Posts Tagged green
Posted by Candice on August 31, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Cleaning Up Myths About Green Cleaning
You may be considering whether or not to make the switch to green cleaning and find that there is a wealth of information available about how to go about making the switch. You may have heard that green cleaning is not as effective as traditional cleaning methods. This is the most common myth. Let’s did a little deeper into this common misconception:
- Myth: Green cleaning products don’t work as well as more-toxic cleaning products.
While there are many cleaning products making claims of being green there is also a great deal of green washing. There are also legitimately green products which do not deliver when it comes to cleaning power. When making your choice diligently check ingredients and then narrow down your choice based on reviews that rate the products’ effectiveness. Sometimes different products from different brands are required for particular tasks. It is not always possible to choose a favorite brand and then just stick with their range. For example, after trying many we found our favorite dishwasher tab based on performance was the Ecover Dish Tabs but when it comes to our general multi-purpose cleaner and scouring product we like Clearly Essential’s natural range.
- Myth: The stronger the smell, the cleaner the clean.
We have all become accustomed to the strong chemical odor of the major brand cleaning products and associate that strong lemon scent with clean but when it comes to green cleaning products we do not need to sacrifice a pleasant odor we just need to adjust our expectations to allow for the subtler scents like tea tree oil, lavender and cinnamon. Essential oils which are an important adjunct to most natural cleaning products do add a pleasant odor and in part, such as in the case of tea tree oil, increase the effectiveness of the cleaner.
- Myth: Modern products are more effective.
When it comes to cleaning the old tried and true methods used by generations of home makers are still valid and effective. Good old soap and hot water are still effective ways to clean and sanitize your hands, cutting boards, sinks, kitchen counters and stove tops. If a little more grease cutting action is required the essential oil of Eucalyptus does a great job and the pantry staple cornstarch absorbs grease very well. There are many traditional pantry items which can be put to work around the house as part of a cleaning caddy.
- Myth: Green Cleaning does not have sufficient germ fighting power.
It is important to remember that certain bacteria are very useful to use. There bacteria live on our hands, in our mouths and form part of our gut. The indiscriminate use of anti-bactrial products seems to have done more harm than good. Eliminating all bacteria should not be the goal of your cleaning regime but rather to limit or remove the ones which can cause illness. There are natural and biodegradable options such as tea tree oil which is a good broad spectrum germicide, fungicide, and bacteriacide. Other options include vinegar and borax.
Bidmycleaning.com providers who are able to or who exclusively use natural cleaning products can be selected using a special filter in our marketplace bid request or by using our special green cleaning calculator located in our Eco-Friendly section.
Posted by Candice on March 11, 2010 at 13:25 pm
Green Cleaning Biodegradability
With all the products entering the market with claims of being green, organic and eco-friendly, how does one determine whether one of these products really does fit the green cleaning bill?
One important concept is biodegradability. Merriam Webster defines biodegradability as “capable of being broken down especially into innocuous products by the action of living things”. However, even though a product may say it is biodegradable, it may not be environmentally friendly. If a product manufacturer claims their product is biodegradable you should still take the additional step of checking that the ingredients are all natural and that when it down break down that those end particles are environmentally safe.
When it comes to marketing claims made by green product manufacturers, while green and eco-friendly are the most common, biodegradable does get used quite a bit too. There is no watchdog body checking to see whether these product claims are really valid and unless all the ingredients listed are recognizable to the consumer it is not a simple matter to determine how biodegradable they really are.
The best way to know exactly how eco-friendly your green cleaning products are is to make them at home using ingredients you know and trust.
Posted by Candice on February 19, 2010 at 14:34 pm
Friday
Today’s web find is a wonderful source of information on natural health, living a naturally healthy lifestyle and integrating natural, organic and green products into your life. We are beginning to understand more and more how harmful preservatives, food coloring, harsh chemicals, growth hormones and/or pesticides can be linked to degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. It is becoming more important to be informed about new research on these and on how to protect yourself and your family. The Naturally Savvy website is a great place to start.
