Clean Your Countertops With Natural & Organic Cleaners

Your countertops handle a lot of different activity. In the kitchen, your countertops hold appliances, cutting boards for food preparation, dishware in preparation for serving food, and in many cases, it’s where we put the groceries we bring in from the car until we put the food away.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bacteria from food preparation lands on your countertops. Food from meals ends up on your countertops, and dirt from the groceries also sticks to the countertop. Kids put all kinds of things on them - from a flower plucked out of the yard, to rocks, to sticky, dirty hands - and your countertops begin to collect dirt and start to look grimy.

Bacteria and grime in the kitchen is the number one cause of the spread of germs that can make your family sick. You want to keep your countertops free from anything that can harm your family - but that also includes cleaning supplies.

When you wipe the counters and surrounding areas with a cleaning solution or a cleaning wipe that’s soaked in solution, whatever chemicals are in that product are now on your countertops mixing with your food, and also getting onto your kids’ hands and maybe in their mouths!

This is why it's a good idea to use an organic and natural countertop cleaning solution. You can easily find these products in a variety of sizes and natural ingredients designed to clean your countertops, deodorize them and give your kitchen a pleasant scent, too - without harmful perfumes and chemicals.

Ava Anderson Non-Toxic Countertop Spray 
Party Code: 42532

You also want a cleaner that’s gentle on your surfaces. Natural all-purpose countertop sprays often come in a variety of scents such as basil, lavender, and more. The vegetable protein in these cleaners helps keep kitchen odors down, too.

Of course, you don’t want to have to buy one cleaner for your kitchen countertops and a separate kind for your bathroom counters - you want one that can do both jobs. An organic all-purpose cleaner is intended for both bathroom and kitchen counters.

Sometimes there are quick spills that you want to wipe up, or you might have dropped a piece of uncooked meat onto the counter and you quickly want to clean and disinfect that area without bringing out the spray. You’ll want something handy nearby. For that purpose, you can use disinfecting wipes that contain natural and organic ingredients.

When you have tougher dirt or stains such as a scuffmark from a can or other kitchen gadget, you can clean this by using an organic cleaner that has cornstarch in the ingredients. These types of cleaners can also take ink stains off counters; so if you were writing out a grocery list and accidentally marked on the counter, an organic cleaner with coconut oil plus cornstarch can take that right out.

Try Amazon.com to find some natural and organic countertop cleaners, or you can also shop at natural online retailers such as Ava Anderson Non-Toxic, who has a full line of all-natural cleaning products, beauty products, and more. (Use Party Code 42532 when checking out.)

 

Healthier Ways to Clean Your Dishes

Food is the center of many of life’s celebrations, but at the end of the celebrating, when all the guests are heading home, the clean up has to begin. Doing the dishes, whether you put them in a dishwasher or wash them by hand, takes up a lot of time. And depending on what you use to aid in the cleaning up process, the products you use may be environmentally unfriendly and unsafe for your skin.

Seventh Generation Dishwasher Pods

Organic cleaners are safer for every cleaning task you need to do - so that means you don’t have to skip using organic products to clean your dishes, regardless of whether you choose to wash them by hand or load them in a dishwasher.

There are a lot of organic cleaners that can give your dishes sparkle and get them shiny clean. If you choose a dishwasher, you can buy organic cleaning pods that come with delightful fragrances like thyme. This scent can give your entire kitchen a fresh smell - without all the harmful chemicals.

Look for organic dishwashing detergents that don’t have any chlorine or phosphate in them. These are also a much better option if you have a septic system, as these chemicals can disrupt the delicate microbial balance of your system and cause problems in the future.

Organic cleaners can make a greasy clean up job a lot easier by cutting through the grease. And if you get the pre-measured dishwasher pods, this even cuts back on time spent in the kitchen, too. All you have to do is stick one into the dishwasher - no time needed to measure and no chance of accidentally overfilling the soap dish.

Earth-Friendly Products Dishmate

If you want to hand wash the dishes, then using organic soap won’t only clean your dishes without unsightly spots, but the soap is also better for your hands, too, without drying alcohols or harsh sudsing agents. Find one that contains aloe vera or chamomile to soothe your skin.

Instead of using dishwasher detergent that has synthetic scents and colors, use ones that have citrus extracts like lemon so that your kitchen is instantly refreshed after you cook a meal with strong odors.

