eco-Friendly (no phosphates, all biodegradable).

Incidentally, we also use the Melaleuca Shampoo (haven’t run out yet) and used to use the Melaleuca Body Wash. I have to say that the Body Wash is the thing I miss the most about our membership there! At least I still have The Gold Bar – nice, strong citrus scent.

If you have the means, I actually recommend a Melaleuca membership. The products are pretty sweet.

So, that’s our cleaning arsenal – some Melaleuca EcoSense, Clorox Green Works, and Seventh Generation.

I’ve heard that Method Cleaners work well, too, but we haven’t tried any here yet.  I have used the hand-soap elsewhere, and I liked it.  I was eyeing the Cleaning Wipes the other day, but got a little peeved that I couldn’t find ingredients on the label.  Instead, they just say something smartass like, “Why do they work so well?  Something tells us we shouldn’t be printing our proprietary formula right on our product label.”  Haha.  The ingredients are listed on the website, though.  Maybe I’ll go back for them.

So, peeps, what ”Green” tips and changes do you have to talk about?   Link in!

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