Green and Clean for your home!

It is no secret that there are thousands of chemicals, pollutants, carcinogens, etc. in cleaning products.  This post will discuss how you can better clean your home without harming yourself, your family, your pets, and the environment in the process.  Cleaning your home in a green and clean way is extremely simple and requires only a couple of household products!  (It will actually save you money)  There has been a huge increase in natural cleaning products, which is awesome!! My best advice is TO READ LABELS and to check out ewg.org to look up products when you are unsure of their safety.  Whether it is food, nutrition, beauty products, cleaning products, etc. the simpler the better.  There are several ways to clean in a green way, I have had great success with the following… I will try and keep this short and simple!

According to the EWG study, 53 percent of cleaning products under review contained lung-harming ingredients. In addition, well-known carcinogens like formaldehyde and chloroform were found in several cleaners.  Only 7 percent of cleaning products adequately disclosed their contents.

 

My Five Must-Haves

1. Norwex Cloths – If you haven’t heard of this awesome product, let me be the first to share the good news!  Norwex is a company whose vision and mission is to improve quality of life by radically reducing chemicals in your home.  They have created products that NATURALLY remove up to 99% of bacteria, if used properly.  Their envirocloths are my favorite.  These cloths have silver embedded within its fabric.  Silver possesses natural antibacterial properties that are embedded inside the microfibers.  This is what inhibits bacteria, mold, mildew, odors, etc.

When used dry, Norwex Microfibers produce an electrostatic charge that attracts even the smallest particles of dirt, grease and moisture, leaving the surface free from everything.  When used wet, the micro silver in the cloth goes to work with self-purification properties.  They hold several times their own weight in water/liquid.  They have everything from mop cloths that fit on your Swiffer to dusting mits to kitchen cloths to even bath towels!  If you want a quick info video watch below 🙂

2. Baking Soda – Baking soda is a common household staple in most kitchens, and in many beauty products/regimens.  It is also one of the best cleaning gradients available.  It’s natural gradient properties are tough enough to remove stains, grime, etc. yet safe enough to use as a veggie scrub to remove dirt, wax, or bacteria.  Baking soda is also a natural deodorizer.  Below are the top FIVE ways to use baking soda in your home:

• Scrubbing/cleaning your kitchen surfaces, oven, microwave, etc.
• Combined with apple cider vinegar, ACV, it can be used as a drain cleaner and de-clogger
• Leave a small bowl in your refrigerator to help deodorize and neutralize any unwanted odors
• Sprinkle on carpet and let sit for 15 before vacuuming
• Mix with a little water for a fruit or veggies scrub

There are countless ways to use baking soda in other natural based regimens.  For example teeth whitening, facial scrubs, jewelry cleaner, as an exfoliant, deodorants, relieve heart burn/indigestion, and the list goes on! 🙂

3. Vinegar – Distilled white vinegar has an acidity of roughly of 2.4.  The acidity is what gives vinegar its awesome cleaning properties.  It has the ability to kill many germs especially when undiluted.  However, the EPA states it does not kill staphylococcus.  For some of the tougher germs hydrogen peroxide can be used as a disinfectant because of its antimicrobial properties.  Both vinegar and hydrogen peroxide are biodegradable. (I can almost guarantee you, your cleaners at home are not biodegradable and come with many health warnings.)

4. Essential Oils – My four favorite essential oils I use to help clean my home are Lemon, Purify, Melaleuca, and On Guard!

• Lemon has a high limonene content that makes it a powerful antioxidant and a cleansing agent.  This allows for the removal of grease and oil.  It is also commonly used to clean and polish wood and silver.  It too has powerful antimicrobial properties.
• Purify is a blend composed of essential oils known for their cleansing, purifying, and protecting properties. It is a household must, as it can eliminate odors in a natural way, free of harmful chemicals. It can also be used as a cleaner for countertops and various surfaces.  This is a great one to use with your laundry, especially if it has been sitting in the washer just a little too long!  It is great used as a toilet bowl cleaner.  The essential oil blend consists of lemon peep, lime peep, Siberian fir needle, Austrian fir needle, pine needle, citronella grass, melaleuca leaf, and cilantro herb.
• Melaleuca is one of thee most versatile oils I know of!  When used aromatically it can cleanse the air.  Topically and internally it has cleansing properties as well.  Melaleuca has antibacterial and antifungal properties.  It can be used to get rid of mold and  as a natural pest control too.
• On Guard has a warm, spicy, and woody aroma.  On Guard has been formulated into a natural laundry detergent.  This all natural-based detergent is free of synthetic fragrances, dyes, and toxins.  It contains an essential oil blend and bio-originated enzymes that work together to lift stains and leave clothes smelling, looking, and feeling clean.  It is color safe for washable fabrics at all temperatures.  It has also been formulated into a non-toxic cleaner concentrate. Because of its amazing protective properties it is used to combat seasonal allergies and boost your immunes system.  The essential oil blend consists of wild orange peel, clove bud, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus leaf, and rosemary leaf/flower.

Overall I love diffusing essential oils post cleaning to help cleanse the air but also to provide a fresh smell…sometimes the smell of vinegar isn’t always the most pleasing.  Other than the positive uplifting smells, each oil has amazing properties you will benefit from.  Shoot me an email if you are curious how to get your hands on these Certified Pur5. e Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils!

My go to routine for cleaning the house and bathroom is to first scrub with a little baking soda and wipe away.  I follow up with wiping down the surface with vinegar!  After the “cleaning” is done I will diffuse or spray one or more essential oils to help cleanse the air and provide a fresh smell!

5. Get a good VACUUM! – This is a MUST, especially if you have any carpet in your home!  One of the questions I ask in my E&O Questionnaire is what type flooring you have in your home.  If I could have hardwood floors or tile in my entire apartment I would choose that hands down.  It is much easier to keep clean, naturally doesn’t contain as many toxins, and is a better option especially for people with allergies to any pet dander, pollen, mold, etc.

Taking your shoes off when you enter your home is a great way to decrease the amount of dirt and debris you track in with you.  Having a designated area for shoes, coats, etc. in your home always helps with this and also inadvertently lets guests know what to do when they come over.

Having a vacuum that can truly suck up all the little stuff you can’t see saves you so much time when cleaning.  It is also a great first step before you clean your floors with a swiffer or your Norwex Floor Mop.  Lets face it, I live in the desert…surrounded by sand…it gets everywhere!  Unfortunately, some of it even ends up inside, ha!

These 5 “Must Haves” are just some ways to help clean your home with SIMPLE, BIODEGRADABLE, INEXPENSIVE, and CONVENIENT products.  Many cleaning products have harsh chemicals that disrupt your body’s hormones, are neurotoxic, disrupt reproductive and developmental processes, are carcinogenic, and cause skin and respiratory disorders, etc.  The environment you live in can affect your health in numerous ways.  Taking small little actions to improve your environment can have a huge cascade effect! 🙂

References

(n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2017, from https://www.doterra.com/US/en/about-science

Tea Tree Oil. (2016, December 01). Retrieved September 13, 2017, from https://nccih.nih.gov/health/tea/treeoil.htm