You can make a nice cleaner yourself very cheaply just by using a mix of borax and baking soda with an essential oil of your choice. This may not have the beautiful color and suds that you had when you used store-bought dishwasher detergent, but you also won’t be putting anything harmful down your drain.

Make sure you play around with the do-it-yourself recipes for organic and natural cleaners, because results can vary depending on the hardness of your water. And watch how your skin reacts to the ingredients, too. You might need to wear gloves while cleaning, as even some natural ingredients are abrasive and can irritate your skin.

Safe & Natural Carpet Cleaning Tips

You’re constantly on it with and without shoes. Your kids and young family members sit on it, roll around on it and play on it. Your pets sleep on it, they chase toys on it and beg for treats on it.  You might be aware of all the activities that your carpet does handle. But you might be surprised at what hides in your carpet where you can’t see what’s going on.

You can see surface stains (and you get those up right away), but there are things in your carpet and living on the padding beneath it that you probably don’t want to know about - but you do know that you want your carpet to be clean.

 (Photo credit: Queen Of Light and Joy)

To test how clean and safe your carpet is, vacuum it once with a regular vacuum cleaner and look at the amount of debris that gets vacuumed up. Then go over it again with a vacuum cleaner designed with eco-friendly living in mind and see how much more debris is pulled up. That’s the stuff that you can’t see.

Now go over the floor again with an organic cleaner and see how dirty the water looks. That’s because no matter how many times you vacuum your carpet, no matter how powerful the vacuum, in order to stay truly clean, a carpet has to be cleaned with organic options in mind.

Using commercial cleaners to clean your carpet isn’t safe for you so you’re going to want to use natural methods. First, make sure you have a regularly scheduled vacuuming routine.

Always clean up any spills the moment they happen. You can use salt to absorb a spill, which is a natural way to keep a spill from becoming a stain. Use a damp (not wet) cloth to lighten stains like a wine spill, and then treat it with an organic stain remover.

Don’t use commercial cleaners to steam clean your carpet because the chemicals used are bad for the carpet and bad for your home - and bad for your family. Plus, by using steam cleaners, you run the risk of leaving the carpet padding wet, which can encourage the growth of natural toxins like mold and mildew.

Pets, especially cats, tend to leave a home and carpet smelling like you have pets - so use baking soda on the carpet to absorb any odors - then vacuum it up. You can also buy an organic formula just for pet stains and odors that are safer for pets than using baking soda - some animals have sensitive skin that may be irritated by baking soda.

(Photo credit: eddie.welker)

Choose a system to clean your carpets by getting a cleaning machine that has a low moisture option. By having a machine with a low moisture control, you won’t over soak the padding beneath the carpet and cause mold or mildew.

Use organic carpet cleaners that specifically state they’re for high traffic areas if that’s the carpet area you need cleaned, and make sure it states that it’s safe around pets. Some people prefer to save the expense of a carpet cleaning machine and use elbow grease instead!

Homemade carpet cleaning recipes can be as simple as a vinegar and water solution, so look for one that appeases you and start a routine that allows you to safely maintain clean and healthy carpets in your home.


Try These Natural Carpet Cleaning Products:
     

Choosing Safer Cleaning Methods for Your Home

If you check out the cleaning supplies aisle in any grocery store, you’ll see that the shelves are filled with products designed for every cleaning purpose under the sun. From cleaning the floor to polishing the furniture to doing the laundry, you can find something intended for every job.

House Of Horrors (Photo credit: BrittneyBush)

But the chemicals in these products carry labels warning of everything from harmful vapors, to skin irritants and more. It’s a fact that cleaners with chemicals in them are dangerous to you and your family’s well being, by releasing their fumes and toxins into your home.

You can smell the scent of these chemicals in the air immediately upon entering the cleaning aisle - even though they are all still in sealed containers - and after you’ve used them in your home. When you clean your baby or toddler’s high chair tray or his toys with a chemical cleaner, those toxins are there where he eats and on the toys he sticks in his mouth.

However, there are effective, safer alternatives to dangerous chemical-laced products. You can use organic, natural products and have a home that smells great, shines with cleanliness and is toxin-free.

Look for organic cleaners that are all-purpose cleaners so that you can use them in the kitchen and in the bathroom, too. If you have a baby or toddler at home and need to clean the toys or baby’s highchair, there are organic cleaners that are non-toxic, don’t have an odor and will get your child’s playthings clean.

