Cleaning products: round-up of natural home care.

I like to think I’m a minimalist. Part of being a minimalist is finding what works best for you and eliminating everything that doesn’t. I’ve been trying to trim down my household cleaning supplies to a few manageable, non-toxic items that I can store under my sink. I only use products that are cheap, safe, and hardworking. I want to save the planet and my wallet without skimping on the cleanliness of my home.

The following is a list of products that I’ve discovered by trial and error. It’s everything I use to keep my house clean! Anything that you can’t find at your natural grocery or pharmacy, you can buy on Amazon.com.

• Bio-Kleen’s Bac Out: this product is my go-to, all-purpose cleaner. It deodorizes and disinfects everything from trashcans to toilets, cleans stains out of carpet and fabric, can be used for an extra cleaning boost in your laundry, and leaves a pleasant, plant-like scent in it’s wake. Dilute it, and it becomes a great thing to mop your floors with.
• Mrs. Meyer’s dish soap. makes dish washing an aroma therapeutic experience and gets dishes clean and crud-free.
• Mrs. Meyer’s Stainless Steel Spray: smells lovely, leaves metal squeaky clean and super-shiny.
• Bio-Kleen’s All Temperature Laundry Liquid: gets laundry clean, even in cold water, so you can save money on the electric bill and don’t have to worry about faded clothes. It’s also hypoallergenic.
• Ecover Stain Remover: the applicator top comes with flexible plastic “bristles” so that you can scrub the product over the stain. Brilliant!
• Baking soda: mix it with essential oils to create a vacuum-friendly carpet deodorizer or sprinkle it on a surface after spraying it down with an all-purpose cleaner and it’s a scouring agent. You can also throw it in with your laundry.
• Essential oils: I keep lavender and lemon oils around to make carpet deodorizer, linen water, and furniture polish.
• Vinegar: I use this for glass cleaner and furniture polish concoctions.
• Extras: olive oil, lemon juice, rubbing alcohol (for my cleaning recipes)

Recipes (cheaper and more effective than the store bought equivalents)

Furniture Polish

• 2 T. white vinegar
• 2 T. olive oil
• a few drops of lemon essential oil
• 1 q. water
  Combine ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake before each use and use like commercial furniture polish.

Glass Cleaner

• water
• white vinegar
• rubbing alcohol (optional)
  Combine ingredients in equal parts in a spray bottle. Use like commercial glass cleaner. (Hint: Use crumpled newspaper instead of paper towels!)

Linen Water

• lavender essential oil
• distilled or purified water
  Combine in a small spray bottle. Shake before each use and spray directly on fabric.

Carpet Deodorizer

• 2 c. baking soda
• several drops of essential oil
• 1 T. lemon juice
  Add ingredients to a medium-sized bowl. Stir to combine and sprinkle on carpet. Leave for as long as possible up to twelve hours (though even leaving it on your carpet for a few minutes will help) and vacuum. Can be stored for later (preferably in a glass jar).
  

Recommended extras: at my house we also love Mrs. Meyer’s scent diffuser in lavender, her basil-scented dryer sheets (click here for my review), and her all-purpose cleaner for mopping the kitchen floor (primarily for the lovely scent it leaves behind). I don’t have a dishwasher, so if you have a favorite dishwasher powder or liquid, let me know!

Posted by: Catie

Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy

For the past year and a half, I’ve passed the Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacyon 45th Street in Seattle countless times.  Tucked back off of the street on the first floor of the Wallingford Center, it’s difficult to see into the windows without looking silly.  Consequently, I had learned to quell my curiousity by ignoring its existence.  Meanwhile, I’d scoured the shelves at the Bartell’s and QFC across the street, searching intently for any decent natural products to offer my skin and home.  Occasionally, I would venture to the pharmacy section of the local Whole Foods but would rarely buy unfamiliar products.  Why would I spend such a premium if I don’t know if it’ll work?

Yesterday, I finally ventured into the Pharmaca in response to a mailbox ad I received last week.  The colorful newsprint featured many of my favorite and familiar natural brands and quickly convinced me that I’ve been needlessly scouring shelves at other stores for far too long! 

Things to love: 

• Selection.  Everything from candles, greeting cards, fitness, supplements, teas, prescriptions, home care, pet care, soaps, lotions, make-up, skin care, hair care, chocolates, books, magazines, and more.
• Staff.  These ladies were incredibly helpful and responsive to my questions.  They knew about each product and also suggested alternatives, citing pros and cons for each.  I really appreciated the customer service and personal attention I witnessed them give to me and to all of the other customers – including a 10-year-old girl wanting to know the differences in types of chocolate!
• Cosmetics & Skin Care.  This was likely my favorite part of the store.  They carry Dr. Hauschka’s, Avalon Organics, Astara, Zia, and many others that I don’t remember.  However, I can say that they have the full spectrum of price ranges, which I definitely appreciate.  They also have a “Makeover Bar” with a full set of cosmetics and products to try right there with the assistance of a staff member.  I was looking for a good eye cream.  Instead of trying to sell me the cream right there, she sent me home with several different samples and told me about each.  I really appreciate the opportunity to try these premium products before making the monetary commitment.  They also give the same sample treatment with all of their cosmetics and skin care products, and I can guarantee that I’ll be back!
• Price.  While most of the products are premium in comparison to those at the local drug store, the prices are very reasonable compared to other retailers for the same and similar items.
• Pharmacy.  The pharmacy accepts most insurance carriers.  While I haven’t tried this out, I intend to do so the next time I need to fill a prescription. 

Less than perfect:  Pharmaca is currently only located in selected areas of California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington State. (Check out the website for specific locations.)  Unfortunately for those of you who live outside these areas, the Pharmaca website doesn’t contain a product list or links to featured brands.  You’ll have to stick to alternative means of obtaining great natural brands.

Final Analysis:  I’m sold and never want to walk into a normal drug store ever again.  If you’re into natural products, this is definitely something for you to check out.  If you haven’t tried many natural products, this is a great place to get started with the help of their knowledgeable and friendly staff.

Posted by: Lynnette

Mrs. Meyer’s Dryer Sheets

I was at Greenlife Grocery here in Chattanooga when I ran smack into a display of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day products. A neat, little green box caught my eye: the basil-scented dryer sheets. Eighty sheets for eight bucks. That’s eighty loads of laundry that smell like basil-scented heaven for the low, low price of seven ninety-nine plus tax. I decided that anything that cheap that had the potential to bring that much joy into my life was worth it. This weekend I did several loads of laundry and dried sheets, towel, and clothing with the dryer sheets.

Things to love: The scent is lovely, and the aroma coming from the laundry room while the dryer is running is definitely therapeutic. The perforated sheets are paper, biodegradable, and tear into two strips so that they won’t block your dryer’s vent and the scent gets more evenly distributed throughout the load.

Less than perfect: However, the end result is very, very faintly scented fabric. My t-shirts picked up the scent better than my bamboo sheets, but even so, you have to bury your nose into them to catch the scent. I’m going to experiment with the other scents, as well as adding more sheets per load. If it turns out I do need to use a couple to get a light but noticeable effect, I think I’ll save the sheets for things like my bed linens, and jeans which I wash less frequently then towels and other items of clothing.

Final Analysis: I have found that the magic number is three–three dryer sheets will give you a perfectly scented load of laundry. A bit of a luxury, but I have to admit, walking around and smelling basil all day was totally worth it. Plus, the scent stays with you without the itchy-nose inducing floral scent you get from regular dryer sheets.

Posted by: Catie