As we wrap up this two-week Spring Cleaning Festival, I want to say thank you to my special guests: Dana White, Sarah Mae, Mandy at Biblical Homemaking, Courtney Joseph, Heather & Vanessa from At the Picket Fence, Marla Cilley aka Flylady, and Karen Ehman. Plus a special thanks to my sweet friend and new assistant (a few hours a week), Natalie Longoria, who organized all the details.
Before I get into the final post in this series, I want to announce two winners. The first winner is of the home decor basket donated by Heather and Vanessa from At the Picket Fence. Congratulations to: Amie Mc. who left a comment at 10:44 AM. Please email me at editor@Proverbs31.org with your mailing address.
The second winner is for Karen Ehman’s book “The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized” and a Wal-mart gift card. Congratulations to Colleen Loerzel. I’ve sent you an email, so please watch for it.
Thank you to everyone who entered and all the lovely comments. You blessed our socks off!
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I don’t often write about my husband due to respecting his privacy and wishes. But there is a Mr. Whitwer! He’s a private sort of guy, but he’s really amazing. In addition to being committed to our family and mission work (he travels to Uganda to help oversee an orphanage of 450 children) he’s also an environmental engineer. He’s an expert at cleaning up contaminated stuff. And he inspires me to be much more aware of the products we use and the choices we make at home.
Since tomorrow is Earth Day, I decided to devote today’s post to ways we can honor God’s creation through wise and caring choices. Psalm 24:1 says, “THE EARTH is the Lord’s, and the fullness of it, the world and they who dwell in it.” We are just caretakers of what the Lord has given us. And I believe we should do our part.
I know there is LOTS more I could be doing to be environmentally aware. I’m kind of tip-toing into this area, and every month I try to increase my wise choices. So while I’m not a model for completely green living, for now, here are some of the small things we do to help:
1) Cloth shopping bags. These are kept in the back of my vehicle, and used as often as I remember to take them in to the store (just being real here!) I love the sign at my local Trader Joe’s which reminds me to get my shopping bags. Plus, since most places also give me a 5 cent credit, I’m saving money too.
2) Use micro-fiber cloths to clean. I use very few chemicals in day-to-day cleaning. For most cleaning jobs, I have two blue micro-fiber clothes I’ve used for years and all they need is water. I do all my dusting, mirrors and windows with a rung-out cloth.
3) Eco-friendly laundry and dish soap. It’s isn’t difficult to find products these days that are eco-friendly. And the price
is comparable to the name brands. You might sacrifice some of the scent, but it’s worth it.
4) Water conservation. I live in the desert Southwest and grew up conserving water. This is the one area that I am a bit extreme. I collect all run-off water (without soap) and leftover ice cubes from glasses, and pour it into house plants or outside.
5) We are active recyclers.
I’d love to hear your comments. Do you make your own cleaning products? Is there a brand name you love? What creative ideas do you have? To leave a comment, please click here to be taken to my blog.
While I don’t consider myself an environmentalist, I do consider myself a steward of God’s resources. And I think Christians need to reclaim the care of the earth in the name of the Lord! Amen?
Grace & peace,
Glynnis
Hello and and Huge Thank You for the Blessings you bring to our lives/
Amazing tips, and ideas for helping us live better!
Regarding your request for Green Cleaning Products: I Love 7th Generation products, available in Whole Foods Markets, Walmart, and other markets, as well as online.
Additionally, Consider the many uses of Distilled White Vinegar. Safe, Effective, and great for correcting a ton of household dilemmas, even great for Pets!
VinegarTips.com
I hope this helps.
Live Well,
Kit
Just FYI, the last I knew, Whole Foods was on the list as a corporation which supports Planned Parenthood. You might want to find a new place to shop for your health food and supplies since Planned Parenthood is the biggest provider of abortion worldwide. As Christians, we know that abortion is murder and need to do whatever we can to speak out against this horrible atrocity. By boycotting these corporations, hopefully we will make progress towards defunding PP. I know this has nothing to do with spring cleaning; just something I’d like others to be aware of.
Thanks for the VinegarTips web address! The only thing I wonder about is the smell. Whenever I have used it for cleaning it just makes my house smell bad. Maybe some nice essential oils mixed in would help. Anyone else have any tips about this?
Blessings,
Sue
Be sure to use white vinegar (not cider vinegar as I learned the hard way). You can dilute it for cleaning or use it full strength in little cups set here & there to remove odors from cooking, smoking, pets, a backed up sewer…..
