Green your clean: oven cleaners

Post 3 in my series on getting toxic cleaners out of your home!

Oven cleaners could be one of the most toxic cleaners in your home. They are very hazardous to inhale and corrosive to the skin, especially those containing lye or marked DANGER or POISON. Even the residual fumes can be harmful to your (and your children's) respiratory system.

Safer Substitutes

• Use non-lye products like Bon Ami (or try sea salt and baking soda), then use a damp cloth or wet cleaner to soak and soften baked spills.
• To prevent build-up, use a tray or foil liner to catch spills and wipe up spills promptly.
• If you have a self-cleaning oven, USE IT! Or for small spills, clean them up as they happen so you don't have to use resources to run your oven at high temps.

My personal preference: 
I'll admit, cleaning my oven is not something at the top of my priority list. I recently found a product though that helps me do it and not run out of the room from the fumes.  It's the "Scour Off" product by Shaklee - I really like it! Here's my before and after shots (using that product and some elbow grease, it wasn't actually too difficult). 

BEFORE


AFTER

LOW tech oil spill clean up - have you seen this?

I received a link to this video via a mass forwarded email. Normally I ignore those...but I'm glad I didn't on this one. Take 5 minutes to watch this simple presentation, and think about how EASY, LOW TECH, and SMART this solution is! I wrote to the White House...maybe you can too! They at least should consider this as an option - even if we only have enough hay to clean up a percentage of the total spill, its still better than nothing, right? And better than bird feathers :(

New product at Winkydinks!

I'm very excited to offer this new line of soakers, made from 89% recycled pop bottles! Fleece diaper covers are great - they are reusable, soft, and super cute. However, some cloth diaper advocates steer clear from them because they are made with a chemically processed fiber...polyester. This fabric made by Malden Mills is made from a yarn that is composed of 89% post consumer soda pop bottles. They perform equal to, or better than, my soakers made from 100% polyester (and only need a single layer to do so), and have an eco-friendly twist to them!

You can see my custom listing for details and to order! My only gripe is that it only is available in a few solid colors...




If you're interested in how they make the recycled fibers (not specific to fleece), check out this video from "How It's Made"!

Green your clean: toilet bowl cleaners

Post 2 in my series on getting toxic chemicals out of your home! Scouring powders and toilet bowl cleaners are laden with chemicals and bleach....find something more natural, and get the same results!

Toilet bowl cleaners are potentially hazardous!

They may contain hydrochloric acid or hypochlorite bleach. They vary in their danger level, read labels carefully - remember to look for words like: DANGER and POISON.

Alternate solutions:
- Baking soda
- Baking soda and vinegar
- Oxygen cleaner

My personal preference:
My new routine is to grab my baking powder and vinegar and head to each bathroom - I pour a scoop of baking powder, and a dollop of vinegar to the toilet bowl and the sink, then head to the next bathroom. While I'm gone, it makes a fizzy solution that's great for cleaning! Then I return to the first to do the scrubbing.

I use a rag to swish around the mixture in the sink, wipe down the counters and sink handles, and then scrub the sink. Then rinse with clean water. I use the same rag to wipe down the outside of the toilet. I use a toilet brush for the mixture in the toilet bowl itself, and then I'm done! I use a different rag for each bathroom. You can also add a few drops of essential oil if you like a different scent. (The vinegar smell dissipates very quickly though).

Do you have any other alternative cleaning methods for the toilet bowl and surrounding areas? One of my followers has a toilet bowl cleaner listed on her blog - check it out!

Sugar overload!

As a mom, I try to offer my kids a healthy diet. With so much processed food, its sometimes hard, but we do try! (I haven't yet conquered the "all natural, organic" diet, that I'm know would be the best, but we do the best we can).  We do splurge though and give the kids treats (like chocolate milk or candy). Well the other day I was convinced to buy some cotton candy by a rather persuasive 5 year old.

I checked the labels and was shocked to learn that the serving of cotton candy (half the bag) only had 10 more grams (about 3 tsp) of sugar than the small container of chocolate milk had! It made me realize that perhaps a small bite of pure sugar would be a better treat than something sold as lunchtime fare (especially at today's schools). Goes to show....always check your labels!

Friday Favorite - SKOY cloths

I stumbled upon these Skoy cloths during a blog giveaway somewhere, and LOVE them! They replace paper towels, and work so well. They dry quickly (be sure not have them crumpled or sopping wet), and work BETTER than paper towels because they are much thicker. I machine wash mine and air dry them, and have been using this set (pictured on right) for about 8 months. It's probably time to open up the new pack (pictured left), but these are working fine so far (though slightly stained)! I highly recommend them! We haven't bought paper towels in over 2 years (with a combination of using these and washcloths) - that's liberating!!!!

Winner's choice!

Here's what the lucky winner from last week's Fluff-a-Rump on Hump Day giveaway won! (Winner's choice of size and fabrics, contest held at Etsy Cloth Diaper Team's blog). This is a Medium, Rockstar fabric with bubble gum pink trim. How cute! Congrats to Tiffany!