Keeping clean and green during pregnancy (and beyond) – a review and a contest
June 5, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Women's Health
As the world tries to get more environmentally friendly, many of us are trying our best to clean up and green up our little corner of the world.
To be honest, when I was pregnant with my three, I didn’t give much thought to the types of supplies I was using – as long as they got things relatively clean. Now, I’m much more aware of what I’m using and I’m trying to find supplies that are not only less toxic, but are friendly to the environment.
Recently, I was sent some cleaning supplies from Seventh Generation. According to their website, “The company derives its name from the Great Law of the Iroquois that states, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” Every time you use a Seventh Generation product you are making a difference by saving natural resources, reducing pollution, keeping toxic chemicals out of the environment and making the world a safer place for this and the next seven generations.”
The company not only produces cleaning products, but other supplies such as toilet tissue and facial wipes. There is also a line of baby products, from chlorine-free diapers to baby wipes.
I received five cleaning products to try: the wild orange and spice kitchen cleaner, emerald cypress and fir tub and tile cleaner, natural all-purpose cleaner, the lavender dishwashing liquid, and the toilet bowl cleaner. I’ve not yet tried the toilet bowl cleaner but I have tried the other products.
I have to admit, I wasn’t sure how good they would be. And, being sensitive to scents, I was a bit nervous about how strong or cloying they would be. I had nothing to worry about in either case.
Observations:
- the packaging is strong and the caps are easy to open and close – this is a big thing for me as I hate fighting with caps.
- the products clean as one would expect as with any other product
- scents are light and pleasing
- the products don’t leave any streaks or gritty feeling behind
- you do need a bit more elbow grease than with the traditional cleaners, but not overly so. If a stain was persistent, I would spray the cleaner on and leave it for a few minutes before tackling it again.
Where to buy:
There’s a tab on their website where you enter your zip code (United States) or postal code (Canada) to find the closest retailer that carries their products. I checked and there are 5 retailers within 20 miles of my home in Montreal. If you can’t shop in person, their products are available on-line as well. Some retailers, like Amazon.com, sell them in bulk.
From what I can tell, their prices are reasonable, on par with most products in the category.
Seventh Generation has generously offered a Living Home Starter kit to offer as a prize to the readers and visitors to Womb Within. After seeing what’s in the kit, I’m jealous!
Living Home Starter Kit: A selection of our most popular household cleaners to take care of your home from kitchen to bathroom and everywhere in-between. All products are gently scented with whole and natural plant essences, specifically designed for each room of your home. This kit also makes a great baby shower gift. $39.99 Includes:
- Ruby Grapefruit & Herb Natural Glass & Surface Cleaner
- Green Mandarin & Leaf Natural All-Purpose Cleaner
- Emerald Cypress & Fir Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner
- Natural Citrus Scent Shower Cleaner
- Tub & Tile Cleaner
- 2 rolls of Natural Paper Towels
- Seventh Generation tote
So, what do you need to do to win? I’m giving you several ways and you can do more than one. Here’s what you can do:
- Leave a comment below with your own “green tip.” I will gather all the tips into a new post, with links to your blogs or site if you have one.
- Subscribe to the RSS feed and send me an email telling me that you have.
- If you use Stumble, stumble your favorite post in this blog. Ditto with Digg.
- Email me a tip that I can put in the tip post that will come after the contest.
Don’t forget, that with the perpetual comment contest (info in sidebar), all comments are also automatically in for the monthly give away.
Now – to be sure you get your prize if you’re the lucky one – I MUST have a way to contact you. I’ve run a few contests on Help My Hurt and one earlier one here, but sometimes I can’t get hold of the winner because they don’t leave an email address or a website that I can go to. When you leave a comment, please be reassured that your email does NOT get put on the site.
All entries will be given a number as they come in. The numbers will be plugged into an online randomizer to choose the winner.
Good luck! The contest will end at 11:59 PM EST on June 19th.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.
To choose the winner, I took all the qualifying comments and entered them into a randomizer program and now, without further ado….. the winner is….Shumyla who left the following comment on June 10: The most common-sense thing ever: Bring your own container to restaurants. That way you aren’t taking polystyrene (Styrofoam) containers home, which don’t biodegrade. At the same time, you’re also reducing the garbage generated by your home.
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Image: Seventh Generation
My favorite new green tip: grow your own veggies! You can’t do better on the “eating locally” thing than your own back yard (or in my case, the balcony!).
I adore seventh generation!
My favorite green tip: Working from home means you can be a one car family. That reduces pollution!
My second green tip: Use a rag. Paper towels just aren’t worth it.
Stumbled, and I’m getting ready to write up a post linking to the contest for you.
One of my favorite “green” tips comes from my late Aunt Dolly who said that “Vinegar cleans everything”.
