It's Not Easy Being Green...

The past few years we've been trying to be more "green" around our house. I don't think anything is more green than the new Delta septic system we had installed 5 yrs ago that cost us six grand but that's another story. lol The average person uses around 20-25 gallons of toxic cleaning products in their home each year. Hearing that we're all dumping all sorts of nasty chemicals in our oceans and lakes should make anyone want to go green, or you'd think so.

We got a bunch of "green" soap based product 9 years ago when we bought our water softener so we've been using that as far as dish and hand soap. We use oatmeal soap in the shower. My problem is cleaners and hair care. I can't seem to find anything decent in either. I have looked at Lush over and over and can't decide whether to try it or not. It would be quite a change using a bar-like shampoo. Another conflict is all purpose cleaner itself. We've tried the Oxy Clean but right now I'm using Clorox Green Works since it's in the store and cheap. My problem is the smell and maybe it's because I'm pregnant now but lemon and coconut mixed just aren't doing it for me. I actually can stand cleaning better with plain ol vinegar then I can with the Green Works.

My next switch eventually will be laundry soap. This is a tricky one because of sensitive skin and eczema we have here in our household. I would love suggestions if anyone has any. I've thought about trying Arm and Hammer's Essentials or Purex Natural Elements but I also don't want to have rashes on everyone. Right now we use Purex Free and Clear.

So what do you use? I have no problem "making" natural cleaners. Vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice work fine for me. Really though, why do we buy cleaners? It doesn't make much sense when we have natural products right here at home. I had a recipe for homemade laundry soap but again with the sensitive skin, I'm not sure if I should put the effort into it.