eleothegreat Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 We all know about global warming, and we all understand the damage its slowly causing to our planet, and the damage it will cause if we don't do anything to stop it. But are we doing enough? Here are some simple green living tips that we can follow and incorporate in our daily lives. These aren't only environment friendly but health friendly as well. A Healthy Home You don't need to use a slew of disinfectants and bleaches to keep your home clean. You don't need to fill your home (and the environment) with toxic residue from your cleaning products. Here are some simple ways to clean green, without the guilt of shortchanging your family's living environment. Baking Soda. Meet baking soda, the wonder product. You can use baking soda for a lot of things. Sprinkle it on a damp cloth or sponge, and it can work as a gentle and non abrasive countertop cleanser. Use it as well for your bathtubs, sinks, windows, fiber glass and oven. Put a box of baking soda inside your fridge to eliminate refrigerator odors. A cup of baking soda in the laundry takes away the chemical smells caused by bleaches and detergent chemicals. Washing Soda Washing soda is a friendly neighbor of baking soda. Washing soda, or sodium carbonate is a bit stronger in alkalinity, having a pH of around 11. It does not release any harmful fumes when used, and is safer to use than your regular cleaner. Washing soda is perfect for cutting grease, wax, lipstick and petroleum oil. It also absorbs odor just like baking soda. A note of warning, though: wear gloves when using this product since it is caustic. White Vinegar & Lemon Juice These two things are useful for cleaning dirt since they are acidic in nature. They are perfect for neutralizing alkaline substances such as scale caused by hard water. Acids are great for tarnish and gummy build up as well. These are simple and non toxic things that you can clean your house with. Truth be told, there are plenty of other green and healthy tips that you can follow, not only in home care but in other aspects of your life as well. What about you, do you have tips to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaifan Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 Yes we can all follow good advice to make our planet greener, but it isn't just in our private lives, when I was working I used to encourage recycling in the workplace. When I worked at The InterContinental Hotel in Sydney, we used to chop the tops off the plastic litre containers for milk and then put soil into them and plant seeds from trees and grow seedlings on the Hotel roof. These were then planted in urban areas where there were too few trees or in rural areas where regeneration was needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaifan Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 Maybe we should also think about our personal cleaning products as well!! Shower Gel invariably comes in plastic containers. Maybe we should return to using bars of soap - especially those which have little in the way of packaging. Shampoo is a bit tougher but perhaps we should lobby to ensure the bottles are made from recycled plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvdkeyes Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 I would never go back to bar soap. A bar of soap is a good medium for bacteria to grow, believe it or not. I have a wall dispenser in my bathrooms and I buy body gel and shampoo in plastic bags to refill them. It is not as much plastic as in the bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eleothegreat Posted October 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 Yes. I think plenty of manufacturing companies now manufacture refill versions of their liquid soaps and shampoos. My husband uses Johnson & Johnson's baby milk bath (bwahahaha..he says it keeps his skin smooth). We have a huge bottle and we just buy refill packs every time we do our groceries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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