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
recycle old baby bottles
Eat and organic, whether you buy in a store or grow it yourself.
Join http://www.freecycle.org and gift your unwanted good items to other members instead of those items ending up in a landfill.
Use a high efficiency washer to save water and energy
I clean with vinegar, Our items of clothing and such gets saved for when we hear of someone in need ie. house fire. same goes for the kids toys they no longer want or play with, the love going through there stuff to give to someone!
7th generation rocks – good stuff
I recycle and reuse anything I can. I also compost – works wonders for tomatoe plants in the garden
My green tip is to start a mulch pile. I use mine for my garden!
My green tip is: Start your own garden, whether you have the space or grow your own in pots. There is nothing better than pulling out your own veggie and eating it right away!
I recycle anything paper I can get my hands on especially packing supplies as I reuse all my old mailers to mail giveaways on my blog and old printouts to make labels and even print my homework on the back of printouts so that i use both sides before I recycle the rest!
I try to take shorter showers or turn off the water while I shave. Also, buying locally grown food is a great way to help out the environment.
Plant a garden , make a list and go to the store 2x a month,wash clothes in cold water and I find if I hang my clothes outside on the line on hangers it save time ,all my clothes dry and they are already on hangers ,so I only have to put the in the closet,smell great and wrinkle free,saves me from ironing and using electricty
Think Green
Make your own cleaners. They are safer and cheaper.
water your house plants with drinking water left in a cup that won’t be used
My green tip is to not use the washing machine unless you’re on a full load and try to hang-dry as much as possible, especially during the summer months.
Use vanilla extract to deodorize. Place cotton balls soaked with vanilla in the ashtray of your car.
One green tip that I heard of recently is:
Save those styrofoam packing peanuts and use them in the bottom of big planters. They will help with water drainage, and they won’t weigh your planter down!
Did you know that Garbage Disposals are environmentally friendly? Unless you compost, it is a cleaner, safer way to dispose of food products than throwing them out and having them leach chemicals into the ground. Food waste is virtually liquefied, and then treated, and can be used for a variety of things after that.
Have ants coming in through a crack in your wall? Sprinkle cinnamon on the crack. Ants are repelled by it! They also hate cayenne pepper. Don’t use those scary chemical insecticides in your home! Just use spices!
Stop using the drive-through if possible. Just think of all the gas you could save, and extra exercise you could get, by going inside instead!
Try to plan your errands so that you can do them all in one trip, saving gas. Are three of your errands on the same side of town? Try to do them all in the same afternoon! This is so much better than going home and then going back out. Every bit of gas you save will help!
Reuse those old baby food jars for sewing notions or nuts and bolts in the tool shed. You can drill through the lids to attach them to the underside of a shelf, and screw them into place!
We recycle cans, paper, and platic at our home. We have started buying reusable bags and use them for just about anything you can think.
We do all kinds of green things in my house, but my favorite is buying local produce at the farmer’s market.
My green tips are little ones:
Select minimal packaging – those “100 cal” packs and single serve items are very wasteful.
When driving in hot weather, turn off the AC after the car cools down and run the recirculate. It stays cool for a while like that. Be sure to turn off 5 – 10 min before reaching destination so you aren’t leaving an empty cooled down car in the parking lot.
Use newspapers to clean windows
I never buy anything new without considering if something I already have might fill the bill instead. Ingenuity=recycle, reuse, reduce waste
Bottle your own ice teas. No need to buy it bottled. Make up a 2qt pitc her at home and funnel into recycled water bottles. Saves all that heavy glass and expense.
My green tip is using vinegar to clean the tub. I always wanted to try it, but thought I had to look up recipes for homemade cleaners, until one day I just tried plain old vinegar and now I won’t use anything else. (except Seventh Generation of course!)
Take or buy only what you need so you don’t waste!
Recycle everything. Compost your kitchen scraps. Grow your own vegetables and use organic soil. Buy in bulk. Donate unused stuff to thrift stores. Use less.
My favorite things are growing your own veggies and using vinegar to clean!!!
I have never used these products – would LOVE to, though, as my family (including 5 children) would greatly benefit from using them. Thank you for the opportunity.
Hang clothes outside on the line to dry when apropos.
Freecycle dont throw that stuff away see if someone in your community can use it instead
instead of using conditioner for your hair, use a cap-full of vinegar! It will detangle and really does the trick to get my hair soft and shiny!
I give my plastic grocery bags to the Bread Basket to package food for the needy and the Appalachian Helping Hands clothes closet to bag clothes for the needy.
in the summer I reuse bath water or put a bucket in the shower and later that morning, I can use it to water my outdoor plants and flowers!
cleaning drains with baking soda and vinegar!
I use layers of newspaper in our garden in between the plants and along the paths to hold down the weeds and concerve on water. As the newspaper rots it can be mulched into the dirt and more newspaper added.
My tip is to purchase a reusable water bottle and keep it refilled. It saves plastic from ending up in the trash and money!
give your air conditioner a rest, open the windows as much as you can… besides saving a lot of energy, its much better for you!
never been pregnant tried and tried did infertility and adoption for 10 year and finally was chosen for Adoption and was picked for a Healthy handson baby Boy He is already 11 and He is very strong that We use things 1/2 the dose they say and it still works great…laundry is still really clean dishes also…
Instead of buying fancy tupperware to store leftovers, just reuse the plastic containers that lots of foods come in.
Freecycle AND make things out of things u would be throwing away.Hang clothes out side to dry.plant veggies.recycle cans.
We use a small rechargable electric mower for our yard. It is economical and doesn’t add pollution or noise to our overburdened air.
Tip: wash your dishes by hand !!! (And save the soapy & rinse water for your plants, both houseplants and your outdoor landscape plants.)
Sweet
you can grow some of your own vegetables in a container garden. yummy, convenient, no pesticides and you don’t have all the scares to worry about.
Use cloth diapers instead of disposable ones.
recycle
collect and reuse rain water