Organic Housekeeping- Chapter 2

Finally finished Chapter 2. First let me tell you, I thought cleaning out the kitchen would be a quick one day event. Nope, totally wrong. I had to go through cabinets and get rid of food and put things away that I barely used and so on. It took 2 days. Last night, I started my living room, also not as easy as I thought. I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get some supplies to help. 2 things that I have learned; We have even more crap than I thought, and Evan keeps a lot of silly junk and if I ask to get rid of it, he freaks. I never would have thought. He usually complains because we have too much stuff. Oh well.

The Kitchen: You Are What You Eat
"A clean surface is just the surface, with nothing else on it; a lingering fragrance, no matter how sweet and pleasant, signals that a chemical has been left behind." Castile soap is made from vegetable oil, no animal fats and lye. Castile soap is gentler, dissolves more completely, and doesnt form a hard scum. Drinking soap is never a good idea, but if my toddler is going to get into soap, I'd rather it be castile than chemicals.
A new cleaning tool that everyone should own (and I looked up reviews and can't find anything bad), The Dutch Rubber Broom (www.euroshine.net). It has a squeegee on one side and a rubber rake on the other side. Put a cloth on the sqeegee and mop, no bucket required, once the cloth is dirty get another, your not pushing dirt around on the floor anymore! Many uses! Ellen also suggests getting a potable steamer and keeping lots of mircrofiber rags on hand!
Use "drought washing" to save water. Remove rust by rubbing it with a peeled potato dipped in baking soda or salt. Keep vinegar and water in a squirt bottle, spray in the air to dispel strong cooking odors. Keep baking soda in the fridge and sprinkle some in the bottom of the trash can.
To unclog a drain: "pour a half cup baking soda down the drain and chase it with a cup of white vinegar. An impressive amount of fizzing will ensue as the vinegar and baking soda react. When the fizzing stops, pout a kettle of boiling water down the drain."
Consumer reports has a page called "Products for a Better Planet." When shopping for new appliances check here. www.eco-labels.org/greenconsumers/home.cfm
Recipes to use when cleaning the fridge, choose one and apply with a clean rag: (1) a dash of dish liquid in 1 quart warm water, (2) 2 tbsp baking soda in 1 quart warm water, (3) 1 tbsp borax in 1 quart warm water or (4) 1 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp baking soda in 1 quart warm water.
After cooking with meat, wipe down with vinegar and chase with hydrogen peroxide.
Ellan suggest buying whatever you can in glass containers, BPA should be banned. Or look for containers labeled HDPE (high density polyethylene) or PP (polypropylene).
I think this was the most important stuff. The rest I either already do, or I learned from Green This! The biggest thing is keeping up. Just wipe up spills right away, and don't let the clutter build up. Keep a recycling container and a paper recycling and a compost bucket near by, then nothing will just sit around.

Next chapter: woo hoo! The bathroom