Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Green Cleaning the Rawsome Nana Way

Until three years ago, this Nana was a Chemical Cleaning, Fast Food Junky Queen. I would see a cleaning product on T.V. that promised my house would be so clean that my grandchildren could eat off the floors. What mother or grandmother wouldn't want a house that clean? I would run to the nearest grocery store, purchase the wonder cleaner, return home and scrub and spray all those nasty little germs away. Then I would plug in those cute little air fresheners in everyroom..to disguise the smell of bleach and lysol. But, Nana couldn't stop there, had to have cookies, candy ( Nana Treats ) for my little angels. I never was much of a baker, so off to the store to buy those yummy sweet Little Debbie's.


I would anxiouxly wait at the door for my little visitors..So proud of my clean home and the plate of yummy Nana Treats displayed oh so cute on the kitchen table... This is how my childen were raised , in a home of chemicals and processed yummy food, so it had to be ok for my grandchildren

 Stop !! Turn back the clock!! Something went wrong, what had I done? Chemicals, processed food , toxins ? Its April 2009, sitting in doctors office with my 30 year old daughter. One word spoken changed our familys life forever, CANCER ! To make a long story short, over the past three years I have spend hours upon hours reseaching the different causes of cancer and hundreds of other ailments that are attacking our children and grandchilden.. What I discovered was that Nana was never going to use chemicals to clean her home again, and Nana Treats have changed a lot as well ! I can never be sure what caused my daughters cancer, but I do know that many of the products we eat and clean with are full of cancer causing ingredients. I can't turn back the clock, nor beat myself up over what I didn't know then. But I can and have made huge changes in my food and cleaning habits , because now I do know !

My desire and hope is that ,each of you will find my chemical free cleaning ideas helpful. The thought process most of us grew up with is, a clean house smells like bleach. Well you won't smell bleach in my house, but you will smell lemon, lavender, orange and lemon grass , now that smells like a clean house to me.

Nana's Soap Scum be Gone
1 cup Baking Soda
1 cup White Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Peppermint Castile Soap
You can make up batches of this in store in glass containers or purchase good spray bottles ( I don't purchase any thing I don't need, and find that saving glass jars works great ) I simply make it as needed.
For toilet, just pour mixture in , let set then scrub with brush and flush ( easy on septic too)
For sink and tub: I fill tub and sink with enough water to make lather with all above ingredients..use a old face cloth to scrub , then I use old t-shirts to dry..if you really want extra shine... put little bit of lemon juice on clean rag and shine away ... Smells awsome too :)

Organic Castile Soap
Dishes
Laundry
Shampoo, Body soap
Cleaning counter

Seriously that is all I use to clean all the above..
Almond Castile for hair
Hemp for Dishes
Peppermint for Laundry, and counters..
They also make in unscented, baby foremula, orange and lavender !!

For Cleaning my floors: I purchased a stream cleaner ( Shark ) over two years ago and I love it!!
I make a spray of lemon and water, spray on floor as I stream clean ... Talk about smeling good !! Now those are floors grandchildren would be safe eating off ( I use organic lemons even in my cleaning )

Got Ants in your house? This works like magic.. 3 Tablespoons Borax, 1/2 cup sugar ..1/4 cup hot water to dissolve borax, mix well.. dip cotton balls in mixture and set them around areas that ants appear to be.

This is only a few ideas, ones that work very well for me. I believe in keeping it simple.. I want a clean house, but its so much more important to me now to have a safe house for my loved ones. If I miss a germ or two , those germs can't cause as much havoc as the many chemicals we bring into our homes everyday. Not to mention the money I have saved. I used to spend close to $50.00 aweek just on cleaning supplies, paper towels, toxic air fresheners etc.. I haven't purchased a roll of paper towels in over a year.. Now I spend $20.00 dollars a month! Just think you save health, money and the enviroment!

I  hope you have found this blog helpful. That it has encouraged you to become more aware of the products that you bring into your home. Home is our haven, the place we feel safe, loved and protected... Say I Love You with Lemons, not Lysol !!

 I 'm a mother, wife, grandmother, sister, daughter, friend . My life was turned upside down with one word, in less than a minute.All that I knew and believed to be true, was changed forever. I went from go with the flow, wanting what ever one else had, buying into all the newest fads, fashions, must haves.. too Momma Lion , questioning, reseaching , trying to find an answer to all my why's. What I found is not meant to scare you, but to make you question and do your own reseach.Prevention is the Cure..You are your own master, your home is your palace..you get to choose who you invite in.. Hang a Not Welcome Sign to chemicals and toxins. Remember , babysteps, are how we all learn to walk in a different enviroment then we are used to. When you walk in your home , breath, smile and know that you are Momma Lion and you are the protector of your domain :)

There are many sites that you can find list of harmful chemicals in everyday products .I urge you to take a moment and just read .Simple actions can have Big Reactions ...

You can find out more about me, my story and my mission at rawsomenana.blogspot.com
You can find more of my cleaning tips there as well.

You can also view my story on utube... seach Debbie Berry A Mothers Story .. An interview by A Healthy And Clean Maine Allaince..




Wishing you Happy Green Smoothie sipping in your Lemon Scented , chemical free home !