Cleaning

So, I totally don't ever want to be preachy and self-righteous, in fact, my main motivation for the following is to save money and have my non-baby-proofing ways finally be legit.

That's right, I haven't ever done much of any baby-proofing. After the first time we drilled holes in all our kitchen cabinets to install little gadgets that Warren figured out in 7.2 seconds, I was done with all that. Sure, the occasional gate at the top of the stairs and making sure bathroom doors get shut after use, but really I mostly train our little ones what not to get into and they are rarely if ever left alone in a room for more than 3 seconds.

Now that we've established that, here is what I've been up to:

[my new Minky indoor clothesline makes me so happy -- so I haven't used my dryer to dry clothes in so many months I can't recall -- no more dryer sheets and significantly reduced electricity bill, house gets a humidity boost, clothes last longer!]


It offers over 40 feet of line between 4 lines and 4 pegs for things like jackets, which more than accommodates an entire load of our laundry. The whole things retracts into the wall with a touch of a button too!

[as for the actual washing, Soap Nuts!! I am a huge fan and recently bought them in bulk, enough to last up to 2 years for... $35. And in case that isn't enough wow factor in savings, you also don't use any fabric softener. And they are biodegradable/compostable and work fantastic. Our clothes are cleaner and softer than ever. I also switched to using hydrogen peroxide instead of bleach on the whites and the results were so dramatic that when I put the white washclothes in the kitchen drawer with the others that hadn't been washed with h202, the difference was astounding. The dingy bleached ones really looked sad.

Also, just added some essential oils to the mix and am in love. Lavender for bedding and Tea Tree Oil in just about every other load. Just a few drops in the fabric softener dispenser and the whole house smells amazing while the load is going and the clothes come out with just the most subtle touch of fragrance and the Tea Tree Oil acts as a natural disinfectant, super!]


So, the laundry is totally squared away but that doesn't do much for those typical toxic storage zones under the sinks, right? Enter another new favorite:

[these "No More Chemicals" microfiber clothes are outstanding. They have micro particle silver in them as a natural anti bacterial agent, so you just use water with them. Yes, you JUST use water! They go in the washing machine as often as you see fit up to 100 times, with the only stipulation being not to use fabric softener with them (not to worry, ha!) I have the general purpose one, the one specific for glass, one specific for kitchen, and one specific for bathroom -- and slowly the toxic dump under the sinks is diminishing, never to be restocked again!]


In fact, the hardest part of this is forcing myself to use the remaining detergents and chemical cleaners that I have just to use them up and not waste them. But with each empty plastic bottle of mystery chemicals I take to the recycle bin, I know I am getting there. Admittedly it is taking a bit longer than I ever imagined to make it through our stock-pile of cleaning agents, it is amazing how much stuff we had stashed in the garage and under the sinks. Now, what will I do with all the free space?!

Hmmm, and does blogging about cleaning count as cleaning?