Going Chartreuse

It's been a minute since I developed an interest in being more environmentally conscious. Going green can be such a huge lifestyle change so I thought it would be best for me to tackle it in very small baby steps. My first steps taken were purchasing reusable grocery bags and replacing blown light bulbs with those CFC energy efficient light bulbs. Okay, those steps are operating effortlessly now so I think it's time to make another move. So, what's next on project going light green, chartreuse if you will ... a couple of cleaning supplies.

1. All Purpose Cleaner. The Healthy Hostess has several simple, green clean recipes that I will try eventually. The first on deck is her all purpose cleaner recipe below. You can check out other great recipes for oven and toilet bowl cleaners by clicking on her link.

• 2 cups of white distilled vinegar
• 2 cups of water
• optional - drops of essential oil (your choice)

2. Laundry Detergent. Now I must admit, I'm a little shy about this one because I've bought into the spiel that I must purchase one of the top brands to get the best results. Nonetheless, I'm going to try it since trusted bloggers such as The Lost Goat and Jabs at Debt Free Adventure have all tried it with great success. There are also a host of great tips and recipes here, at Tipnut. I plan to make a powder version with this simple recipe found on both Jab's and Tipnut's sites.

• 1 cup or 1 bar of shaved soap (Ivory, Zote or Fels Naptha)
• 1/2 cup of borax
• 1/2 cup of washing soda

Basically it's a 2 to 1 ratio from what I can tell; 2 parts shaved soap to 1 part borax and 1 part washing soda. Jab did a great job with his pictorial tutorial and he does an excellent job with the cost breakdown as well - I'm not as much concerned about the cost but it's great info.

Who knew I would be so excited about making my own laundry detergent. Geez louise, what's happening to me? Hmm, I'm not sure but I like it so off to the store I go. Have a great weekend everyone!

***FYI ... I'm not sure why the hyperlinks don't show up with a line under them if you receive these posts via email. For those who receive e-mails of the posts I believe the hyperlinks show up as blue colored words, such as The Healthy Hostess and Tipnut. Just in case it's not blue for all e-mail readers, you can tell if a word is a hyperlink or not because it would be the same color as the post's title. For those who read via the blog, the same is true except the color isn't blue - it's the same reddish-orangish color used for the title and signature. Are we all clear as mud now? Thanks loyal reader who brought this to my attention;-).