Mommy Goes Green

When we had our oldest, I used our rocking chair incessantly.  It was cream colored and after several years of use, it was stained in so many places.  It was a good quality chair and I didn’t want to toss it so I decided to have a slipcover made for it.  I chose white fabric – I know, white in a kid’s room - but I just love how crisp, clean and classic white is. 

I’ve used the chair for 10 months now, snuggling up with my baby before bedtime.  Last week I noticed the cover had a few stains on it so it was time to peel it off and wash it.  Not only did it have the normal dirty fingerprints but it also had dried milk from spilled bottles and denim rub off from my new jeans.  I’d like to think that I would wash my slipcovers every month or so but let’s face it – not at the top of my ‘to do’ list.  So it had been a few months and I was worried those stains weren’t coming out.

I hosed the slipcover down with my new favorite stain remover, poured some chlorine-free bleach in for good measure and threw it in the wash on cold.

Not bad for Round 1 – all the fingerprints and blue jean stains came out. It was the milk that didn’t come out, something I didn’t expect.

On Round 2, I followed the same steps with the stain remover on the milk only, a couple ounces of chlorine-free bleach but I used warm water this time. 

And it worked.  Perfectly white slipcover again.

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.

Or not. I’d be happy if stains just stayed away permanently.

Months ago I almost never had problems with stains.  My girlfriend asked me, “ how is that even possible with two kids”?  I figured it was some “eating with good manners” skill I’ve taught them, making me a stellar parent. Unfortunately, I’m not the amazing parent I imagined. For more than one reason.

So the answer is….my daughter, who is now 4, is old enough to eat (mostly) without spills. And at the time, my son was 6 months old and just starting solid foods so there were few spills.  We were a stain free household and proud of it.  But like they say, “pride comes before a fall” and now that my son is eating finger foods, he’s a mess!  And so are his clothes.

I had some Dreft Stain Remover on hand so I used it and it worked fine but I wanted something a little more eco-friendly.  Toys R Us had a sample of BabyGanics Stain, Stain, Go Away and after dousing shirt after shirt with it – I’m a believer. When it took a coffee stain out of a white shirt that had been sitting in my laundry bin for over a month – I was SOLD. I bought a big bottle and it’s gloriously stored right on my washing machine for daily use.

So ladies, what do you use to get stains out?

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.

Until recently, I had no idea that Bon Ami carried multiple cleaning products.  I’ve used their Polishing Cleanser for years and like I said here, it’s a great safe alternative to Comet or Ajax.   It’s extremely affordable – just over $1 per can.

I’ve been using their other cleaning products for about a month and they are just as good as my favorite Polishing Cleanser (now called Powder Cleanser). In fact, I was actually disappointed when my first bottle of the All-Purpose Cleaner ran out.  It cleans well, has no soapy residue, doesn’t leave any film on my black granite counters and has no smell ( a big plus to me ).

Their Liquid Cleanser is similar to their powdered Polishing Cleanser but easier to use on surfaces like shower walls and tubs.  I’ve been using it in my porcelain kitchen sink because I’m out of the Powder Cleanser and it works just as well.  Tough on cleaning but super gentle.  Gentle enough to use on stainless steel and porcelain without scratching. The consistency is similar to Soft Scrub – so if you’re a Soft Scrub kind of girl – make the switch to Bon Ami Liquid Cleanser – it’s non-toxic and works just as well!

Bon Ami uses safe, simple ingredients that you can pronounce like baking soda, limestone and feldspar – all ingredients in their original formula made in 1886.  They don’t smell fake because they use essential oils for fragrance.

The company has totally updated all their packaging but it’s still got a great classic and clean look (I’m a sucker for cute packaging).  All the cleaning products are also bottled in recycled and recyclable packaging.  Unlike many other green cleaners, Bon Ami is also priced comparably to conventional brands – from just over $1 to $3.99.   You can buy online or find a local retailer.

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.

With the exception of detergents, my laundry routine was eco-friendly before I even wanted to be eco-friendly.

WASHING

I sort all the laundry into piles in the following order:

1. Adult or child
2. White, dark or color
3. Gentle or Heavy

While the sorting in itself isn’t all that eco-friendly, I do make sure that the piles are large enough to fill up the washer. No use in running half a load. If they aren’t, I’ll combine piles to make a load big enough.