Cleaning (Photo credit: go_greener_oz)

You can get concentrated, organic cleaning products that can clean your home from top to bottom. These cleaners aren’t toxic, so they’re safer to use and they are also biodegradable. Plus, these organic cleaners aren’t tested on lab animals, either. Cleaners using Birch bark extract and relaxing scents not only clean your home but give it a fresh, natural clean smell, too.

You can even make some of these safer cleaning solutions for your home yourself, but if you’re like most of us, time isn’t something you have a lot of and you need the convenience of purchasing organic cleaners. For example, it’s easier and less expensive to buy organic toothpaste to clean any tarnished silver than it is to make your own silver cleaner.

The same goes for dish cleaning soap, you can buy an organic, non-toxic foaming dish soap that’s concentrated so it lasts and it’s safe to use on any dish as well as baby items. To wipe down kitchen counters, you can use a glass and surface cleaner that’s biodegradable.

There’s no end to the amount of safe and eco-friendly products you can use to get your home clean. You won’t have to sacrifice quality or appeal in the form of scents, either. Organic cleaners are no longer a rarity. They’re now mainstream because more people have learned about the dangers of chemicals in cleaning products, and are taking steps to protect their family and environment from pollutants.

You can find lots of suggestions for natural and safe household cleaning products on our website at: http://www.newholisticliving.com/recommended-products-for-detox--green-living.html

Video - Reduce Exposure to Toxins in 5 Areas

This video provides succinct guidelines for reducing the toxins entering your body through cleaner air, water, and food choices. From choosing a good air filter, to filtering your water, to finding and identifying organic foods that are affordable, to choosing natural cleaning and personal care products, she offers a number of tips that can help reduce toxins in your daily environment. Tips such avoiding dry cleaning, and choosing natural methods of pest control in your home and garden. She also lists ingredients to avoid when shopping for personal care products, and reviews the "Dirty Dozen" list - produce which is most contaminated through conventional farming, and is most important to buy organic.

Check out this informative video to learn more about how you can reduce toxins in your home and lower your toxic load naturally.

Brenda Watson's Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps - Reduce Exposure
Excerpt from Brenda Watson's Detox Strategy (PBS Special) where Brenda Watson, CNC explains that the "R" in RENEW is for Reduce. She gives you some easy ways to reduce exposure to toxins in your life.


For more helpful tips on reducing your toxic load, as well as where to find cleaner, healthier products, visit http://www.newholisticliving.com/toxicload.html.

The Importance Of Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

Ever rush from the bathroom coughing and gasping from the cleaning fumes left behind after you clean the shower or tub?  Those fumes and chemicals aren’t just bad for your lungs, they’re bad for the environment.

Here’s why:

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Long-term health effects.  The majority of cleaning products are full of toxins that have lasting health results.  In fact, according to data published by the Western Regional Pollution Prevention Network, six of every 100 janitorial workers injured on the job each year are hurt by the cleaning chemicals they use.

Environmental effects.  Cleaning products, we’re talking about everything from common dish soap used in your kitchen to laundry detergent to floor polish and bathroom milder removers, cause immense amounts of pollution.  Not just when we use these products in our homes but also when these products are manufactured and when they’re transported from the manufacturer to the stores. 

* Chemical-based cleaning products pollute the air with their toxic chemicals. 

* Cleaning products tossed into land fills pollute our soil having a detrimental effect on our plants and animals.

* Cleaning products pollute our water supply when they’re washed down the drain.  They end up in our lakes, rives and oceans having a negative effect on our health as well as the health of nearby wildlife.

* Cleaning products contribute to the depletion of the ozone causing global warming and a loss of resources. 

How to Get Started Using Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

Clean out your cupboards.  Get into your cleaning cupboards and pull out anything that is full of chemicals you cannot pronounce.  Set them aside in a box and call your hazardous waste pick up folks to get rid of them. 

(Photo credit: Israel Defense Forces)

Now that your cleaning supplies are down to the bare bones it’s time to find eco-friendly replacements.  Look for cleaning products which are biodegradable and non-toxic.  Rather than try to memorize a list of acceptable ingredients, some of which are still unpronounceable, simply look for danger, poison, or toxic warnings on the label.  If the label is free from those, then you can reasonably assume it’s at least more eco-friendly than most. (Or try our favorite - Earth Friendly Products - they make everything from all-purpose cleaners to laundry detergents to furniture polish, and all of their products are reasonably priced, and contain only naturally sourced ingredients which are safe for you and the planet.)

