Commercial cleaning products like bleach and oven cleaner, as well as other regular cleaning products, contain harmful chemicals which can lead to many health problems. Skin problems are the most immediate concern and if you’re unlucky enough to have your skin come in contact with some of these products you can end up with burns or rashes on your skin.

There are more serious concerns though. Some people believe some of these chemicals can lead to other diseases and in particular cancer. The jury is still out on whether or not this is the case but surely everyone agrees that regular contact with harsh chemicals is not a good thing. Breathing in bleach or oven cleaner when tackling a simple cleaning job is completely unnecessary. So what is the solution?

Green Cleaning Products

Solution number one is to buy ‘green’ or eco friendly cleaning products. These products use ingredients which are natural and safer than regular cleaners. Ingredients derived from plants like citrus, eucalyptus, and lavender are regularly found in green cleaning products. Orange oil in particular is a well known, effective cleaning agent.

But it’s not just plant extracts and oils which do a good cleaning job. Vinegar, baking soda, borax, and soap flakes can also be used to clean. You don’t see these ingredients regularly in green cleaning products found in the supermarket but are more commonly used in home made cleaning products. These are cheap ingredients which when mixed together in the right portions can produce some of the most effective cleaners you’ll ever need. From cleaning the kitchen, bathroom, windows, and clothes, there is a natural cleaning recipe for every cleaning job.

Natural Cleaning Recipes

An example of a simple natural cleaning solution you can create in your home is this anti-bacterial cleaning spray. Just add a few drops of lavender essential oil to water in a spray bottle. Lavender is naturally anti-bacterial so it’s perfect for cleaning kitchen bench tops or wiping around the bathroom sink.

Another simple example is using baking soda to remove stains from coffee and tea mugs. Sprinkle a little baking soda into the mug with some water, scrub with a brush and the stain will disappear. This is a great non-toxic method for removing stains.

Not only is making your own cleaning products a great way to enable you to clean your house without using toxic chemicals but it’s also great way to save money. Vinegar, baking soda, and borax are all very cheap ingredients which can be purchased from the supermarket and last a long time. Add to that some essential oils which you use in very small quantities and you can produce a cupboard full of natural cleaning products for little expense.

If you want to remove as many toxic chemicals from your life as possible, the easiest way is to start in the home. Throw away all those harsh chemicals like bleach, oven cleaner, toilet cleaner, drain cleaner, and all those other cleaners you are used to using and replace them with green cleaning products. If you want to go even greener and save some money, follow the many natural cleaning recipes available online and make your own cleaning products.

Natural Cleaning Products and Recipes is a post from: Green Home Blogger

Being Organic Means Beginning Organic

To have a fully organic garden, you have to start at the beginning – with the seed. The organic farmers who grow the food you buy in health food stores are actually required in most cases to grow only from organic seed if they want to be certified. Buying organic seeds helps support organic farmers who have to do the same. It also means that you’re not starting off your garden on the wrong foot – several non-organic seeds are pretreated with chemicals that you can actually see on the outside coating, contaminating your garden from the word go with potentially harmful and certainly unnecessary chemicals.

Organic Seeds Adapt to Organic Conditions

The ultimate goal behind organic seed cultivation is to create seeds that are hearty enough to produce a good crop under organic growing conditions. Buying organic seeds encourages plants that are naturally going to be better at resisting pest infestation and disease, growing through environmental extremes, and thriving despite weeds without the help of chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. Organic seeds typically produce plants with better roots systems and more heartiness, all the while keeping an evaluating eye on the flavor and color of the produce. By buying organic seeds, you help to create a better overall organic product.

Increase the Demand

Heaps of gardeners might overlook the need to buy organic seed, and as such the demand is constantly shifting. Planting organic seed ensures that these remarkable seeds not only stay on the market, but will continue to diversify in availability as the demand for them increases. This means more tasty produce for you and more options for the hard working farmers who grow it. It supports the current organic farming system as well as the future of organics as a whole. By starting off organic, you can look forward to not only this year’s home grown crop, but all the varied years to come. 

