Forgetful

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am sitting at Panera having coffee and figuring out my day.  So exciting right?  I thought I can sit, drink some java and put up the first natural week post.  I even brought my camera.  Enter forgetful moment of not remembering the cord to connect it to the computer.  Go me!  So instead I am going to start off with a post about products I use that are found at places like your local grocery store and Wal-Mart/Target.  


I think we all know the big name brands:  Burt's Bees, Method, Seventh Generation.  We read about them on other blogs, we see them in stores, but it's not what we grew up with, so we question it.  Question whether it will work.  Question how "green" it really is.  For myself personally I hate things in plastic bottles, but know it's a necessary evil (they're recycable!).  When we bought our home I told G I was going to slowly switch to all natural products.  We are planning on starting a family at some point, and I didn't want bleach or harsh chemicals around.  We had switched to Seventh Generation all purpose cleaner about 2 years ago, and we love it.  I spray it on my stove, let it sit for a bit and wipe up messes from splatters easily.  But for the most part we still used everything else that was harsher (don't even get me started on when we had to clean our oven in the house before moving out, I thought I was going to die!).  So here are a few cleaning products we've switched to that I recommend because they work!


Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent:  Gets out stains (I let them soak with a bit of it on) and makes our clothes feel soft and smell clean, but not scented.  We generally get the free and clear, which is my favorite, but currently we have some Eucalyptus version because they were out and we needed it bad.  For the record we don't use any fabric softener or dryer sheets and our clothes are soft as ever.  We had to buy a washer and dryer when we bought the house, and after going over lots of reviews we chose energy effecient ones that if you want I can talk about as well.  


Method:  Everything I can get my hands on.  I use their granite counter top cleaner and it works like a charm.  Even if I have to use some of the Seventh Generation all purpose for a mess, I absolutely have to use the Method after because it makes them look nice and clean, not streaked at all.  I use their Tub and Tile Spray Cleaner in our bathroom, and so far so good.  I use their Hardwood Cleaner, and the only complaint I have is that you better like that "almond" smell because it lasts for a bit, but my floors gleam. And G was a little wary about switching to their dish soap, worried it wouldn't work as well as Dawn, but now he loves it and actually (yes, my husband is as into cleaning products as me and will lecture people on baking soda) was raving about it just last week.  We use the grapefruit scent and it's wonderful!


I do want to try the Method dishwasher soap, but G has been reluctant to give up his electrosol (I need to remind him how much he loves their regular dish soap), and we need to find a non-chemical toilet cleaner (we haven't tried the method tile and tub, it might work with a cloth....and G is military, so he's used to using things like that).  Is anyone else grossed out by the traditional toilet bowl brushes.  I always feel like they are there lurking, full of germs in my bathroom.  If you have any recommendations for other cleaning product you think I should try, just let me know!  A lot of what we use in our home is simple ingredients, and we will be talking about that tomorrow!