Book Review: Organic Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck

I figured, since we started talking about cleaning yesterday, that this would be a perfect time to review this book. It's a really good source for tips and hints about cleaning without a lot of chemicals. It has chapters that deal with organization, the kitchen, bathroom. bedroom, laundry, general cleaning, indoor air quality, miscellaneous (safety, automotive care, home maintenance, etc) and your garden. While there are tips about how to clean items, there are also tips on what items to buy to make cleaning easier to start with. The book also explains some of the different chemicals that may be in the materials you buy and how they can affect you and your family.

Overall, this is a good book to get you started on the path of natural cleaning. There's not a basic cleaning job that's not covered in this book and most of the materials you need you probably already have. If you don't, you will be able to find them easily.

If you're not sure about natural cleaning methods, check this book out of your local library, try out a few of the tips and then decide whether or not you would benefit from your very own copy.

Spring Cleaning from Scratch

Well, it's that time of year, time to clean and refresh the living space after a long, closed-up winter. I have three cats and two small children, so the idea of having harsh chemicals coating the surfaces of our house is not appealing to me. Most of them could be much more harmful than the grime I'm using them on and, really,  they're just unnecessary. My great-grandmother lived a very long life and most of it was spent without the use of these chemicals that so many feel are essential to our existence these days. In addition to being unnecessary and possibly toxic, the increased chemical use is causing bacteria and viruses to develop stronger defenses against the chemicals which results in even stronger and harsher chemicals being developed and sold to the public. Seems like a never ending cycle in which the only winner is the companies that are selling the chemicals.

I'm also not a fan of many of the "green" cleaning products on the market. First of all, many of them are not green at all. They're manufactured in unsustainable ways or they have the same harsh chemicals as conventional cleaners, but they have been deemed "organic" due to their source. The company then throws the word green on the label and charges a higher price for the same old stuff. Not cool. And, not necessary.

So, what is a girl to do? Well, there are certainly options. Check out Seventh Generation's products or some of Trader Joe's cleaning products. Read the labels. If you can pronounce and recognize the items on the list as natural products (i.e. lemon oil, orange oil, baking soda) you're probably ok. You can also make your own. Making your own is going to be the cheapest and easiest option. Baking soda and vinegar is a wonderful "go-to" combination. Washing soda or borax are other inexpensive products that will boost your cleaning power.

If you want to get started with some natural cleaning products check out Tipnut. They have a ton of wonderful, reader-submitted recipes for cleaning solutions.

Give a few DIY cleaners a try. I think you'll find that they're easy to make and inexpensive. In addition, your house will smell fresh and homey; with no chemical odor. Always a plus!