The focus at Naturally Savvy is on Food and Nutrition, Health and Wellness, living mindfully and naturally green. Resources include Savvy TV, Savvy Forums, Savvy Blogs and an Ask The Experts form. The experts in this case are Andrea Donsky, Registered Holistic Nutritionist (R.H.N.) and co-founder of NaturallySavvy.com with Randy Boyer, Lisa Tsakos, NaturallySavvy’s very own Registered Nutritionist and other contributors on topics ranging from sports nutrition to pet care.
In the category of most interest to us, green cleaning, the focus is on “teach[ing] you how to scrub your home inside and out without hurting the environment or your family.” Recent posts include “Cleaning Naturally Improves Indoor Air Quality” and green floor cleaning and an interesting one on UV-C Light Technology, although you won’t be using this in your home any time soon.
Visit today and you will find lots to enjoy.
Posted by Candice on January 22, 2010 at 00:36 am
Friday
Greenopolis are about doing good. They want to make the world a better place and try to do this by providing positive solutions. Their specific focus is on recycling, reusing, repurposing and conservation.
The Greenopolis belief is that “to actually change the world, recycling and preserving our precious natural resources must be easy and rewarding.” There is a reward system called “Think Green Rewards” which can be earned in several ways. The rewards can be redeemed for discounts and coupons to me used on meals, entertainment, dining, travel and more. Their partners include Marriott, Dominos Pizza and Blockbuster.
At their website, Greenopolis.com , you earn rewards by blogging, commenting and inviting other to join the website community. The website content is focused on proving information and tools to help you recycle easily, learn about conservation and saving our natural resources. The website philosophy is to educate and reward while providing content that is positive, fun to read, visually interesting and provides links to more information where applicable.
The other way to earn rewards is returning aluminum cans and PET to GreenOps Tracking Stations which are being deployed at locations like Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego and Whole Foods Markets. You can find more locations at their website.
Posted by Candice on December 2, 2009 at 23:41 pm
Green and Clean Holiday Season - The Tree
This is the first in our holiday season series about how to have a green and clean holiday season. In this first post we look at the tree!
For those celebrating Christmas, the tree aside from Santa and the Nativity is the most recognizable icon. When it comes to the Christmas Tree is seems the debate centers around real or fake/artificial. Just in the past two days I have seen people sharing their opinions on Facebook and Twitter and it seems people have strong feelings on the topic but there is no consensus.
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Posted by Candice on October 23, 2009 at 15:16 pm
Friday
GoodGuide provides the world’s largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home. There is definitely a growing interest in the impacts of the products we buy – on our health, on the environment and on society. There are more people buying organic and more people who can tell you what fair trade means and why it is important. Sometimes though, unless you’ve got a Ph.D, it is almost impossible to wade through the marketing speak to determine what the impacts of the products actually are. That is where The Good Guide comes in.
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Posted by Candice on October 19, 2009 at 17:12 pm
Green Cleaning Pantry
Castile soap is a very economical addition to your green cleaning pantry. Used alone or together with some of the other staples listed in our green cleaning pantry is can be used to clean just about everything in your home – including you! This all natural soap gets its name from the Castile region of Spain. Now the term Castile soap is used for any mild soap usually with only natural ingredients. While castile soap was originally made from olive oil there are now many variants using oils ranging from coconut to jojoba.
In your home castile soap is a great all purpose cleaner and can be used for everything from laundry to dishwashing and degreasing. If you need something with a little disinfecting punch add some tea tree oil and/or vinegar and when the job needs some abrasive action mix castile soap with some baking soda.
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Posted by Candice on October 9, 2009 at 15:43 pm
Friday
Green Technology Daily is online news and information for everyday people seeking real-time information on what environmental responsibility and sustainability means to you or your business and how to apply to everyday life.