You can make your own.  Many of the items in your pantry and refrigerator are excellent cleaning products.  You can use these common household items to make home made cleaning products which are not only safe for you and your family but also safe for your environment.  Common safe and effective household cleaning substances include:

* Baking soda
* Club soda
* White distilled vinegar
* Tea tree oil
* Lemon juice

Choosing eco-friendly cleaning products isn’t just good for your health and the health of your family - it's good for the environment.  And these products can also be good for your pocket book, particularly when you make them yourself.  Embrace eco-friendly cleaning products - you’ll be glad you did.

For some more ideas for safe and eco-friendly cleaning products, visit our website at http://www.newholisticliving.com

Spring Cleaning? Make Your Own All-Natural Cleaning Products

It's time for spring cleaning! But what exactly are you cleaning with? There are hidden toxins in many household cleaning products. Most of us never even think about it as we go about our daily chores, but many of these chemicals are easily absorbed through the skin, and you can also breathe them into your lungs.

Image via WikipediaOver time, these toxins can build up in your system and cause any number of known and unknown negative effects.

Aside from detergents and cleaning agents, endocrine-disrupting chemicals can also be found in most plastics, pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides.

Fortunately, you can take control of your household environment, and simply avoid using toxic chemicals in your home. Instead, seek out natural laundry detergents and cleaning products, or do as many others are starting to, and make your own out of natural ingredients that are known to be safe.

Check out this article for some great tips to help with your spring cleaning chores, using simple and natural ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

Spring Cleaning Naturally | Living Well Moms
Lemons have antibacterial properties so they make an excellent choice as disinfectants for your home. You can cut lemons in half to remove stains from counter top or to clean the chopping board. Let it sit for a while before wiping it ...
Publish Date: 03/28/2011 8:26
http://www.thelivingwellmoms.com/2011/03/spring-cleaning-naturally.html


To learn more about reducing the toxic load in your household, visit http://www.newholisticliving.com/toxicload.html for a FREE checklist on what you can do to lower your family's exposure to common household toxins.

Keeping The Environment Safe From Harmful Chemicals

Think about recycling and maybe the first thing to pop into your head isn't damage that's done to the earth when we use products with harmful chemicals, but that's part of the cycle, too.  As well as reducing waste, recycling products and reusing what can be reused, protecting the earth from harm is all a part of the same cause.

Image via WikipediaIt's not something we set out to do, at the beginning of the day; the thought isn't, "Hmmm, how can I hurt the Earth today?"  It probably sounds something much more like, "Gee, I need to clean today, let me reach under the cupboard and see what I have," not realizing that whatever is done with the products I use to clean, once I've cleaned, can be harmful to not only the earth itself, but any living things that may come in contact with the wash off.  We live in a sterilized world, where the idea of a clean home, clean work place and clean where ever we take our children is the first order of business.  But we need to stop and think about what harm we may be doing in our quest for the cleanest living area. 

Is it worth a colony of ants to clean your kitchen floor with a harmful chemical, and that when you dump out the bucket that contains those chemicals, onto the ant hill, you risk wiping out the entire population?  Maybe you don't like ants, and that wasn't the best example, but you know what I mean.  We have a responsibility to the other creatures that share this Earth with us to not purposely do it, and them, harm.  We need to be mindful of what our actions are producing and how our actions affect all other living things.

There are so many options for safe-cleaning on the market today that you don't really have to look much further than your local grocery shelf.  Pay attention to the words that describe the items you are buying.  Do they contain the words, toxic, poisonous, or dangerous?  If they do, then keep reading the next product's ingredients, there is a better choice out there. (Try Earth Friendly, or 7th Generation for some good alternatives.)

Many synthetic chemicals are not easily broken down by natural processes after they have been used and may make their ways into the streams and lakes and have a disastrous affect on any forms of life that inhabit them. It will only take a little effort on the part of consumers to prevent these things from happening, but we must start somewhere.

Image via WikipediaWe need to be careful with the chemicals we have easy access to and become more responsible for what happens as the result of our choices.  It really isn't all that hard to make an informed choice and help the Earth; we certainly don't want to hurt it but being irresponsible with basic cleaning products can do just that; we can end up causing great harm to the planet on which we live.  Remember, it doesn't take much more than a little awareness to be an advocate for the health of the place we call home.

Be Smart.  Shop Smart.  Clean Smart.

For some suggestions for safe, truly natural cleaning products, check out earlier posts on this blog, or visit http://www.newholisticliving.com/toxicload.html. (You can also find a free checklist there for reducing other toxins in your home as well.)