Spring greening

I would love to say that spring has brought out the cleaner in me like it should have. I did buy a steal of a deal on eversave.com for two full house cleanings for something like $76. I know they won't use what I would use to clean my house. However, I'm down with paying someone a few times (once right before and once a bit after baby comes) if my mental stability will improve in the process. I love a clean house. But, I am trying really hard to move towards an understanding with myself about cleaning. If you are always cleaning then you aren't playing enough. Sometimes mess is allowed to mean that you have had a really good day.

On that note, what I have done is attempt to expand my going green attempts. Little by little I am trying to rid my house of cleaners that aren't made by me. I could just buy organic cleaners and call it a day. The thing is, the more I learn the more I realize it's crazy easy to just do it yourself. It's also way cheaper. Here's the rundown of what I have been doing for a while along with what's new (to me anyway):

*Using towels instead of paper towels
Quite a while ago I purchased a big stack of not so fancy dish towels at Big Lots. They sit in a basket by my sink and I make every attempt to use them instead of paper towels. I do still buy paper towels, but in all honesty I rarely use them.

*Cloth diapering
Little do most know cloth diapering is a world unto itself. If you ever want info I am now a wealth of knowledge and I'm sure I still don't know the half of it.

*Cleaning products and tools
This is a big one. My cleaning staples have become Dr. Bronner's soap, vinegar, and baking soda. I bought one bottle of Dr Bronner's at Target in the fall and have yet to use half of it. Vinegar and baking soda, as I'm sure you know, are both crazy cheap. The "tools" are pretty random!

1) My most recent fabulous green cleaning purchase is the Libman Freedom Spray Mop. I used to be a Swiffer girl. We all know how wasteful those little pads are (not to mention a constant waste of money). The Freedom Spray Mop was my answer to the idea of the Swiffer. You fill the cleaning solution bottle with your own concoction and the pad is washable/reusable. My house is all hardwoods except for one room so I do just vinegar and water. I bought it at Target for around $15 I think.

2) I used to stock up on Bath and Body Works hand soaps whenever they had their sales or I went to an outlet. I love the scents, the foaming pump bottles, and when on sale they are fairly inexpensive. Needless to say, I had lots of them. I was getting down to the end of my stock and began to search for a greener solution. I found it! I used the same bottles because I love the foam soap. Per a post from More Green For Less Green I used one part Dr. Bronner's to 9 parts water. You can probably add an essential oil too for the fun smells :-)

3) My kitchen and bathroom cleaner consists of Dr Bronner's, vinegar, and water. I used to buy Method and now I'm using the Method spray bottles to house my concoction. Per the Super Natural Momma I use half water, half vinegar, and four tablespoons of the soap. Again, you can add lemon juice or essential oil to cut the vinegar smell. I use baking soda along with this cleaner as well to scrub surfaces.

Here are few links I plan to peruse further if you are interested:


Inhabitots How to Make Kid Safe Homemade Green Cleaning Supplies

Re-nest 25 DIY Green Cleaning Recipes For the Whole House


I honestly thought I had more than that going on, but now I am drawing a blank! So, you may see a similar post when my brain starts functioning better...someday...

I would love to hear what you do to work towards a greener home!