After about 30 minutes or so, pour those little cups of vinegar into the water reservoir of your drip coffee maker and run it through to clean it. Repeat using just clean water. Cheaper, safer & better than the chemical coffee pot cleaners.
Not to worry about the vinegar odor, once you rinse out your cleaning cloths, finish the clean water run in the coffee pot, rinse & put away the little cups, the vinegar smell goes away in 15-30 minutes.
White vinegar and lemon juice are mild acids,excellent cleaning agents and environmentally safe.Try using white vinegar in the last rinse for towels.I never use fabric softeners;it coats the fabric fibres and is just more chemicals
For the ultimate eco-friendly cleaning, try soap nuts!
http://store.naturoli.com/home.php?&partner=kitchenstew&fb_source=message
I use a lot if vinegar, hydrogen proxide and dawn in carpet cleaning. I have resently found on pinterest to make your own laundry detergent. Working on that now. I try and do what we can to reduce our carbon footprint and save a little money.
I make my own laundry soap, & use vinegar for softner you can add a little essential oil for scent. I love it! I recently found a recipe for the dishwasher. I am still using what I have as soon as its all gone I want to try it. If any one wants the recipe I use you can find them at diy natural.com.
Thanks for this sping cleaning series! It was just what I needed:-)
I love all Shaklee products. They have been around for years and are very eco-friendly.
Glynnis, thank you for providing this series. I have enjoyed it and picked up some really helpful tips and ideas. I use a ton of vinegar and red juice from Speed Cleaning., which is supposed to be “Green.” Vinegar is my favorite for my floors, dishwasher, toilets, fridge, etc. Look using my “bags” for shopping, but when I forgot and collect those little plastic bags – they are reused as trash bags in bathroom trash cans and recently the Hubs & I started using them as his new lunch bags as they do not take up as much room in work place fridges! Looking forward to reading more “green” ideas as more comments pop up.
Because of allergies to artificial scents I so appreciate cleaning products without fragrance.I use Murphy’s oil soap to scrub floors, it doesn’t require rinsing. Vinegar and water is my go to cleaner for mirrors, glass, sinks, doesn’t streak. Adding a drop of dish soap along with cotton rags is the best window cleaner. A cup of vinegar added to laundry soap removes stains and odors from my hard working guy’s clothing. I scrub the shower with my shampoo while showering since it is designed to cut through grease and soap so that I only have to attack the mildew with bleach once a month. I also bathe our dog with the same unscented shampoo and rinse the empty bottle with water then pour it into the toilet bowl brush and use that soapy brush to scrub the toilet. The hair products have no alcohol Or dyes either so they don’t strip your hair of color. They are Free & Clear products & can be ordered on- line. I, too, save the ice cubes & half filled water glasses for the plants. Saw a wealthy friend do this decades ago & figured if she was that cheap then I could be,too.
I love your idea about collecting ice cubes and runoff water and using it on your plants! I’m sure I waste a LOT of water and instead of pouring it down the drain, I can collect it and water all my plants! Thanks, Glynnis. I always get great info and inspiration from your blog!
It’s amazing how our parents and grandparents were living “Green” before Green was cool by using white vinegar for cleaning and deodorizing, had cloth shopping bags, (there were no plastic) walked more than drove, I could go on and on about just living smart and saving money as a side benefit. My favorite product is baking soda, it’s good for oven cleaning, replaces tooth paste, deodorizes refrigerators, drains.
Since I work in the environmental field I try to be as green as I can. Cloth shopping bags and recycling are part of our lives. I love Melaleuca products. They are green and also come coventrated. Less waste!
I am interested to read here what people use. I have never tried anything other than the name brand chemicals for cleaning because I want to get rid of all the germs lurking around in the bathroom, the kitchen sink, and the floor where the kitty litter box is etc. Do the homemade cleaners or even the environmental cleaners from stores kill bacteria and virus’ as well as the heavy duty chemicals? Thank you!
Bleach certainly does. Try reading the labels to see what they use in the product. I also use hydrogen peroxide regularly, especially for stain removal.
Amen, Amen! I am so glad to hear you speak of being eco-friendly from a Christian perspective. I also believe that our job as Christians (God did command Adam and Eve this same thing) is to take care of GOD’s planet. Too many radical Christians think that making these small steps borders on liberal environmentalism, and that’s just not the case. Yes, there is a difference, but if Christians are irresponsible with God’s resources and His Earth, then how can we expect to be the example Christ called us to be.
