Slaying the Plastic Dragon - Day 21 - Housekeeping

I am not much of a housekeeper.  I've always wanted to be better at it.  Being truly lacking in this area and then homeschooling 5 kids kept me in emergency maintenance mode in terms of housecleaning for most of the last two decades.  I mean I started out with a definite deficit and simply treaded water in terms of trying to not let chaos reign too supremely.  Often I went under for a scary amount of time, though always resurfacing to struggle on!

Many years ago though I did convert to Bon Ami for doing most of my bathroom cleaning.  My mom always used Comet, but I wanted to get away from bleach and toxic stuff.  Like my mom taught me, I'd take a washrag that was about to be put in the hamper anyway, start with the sink, then tub and then toilet.  Bon Ami works great at cleaning toilets.  I just sprinkle it in there and use a toilet brush for inside of the bowl.

However, I do buy window cleaner in those plastic bottles.  I am sure others are way ahead of me in just using vinegar and water to clean mirrors and windows.  I think I have done that once or twice.  When I am finished with my current bottle, I'll switch to reusing the bottle and making my own.

I admit to relying on these!  

Also, in an attempt to make chores more amenable to my chore-averse children, I got into the bad habit of getting them those disposable Clorax wipes.  When I announced my plastic free resolution my 15 year old literally panicked!  How was she supposed to clean her bathroom without those wipes???  Major mothering fail there!  The girl has never had to deal with scrubbing or using any other cleanser, she's lived on those wipes!

I want to investigate how much better the eco version of those wipes are.

Are these any better?  At least 7th Generation is trying!

How to clean my nice wood floors?  I have used Bona for the last almost 16 years because that is what the guys who did the floors when we moved here said to use!

So I am in the midst of researching the best cleaners for my various needs.  The big thing I am going to do at some point in the near future, is make liquid soap from soap nuts (which I purchased at Mom's Organic a couple weeks ago or was it Bed, Bath and Beyond?).

It does look like the basic things I'd need to make my own stuff (but I will still buy Bon Ami - it is good to have a reliable grab-it-off-the-shelf item):

1.  Lots more vinegar (all the big jugs seem to be in plastic),

2.  Baking soda (easy enough to get and still in the good old cardboard boxes!),

3.  Some kind of liquid soap (Dr. Bonner's liquid Castile looks good but doggone how come it's all in plastic bottles???), Soap nuts could be the answer to this problem.

4.  Some people also seem to use borax (I used to use this when washing cloth diapers back in the day - makes 'em whiter!)

5.  Sometimes washing soda (what's that?)

What exactly are these babies?  Who makes 'em?  And why are they sold like tupperware at parties geared to women?

6.  Essential oils - everyone seems to use these to scent up their homemade cleaning solutions.  However, my introduction to them was on several occasions when someone tried to hard sell me to buy them.  They always struck me as a bit 'cult.'  Forgive me, if you are super into essential oils.  It's just that I got the impression some people think they are like that proverbial snake oil that will cure whatever ails you from the common cold to cancer!   But I am sure they must have their practical uses!  So I guess I better open my mind up a bit and try one or two out.  I did see some at Whole Foods.  I am toying with buying a mint (as in peppermint or spearmint) for mouth wash and maybe a citrus or lavender one for cleaning solutions.  But they are expensive and I'm afraid I'd actually never use them!  So I have held off on purchasing any as of yet.

I was going to link to various bloggers who are into natural housecleaning stuff, but so far they all seem to go overboard a little.  One that touts itself as 'natural' recommends using antibacterial microfiber cloths.  Noooo.  Microfibers are not natural and are bad for us!

Anyway, stay tuned for further (mis)adventures in housecleaning!