Okay, so I have kinda started my spring cleaning, but not the full on windows-open, purge the closet type of cleaning yet. But now that the nice weather is (kind of) here, I really feel the need to. However, while mentally I know I want to/should be, I have zero drive to do it. Like this dead-on post on the Muddy Boots blog, I too am a reluctant housekeeper. I’m not terrible, just not consistent about doing it. It doesn’t come naturally.
When my son was born and I quit my job to stay at home, I thought “ha! now I will conquer the dust bunnies, dirty dishes and vacuuming tasks all the time”. As many of you moms know, that’s a joke!
But, for my kind, there is hope. For some great cleaning tips from storage organization to natural green cleaning check out these posts that I thought were really helpful: Mommy Greenest and Loulou’s Views.
One thing my husband and I did decide when the Boy was born was to switch all our cleaners to non-toxic. We did some research, tried a few things and now that’s all we use. Did I miss the Lysol wipes at first? You bet, but it didn’t take long to incorporate the new stuff. So, now, when I do get around to cleaning, at least we’re using the natural stuff. Here’s a few products we like to use:
- Good old vinegar and baking soda. Basically on anything and everything, this stuff is cheap and the smell of vinegar makes me think ‘clean’.
- Nature Clean products: We use the all purpose soap for a lot of things – washing hands, dishes, toys etc. you can find this at a lot of grocery stores now. We also use the toilet boil cleaner – a much safer (and not gross smelling way) of cleaning toilets that you know are attractive to little hands!
- Seventh Generation: For some products, instead of Nature Clean we use the Seventh Generation line of cleaners. So far, I’ve only seen it at Canadian Tire in Ottawa. The all purpose cleaner and bathroom cleaner work very well and come in an easy to use, handy spray bottle. Sign up for their newsletter online and you can get coupons!
If you are in the market for new dishwasher detergent (have you seen how harsh and chemically the other stuff can be?!) both Nature Clean and Seventh Generation have it, but we actually prefer the Seventh Generation line. We find it tougher for stuck on stains and pots and pans.
So now, having written this, I really feel the need to clean. Any other non-toxic cleaning or neat storage tips for me??
