clean me!!!

Wash your hands!!! How many times have you told your kids that? From the time my kids wake up in the morning until they go to bed at night i am constantly reminding them to sanitize themselves. Why is it so hard to remember to do so after using the potty for a three year old?!?!

Well for starters the faucet is impossible for such little fingers to manuver. To remedy this prediciment I have started looking into hand sanitizers, you know, the waterless kind that you simply squirt on and rub in. Though not a thorough cleansing it does the job until I can start the dryer and make the trek from the basement up to help them do it properly.

Sadly though I have seen the news reports of kids becoming deathly sick from ingesting commercial products due to the alcohol they are made from, and I also get concerned because if you are killing bacteria (a good thing right?) and humans are made from and actually thrive on bacteria what else are we actually killing?

I found a fabulous recipe for an all natural hand sanitizer that you can tweak to suit your own preferences, remember this is not to take the place of regular handwashing but it does help out in those situations where you need a quick clean.

What you need to get started:

100% pure aloe vera gel
witch hazel
tea tree oil
peppermint oil

Then to create it just:

Add 1 cup of pure aloe vera gel into a bowl

Slowly mix in 1-2 teaspoons of Witch Hazel. (you do not want the consistency of the gel to become too thin)

Add 3-4 drops of tea tree essential oil, and 3-4 drops of peppermint essential oil.

Slowly stir ingredients together.

(If you find the consistency to be too thin, add more aloe vera gel a teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency)

Store in any desired container and use as you would any other hand sanitizer

*The ingredients in this mixture are safe and natural to use on your body. witch hazel, tea tree oil and peppermint all have antiseptic and astringent properties to them, which make them great for killing germs and also healing small cuts and wounds. The aloe vera gel will help soothe skin and keep skin from drying out


**Tips & warnings
You can add other scented essential oils to the mixture for a more pleasant scent such as lavender oil or rose oil and if you find the tea tree oil and peppermint oil scent to strong, use lesser amounts

Witch hazel and tea tree oil can cause excessive dryness in people with sensitive skin, if you find this occurring, limit the use of your sanitizer to a few times a day

I send my kids to school with a small container in their backpacks and keep pumps in each bathroom.

Stay fresh and have a fabulous week!!!

green laundry

My sweet little princess...okay so that MAY be a bit of a stretch...is suffering with a recurrent bout of eczema. No matter what i cut from her diet or add with minerals or herbs the poor little monkey just keeps scratching. I have always washed the girls clothes seperatley from their big brothers', fathers's and mine and even used the special "baby brands," though I recently switched to the arm and hammer natural detergent for the entire family.

This week I decided to test run some new brands and would love to share them with you...of course they are all green, contain no phosphates and I always go for unscented.

I am currently waiting for my sample of these cute little "dropps" laundry detergent pellets but I really like the info I read on their website regarding their philosophy:

"Healthier for the planet:

Their footprint: Because dropps eliminates all water from our detergent pacs — the same water that’s already in your washer — our formula saves millions of gallons a year.

Green and friendly: dropps keeps your clothes as clean as your conscience. Letting fish breathe happily, aquatic plants bloom and high-efficiency washers do their thing. How very low-impact."

These are just 2 of the statements that caught my attention on the dropps website

Another brand that I currently use for my fabric softerner (as well as countless other household cleaners) and love, love, love is the method line of products. Along with their commitment to keeping our planet healthy their mission statement really wowed me...you can read it at "method humanifesto"

There are SO many more brands out there and thankfully more of the "mainstream" lines...ie clorox, are coming out with their own now also, however my favorite brand so far is the Shaklee line.

You may have seen the Oprah show which touted the family and earth friendliness of this product, and having been a user for awhile now I can totally agree, there is no chemically clean smell what so ever, things are clean and I am over the moon with how the products are all condensed!!! With 4 kids and a husband you can imagine I have very little room to store cleaning products, but REALLY need to keep a stock of them. Shaklee has it covered, for instance one bottle of their "Basic H2TM Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate" is used to fill a bottle for windows and mirrors, a degreaser bottle and even an all purpose cleaner. Being the skeptic that I am I knew the mirror/ window cleaner would be the greatest test...well I have to tell you after cleaning every window and mirror in my home with no troublesome streaks I am SOLD!!! I even LOVE it for my stainless steel appliances!!!

This week I also found a discussion on Posh Mama from Posh Mama Kimberly offering a free membership so check her out!!!

Hope you all have a FABULOUS green week and feel free to send me some tips...I am ALWAYS on the lookout!!!