Green Cleaning Workshop

Over the last few years there have been so many new 'green' events popping up around the city. It is really promising.

There is a great green cleaning event taking place this Friday organised by ecohub. Unfortunately I can't make it but thought I would pass it on to any Perthite that might be around the city at lunchtime.

They have also compiled some information about non-toxic cleaners including recipe.

If anyone manages to go, I'd love to read about it.

Take care

Holiday Cleaning

Cleaning is something that doesn't usually excite me. It doesn't matter how far down that to-do list I get, there are always a number of jobs that are ready to replace those that have been crossed-off.

Today I decided to break open the orange and vinegar cleaner that I started a few weeks ago. I have been turning the jar and watching the vinegar change colour so figured I should check out how well it worked.

I thought I would jump into the deep end and start with the shower floor. With a bit of a scrub and a wipe, it seemed to work really well. The best part being that there was no over-powering smell that usually means I need to evacuate the bathroom. There was a hint of orange but not too strong.

I will certainly be making this again.

We are heading off for a few days to catch up with family, so I am spending the day cleaning. I really don't understand why I am happy to live amongst half finished housework on a daily basis but as soon as we go away, and are not actually going to be living in the house, I feel this need to have everything spotless.

I am hoping to be able to get online on Sunday and draw the winner of the Environmental Toothbrush giveaway, otherwise it will be one of the first jobs when I get back (seeing as all of the housework will have been done.)

Take care

P.S. Just realised that it is a year ago today that we headed off on our big adventure and six months to the day since our return. Time is flying.

No 'Poo is On My Mind

I can't believe it was nearly two years ago that I first read about the No "Poo way of cleaning hair.

Being a child of the 70s and 80s I always though that unless my hair smelled of some exotic fruit from the jungles of a far off tropical isle, it just wasn't clean.

My hair had always been quite fine and oily (I thought) so through my teens it was washed, conditioned, blow-dried and styled just about every day.

As I have got older, the shampoo and conditioner changed to the more expensive brands and the 'product' was only purchased from the salon, as I thought this was all so much better for my hair. Being a everyday consumer, I had never read the ingredients on the back of any of the bottles and shudder to think about the chemicals I have been massaging into my scalp for the last .... (cough) years. What frightens me more really is the impact of the kiddoes.

In the year before going No 'Poo I had pretty much changed to organic products where possible, which I felt was a good compromise.

There was never really an a'ha moment (I know you are all humming "Take On Me"). I just thought "Why not give it a try".

It has been about a year now and I would not go back to chemicals in my hair. I have even stopped colouring it. My hair feels amazingly soft and only needs to be washed twice a week. I have stopped using any sort of product what-so-ever as it feels quite a bit thicker. The amazing difference I have noticed with the kiddoes is the lack of knots. Combing wet hair used to be an Extreme Sport in this house, but not anymore.

There are so many benefits.

• No more chemicals massaged into the skin.
• No more irritations from fragrances.
• No more screams from shampoo in eyes.
• No need to worry about animal testing.
• No more chemicals down the drain.
• Nowhere near as many empty bottles as I buy bicarb in bulk. I take my own jars and pay between $2 and $3 a kilo. I just need to find a place where I can buy Apple Cider Vinegar in bulk.
• The money we have saved.

One down-side is that I wouldn't travel overseas with a little container of white powder in my luggage. I think that could raise a few eyebrows.

Thanks for joining me with On My Mind.

Take care

Washing Powder, Take 2

I started a post of making my own washing powder a few weeks ago when I was feeling very organised. I think I must have been preparing myself for the onslaught of work and knowing that I would barely be able to string two words together, let alone an entire sentence.

When I first started this blog I mentioned that I would be asking for help. This is one of those posts.

About six months ago I stopped buying laundry powder and started making my own trialling recipes that I had found on blogs. I was really happy with the results, feeling that I was doing the right thing for my family. While at a Living Smart course recently, we looked at 'greener' ways to clean. This is something that I thought we were doing well here with things like vinegar, bi carb, lemon... One of the ingredients we looked at was borax. It comes up in a lot of washing powder recipes and I hadn't really thought twice about as it even says on the label that it is a 'non-toxic alternative'. One of the ladies questioned the safety of it, especially as it says to 'Keep out of reach of children'.

I looked at some articles here and here. Now I know that anyone can put articles up on the internet, but it made me think.

Now I am not sure if I am over-reacting.

I found a borax-free alternative here.

There is also the soapnut option as tried by cityhippyfarmgirl.

What do you use?