Green Cleaning

New Year means out with the old and in with the new! I have been on a kick to declutter everything as you can see from this post here where I decluttered some of my makeup drawers – If I have not used it in a year and it is not sentimental (or for special occasion) it is going to Goodwill. As part of that, it means cleaning new cleared spaces. Up until this last year, we had a cleaning service. B had a tradition of hiring a cleaning service with each house he lived in. With a bunch of guys, that was a great practice to have. Once I moved in we kept it up, but stopped it at the beginning of this year. That meant I had not really cleaned all myself in 4 years (I know lucky) and had to start this year. However, one of the big benefits was changing the solutions to more green options. The service used the typical harsh cleaners that worked, but when you came home smelled clean but not always the best for you.

There is this awesome post from Young House Love  on a bunch of difference green cleaning solutions or this one from Centsational Girl . Here is what I current find works for me, but I am always adapting. I admit that sometimes I choose items not just off how effective they are, but how they smell!

All around surface cleaner:

Mrs. Meyers rocks.  I use the lemon verbana well, because I love the smell! I have the spray and use all over surfaces from the bathrooms, to countertops, to the bedroom and also use it to clean the floors

Bathroom:

Seventh Generation Toliet Bowl Cleaner. Ok, so cleaning bathrooms is never fun but when I use this stuff at least I do not feel like I am getting a headache!

Scrub:

I received a sample of the Shaklee Scour Off a year ago, and loved the smell – plus it is super effective! I found this blog, House of Grace, that has great ideas how to use all of the Shaklee products. I use it on all of my sinks and in my bathrooms on the tile. I just ordered some more Shaklee products so I will see how those compare to my other cleaners.

Shower:

I use this Method Daily Shower Cleaner  daily in the shower to keep it smelling and looking clean!

Laundry:

Seventh Generation

Hand Wash:
I have some seventh generation soaps in the house, but I am really into these method soaps right now. You can easily buy refills for these at Target!

Dishsoap:
Just started using Method dishsoap (again, because I can get it at Target!) Love the dispenser bottle – easy to pump!