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

Post from: Blisstree

Keeping clean and green during pregnancy (and beyond) – a review and a contest