We recycle, use reusable shopping bags, buy little to no disposable goods (paper plates, plastic cups, disposable “silverware”, zip bags, etc.) all because these things aren’t wise uses of our finances (they end up in the garbage) or healthy for our planet. FYI, Tupperware actually makes a great line of microfiber products and encourages more sustainability – less disposable products. We use their products and have significantly cut down on waste!
Love this post! Thank you!
Thank you, Glynnis, for admitting that you forget your cloth shopping bags in the car! I can’t tell you how many times I have done that. I have been making my own laundry detergent for almost 2 years now. It is not bad for the environment and it only costs about $2 for 5 gallons…..can’t beat that!!
Would love the recipe if you’ll share.
I have been making my own laundry soap. I began about 6 months ago…and though it is suppose to last a very long time…and would except for 2 grown sons who cannot wrap their heads around only 2 tablespoons per load will clean a load…it is cheap to make and works wonderfully. It has no perfume so my clothes smell really clean. All ingredients can be found in the laundry isle.
1 bar soap…this is laundry soap and not hand soap…grated
1 cup borax
1 cup soda (they have both baking and washing in the isle…I’ve used both)
I have an air tight plastic container (though one son doesn’t know how to push down on the lid to seal it) that I keep for the soap. I use a medium grate for the soap, which I just keep with the supplies. Grate up the bar of soap, and the borax and soda. Seal and shake well. Done! The soap is $1 a bar. The borax and soda are under $5 and you can use them to make several containers of soap. It’s so very inexpensive. I have a small washer and use a heaping tablespoon per load. My sister (yes I’ve hooked everyone around me on this…has a high effenciency washer and this works wonderful in it) uses 2 tablespoons for her large capacity washer. Easy peasy…won’t hurt the environment…and CHEAP!
Gods Blessings and I hope you try this…let me know how it works for you if you do.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, the one a friend gave me involved cooking the soap in a pot on the stove and looked like a long process….one my busy schedule doesn’t allow. This recipe….I will try….looks simple! THANKS again!
Arm and Hammer ‘Washing’ soda is the product used to make the homemade laundry powder. Baking soda is okay for the fridge and oven, but not the wash. Just google ‘homemade laundry detergent’. I make my own and use white vinegar in the rinse. Laundry smells so fresh!!!
I grew up recycling and when I started doing it after I was married, my husband did not like it. I recycle aluminum cans and sell them. Last Saturday I sold 5 pounds of cans for $2.00. I have just recently started composting again. This is a neat way to not waste food and help the earth at the same time.
My orchid loves ice cubes…they melt slowly and give it just the right amount of water when it needs it. And like you, water left in glasses, goes in the other plants. I use white vinegar for cleaning and disinfecting. Slowly we are weaning ourselves off canned soft drinks. We refill an aluminum water bottle for our “to go” water. I have started clothing shopping in high end consignment stores. The clothes are cheap and in style. No need to buy new. I have also purchased storage containers, dishes, curtain rods, curtains, and small furniture items at consignment stores. I read labels…I try to buy made in the USA as often as I can and I will not buy cleaning products with chemicals I can’t pronounce or don’t know what they do–same with cosmetics. I buy cosmetics and soaps and lotions at a local natural foods store–we can bring back the bottles for lotions and liquid soaps and refill at the store. I make my own perfume too–essential oils, no sprays, last much longer.
Amen! I love how you ended your post. I think we Christians definitely can and should follow the Lord’s direction to be stewards of his creation and inject some balance in the liberal environmentalism that some have replaced God with. People are still of utmost importance to the Lord. But, taking care of his gorgeous creation that provides beauty and peace for our souls is “Good” as the Word says. Thanks to all the posters for some great ideas on making your own laundry and dish-washing soap. How cool is that?
I try to keep stuff out of the landfills. We have a small worm composting bin in the house and in the summer have an outdoor compost pile. The kids think the worms are fun and they are learning to not throw everything in plastic garbage bags. I’m still a novice, but it is pretty easy to do.
