The MomSpeak

Getting Clean and Going Green

The change of season and the cold dry weather seem to be breeding grounds for a slew of lovely illnesses. With my oldest in school and a newborn at home, you can bet Iím a bit more conscious of keeping things extra clean. But in the past, cleaning meant diving into a bunch of bottles of chemicals I could barely pronounce only to be left with shiny floors and one big toxic headache. So when it comes to household products, I always on the look out for products that are gentler on the earth, my kids, and my own skin. Plus, I figure if itís a fairly all-natural or organic product, I can stick a bottle in my kidís hands and let her help me wash the windows or scrub the toilet.

Now over the last year, many of the larger grocery chains have started carrying green products, making them way more accessible to folks who don’t have a health store nearby (or one that isn’t a little scary and patchouli-smelling). In the same vein, the larger brands are now producing ìlight greenî lines, although many eco-ists are raising an eyebrow at the environmental claims.

Even with increased accessibility and mass production, most green products will hit your wallet a bit harder than regular old stuff. That’s not such a big deal if you had some assurance that they will in fact clean the heck out of your kitchen counter and not just make it smell like hemp and lavender–which honestly, a lot of them don’t. That doesnít mean you should give up altogether and soak your entire bathroom in ammonia. It just means you should look for reviews or better, personal recommendations from other germ-obsessed eco-moms who have put the products to the test.

Here are a few of my own personal tested and approved favorites:

Laundry Detergent

Not only are Dropps neat, clean, and environmentally friendly, theyíre completely free of everything that gives my daughter a rash. Plus thereís no question about how much detergent to use; just drop one or two pods into your wash.

All-Purpose Cleaner

Thereís no lack of green all-purpose cleaners out there, but one that actually cuts through the grease instead of spreading it around in pretty patterns on your counter? Try Epic. My husband the cleaning junkie gave it a big thumbs up and that’s saying something. It produces fantastic results and a scent thatís not overpowering but doesnít scream hippie convention.

Toilet Cleaner

One great thing about kids in diapers is that you’re not cleaning up the toilet or the potty after them too. And if that weren’t gross enough, try inhaling the toxic scents of the toilet cleaning products. Well, thatís not the case with Posies Cleaning Products and their Scruffy Silk toilet cleaner which uses natural peppermint and lavender oils combined with baking soda and vinegar to help you get the you-know-what-off your bowl.

Dish Soap

Dapple is a completely natural and biodegradable dish soap that will clean your babyís bottles and your greasy frying pans with ease. And along with smelling fresh, they make a got a dishwasher detergent that works equally as well.

So spill it. What are your favorite green and light green cleaning products? Do you spend the extra money to buy something thatís a bit safer and less toxic, or do you just open the windows and shoo the kids to the basement?