After the Swiffer Mop and Before the Vinegar

After the vinegar!

So I’m cleaning my apartment for the in-laws’ holiday visit and my kitchen’s tile grout looks filthy.  I use my Swiffer mop and then scrub with Clorox (the new Green Works version available in stores) to no avail.  In desperation, I seek google’s sound advice.  The solution (literally)?  One part vinegar one part water or a little baking soda paste.  It sounds homey and environmentally friendly and inexpensive, but does it really work?  Just look at the before and after pictures above!

When picking out cleaning products I try to moderate between price and environmental efficacy, so I have an assortment of ‘green’ cleaning products in my apartment.  Some work, some don’t.  But what seems to be most puzzling as peruse my way through all of the cleaning products I own is why have cleaning products in the first place?  Nearly everything I clean, as I think about it, could be easily cleaned with three fully biodegradable, non-toxic household items: lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda.  The Do-it-yourself website, has a new Going Green topic on its side menu, has a great article called How to Clean Green which lists several recipes for green cleaners. Here are two easy and useful examples:

Carpet Spot Remover
•Cornstarch or baking soda
•Club soda
Blot the spot and apply baking soda or cornstarch immediately. When dry, blot with club soda and vacuum.

Glass Cleaner
•1 cup rubbing alcohol (optional)
•1 cup water
•1 tablespoon vinegar
Combine in a spray bottle and wipe clean with a newspaper. Alcohol hastens evaporation to prevent streaking.

And now, what about everything else.  Hand, dish and laundry soap, for example, isn’t as easy to make from scratch.  I personally suggest buying these products, unless you’re exceptionally handy, crafty an organized. Here are a few of my personal favorites and professional suggestions:

•Method brand soaps, as cliche as they sound, are easy to buy anywhere, use biodegradable ingredients, do not test on animals, use recycled and recyclable packaging materials and make use of government issued carbon-credits for their employee’s transportation and manufacturing process.  Plus, they’re smell great and come in cool-looking bottles!
•I use Green Works dishwashing liquid (water lily scent). It carries the Design for the Environment (DfE) certification, meaning the EPA screens all the ingredients put into the product and markets with the Sierra Club to endorse the ideas of preserving and protecting the planet. You want to hear the kicker? Green Works was created by Clorox! Proof that you don’t have to be anti-institution in order to be an environmentalist.
•For my wood flooring, I use Murphy’s soap; its biodegradable, kosher, cheap, and the bottles are recyclable.

•And finally, I suggested ECOS All Natural Laundry Detergent.  Its HE compatible, smells great, has a soy-based built-in fabric softener, and is grey-water safe (meaning you could use the left over water for your vegetable garden).  All this and it was on sale at Kroger’s!

As for my kitchen cleaning, my in-laws arrive tomorrow and I’m feeling pleased with my greening and cleaning! Word to the wise, you may want to use these cleaning solutions barefoot – its more comfortable and the grime from your shoes won’t be washed onto your newly cleaned tile!  Happy green cleaning!

Jeanne Besser, who writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, published Ten Ways to a Greener Kitchen this week. Here is a sum up of the article:

1. Bye-bye bottles: invest in a water filter and refill a neoprene water bottle
2. Buy Local: to reduce the need for shipping, buy produce from local farmer’s markets
3. Dispose of Disposables: use washable china/napkins/silverware, NOT use paper goods (if you must you them, at least use biodegradable or recycled items)
4. Banish Excess Packaging:buy in bulk and create small portions in Tupperware (yogurt)
5. Paper of Plastic? – Neither (sound familiar?): bring cloth tote bags shopping with you
6. Get a Green Thumb: plant herbs or tomatoes in small pots if you don’t have a yard
7. Eat Less Meat: go meatless one or two days a week and be aware of where you’re meat comes from and what they eat [writer's note: animals break down nutrients very inefficiently, so you're better off eating the food they eat to gain the same nutrients]
8. Use Appliance More Efficiently: use common sense; use a toaster oven when heating up something small and only run your dishwasher when its full [writer's note: appliances use electricity when they're plugged in, even if they're not on, so unplug 'em]
9. Reintroduce Yourself to Your Stove/Oven: save gas, eat in
10. Become Educated: learn about organic foods at www.georgiaorganics.org, www.ethicalchoicesprogram.org, www.sustainabletable.org, www.nrdc.org/health/foodmiles, www.nrdc.org/greenliving and www.vegecyber.com/others/about_vegetarianism.shtml.