She once put it in a steam cleaner (for carpet) with water (no soap)… “not too much so it smells bad” and said that her cream colored carpets never looked better.
Just a tip beyond the old “wash windows with vinegar” idea.
my green tip – eat fresh – veggies, meat, fruits, even bread (make your own). this way my baby and i get the most nutrients wih the least chemicals and preservatives. less on cans and plastics packaging too.
My green tip is to compost everything you can (some cities even allow meats, etc. in their green cart programmes). We have the green carts and I use that for some things (meat, cooked vegetables, some packaging), but I use my own backyard composter for the majority of my vegetable and fruit peelings. I’m going to be using the compost on my gardens & lawns so why send it off to be composted & then have to go pick it up again from the region?
Ah, I’ve been wanting to try Seventh Generation for a while now!
Here’s my green tip, it’s for nontoxic cleaning: You can make your own “Soft Scrub” with baking soda, enough liquid soap to give the mixture a frosting-like consistency, and essential oil. I got this tip from http://www.care2.com and have been cleaning my tub with it for a little while now – it works great. I use tea tree oil, because I have so much of it and because of its antifungal and antiseptic properties.
Great contest!
Seventh Generation’s stuff rocks!!!
Most people don’t know that it costs $250 a year to keep a Playstation3 running all the time! XBox 360 and the PS2 are cheaper but not by much. So my green tip is to make sure your video game consoles – as well as your computers and other electronics, are turned off when not in use. Also don’t forget to not leave your charger cords plugged in. You might want to consider buying some carbon offset credits as well!
One of the easiest things to do is to put up a clothesline in your backyard and purchase a clothes rack for the indoors (in the winter). Think of all the energy you’ll be saving. It also keeps the dryer from heating up your house in the summer.
Great giveaway! Count me in. bebemiqui82(at)yahoo(dot)com
I stumbled you and then I’ll leave my green tip (though it seems insignificant to me, compared to the rest).
Use the bus. Not only does public transportation cut down on the number of cars on the road, but it reduces pollution and it helps you get exercise, by walking to the bus stop, which is good for your body!
My green tip is to use cloth diapers and detergent that is good for the environment! Also I think using cloth bags for your groceries is really good, especially when you have a large family and are getting so much, if not at least recycle those plastic bags! asummerso4 (AT) gmail (DOT) com
Greentip: Breast feed! That was an easy one… I’ve always wanted to try the Seventh Generation stuff but have been afraid that it won’t be worth the money. I use vinegar/mild dish soap and warm water to clean most things in our home. I also save old clothes/towels etc to use as cleaning rags instead of using paper towels.
Definitely do a garden!
My husband rides his bike to work and runs to the grocery store with our eco friendly reuseable bags! I would love this cleaning set because we have a 20 month old! Thank you!
My green tip: If you plan on having more than one child, give cloth diapering a try! It is not a tedious as cloth diapering was in the previous generation – no need for pins!
We started a community garden in a small space of land behind our church. We also bring our food scraps there to compost. It feels good to put food waste back into the soil instead of a dump somewhere.
We also do cloth diapering, cloth wipes, and cloth napkins and rags instead of paper towels.
onlycancan at hotmail dot com
I have been using a lot of vinegar and some ammonia to clean my glass surfaces; especially windows. I am hoping this is much greener than using most glass cleaning products. I would love to try your “Seventh Generation” goodies. Please enter me in your drawing. Thanks, Cindi
Hmmm, I was going to say cloth diapering too! We do cloth diapers, we also do cloth wipes, and I have a tutorial on my blog about how to make your own. Cloth wipes also make great hankies and spill catchers!
Compact fluorescents are good too
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My green tip, green roof. Start a roof garden if you’re able. If not, start growing your own produce or buy it local. Thanks so much for the opportunity.
My tip is to buy locally. Not only will you keep farmers fuel costs down but you will support your local farms.
My tip is to use cloth diapers AND cloth wipes!!
We do and we LOVE it. 
My green tip is simple – compost
gkstratos @yahoo.com
Buy locally to help the locally to support your community and help the environment.
Linking to your site
We always drove to the grocery store even if it is only a few blocks away. Now, unless I am getting a lot of food, I walk. It is good for my figure and saves gas and the environment.
My favorite easy tip is to turn off the tap while brushing teeth
My tip – if you don’t like the smell of compost in your kitchen, put it in your freezer! This makes composting easy and CLEAN. When your container gets full, take it outside as usual
We recycle reuse an reuse again,whatever we can redo even if its in a craft we take our own reusabe bag to the store
My green tip is: Eliminate plastic baggy usage and start using those cool canvas bags, keep a few in the car so you remember to use them every time you shop for anything, not just groceries, also check your famer’s markets for produce/veggies, walk instead of driving (preventing the usage of soo much fuel), and get your kids in on it! phillipsonlygirl (at) gmail (dot) com
Nalgene Bottle. Carry one, use it! Stop the plastic bottle craziness.
