The
Green Your Insides Challenge is about greening your home, and paying attention to what you put on your body, in your body, and around your body.
Cleaning my bathroomThere was a time when I only used the latest chemical products to clean the bathroom. The bathroom has a lot of different surfaces so there was a super shower cleaner, creme cleanser for the hand basin & bathtub, spray and wipe type product for walls, towel racks, etc., glass cleaner for the window & mirror, a toilet cleanser and something fancy for the floor. That was six different cleaning products creating a chemical nightmare in the smallest room of the house!
It all changed when I went to the naturopath about my dermatitis 12 years ago (see
Greening My Insides #1 ) and I started learning how to live chemical free. Slowly all those harsh chemical cleaners were replaced with greener products or
homemade cleaners, then these were whittled down to the few items I use today.
I clean my shower with a cheap organic shampoo and a green scourer sponge.
Method: Squirt a small amount of shampoo onto a wet scourer and scrub the tiles, tap fittings and glass screen. Rinse off with water. Open the window so the breeze blows through and air dries the shower, or you can can wipe the shower dry with a dry cloth.
Hint: Once you have the whole shower sparkling clean, keep the scourer & shampoo in the shower and quickly clean one wall or screen each time you have a shower. You will never have to do a major clean of the shower again :-)
Toilet: I clean inside the toilet bowl (and under the seat) with cheap vinegar and a toilet brush.
Method: Pour some vinegar into the toilet bowl. Grab the toilet brush, scrub the inside of the bowl and under the seat, then let the brush sit in the bowl for a while. How long is "a while" you may be asking.... while I clean the rest of the bathroom.... or I just leave it there until the next time I need to use the toilet, this option works better if nobody else is home at the time :-) After a while, brush the toilet bowl again and flush. Rinse the brush in the flushing water. Return the clean brush to it's holder. Wipe the rest of the toilet over with microfiber clothes (see below).
Window, mirror and all other surfaces: I clean the rest of the bathroom with
microfiber mitts and cloths.
Method: Dampen a microfiber mitt with water, clean the surface then wipe dry with a dry microfiber cloth.
Floor: I use a
microfiber mop.
Method: Open the window, mop floor with a damp microfiber mop and allow to air dry.
Notes: This style of cleaning saves me a lot of money, helps the environment and it's better for our health. Not only does this help my dermatitis, I've also noticed we get less coughs & colds since I've reduced the amount of chemicals in our home. Coincidence, or not?
I'm not fussy with brands of
microfiber mitts/cloths. I find the cheaper brands such Oates and Sabco work just as good as the expensive Enjo brand.
If you can't afford microfiber mitts/cloths, or you're a frugal shopper, try using face cloths. Just remember you need two cloths, one damp for cleaning, and one dry to finish off. This may be a greener option than microfiber and is what I plan on using when my microfiber cloths wear out.
Microfiber textiles tend to be flammable and emit toxic gases when burning. They are made with synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon (often constructed from polypropylene), which are made from petrochemicals. Microfibers are not made from a renewable resource and they are not biodegradable. However, the petroleum energy used in fertilizers, pesticides, transportation and processing to produce cotton and other renewable resource fibres may outweigh direct use of the petroleum as base stock for producing fibre.
Have a great day.
--
BevB
(can you spot the ducklings backside disappearing)
These are in flower now (not sure what they are)
.... and here's another shot of a gorgeous gardenia.
Bugs....
and this fellow was climbing the mango tree
We spotted them across the road from a friends house. They'd been put out for a council road side collection, so hubby grabbed them. The blue frame has Purple King Beans climbing up it, and the red one is waiting for the next bean planting day.
I have been waiting for hubby to make me a couple of compost bays from some mesh we are recycling, but he now has other plans for it! So I called in at Bunnings while I was in town yesterday and bought two more compost bins the same as the one above.
There's one plant each of Black Russian, Mortgage Lifter, Tigerella & Green Zebra. This will give us a chance to try these. I can then buy seeds of the ones we like.
Me, consume wheat grass..... I never thought I'd see the day!
.... and down the hatch it went!
This photo isn't the best as it was taken from across the road. I daren't go any closer in case they fly away.
I am finding loads of grasshoppers on the beans, eggplant and broccoli.
This cabbage moth was resting on an eggplant bush....
and this lycid beetle was on a lettuce.
Still trying to determine whether he's a good bug or a bad bug!
Off to do some research now!
These brown onions were grown from an old packet of seeds that was a few years out of date. I didn't expect them to grow so any harvest is a bonus :-)
The potatoes need hilling up again
Two sweet potato vines are coming along nicely in the bath tub experiment
This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day.
The plastic tank is for the house, and more recently the veggie patch. The tin tank is the original house tank and now provides water for 3 cows when the dam is low.
We can switch the house over to the tin tank when needed but rarely do. Having a second tank has made a big difference as we haven't needed to buy water for over two years
I call this hubby's "play water" :-) He can use this to wash our vehicles and anything else he feels like cleaning. He uses a pressure cleaner and has become more conservative so rarely runs out these days ;-)
Not a lot, but still better than nothing!
Method: Squirt a small amount of shampoo onto a wet scourer and scrub the tiles, tap fittings and glass screen. Rinse off with water. Open the window so the breeze blows through and air dries the shower, or you can can wipe the shower dry with a dry cloth.
Method: Pour some vinegar into the toilet bowl. Grab the toilet brush, scrub the inside of the bowl and under the seat, then let the brush sit in the bowl for a while. How long is "a while" you may be asking.... while I clean the rest of the bathroom.... or I just leave it there until the next time I need to use the toilet, this option works better if nobody else is home at the time :-) After a while, brush the toilet bowl again and flush. Rinse the brush in the flushing water. Return the clean brush to it's holder. Wipe the rest of the toilet over with microfiber clothes (see below).
Method: Dampen a microfiber mitt with water, clean the surface then wipe dry with a dry microfiber cloth.
Method: Open the window, mop floor with a damp microfiber mop and allow to air dry.
