Going Green!

For the past few months I have wanted to "Go Green", but wasn't sure how. I knew that buying organic wasn't really the way to go because at this point in my life I am too cheap to spend more on meat, fruit, etc. The other night when I was doing my routine cleaning I went to bed and could barely breathe because of all the fumes. I then knew it was time to change. I got out my "Martha Stewart Homemaking Handbook" and made a grocery list. Today I had went to Bed Bath and Beyond and Wal Mart and bought: 1. White Vinegar 2. Baking Soda 3. Three squirt bottlers 4. Shark Steam Mop 5. 3 different types of clothe towels and 6. Clorox Green Toilet cleaner.


After cleaning the house this is what I learned:

1. The Shark Steam Mop is the best invention ever. I usually don't like to mop because you have to fill your clean sink with water only to get dirty and the mop itself is so dirty how could it possibly clean your floor? I usually used so much PineSol so it smelled good I had a headache afterwards. With the shark all you do is fill it up with water, let it warm up for 30 seconds and Voila! Start mopping! It steam cleans your floor within minutes. Then you take off the re-useable and washable cloth wipe and throw it in the wash. SO easy, You don't have to buy several swifter sheets, and it is the best!

2. I hate hate hate cleaning the microwave, it smells it is gross, and I just hate it. Martha had the best solution... Take a cup of water with 6 Tbs Baking Soda and microwave on high for 3 minutes in a microwave safe dish. The water explodes leaving baking soda everywhere. Let it sit for 2 minutes, the just scrape the baking soda off. It TOTALLY Cleans the microwave and the odor is gone.

3. I filled the kitchen spray bottle with half water half vinegar. I then sprayed it all over the countertops and wiped it clean. It smelled so clean, left no streaks, and cut through any grease on the counter.

4. For the bathrooms I did straight vinegar. For the tubs I sprayed them down with vinegar then poured baking soda on the them. The Bathroom then started to sizzle. I got a clothe towel wet and wiped it up. No more dirt, hard water, or mildew.

5. The Clorox green toilet bowl cleaner smelled SO good... and it worked like a charm!

6. To unclog drains pour about a cup of baking soda down the drain followed by 3 cups vinegar. Let sit for 10 minutes or so then pour boiling water down the drain... worked like a charm!

7. Lastly, the cloth towels. I decided that using paper towels was a waste. I bought several towels and I'm not sure which ones I like the best, but they are all in the wash right now ready for next weeks cleaning.

All in all, going green was fun! And although today was more expensive then the usual cleaning supply bill, now that I have everything it will be much cheaper. A huge bottle of vinegar is only 2.00 and a huge container of baking soda was 1.99!

**I still cannot give up my clorox wipes... I use them for quick clean-ups.
***Dad, don't worry I am not a tree-hugging liberal. I just wanted to make cleaning easier!