I wash almost everything in COLD water. It saves $$ and energy and IT WORKS. Promise. The only things I wash in hot water are sheets, towels and anything with poop on it (thank you to my kiddos).

I use eco-friendly detergents like Seventh Generation or Earth Friendly Products. I don’t add fabric softener to the cycle but if you wanted to, Seventh Generation makes an eco-friendly version. I rarely use stain removers or bleach and if I do, they are…you guessed it. Eco-friendly stain removers or bleach. If I think something might be stained, I wash it at least once or twice to see if it will come out on its own. It generally does. If it won’t, I will use a stain remover, like BabyGanics or an eco-friendly bleach like Seventh Generation and voila – almost everything comes out.  We do occasionally having a clothing casualty but it’s rare.

DRYING

Almost all clothing gets thrown directly into the dryer for 10 – 20 minutes of light drying, enough to take out the excess water and wrinkles. I never use fabric softener sheets. Then I hang *almost everything* on a drying rack or on a hanger. I consider this to be the most important part of my laundry routine for several reasons:

• I rarely have to iron since everything is dried hanging and comes out wrinkle free.
• Clothes don’t shrink. Believe me, I’ve compared brand new dried in the dryer pants to brand new dried on the hanging rack pants and there was a whole size difference.
• Far less wear and tear. Colors don’t fade. Dark blue jeans stay dark blue. The fibers don’t get as ruffled and worn looking.
• There is no static cling.
• We save tons of energy and less wear and tear on our dryer.

I’m not going to lie, this does take more time than just throwing everything in the dryer but seriously, most of our clothes are wrinkle free and I could pass down my kids clothes for years because they stay in such great shape. I’ve even had friends comment on what great condition their clothes are in.

For sheets and towels, I use Seventh Generation Fabric Softener sheets. They are paper so once they are used, I can recycle them – LOVE THAT! I also dry sheets and towels in the dryer all the way. If I had the space for a laundry line outside, I would definitely put them on the line outside. The sunshine dries whites whiter!

There you have it – my laundry routine. Not as simple as most but has lots of great benefits! What is YOUR laundry routine?

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.

If you plan on going green in your garden or home this summer, now is the time to purchase those items!  Earth Day (tomorrow!)  has mass retailers selling eco-friendly products at great prices. 

Home Depot

• 120 Gallon E-Composter with Base $49.97
• 57 Gallon Ruscany Rainwater Barrel $98
• 4×4 Raised Garden Bed Kit $29
• Ortho Ecosense Lawn Weed Killer $10
• 64 oz Ecosmart Home Pest Control $8.99
• BOGO All Organic Veggie, Herb and Flower Seed Packets
• Solar LED Walk Lights $3.88
• Martha Stewart Cleaning Products $3.98
• Honewell Programmable Thermostat $29.98
• Lutron Skylark Eco-Dim 600 Watt Dimmer $22.88
• TCP 14 Watt Soft White CFL Bulb $1.97

Target

• GE Energy Smart CFL light bulb $5
• Seventh Generation Dish Soap $2.49
• Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent $12.99
• Waterpik EcoFlow Showerhead $25

Fred Meyer

• Fiskars 48 gallon Rain Barrel $89
• Eco-Friendly Hoses $9.99 – $34.99
• Eco Fiber Bamboo Gloves $3.99
• Rain Bird Drop Patio Plant Watering kit $23.99
• 120 Gallon E-Composter $34.99
• 1  Gallon Kitchen Compost Carrier $16.99
• Easy Go Eco-Friendly Multi-Purpose Cart $26.99
• Concord Black Solar Light $4.99
• Earthwise Corded Electric String Trimmer $24.99
• Eartwise 3-in-1 Cordless Lawn Mower $289
• G-Oil 2 Cycle Engine Oil $5.99
• G Bar & Chain Oil $9.99
• Herbs in Pots 2 for $3
• Organic Veggies or Tomatoes in Pots 4 for $9
• All Seventh Generation Products 30% OFF

For Earth Day only freebies, check here.

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.