Have you considered how healthy is your home environment? O
ne area is environmentally safe cleaning products and non toxic chemicals. Friends who knew us well had commented that our home was toxic and perhaps that was not only affecting the environment but also our health as a family. Like many people we had our share of normal, whatever normal means, of aches, pains, illnesses, sleep issues and more. But basically we considered ourselves a healthy family.
After several remarks and noticing more advertising on TV and magazines about going green for our homes and global environment, I started by doing some research. Doing some Google Searches on the area of toxins in the home, especially cleaning supplies and their relationship to health, I found myself becoming more informed. We talked it over and decided to make a change.
For our family it was an all our nothing approach, or as my grandmother would say, “in for a penny, in for a pound”, not that you might do it this way but it sure worked out best in the long run. My husband and I took a Saturday, many boxes and went room to room, collecting anything that had toxic chemicals or fragrances (especially since some of us had allergies to fragrances). Our boxes grew as we cleared through each room.
Especially notable were the vast amounts of cleaning products and none of them had fallen into the category of environmentally safe cleaning supplies. Also very notable was that many products were needed for different cleaning situations. The cost started ringing up in my mind. Many were rarely used and often dried up and unusable.
Once the whole house was done, top to bottom, we were totally shocked at what we spent and on reading labels, what we had been exposing ourselves and family to. Wake up time had hit us head on.
Through research and the advice of friends we changed over to totally non toxic biodegradable cleaning supplies. As well as, house rules, NO fragrance like incense, perfumes, colognes, or even in the personal care line. Yes a minor revolt among the teens but we were determined to do this experiment. We threw open the doors and windows to freshen the air.
The outcome was dramatic, not only did we save money because the quality biodegradable fragrance free products lasted much longer; most were also used for multiple purposes. Saving money was a big feature since at first glance they were more expensive but when comparing how much was used to do the same job, there was no comparison in almost every case.
The second area for us was quality when using them. I found better results and an additional surprise. What does clean smell like? Well for Grandma it was Pine, no pine smell or ammonia, and then could not possibly be clean. Clean has no smell. That took a head shaking review.
Lastly health was considered. For us everyone noticed some responses after sometimes only a day or two, others took a week or more to honestly report results. Included were: no need for allergy medicines from home toxins, better attitudes, less angry out bursts or depression, back aches melted away, some of us slept better, headaches decreased, and more. This was a surprise in such a short time, especially when temperament of teens improved. Now you certainly might not have the same results, or they might be in different areas. No guaranteed is made. I’m sure environmentally safe cleaning products for floors, laundry, kitchen needs and all other areas were the same or even better in quality. So now we are a Goes Green Home and on the eye for other ways to keep our environment safe and healthy for all. More serious medical issues can be researched and evaluated as well.
