Natural Cleaning?

I am going to preface this post with an apology for the endless and sporadic rambling that is about to occur….

You see I have this little voice that constantly talks to me and wants me to be more natural. I love the idea of being a more natural, green, granola, tree hugging, call it what you will type of person. Some aspects of natural living I am really good at and some I feel I am just not dedicated enough to take the leap and get used to the adjustment. My sister will be the first to point out that I drive an SUV which is clearly not Earth loving... but I love my Explorer and have no intention of swapping to a more Earth friendly vehicle. My goal is to do what I can but more than anything to keep my family as healthy as possible.

I have been tossing around the idea and desire to switch my house to more chemical free zone along with a million other things I need and want to get done but never seem to actually get around to following through with. It’s not that it’s difficult and honestly it is cheaper than buying the nasty chemicals from the cleaning aisle. It's just the matter of getting it done.  I do have this weird hang up with needing that chemical smell to feel that it is really clean. On the flip side of that every time I do a good clean I have a horrible headache and truly feel ill the rest of the day. I am not sure if it’s the cleaner itself or if I am mixing things that I shouldn’t. I tried to tell Chris that I am probably just allergic to cleaning but he doesn’t seem to be going with that one so it’s time for me to find a solution.

A friend of mine recently posted her plan to take the leap into cooking healthier and more regularly for her family (this is also on my goal list) and it inspired me to put my plan out there and expose my dirty little secret and my plan to overcome it.

You see I am a slob. No truly I am probably one of the messiest people you will ever meet. I think the only thing I seem to keep organized is my business and the rest of my world sort of gets limped along. Eventually I break down and scrub the house form the top to bottom…typically before someone is coming over. Do not ever just drop by my house. I will be humiliated and you will likely be uncomfortable! I don’t want to be that person anymore! I want my house to be tidy and inviting all most of the time. I do realize I will never be perfect, but I really need to step up my game in this department. Like most things I want to do right now I probably am crazy committing to lifestyle changes at 36+ weeks pregnant but there will always be some reason to put it off.

I think I just take nesting to the extreme and since I am finally motivated I really, really need to take advantage of the surge in motivation! Here is what I have accomplished so far: I swapped Karly’s room and got the babies’ new room as set up as I can for the moment. I installed shelves in my hall closet for more storage and overall organization. Purged Karly’s bathroom cabinets. Helped Chris clean out the garage. Now I am working on the craft/laundry room. This room is moving along the slowest and it’s insanely frustrating. I am really surprised at how much faster I get tired now than just a week or 2 ago. I gave myself the goal of having it done by tomorrow and at this point it’s going to be close! The shelving is installed in the closet and the majority of the stuff is put back. The room is only half painted but I have high hopes of really getting it done tomorrow. THEN the normal people nesting is on! Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. I hope with the newly installed organizing stuff will help. Our stuff just doesn’t seem to have a space and none of us seem to put ANYTHING away when we are done with it.

So now that I have pretty much gotten my big projects done it’s time to convert to green! I have started researching the most common, best, easiest cleaning mixtures. There are so many great websites and blogs out there to that make it feel like my goals are attainable and totally worth it.

My current cleaning products

Lysol Kitchen

Tilex

Mr. Clean sponges

Toilet bowl cleaner

Windex

Swiffer wet jet

And I think that’s about it but I could be forgetting some

My new cleaning products

Vinegar

Water

Baking soda

Tea tree oil

Alcohol

I will also probably still use Mr. Clean sponges…I am addicted. I seriously never used them until about 6 months ago because I was worried about the chemicals, but they are impressive! I swear those little bastards can clean anything! I am going to try to do without them but can’t promise I won’t go crawling back to them ☺ My last thing and the one that bothers me the most is the Swiffer floor cleaner. I don’t even think they clean well, but they do the limp along trick pretty well. I feed Sawyer on the tile so my floors need to be mopped daily but probably only get it every 2 or 3 days. The solution coats my floors and makes them slippery and sticky if that even makes sense. All I can think of is that it is pure chemical that my family and I are sliding around on. A lot of people swear by the Shark mops but after reading reviews on Amazon I think I am going to try this steamer. 

It was recommended on my business page, and overall the reviews seem good and I love, LOVE, LOVE that it can do more than just floors!  It is on my wish list...until then I guess the Swiffer and I will just have to keep hanging out together.

Sooooo needless to say, if you are still reading this you are my hero.  If not...no hard feelings ;)  

I'd love to hear your input or links to your favorite sites!  

Here are a few websites I have been referring to for ideas, recipes for cleaning solutions, etc...

Care2

Organized Home

Charity Guide:  this one has a lot of the negative issues that arise from normal household cleaners

About.com

Natural Healthy Home Cleaning tips

The Green Mom Review