Why Use Organic Seeds? is a post from: Green Home Blogger

A Solid Standby

Citronella is hardly a new concept – it’s been used in outdoor lanterns and torches for decades as a way to add light to any outdoor setting and keep mosquitoes at bay. Pure, essential oil of citronella is what’s required here, and bought in bulk it’s easy to burn in any basic lantern. If you want a topical product, your best bet is the beauty product section of your local natural food store.

Other Oils

Believe it or not, there are heaps of other oils that are not only as or more effective than traditional DEET based products in warding off insects, but actually have other unexpected benefits. Take soy oil, for instance. Often cheap and easy to find, soy oil has been reported by reliable sources like The New England Journal of Medicine as being just as effective as more traditional products. What’s more, it has a great benefit of being a good body moisturizer and is even thought to slow the growth of body hair.

NEEM seed oil has actually been proven as more effective than its chemical counterparts. Lavender oil has also been known to work and smells great, often thought to reduce headaches and relieve stress.

Unexpected Alternatives

Surprisingly, the essential oil in catnip – you know, the stuff that your pet goes bloody bonkers for – has been found to be about 10 times more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes by a research group in Iowa. And if all else fails and you can’t find any of these fancy oils, why not try something simpler like indulging in a good bit of spaghetti? Loaded down with garlic, of course – mosquitoes find it more repellent than a horny teenager might. 

Just remember to think a bit outside of the usual and you’ll likely find the perfect, healthy and natural alternative that works for you. 

Natural Mosquito Repellent is a post from: Green Home Blogger

Rely On Yourself

While the household cleaning industry wants us convinced that the only way to remove a clog is to burn through it, the truth is that a lot of simple, everyday items can remove the gunk. Before investing in high priced options, try a plunger. Often effective on more than just toilets, they can push out a clog with just a little bit of elbow grease. Plumber’s snakes are certainly an option, though only professionals should attempt to work them. Instead, look on the shelves of your local health food store for some bacteria-based enzyme cleaners that will eat the clog free of your pipe without eating everything else.

Make It Yourself

Of course, a lot of people don’t realize that the answer might be as simple as a cup of baking soda down the drain. Chase it with three cups of boiling water and you’ve got an all natural alkaline solution that will loosen a lot of grime. If the drain is already completely clogged, try this same method with washing soda first. Washing soda, or sodium carbonate, is in the same family as baking soda, but is even more alkaline. There are no fumes to worry about, but wearing gloves isn’t optional. It will remove wax from floors, cut grease, and yes, unclog drains without too many problems. If none of that works, try the old science experiment route of vinegar and baking soda.

Congratulate Yourself

These methods, when done properly and combined with regular drain maintenance, can keep your drains as clear as any over the counter household cleaner – without all the nasty additives. Be good to your environment and have some added peace of mind – steer clear of the traditional products and try to fight plumbing woes with a bit more time and some standard baking soda. 

Eco Friendly Drain Cleaner is a post from: Green Home Blogger

Why 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity?

While the planet may have benefited from this being employed sooner, 2010 is the start of a new decade and is a new chance for the people to take control of our environment in a beneficial instead of negative way. Unlike many other species, human beings have the ability to step back and take proactive steps to help save the environment before it is too late. Humans are responsible for the accelerated loss of diversity on the planet, so it is up to us to help stop and even repair the damage already done. The time to act is now.

How Can You Help?

There are many things you can do to help the environment during the International Year of Biodiversity.

• Learn – The first step is to find out more information about the problem and what you can do to help fix the environment.

• Speak – Next, it is time to speak out and share the wealth of knowledge you have gained. Talking to normal people and politicians is helpful to spread the word.

• Act – The next thing you should do is take action. There are many things you can do no matter where in Australia you live or what you do for a living.

Biodiversity is Important to the World

Why should you get involved? Biodiversity is vital to our way of life. The time to act is now. As 2010 continues, see what you can do to take part in the International Year of Biodiversity. You won’t be disappointed.

2010 Year of Biodiversity is a post from: Green Home Blogger

Virginia from Outspoken Media has a great blog post with ideas on how to reduce, recycle, and reuse in the workplace, which includes:

• Printing as little as possible.
• Using an ink-saving font.
• Avoiding disposable plastic plates and cups.
• Turning off machines after hours.
• Using recycled materials.

