The best part of moving house means that you also get to do a huge junk removal process. Before moving we got rid of tons of stuff (boxes of books, huge bags of clothes, furniture and kitchen gadgets) and we are still continuing this process. I have already taken a box to Value Village and have started a second!
While simplifying and minimalism are great ideas it is important not to just focus on reducing but the reasons why we simplify. It is not enough just to get rid of things, but a lot goes into deciding what to keep and what to toss. It's like editing a paper. (Prince Charming has gone back to school so academia is on my mind!)
One of my goals has been to streamline my cleaning products for a long time. I also wanted to keep the most effective and green products I could. Here's how I decided to finish up this goal.
MANY cleaners have toxic ingredients in them (formaldehyde, phosphates and a TON of other ingredients I could not pronounce). For a little while I chose to use a lot of Method cleaners, however when I tried to do research on them I found that they do not publish their exact list of ingredients. I also realized that they offer a huge amount of very specialized cleaners, which didn't really fit with trying to reduce the number of cleaners.
So, I have started using Shaklee products. Peter Pan & Wendy have been using these products (Peter Pan has been known to sing songs about them) since I was a little girl. I have myself used the "At-Ease" product to remove black permanent marker from a number of different surfaces. Wonder how I know that?
In terms of being a "green" product, Shaklee goes a long way to prove itself. In fact, after just a teeny bit of research I was able to find out that Shaklee is Green Seal approved for Industrial and Institutional Use. So I naturally looked at those regulations and was very happily surprised. Where before, when using Method Cleaners, I was unable to find any information on what exactly made them "green", with Shaklee I can read the list of requirements that they have met. The Shaklee company can honestly say they are non-toxic, biodegradable, do not irritate skin or eyes, have no ingredients that are carcinogens or reproductive disruptors (which seems to be the main problem with conventional cleaners) and the list goes on and on. But beyond all this I think my favourite feature is that the cleaner comes super concentrated and then I mix it to make different strengths of cleaner for different purposes. I use 1/4 tsp. of the cleaner to 16 oz. of water as a degreaser, to which I have added tea tree oil, a natural antiseptic, and now I have a anti-bacterial spray! There are 2 more bottles; one for windows and one is a basic all-purpose spray. I have been using these products exclusively for over a year and we aren't even 1/4 through the concentrated bottle.
I have also been replacing other cleaners with more natural ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar and essential oils. You can see the entire list below. (Click on it to enlarge)
In addition, I have completely eliminated using hardwood floor cleaner, wood polish & soap and a special steel cleaner. Thus, I have turned 17 cleaners into 7. That is over half!
Some Baddies that I still haven't replaced are:
Swiffer Dusters
Cascade ActionPacs
Jet-Dry
Chlorox Bleach
I guess I will need to order some Shaklee dishwasher soap! But as for the bleach, I use it a little as possible. Once it is used up (which might take 10 years) I will switch to oxygen bleach. But the idea of disposing it is probably worse than me using it up slowly over a long period of time. And the dusters are just fun! Since they are just plastic and some kind of cloth, I am not too concerned about their health effects, but they are kind of a waste of plastic.
So, does this inspire you to look through your cleaning supplies collection and try to clean out some items you don't need, or replace products with multi-use items?
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