Mean Green Cleaning Machine

Well we're in week 8 and I find myself becoming more stressed about school and work everyday. One way that I am able to reduce my stress is to clean my house. So this week I went to Wild Oats and bought non toxic cleaners and did a lot of cleaning.

Although I love the smell of bleach the reality of the toxins that harm the body when a product is used is a scary thought. I bought Seventh Generation bathroom cleaner and liquid dish soap at Wild Oats and was impressed of the cleaners. The bathroom cleaner smelt fresh and my eyes and lungs didn't burn from being in the bathroom and breathing in all the chemicals. To find these nontoxic cleaners look in your local grocery store.

According to Wild Oats, "Americans generate 1.6 million tons of waste each year from common household products that contain potentially hazardous ingredients. And, of the 85,000 chemicals used in household cleaners today, nearly 90% haven’t been tested for safety."

Somethings that a consumer can look for when finding environmental and health friendly cleaners are nontoxic, biodegradable and/or chlorine-free. Instead of using bleach, oxygenated products are a good alternatives. According to Natural Choices, they are safer than chlorine bleach however they don't work as quickly they are still effective.

According to Simple Pure Clean, "Chlorinated materials can form orgono-chloride compounds, which in turn are stored in the fat cells and can enter mother's milk."

There are also cleaning products that you can make at home. Care2 provides recipes for cleaning such as creamy soft scrubber, oven cleaner and furniture polish to just name a few.
Some of the supplies needed for these cleaners are:

• baking soda
• washing soda
• white distilled vinegar
• liquid soap or detergent

Although I haven't made any cleaning products at home they seem very interesting and I will have to do that soon!

Well come back next week to see what I try out!

Fruits and Veggies oh my!

Well I went raw. Well sort of. For a week and a half I ate mostly raw foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am not going to lie, I cheated. On my week and a half adventure I learned a lot about fruits and veggies and how much processed foods I eat.

According to RAWGURU The raw diet consists of eating only raw fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and seaweed. Also nothing is heated above 116 degrees F.

I found recipes at Living and Raw Foods, I site to share raw recipes with others. I tried a few, one of them was Lettuce Wraps

"Raw is undoubtedly the best way to go" said Peggy Raisglid, owner of Lovin' Spoonfuls.

Raisglid has been a vegan since August 14 1984 and tired the raw diet. According to Raisglid eating raw was the way our bodies were designed.

Although it was boring and time consuming, I had tons of energy and was bouncing out of bed, said Raisglid.

According to ivillage.co.uk some of the health benefits to going raw are:

• increased energy levels
• improved appearance of skin
• improved digestion
• weight loss
• reduced risk of heart disease

"The studies that have been done linking fats to high cancer rates, heart attacks, kidney failure, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, angina, cardiovascular disease and all of the other diseases that clog up the blood and the arteries have been done with cooked fats. Obesity is linked to a high cooked fat diet" according to Alissa Cohen.

When I went to Wild Oats for some food I found Raw Revolution bars that were completely raw. I was scared to try them at first but they were actually tasty. These would be easy for someone who is on the go and didn't have time to prepare anything before hand.

Since I didn't follow the diet completely I didn't see all the benefits, I did notice an increase in energy. Also I lost 5 lbs! I can't complain about that! Although I don't think I will ever go completely raw, I think I am going to go vegetarian. So maybe I got something out of trying and going raw.

Lets Climb a Tree

Well this week has been a week of a few different experiments. I've gone on the raw diet and I am also using 100 percent recycled toilet paper and paper towels. I am not going to talk about my raw diet till next week so say tuned till next week about that! For now it's toilet paper and paper towels. When I decided to try the paper towels and toilet paper I didn't realize the huge benefits of using recycled products instead of virgin paper products.


According to Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC),"If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper (500 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 423,900 trees." This is only one roll of recycled toilet paper. Imagine how many trees we could save if every household switched to recycled toilet paper.

Here are more statistics according to NRDC if every Household in the United States used just one product of:

Facial Tissue (175 sheets) : 163,000 trees
Napkins (250 count): 1 million trees
Paper Towels (70 sheets): 544,000 trees

Not only does using recycled products save trees, it also helps eliminate unnecessary chemicals. According to NRDC, "Paper products are bleached to make them whiter and brighter, but chlorine used in many bleaching processes contributes to the formation of harmful chemicals that wind up in our air and water and are highly toxic to people and fish." However, there are chlorine-free processes. Companies can then label the packaging with either chlorine-free (TCF) or processed cholorine-free (PCF). Some brands don't bleach their paper towels and leave them brown.

