Everyone seems to be catching on to the green trend in techniques and materials for buildings and homes. Something people rarely think about is the way they clean these spaces. It doesn’t matter how much effort goes into the design and execution of your project if you don’t maintain the property in a green way. Think about this the next time you clean your windows with a toxic product or wash your whites with bleach. The amount of toxins that go into your space is alarming. What we’ve been taught to think of as a ” fresh, clean” smell is actually pretty bad for our bodies and the environment. This hit home on my recent trip to a friend’s newly constructed condo. We walked in the door and the new paint fumes (off gassing) hit me like a truck. I told her she needed to open the windows for at least a week before bringing her 2 1/2 week old infant to live in the space. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, “but I love the smell”.
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day are my favorite cleaning products. With smells like lavender, basil and geranium, cleaning is as fragrant as cooking a meal. I scout Ross and Marshall’s for Mrs. Meyer’s on sale because it’s not cheap. I also came across greenhome.com for great deals on healthy, earth friendly cleaners. Just be careful, buying a bunch of stuff isn’t very green and this site is full of goodies!