Virginia has lots of other great ideas so check out her post for more info.

Don’t forget that you not only help the environment by implementing green work practices. You can mention your efforts to clients and customers (by announcing your green commitment on your website) and seek out green certification and awards (where available). Becoming known as an eco friendly workplace can attract more business meaning more $$$ and more happy customers.

How to Green Your Business is a post from: Green Home Blogger

When growing veges (or any plants) from seed, you have two planting options; plant the seeds directly in the soil in your garden or plant them in seed boxes which, when the plants are established, can later be transplanted into your garden. Planting the seeds directly in your garden can work well for some types of veges (eg. carrots, lettuce, onion) but the seedlings are at risk of attack by predators, such as snails, as well as the weather. Using a seed tray reduces these risks, however, you can lose some of the seedlings when planting out due to transplant shock.

So what is the best solution? Use individual seed boxes which can be planted directly into the ground. This way there is no transplant shock and the seedlings will be strong enough to survive being out in the open. The seed boxes just need to be made from an organic biodegradable product and you’ll be right.

Make Your Own Seed Boxes

You can buy seed boxes or containers from garden centres but they can be quite expensive which kind of defeats the purpose of growing your own plants from seed. If the purpose is to save money, that is. The cheapest and most eco friendly way is to make your own seed boxes. This is a quick and easy job which is not as inconvenient as you might think. To start with, you can try using egg boxes or the cardboard from toilet rolls or paper towels. These will work. The other option is to make origami seed boxes. It will take a little effort to make them but once you get the hang of it you’ll get them done in no time. Small Meadow Farm also has some info on making newspaper pots.  Try it and you’ll see just how easy it is.

Make Your Own Seed Boxes is a post from: Green Home Blogger

Westinghouse Nanolux 3 Watt LED Bulb

There are not that many option available when looking to buy LED light bulbs but they are becoming more widely used in the United States. Westinghouse has a large range so you can start there if you want one of the best LED lighting brands.

Westinghouse 3-watt G19 LED bulb features a patented polymer magnification and dispersion system. These LED lamps deliver smoother, more uniform light distribution, enabling them to be used in a wide variety of applications. The vivid color of the lamps are ideal for use in both indoor and outdoor applications, including signs, strand lights, lanterns, canopies, and pendants. Nanolux LED lamps are compact, water-resistant and shatterproof. They are the only LED lamps listed for use in wet locations. These lamps are guaranteed for 50,000 hour life at a minimum – the equivalent of over 50 conventional lamps. These LED lamps decrease high maintenance costs by reducing the number of times a lamp needs to be replaced. Nanolux LED lamps are economically effecient, environmentally sound and can be used on flashing circuits. They are available in 1 and 3 watt versions and can replace 7 to 20 watt incandescent lamps. They use 88% less energy and save up to $19.00 per lamp annually (based on the national average of $.10 per kWh).

These bulbs may have a slight blue hue about them but that is better than what you get with CFLs. Try them and see the difference for yourself. Available online at Amazon.

Westinghouse Nanolux 3 Watt LED Bulb is a post from: Green Home Blogger

Single Lever Handle Bath Faucet

Single lever handle faucets are the best and most convenient type of faucets, in my opinion. Why bother trying to mix the hot and cold water taps when you can just swivel a single lever to get the temperature you are looking for? These types of taps are now the most popular in the United States and it is understandable as to why.

So you are probably wonder what it is that makes these faucets ‘green’. Quite simply it’s because they are water efficient. This product has earned the WaterSense label which means:

Products that earn the WaterSense label meet strict water efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, plus they help us all save money while making a difference.

There are many water-wise faucets available these days that you’d be crazy to buy anything that wasn’t. Not only do they help you to use less water but they save you money too. It’s a win win situation.

Available online at Amazon.

Single Lever Handle Bath Faucet | Delta Faucet is a post from: Green Home Blogger

Green Home Blogger

Subscribe to Green Home Blogger to keep up to date with what is happening in the green world.

Andy

Green Home Blogger is a post from: Green Home Blogger