I love watching my daughter crawl all over the place. She has such a presence, even at the tender age of 10 months. It is scary to think of all the chemicals and toxins she may pick up while exploring our home, so we are trying to be as “green” as possible.
This is the generation of making it right. My grandparents didn’t use the harsh chemicals we do today and still maintained a spotless home. The Baby-Boomers and Generation X-ers bought into the work smarter, not harder credo and adopted the easy clean. Under my kitchen counter were six different types of multi-purpose cleaner. They all cleaned multiple surfaces, BUT specialized in one. The cost was outrageous; however, nothing compared to the toxins found in them.
We have learned that even our shoes are dragging in pesticides, pollutants, car fluids, etc from outside. All the labels that say “Harmful to Children” were hitching a ride on my shoes and right onto my crawlers little fingers. This education was sobering and we have started to implement some changes.
First of all, we now have a steam cleaner for our hard surfaced floors. The results are no chemicals and the floors feel much cleaner and very fresh. They dry faster than mopping and my cheapskate butt is saving tons in floor cleaners. I even have used white vinegar before which is really effective but not as much as steam and takes much longer to dry.
Another area we have changed is the cleaners we use. Seventh Generation is known for being eco-friendly. Although their bathroom cleaners are useless, the rest are spot-on, or rather, spot-off cleaners. The counter top and dish cleaners are very effective and you don’t have that chemical residue feeling afterwards.
We are looking into many other areas too, like organic pest control and yard fertilizers. The green industry is gaining lots of steam and for good reason. Don’t believe me, do a simple “toxins in home” search and look at all the results from credible sources. You will soon feel the desire to rid the world of chemicals.