Green Technology Daily keeps you up-to-date on developing green trends, products and business practices with some examples being your carbon footprint, green products for your home, choosing a fuel-efficient car or learning about the current White House policy on renewable energy.
You can find topics of interest to you in the categories of Green Living, Green Policy, Energy, Environment, Technology & Investing and Transportation.
In their EarthTalk section, a recent question was about energy efficiency incentives for homeowners. If you’ve been considering upgrading your water heater to a more efficient version or installing solar panels then you’ll be interested in the response.
A recent article of interest looks at how the economic crisis has slowed climate change – finding the upside in the recession. Another looks at the growth in the market for organic coffee making it the single most valuable organic product imported into North America. We are a nation of coffee lovers for sure so this shift in demand can surely be seen as an indicator of a wider growth in demand for organic and natural beverages, foods and products. Even in the face of this tough recession people are prepared to pay more for organic.
News includes the passing of the nation’s toughest mandatory composting and recycling law by San Francisco which will require everyone to have three separate color-coded bins and sort their trash using blue for recycling, green for compost and black for trash. An interesting fact I learned from this article is that material like food scraps and plant clippings that go into landfills decompose to form methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide … aside from the fact that they take up costly space.
Green Technology Daily isn’t as light and fun as some of our recent links but if you’re looking for the latest happenings on the green front with solid reporting then it is worth a visit.
Posted by Candice on October 2, 2009 at 14:25 pm
Friday
Billed as “The place where good lives – good news, good style, and good deeds…” Tonic.com‘s mission is to make it easy for people to do good things. To be narrow it down a little look to the definition of Tonic which is “anything morally, mentally, or physically inspiring”.
The good is categorized as follows: us / world / business / social responsibility/ technology / science / entertainment / life & style and travel. A little bit of serious business mixed in with some fun! There is a handy quick navigation list at the bottom of the page with sub-categories.
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Posted by Candice on October 2, 2009 at 10:30 am
Friday's Eco-Friendly Find
As it’s name implies, Do The Green Thing is all about inspiring green action. Their belief is that individuals can make an impact but a community can make a much bigger one and in so doing, encourage governments and businesses to follow suit. They have inspired people from 202 countries that have visited the site 4 million times, told 52,054 stories, and saved 11,389.00 tonnes of CO2. Green Thing, a not-for-profit public service that is Green Thing is endorsed by some of the planet’s leading environmental thinkers, uses videos and inspiring stories from around the world to highlight 7 key things you can do to lead a greener life because they believe entertainment is very inspiring while lecturing is less so.
What are the seven things?
- Walk The Walk
- Stay Grounded
- All Consuming
- Easy On The Meat
- Human Heat
- Plug Out
- Stick With What You Got
All seven are pretty self evident as to what they encourage. For example ‘Walk the Walk’ is about getting from A to B without any C ie. car and ‘Plug Out’ is a their take on a philosophy being promoted by all green initiatives which essentially encourages people to cut the use of electricity-guzzling electronics and not leave electronics plugged in. ‘All Consuming’ promotes the the art of wasting nothing and using up everything or “one man’s biscuit tin is another man’s tool box” and “let everything be born again as something spangly and useful”. Their latest initiative in this category is the ‘Glove Love’ campaign which encourages people to send in their mismatched gloves to be matched with a partner and then sent to a glove loving new owner.
An interesting item I found under their ‘innovation’ tag is Amazon’s initiative to be less wasteful with right-sizing their packaging by having “software determine the “right-sized” box for any given item based on dimension and weight”. Hopefully this means a whole lot less of the dreaded packing peanuts and sealed air bags will make their way to landfills. The blog is also a great read with lots of fun features like the one showing how you can use one black dress 365 days of the year and still have a different outfit each day and another featuring the best environmental poster ads.
To keep up with what’s new and newsy at Green Thing follow them on Twitter – http://twitter.com/dothegreenthing but definitely make sure you stop by sometime.
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