My favorite green tip is joining a farm share. For $30 a week I get tons of fresh, organic, local produce dropped off at a location near my house. Not only is it good for me, it’s good for the Earth.
My tip is: practice elimination communication, otherwise known as diaper-free or natural infant hygiene–no disposible diapers AND no cloth diapers to use up electricity washing and drying!
I have to say walking to the store, and buy locally from a farmer’s market.
My green tip is instead of using aerosol air freshener to make your home smell good, simmer a little vanilla in some water-it smells wondeful!
My Green Tip: Clean with white vinegar. I keep a spray bottle of white vinegar and water in the kitchen and bathrooms for fast cleaning. I also use baking soda to scrub my sinks and tub. It’s so much easier on my hands than cleansers.
I keep a canvas bag in my pocketbook so that I remember to use it rather than use the plastic bags from the store. You can sew up an old t-shirt to make a reusable bag which fits easily into your bag.
My green tip is to soak egg shells in a jug of water and use to water your plants.Its stinky, but its a chemical free way to give plants what they need!
I’ve tried one or two Seventh Generation product, but I’d love to try the whole set!
My green tip: talk to your employer about an alternate schedule. Try working 4-10 (4 days, 10 hours) or enough 9 hour days to get every other Friday off. You’ll save commuting time, money, and gas. AND your office won’t have to worry about heating (or cooling) and lighting for you that day. If they won’t let you compress your schedule, can you telecommute a few times a month?
we subscribe to enegy efficient florida power and light…this has made a big difference in our power bill and we don’t even notice.
My tip…
If you are going to the grocery store ask your neighbors if they need anything from the store too. They can either share the ride with you (carpool to the grocery store) or you can pick up what they need from the store while you are there. That saves gas, emmissions, and less cars on the road.
Also, buy bottles you can refill with water instead of buying bottles of water. The kind that have the center piece you can freeze are great. I keep several in my freezer all the time.
reduce consumption, recycle, reuse items, carpool
grow your own veggies!
thanks!
moore.g at insideconnect.net
My green tip is for those menstruating:
Diva Cup and LunaPads are great! I was skeptical at first but now I wouldn’t change. http://www.lunapads.com Lunapads also has Postpartum Liners.
OR
If disposables are your thing try switching to a natural organic product such as Natracare http://www.natracare.com It was my first step and I found it cut down on cramping.
My green tip is to buy 2 or more big trash cans. Plastic. Drill some small holes in the bottom on the sides and on the top and throw all your leaves, grass clippings, kitchen scraps, newpapers and make your own compost. No need to go out and buy the expensive tumblers. Yes it does take some time. once a month I go out and turn the dirt but once a week I make sure it is moist. Now I have about 6 of the cans and it makes more than enough for my veggie garden, seed startings, the 8 or so flower and herb beds I have.
Seventh Generation Products are great!
Green tip – go vegetarian, eating meat is energy inefficient and bad for the environment. You can feed 10 people in a year with what you would feed 1 cow. Also I subscribe to a CSA, I am supporting a local organic farm and getting some of the best veggies I’ve ever eaten. I also started a padio garden with the vegetables I eat the most, lettuces, tomatoes, basil and peppers. By growing them in pots I know they are organic and aren’t getting any pestacides from my neighbor’s runoff.
Walk instead of driving whenever possible.
jceko77@yahoo.com
great info! my green tip: don’t throw away those paper towel and toilet paper tubes – save them! You can donate them to local schools or libraries to use for craft projects; make crafts with your kids or friends’ kids or nieces and nephews! Use them as packing material; give them to your pet hamster or bird to play with! Lots of uses you wouldn’t expect.
The most common-sense thing ever: Bring your own container to restaurants. That way you aren’t taking polystyrene (Styrofoam) containers home, which don’t biodegrade. At the same time, you’re also reducing the garbage generated by your home.
My green tip -
Avoid taking paper printouts unless absolutely necessary. Also use cloth towels instead of paper in kitchen and bathroom.
Always recycle when possible. I am unsure about other states but in NC our landfills offer free recycling. With huge bins labeled for each such as glass, cardboard, plastic etc. It definitely helps our environment.
Thank you so much for offering this wonderful giveaway.
I would LOVE to win !!
My green tip is to shop at thrift or resale shops. Most people are still wasteful and feel the need to own the toaster du jour, so they get rid of the 6 month old toaster they used twice. Keep stuff like this out of the landfill and save production and packaging costs by buying used whenever possible.
Thanks for this giveaway. My green tip is to unplug all appliances, video equipment, game equipment, when not in use. Get times for your heat and air conditioners. Get energy saving bulbs.
Thanks again and please enter me.