Norwex all the way. I’m a consultant. Their microfiber cloths have silver in them which make them antibacterial for 2 years and you just use water. And all their cleaning solutions are natural and environmentally friendly. https://sharongozjolko.norwex.biz/?p=start
I love this post. I have been trying to purchase more environmentally friendly and safer products over the last few years. I really like soap nuts for laundry (you can find them on Amazon) and I use a lot of Dr. Bronner’s products for shampoo, body soap, lotion, lip balm, etc. They are all natural, fair-trade products. Sal’s Suds works well as dish soap and for mopping. They have free shipping if you order over $25 at http://www.drbronner.com. I also like to compost so that we aren’t putting all of our fruit and veggie waste, etc. into the trash.
Thank you Glynnis for encouraging us through the spring cleaning series- and especially for starting the discussion on cleaning that helps us steward God’s Creation. I have started composting a year ago- and my house-pet rabbit really helps us out with this- he eats pretty much all the veggie and fruit scraps from our family, then he mostly composts it for us- and then it goes back into the garden to help grow us all more food! Not only that- but he follows us around, and plays and loves to be petted. Win-win! It is amazing how God made his world- the creatures, plants, soil, etc so that we can live together- even despite the effects of sin! Peace
Glynnis: This has been a week of such helpful hints! Wow, I am enthused about cleaning the house… how can this be? I actually live in a Barndominium, (house built insde a horse barn), so it is a real challenge keeping the dust under control and we won’t talk about the floors! I’m in Texas and we are still recovering from an historic drought, so conserving water is primary for us right now. Composting your kitchen scraps (no meat please) is easy and you get free organic fertilizer for your garden or house plants. Use it as mulch to save on water. Also the big thing in my house is “turn off the water while brushing your teeth”, saves gallons a day. Yes, the dishwasher does save water over hand washing, but not if you are running water to pre-wash the dishes. Use a dish pan with soapy water to pre-rinse before loading the dishwasher.
I liked your ideas for conserving water. I am only recently becoming more aware of saving water. We’ve never lived in a place where water availability was an issue. But I am learning more about water through my college son, who is studying sustainability, and I would like to reuse water better, to at least be in solidarity with those people around the world who do not have enough water.
I use very little in the way of paper goods. We are paper-towel-free. We use rags. If it’s something really gross to clean up, I just throw out the occasional rag. Mostly I rewash and use over and over. Our rags are old socks, old cut-up pajamas, towels, and t-shirts.
Vinegar is great for cleaning all kinds of things.
Just hot water and a little elbow grease is good for cleaning lots of things, too.
A Zip-strip is great for cleaning out your sink/shower drains. We reuse ours over and over. I do this monthly to prevent clogs, then use baking soda/vinegar with hot water to keep drains running cleanly.
I have used my home-made glass cleaner for years and it does a fine job.
1 cup ammonia + 1 T. Dawn (or other grease-cutting liquid) into an empty gallon jug. Fill with filtered water and use in a spray bottle. Also drying windows and mirrors with crumpled newspaper (which decomposes on its own) instead of costly paper towels makes for excellently clean and sparkling windows and mirrors.
Composting is an easy way to reduce/reuse waste. We got a compost bin free on craigslist 2 years ago and even with 5 people adding to it regularly its never been full because as it decomposes, it also shrinks in size. We turn it regularly to keep the decomp going and it doesn’t smell bad at all, which surprised me.
We have a rabbit who helps with the veggies that are a bit beyond human consumption but not totally spoiled yet. We recycle as much as possible, and our weekly garbage pickup is a 20 gal. mini-can (another $$ saver). When shopping, we watch for excessive and unnecessary packaging and try to keep it to a minimum. We also watch for made in USA products to help keep jobs here at home.
I never thought about reusing the ice cubes – being from wet, rainy Oregon – but what a great idea!
Regarding laundry: I encourage my kids to wear their outer clothes more than once before washing (semi-effective) and I set the example (effective), towels were a problem area, but we’ve seemed to conquer that (one can hope). Line dry in summer saves a ton of $$, but I’m not quite willing to give up my winter dryer yet. Its an expense I’m willing to pay.
And to praise my kids: ALL of them quit drinking soda on their own so we’re now a totally soda-free household! Instead they each have a refillable water bottle and they’re faithful to fill and carry it with them, except the youngest who tends to prefer bottled water (we have an unlimited free-to-us source).
Line drying towels I’d so much better for your skin due to a coarser texture that exfoliates. Fabric Softner in towels has been reported to coat the skin with chemicals which is unhealthy. I quit using it and also avoid dry cleaning as much as possible.
