Going Green: One Step at a Time

I’m back at it over at AOL as their lifestyle expert and today we are going green.  I’ve recruited one of my dearest friends, Robyn Casady, blogger at oofoods to help me out with my going green aspirations.

Now don’t freak out people, I promise this will be painless, and easy on your wallet!  Even better – you are making the environment a better place to live for you and your family.  When I say environment, I’m not talking about far off intangible concepts like the ozone layer.  I’m talking about your immediate surroundings.

Just take a look under your sink.  It doesn’t get much more toxic dumping ground than down there.  I bet there are at least 4 bottles of incredibly harsh chemicals that you have no idea how long they’ve been under there.  Don’t let the idea of going green overwhelm you either.  Start simply and with one thing at a time.  You will drive yourself to the brink of insanity if you try to tackle everything at once.  Our video today is all about going green with your household cleaning products.  We are going to introduce you to what we are calling our green cleaning superheroes.

These three completely non-toxic fellows are the perfect answer for all of your household cleaning woes… and then some!!  Any guesses at what they are?

Baking Soda

Most of us are familiar with baking soda for absorbing odors in your fridge, freezer or cupboards but is also great for so much more.  Here are just a few of its uses.

Garbage odors: Sprinkle a bit of baking soda at the bottom of the pail, and then sprinkle again after you put a new bag in.

Toothpaste: Add some to your toothpaste. It’s an effective non-abrasive natural cleanser and whitener. Even on its own it’s great for your teeth- just mix one tablespoon with a bit of water

Scouring Agent: When food gets stuck to the pan, you don’t need to reach for an SOS pad.

Just sprinkle baking soda with a bit of water, creating a paste. Spread the paste all over your problem area and let soak for 5 minutes. Then scrub with a damp sponge and rinse

Lemon

Doesn’t get more non-toxic than our buddy the lemon. I had no idea just how helpful a lemon could be!

Air Freshener: It can be as simple as filling a bowl or vase full of lemons to make a room smell fresh. It can completely eliminate odors.  Just yesterday I cooked a bunch of salmon and you know how fishy it can make your kitchen smell.  I cut a quarter of a lemon and put it down the garbage disposal and ran for a minute and it completely freshened up the kitchen.

Sore throat soother: It’s not just an old granny’s wives tale about hot water and lemon being good for your throat. You could always add a shot of whiskey or bourbon. But that’s just the Southern girl in me!

Laundry Brightener: Brighten your clothing by soaking your clothes in water and lemon juice. You need about a half-cup of lemon juice per gallon of water.  Here’s what you do:  Once your washing machine fills with water add in the lemon juice and leave to presoak for thirty minutes.  Then resume wash cycle as normal. Your clothes will come out brighter and fresher. Results are even better when you line dry in the sun

Natural Highlighter: On the topic of lemon and sun, lemon is the ultimate natural highlighter! Squeeze in some lemon juice in your hair the next time you’re going outside. I use this trick when I’m in-between salon visits.  It brightens my hair without all of the chemicals and hefty salon price tag.

Vinegar

In addition to having numerous cooking uses, 100-percent pure, distilled white vinegar can also be used as an effective non-toxic, all-natural cleaning solution throughout your home. It has an incredibly wide range of uses, such as removing odors from rooms, cleaning fixtures in your bathrooms and kitchen, removing stains and spills from carpets, cleaning windows, and much more.

Heavy Weight Smells: Using vinegar was something my Momma taught me, especially for getting rid of Strong smells.  We once had a party and someone smoked a stinky cigar in our living room and it stunk to high heaven the next day.  I simply put out a couple bowls of vinegar in the room and it completely got rid of the stink.  Most air fresheners just mask the smell.  Vinegar kicked that yuck to the curb.

Does Windows like a champ:  Streak-free windows for pennies.

I think you are going to be surprised at all their magical and incredibly effective cleaning powers.  No weakling cleaning here!!  Check out our video below:

Want our recipe from the video?

Window cleaner

• 2 cups of water
• 2 Tablespoons of vinegar
• 10-15 drops of essential oil

Are you ready to get green?