Nuts & Lavender For Your Laundry

I just wrote a new article for eHow.com about using bags of nuts and lavender to clean your clothes! Yep, that's right, NUTS! Once the article is posted, I'll add the link here so you can read it. One of the questions I know your going to ask is "where do I get these nuts", so I thought I'd let you know that you can purchase these totally organic soap nuts right at my store. The brand I especially like are Yore Organics. They are packaged  right here in New England by a mom who was trying to solve a family problem and ended up creating a business. http://www.backdoorvac.com/yore-organics-organic-laundry-soap-soap-nuts-1744.html

The other item I talk about in the article is using lavender in a muslin bag to scent your laundry. You do this by putting the lavender bag in the dryer. It makes the entire laundry room smell wonderful while the clothes are drying AND the clothes smell just as nice when they come out! All this and you are avoiding toxic chemicals in those dryer sheets. http://www.backdoorvac.com/just-bee-dryer-bags2.html

Green Your Cleaning-Direct Launched Today

We launched our first Green Your Cleaning - Direct today with my friend and Certified Green Cleaning Coach, Dana, in Medfield, MA. Green Your Cleaning - Direct is a consulting and delivery service for the best green cleaning products. Dana will be available at gycdirect@gmail.com to help you find the right products for your home. She can also take your orders online at www.gycdirect.com. All you need to do is go to the Green Your Cleaning Direct tab and go to your town. Place the delivery fee in the cart and start shopping. In the checkout cart add your Green Cleaning Coach's first name and she will receive your order and discuss your delivery. We are also looking for more people interested in becoming a Certified Green Cleaning Coach in other towns in MA. Give us a call at 508-234-4626 for more information.
We'd love to have you join us. Together we can change the world, one spray bottle at a time.

Check out our catalog and share with your friends!

Four Tips for Keeping Your Bathroom Cleaner

http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/designer-bathrooms#slide-1

A question I received yesterday was "How can I create a schedule to keep my bathroom cleaner?"  Really what you need are a few routines to cut down your actual cleaning time. Here are a few tips for the bathroom:

• Swish the toilet every morning with your toilet brush. This will keep the bowl cleaner so you don't have to clean as often.
• Use an "eco-sponge" in the shower while you are in it. The sponge uses the technology of friction to clean off soap scum. It's great for glass shower doors too.
• "Dust" your bathroom every day with a dry microfiber cloth. This will keep the buildup to a minimum and make actual cleaning a cinch.
• Keep a small battery operated vacuum in the bathroom and run it every day on the floors. This will keep the hair and lint to a minimum.

Today on Martha Stewart Living Radio...

Make sure you follow my blog and my facebook fan page. The producer said the lines were full and they are going to have me back soon. I'll let you know here and on facebook! www.facebook.com/GreenCleaningCoach

Eco Sponge - works like the eraser sponge but lasts a lot longer because it has a sponge in the middle that keeps if from breaking up. http://www.backdoorvac.com/eco-sponge.html

 A microfiber mop - It's great way to clean hardwood floors AND even dust the walls. Just a little spritz of water and your all set. http://www.backdoorvac.com/microfiber-mop-kit.html 

Learn How To Clean Your Windows - With Just Water

Here is one simple tool that can make cleaning your windows a snap. I only wish I had found this while I had my house keeping service! I never agreed to clean windows because they are so hard to do correctly. We'd spend hours spraying glass cleaner and trying every kind of paper towel so we could avoid streaks and lint. This blue cloth does it all!

Something So Easy!

So I found a Lenox vase that my grandmother gave me years ago. It had some kind of strange film inside and I thought I'd just throw it into the dishwasher and clean it.

After the first time through the dishwasher, it came out just as dirty so I put it through a second time.

As you can see - still dirty.

So I thought I'd try something for fun. I poured Heinz distilled white vinegar in the vase and let it sit all day.

Look how wonderfully it came out!

Something so simple and easy - how wonderful!

A Review Of My Book By The Healthful Truth

Here is a review of my book by the Healthful Truth. Thanks Lily!

The Joy of Green Cleaning

Posted on December 2, 2012

I have a dream…that one day my home will be completely free of harsh chemicals! I was raised to use these toxic chemicals. My mother says “If you’re not using Clorox, it’s not clean!”. My mother even uses it in her dish water especially when someone gets sick in the home. I thought this was how it was done! (Sorry Mom!) Now I cringe when I smell bleach. Lysol All Purpose Cleaner gives me a raging headache.

What is my “why” when it comes to green cleaning? I didn’t actually start to make green, non-toxic changes until I became pregnant and started thinking about my daughter’s health. I thought about how she would be crawling on the floors absorbing toxic chemicals through her skin and mouth. They would be present on her clothes and inhaling these chemicals that kill brain cells, cause cancer, and irritate your skin. If you have kids you know that their skin is very sensitive and their guts are very permeable and these chemicals would quickly get in to her blood stream and wreck havoc. Not only did I think about the cleaners but also the baby products like shampoos and lotions. Another reason

why, is that we over do it when it comes to anti-bacterial products. We have been raised to think that killing all bacteria is good for us…WRONG. Most people don’t realize that there are good bacteria and bad bacteria. Antibacterial cleaners kill everything leaving the strongest bacterias to survive and get stronger. This results in the creation of super bacteria that become resistant to the antibacterial agents you use to kill them. You may actually be doing more harm to yourself by using these harsh chemicals to kill them then what the bad bacteria you are trying to kill may do to you.

So all this non-toxic talk brings me to my latest blog post which is really a book review of The Joy of Green Cleaning.  I absolutely love this recipe book! It’s a great handy resource book for green cleaning.  It was written by Leslie Reichert aka Green Cleaning Coach whose mission is to teach and encourage others in the art of home-keeping and green cleaning. In her book, Leslie explains what is the big deal about greening your cleaning. She says that most regular cleaning can be done without any toxic chemicals. It is true that you can clean with non-toxic items already in your pantry such as baking soda, vinegar, sea salt, lemon juice, and hydrogen peroxide.

Read more here...