Folks have a lot of questions about green cleaners. Most recently on the post, 25 Safe, Non-toxic, Homemade Cleaning Supplies, Tosha asked, “Does anyone know how long you can keep these products once you mix them?” Then Caroline followed up with, “I too am interested in knowing if you can mix a batch up and save it? Or do you have to mix and use immediately? No one has answered Tosha on this…and I would like to know too!”
The issue here is that there are 25 cleaners posted in that post – so as you might guess, each can have …read more

Here at Tree Hugging Family, I mainly advocate making your own homemade green cleaners. Not only is it easy to make simple green cleaners, but very cost effective. That said, there will always be folks who want to buy, not make cleaners, so I figured we should take a look at which store bought cleaners are actually green.
The number one rule for choosing a green store bought cleaner is – read your labels. A pretty waterfall or little green leaf means nothing. Ignore fancy ‘green’ packaging and read your labels.
Terms you want to see on a cleaning bottle include:

Ammonia …read more

Hey there folks. Today I’ve got a green home product review for you.

Product: CVS/pharmacy Earth Essentials Aromatic Room Mists available exclusively at CVS/pharmacy. These aromatic room mists come in four scents. I reviewed the following three…

Lavender + Citrus
Sweet Rain
Apple + Cinnamon

Also available in Fresh Eucalyptus which I didn’t try, but it’s just as well, since I’m not the biggest fan of eucalyptus.
Price: Around $4 for a 7-oz can which is an excellent price point for an eco-minded air freshener.
Eco facts:

No animal testing.
Uses natural essential oils.
No propellants.
Non aerosol.
Recyclable container.

Ingredients listed: Purified Water, Surfactant, Fragrance, Glyceryl Caprylate.
The ingredients are tricky. Glyceryl Caprylate …read more

Today we have a special DIY homemade eco chic soap guest post from Anne-Marie, founder of Bramble Berry Inc.…

More and more families are growing increasingly concerned about their ecological footprint. In addition to taking less trips, recycling and planting more trees, there is an easy thing you can to help save the environment, improve your family’s health and save money in the process. Making your own soap is a great way to control the ingredients that go into your bath tub, onto your child and down your drain. And, bonus! It’s a fraction of the cost of store bought soap.
Eco …read more

Hey folks, I recently reviewed this product at Green Beauty & Style Slices, but think this would make a great holiday green gift, so I’m re-posting the review for readers here.

Product: Cinnamon & Clove Comfort Natural Aroma Shower Steamer from Verikira Naturals

Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Calcium Sulfate, Sodium Borate, Witch Hazel, and Essential Oils
Basics: This product is a shower steamer, which means you unwrap the steamer, place it in the far corner of your shower (away from the water), and as the heat and moisture activates the steamer, the essential oils are released into your shower, creating an …read more

Green gifts can cost a little more; but not if you make them yourself. I’m going to give you some ideas for homemade eco gifts that won’t cost too much to make and that people will actually adore. Some are from Tree Hugging Family’s past, and others are new.
If I see any more over the next couple of weeks, I’ll post those too.
Great little homemade green gifts for party hosts:
Pennyroyal, Cinnamon, & Lavender Air Freshener

Flower & Spice Table Toppers via Family Corner
 

Organic homemade beauty gifts:

Look what we saw on our walk the other day!

The lilacs are starting to bloom! FYI this is the perfect time to collect some and try that Candied Flower recipe – you know you want to.
Or maybe you’d rather make some air freshening mixes that aren’t toxic. I saw some great dried lavender at the farmers market the other day, so maybe some local shops around your town have some as well.
Gather:

Cedar shavings – 1-2 ounces (I like mine Cedar heavy, but most people like the lavender to shine through more).
About 1/4 – 1/2 ounce dried pennyroyal (air dried best, …read more

This week our green audit is cleaning supplies. We’ve already discussed the dangers of traditional, commercial cleaning supplies, so now we’re moving on to solutions. I will be going over some options available for purchase this week, but first we’re going to look at homemade cleaners.
Benefits of homemade cleaners:

Less packaging waste. You’re not buying new bottles over and over.
Less expensive. I actually started making homemade products before I was really all the way green – why? To save money.
Less harmful (often not harmful at all) to humans, animals, and the earth.
Less noxious home smell. Homemade natural cleaners always smell better …read more

As promised, one solution to overpriced, way over packaged, chemical laden, body care products. I make a lot of homemade body care stuff – but this one is my favorite because it’s so good it’s gift worthy. Perfect to make in bulk, and give away to friends. Some people I know make this with salt – I have this lame tendency to try and chop veggies like a knife pro (which I’m not) and cut my fingers – salt and cuts don’t mix. That’s why I use sugar. But you can use salt.
Supplies:

2 cups sugar – I like a mix …read more

Yesterday I posted about natural air fresheners. Then a reader asked, “What would you recommend for a couple’ a guys who know how to turn a windowless bathroom toxic in under 20 minutes?”
Some of the air fresheners I mentioned before would work for this but the problem is getting a bunch of people who don’t care to light up some incense or warm up some oil. The majority of men I’ve lived with want a quicker solution or they won’t bother.
The following are natural air fresheners like yesterday’s but more commercial and in my opinion have worse packaging. However, they …read more