I have a washing line and hang out all our clothes to air dry. During the winter I hang them on a clothes dryer and usually they will dry overnight. I rarely use my dryer now, though my children prefer towels from the dryer!! I keep a jug by the kitchen sink and fill it up when I am waiting for the hot water to kick in – that is used for indoor and outdoor plants. I also make washing powder that works great. We recycle all we can and use grocery sacks as bin liners, which is a trade off to using cloth bags at Walmart! If I did that I would have to buy bin liners!!
I love using the Norwex envirocloths for most of my cleaning. From kitchens to bathrooms, to dusting, to windows, all they need is a little water to dampen cloths and it removes the bacteria in their patented microfiber enviroclothes threaded with silver. If you feel you need a little extra cleaning that day a mix of distilled vinegar and water make a great combinaton with the cloths. It makes cleaning 10 times quicker and easier not to mention cheaper since you no longer need to purchase Windex and Lysol (kitchen, bathroom, floor, wipes, etc.)!!! And to clean them you just throw them in the wash and start all over!
I also forget my cloth bags way too much, but I just use the plastic bags for my bathroom garbage cans!
Luv the little picture that says “Don’t forget yer bags!” Printed it out and taped it to the middle of my steering wheel. Hopefully I’ll remember the bags when I see it!
From the desert southwest as well, and our family kept empty plastic gallon jugs in the bathrooms to capture the bath/shower water that would have gone down the drain while waiting for the water to warm up. This was then used to water plants (indoor and outdoor). I’m not sure if that was included in your “capture all run off water” or not.
Thanks for the great series, motivation and encouragement!
Deb
I’m also a fan of vinegar/water solution for cleaning just about everything. For my hardwoods, I think the Shark Steam Mop is the greatest. No chemicals. The steam is a disinfectant, and you have reuseable covers that can be washed in the washing machine. I really does not get any easier or healthier especially those with allergies. I also think we should all have rain barrells for catching rain coming from the house to water our plants later. I’m sure plants are happier with God’s natural water than our sink water that has been through the water treatment plant and now has chemicals to “purify” the water.
WOW you girls have great ideas. And thank you Glynnis for doing this series. So important or our children and grandchildren will not enjoy the same beautiful earth we enjoyed. Love all the comments. Yes, Yes to the refillable water bottles. Tupperware makes a great set of these.
My favorite brand of eco friendly products is Bio Kleen. Bio Kleen has both liquid and powder laundry soap, a product called BAC OUT stain and odor eliminator (it also keeps mold from growing in your sink drains), and Soy Toilet Scrub which has a nice fresh citrus smell. Bio Kleen has a full line of products but these are the ones I use and love. I also like the fact that they are made in the USA.
I have recently set up a shop on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/insidesandysshop I make tote bags that I take to the grocery store and also washable mesh produce bags (this way my dry produce – apples, oranges, onions, peppers, etc. doesn’t start sweating in the plastic).
So wonderful connecting with all you – Blessings
Keep
We practice many of the conservation/earth friendly thoughts shared. Some new I want to try. Two things I didn’t read — when towels, wash cloths etc get thin,worn or stained, we cut and sew them so they are double or leave single thickness ( zigzag edges so they don’t fray so quickly -we keep a stack of these under the kitchen sink in a recycled shoebox – looks nice with contact paper over it. Conserving water – I make it a habit of letting the water sit 12-24 hours before watering the plants – I’ve been told the chemical in the water aren’t to great for houseplants.
Forgot —The cloths are for wiping up spills or wiping off hands instead of using paper towels
I use Shaklee products to clean. Great products that go a long way. I also use vinegar and baking soda at times.
I have absolutely loved this series. Thank you so much!
I make counter and window spray with vinegar, water and tea tree oil. It really works, saves money but more importantly is safe for my family and the environment.
Wow! What great ideas and comments here!
I use the Shaklee green cleaning products. They are super concentrated and last for a very long time when used as recommended. My husband and I are distributors for Shaklee. I also do use microfiber cleaning cloths, which I really like.
Thanks for all the great tips and ideas, everyone!
I have been a dedicated recycling buff since college. They were throwing away bottles and cans so I helped establish a recycling program to contribute toward the scholarship fund. My daughter is now in student council and remembered my recycling story. She proposed a neighborhood recycling plan with receptacles in our village and now they are doing it. I was so proud and the legacy lives on.