Chemicals!

Is this for real?

Homeowners use up to 10 times more toxic chemicals per acre than farmers.

Especially since,

Over 100 pesticide ingredients are suspected to cause birth defects, cancer, and gene mutations.

This brings me to my pet peeve, there is another side of sustainability – a kind of medical and health sustainability. Basically germs are good, sterilising everything in our homes is bad and the result will be super-bacteria and deadly pandemics. Scary? Yes. True? Yes. I’ve given you all the links earlier on to get cleaning for cheap and green, and now you have even more reason to do it.

Cleaning

Just found another great website telling you how to clean without yucky chemicals and for sooooo cheap!

Get the low down on using oil, vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda and tea tree oil from the guys at Friends of the Earth.

Or if you would rather use those things to make a nice salad dressing, here’s a recipe:

French Dressing

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice or vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• dash cayenne

Preparation:

Whisk together all ingredients in a mixing bowl or shake in a jar. Makes about 2 cups of French dressing.

Cleaning 2

One thing I forgot to mention last time, in the post about cleaning, is the magic of MICROFIBRE!

Microfibre cleaning cloths are, like, a miracle. They clean without chemicals, remove germs and can be washed and reused.

From Wikipedia: “Microfiber’s impact, besides being labor saving and cost saving, is the technology’s environmental friendliness. Microfiber textiles designed for cleaning are precision tools that allow cleaning on a microscopic scale.

Thus, according to tests, using microfiber materials to clean a surface leads to reducing the number of bacteria by 99% whereas a conventional cleaning material reduces this number only by 33%.

In addition, microfiber cleaning tools have the ability to absorb fat and grease and their electrostatic properties have a high dust-attracting power, hence making unnecessary many cleaning products.”

Unfortunately . . . “Microfibers are not made from a renewable resource and they are not biodegradable.”

But . . . “they are designed for repeated use, unlike many disposable cleaning materials such as paper towels. In many household cleaning applications (washing floors, furniture, etc.) using microfiber tools disposes of the need to use detergents and cleaning solutions, bringing potentially significant environmental and economic benefits.“

Wikipedia – Microfiber

Yay! Great for people with allergies or sensitivities to chemicals too. Actually great for anyone who is concerned about constant use of chemicals in their house. This really is an awesome technology that the cleaner companies don’t want you to know about, cos you won’t need their products anymore!

Cleaning

Cleaning! Yusss.

Ok, first tip. Your mum told me to say this. Keep your microwave clean – it works better and cuts down on energy use. Plus, my parents never cleaned theirs, they just kept buying new ones…why? Cos the dirt meant they kept CATCHING FIRE and TURNING THEMSELVES ON. Eeeeeeek!

So come on guys, be microwave wise.

Ok, but seriously, cleaning is expensive, there is this whole freaky industry trying to brainwash us into being paranoid about germs and then selling us toxic chemicals at insane prices. There are a number of green products that really do work and are made of natural stuff.

Simple Green – not super cheap, but its pretty well priced, and the savings kick in, because you only need this one product . . . for like everything. Its awesome. Check the site: Simple Green

B.E.E – these products are cool, they aren’t exactly cheaper than the regular stuff, but because they are concentrated, you save, and at least it won’t cost you MORE. Go on, make the switch. Check their nifty packaging and business ethics here: B.E.E.

For the super thrifty, and not lazy, did you know you can make most cleaning products out of stuff like baking soda and vinegar. Not just for your Nana, you can do it too! Check these tips and search out your own: Home Tips

And lastly, my absolute favourite tip is about glass cleaner. NEVER EVER WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THAT NASTY BLUE STREAKY CRAP AGAIN! Professional window washers just use a squirt of dishwashing liquid in a bucket of warm water. That’s all! It works better and its dirt cheap.

Happy cleaning, Happy Earth