Replace five conventional household cleaners with these simple castile soap cleaning solutions. Save money and eliminate toxic cleaners from your home! Castile soap is one of my greatest green and natural loves. It is made from plant-based oils and free of artificial foaming agents, harsh cleansers and detergents, petrochemicals, and anti-bacterial agents like triclosan. I use castile soap as the base for almost all of my homemade natural cleaning recipes because it is so effective. … [Read more...]
Winter Gear Storage Solution: Simple DIY Shelf & Bench
This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Behr. The opinions and text are my own. Winter is right around the corner here in Northern Indiana, and for all of us who live in cold and snowy climates we know that along with winter comes lots and lots and lots of winter gear. Our entryway becomes overrun with snow boots, coats, snow pants, hats, gloves, and scarves, in addition to our regular bags, backpacks, shoes, and more. Since we use this gear for as much as five months out of the … [Read more...]
10 Ways to Clean with Salt
One of the very first changes I made when moving toward a more green and natural lifestyle was to ditch all of the chemical filled conventional cleaners I had simply assumed were the best way to clean my house. Since that time I've experimented with many, many different natural and non-toxic cleaners and homemade cleaning recipes. I've found my favorites that have a permanent spot in my cleaning supply cabinet, as well as made some mistakes along the way. I continue to be amazed that there … [Read more...]
DIY Kitchen Storage Boxes
*This is a guest post by my husband, Jeremy, who loves woodworking and builds us beautiful and functional stuff for our home. Because so many people commented asking about our kitchen storage boxes, I'm so thankful he took the time to put together this DIY tutorial for you! This post contains affiliate links. By Jeremy McClements I have wanted to join the fray and add a DIY post here for a while now. I love building and creating projects for our family. I take ideas I find other places and … [Read more...]
50+ Tempting Cold Drink Recipes to Help You Kick The Soda Habit!
Summer is here! And one of the things that I really missed when our family first made the switch to real food was soda (or pop, Coke, soda pop, fizzy drink, or whatever else you might call it!) I knew that soda was really bad for me, but there's just something about that ice cold carbonated drink that I especially crave when it's super hot outside! What I don't like though, is the effects that soda has on my body! I get headaches and really bad back pains and aches whenever I drink it. So, … [Read more...]
Is a Vinegar and Baking Soda Mixture Effective for Cleaning?
You sprinkle and pour and watch the satisfying bubbles rise up. You watch the bubbles pop and feel proud that you're using a safe and non-toxic cleaning solution. The bubbles fade away and you scrub down your sink, toliet, tub, or counter. But do you really know what you're actually scrubbing around and how effective it is? I learned something interesting last month when I wrote a post over on Keeper of the Home about vinegar not being a great non-toxic cleaner. Some people love their vinegar … [Read more...]
Green Cleaning with Lemon Essential Oil {Green in 365}
This is Day 221 of the Green in 365 series! Guest Post by Krissa of More Than Mundane: If you've been following along with the Green in 365 series, you've likely heard some about the dangers of cleaning with conventional cleaners that are loaded with harsh chemicals. There are many all natural alternatives to cleaning that are just as effective as conventional cleaners, but that don't cause irritation to your skin, eyes, and airways and that you can feel safe using in your … [Read more...]
Choosing Natural Deodorant That Works!
This is Day 100 of the Green in 365 series! Woo-hoo! By Kim from The Soulicious Life Something stinks! As far as modern-day society has come with scientific developments, many bath and beauty products in the U.S. are still decades behind. This includes antiperspirants and deodorants. They were developed to prevent stink, but the irony is that many common ingredients in these products – some of which you cannot pronounce – are just plain toxic. They can contribute to serious health … [Read more...]
5 Reasons to Avoid Chemical Cleaners: Green Spring Cleaning {Green in 365}
This is Day 73 of the Green in 365 series! Last week for Spring we talked about decluttering as a part of Spring Cleaning, and once you've worked on clearing out some of the clutter, you may also get the urge to do some deep cleaning. (Full Disclosure: I don't get the deep cleaning bug very often, so no judgement from me if you don't either!) I want to encourage you though, as you're getting ready to do your Spring Cleaning, to ditch the toxic, chemical-filled cleaners and … [Read more...]
Skip the Non-Stick Spray! {Green in 365: The Kitchen}
This is Day 57 of the Green in 365 series! Today is a super quick and easy kitchen tip for how to grease pans without non-stick cooking spray. First let's just talk quickly about why we should skip using non-stick cooking spray. • They use propellents like nitrous oxide which is a greenhouse gas and depletes the ozone. • They contain many unhealthy and possibly even toxic ingredients, including soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, dimethylpolysiloxane, dimethyl silicone, and … [Read more...]