A few brands selling these products are Earth First, Seventh Generation, 365 Everyday Value, Green Forest and Marcal.

Look in your local grocery stores to see if they carry these products. When I bought the Earth First recycled paper towels, I wasn't worried how the paper towels were going to feel since I only use them to clean. I didn't notice that I was using the recycled ones until I went into my pantry for another roll and saw that they were open and thats what I was using. However, before I used the toilet paper I was a little skeptical on how it was going to feel. Although its not as soft as some (a quality of virgin paper), I couldn't tell that it was recycled. This is a good feeling to be able to save a few trees in such a simple way.

Save the Hot Water

Another week has gone by and I am still trying to cut that electric bill down. Laundry always seems to be on my list of "to do" and I found a few great tips to save energy and money this week when I decided to look into washing machines and dryers. Although I can't afford a energy efficient washing machine and dryer there are a few things that I can do to help the environment and save money! Hey maybe if I keep saving money from my electric bill then I will be able to buy a new washer and dryer!

If people do have the money to spend on an energy efficient washing machines, they should. Energy Star qualified washing machines use about 40 percent less energy than the standard washing machine. Also it only uses 18 to 25 gallons of water compared to the 40 gallons that the standard washing machine uses. So not only are you saving energy, but you are saving tons of water at the same time.

Washing clothes with cold water is also another good idea for saving energy. By using cold water you will save almost 40 percent on your electric bill. According to GREENPEACE "Up to 90 percent of the energy used for washing clothes goes to heating the water." There are also laundry detergents that are designed for cold water use.

When drying your clothes, don't put very wet clothes in before either spin drying them or wringing them out. This will save energy from having to dry them longer. However, most of the energy star qualified washing machines extract more water during the spin cycle.

Since I don't have the money to buy an energy smart washing machine I decided to buy a clothes rack for the laundry room and I put a clothes line outside. Since summer will be gone in a month or so I will not be able to line-dry my clothes outside. However, I will have the clothes rack in my laundry room. The clothes rack is for my shirts and delicates and the clothes line outside is for my pants. When it gets cold outside I'll start drying my pants in the dryer but I'll still be able to dry my shirts on the clothes rack. According to Eco Mall "Line-dry your clothes in the spring and summer instead of using the dryer. Save 700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $75 per year"(Eco Mall). Good news about not using a dryer is that it helps with keeping clothes from fading and there is less wear and tear on the clothes.

Here are some tips from The Electric Company when doing laundry:

• Try and always wash on a full load. If you need to wash a smaller load then set the water according to the load size. Don't use unnecessary water.
• Wash on cold. There are detergents that are made for cold water
• Line dry your clothes if you can
• Check dryer vents
• Clean the dryer filter
• Don't overdry clothes

I hope these techniques give you a few ideas how you can save energy while doing laundry. Maybe soon someone will come up with a way that we won't have to fold our clothes!

Follow the (flourescent) light!

For the second month this summer, my electric bill was over $300. Usually when I come home, one of my roommates has left at least one light on, but sometimes they have left almost every light in the house on. One of my roommates likes to leave his bathroom light on even though he's not going to be home for the rest of the night and possibly might not come home for a few days. My boyfriend argues that the lights are not the reason for our large electric bill but I think it has something to do with it. So for my second experiment of living green I went and bought compact florescent light bulbs (CFL's) for the house. Hopefully, the electric bill will go down in. Even if its only a few dollars.

The world needs Compact Fluorescent Lights

Wasting electricity is one of the biggest problems in the world. The carbon dioxide (CO2) that power plants release into the air when supplying electricity is one of the most dangerous gases that is causing climate change (thegreenguide). According to Energy Star, "If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars." (www.energystar.gov)

Long Term Investment

CFL's are designed for commonly used rooms like the kitchen and living room. Energy Smart notes that rooms such as the bathroom where lights are turned off and on often reduces the life expectancy of the bulb. I bought different styles of bulbs for my bedroom, hallway, bathroom, kitchen and outside areas. Although they are more expensive to purchase, they last an average of ten times longer than incandescent bulbs. In the long run, you save money.

Companies that sell Compact Florescent Lights:

• Duro-Test Lighting
• General Electric
• Philips

Local Retailers:

• Ace Hardware
• Best Buy
• The Home Depot
• Lowes
• Wal-Mart
• Target

I was really impressed by the Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs. In my opinion they are brighter than the Incandescent light bulbs. One difference between the two different bulbs is that Compact Fluorescent Lights take a few seconds to light up. For that brief moment I think that the bulb has burnt out but when it comes on its a reminder that I am saving energy. I will write an update regarding how the CFL affects my electric bill as soon as I can.