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

Sun & Earth sent me some liquid hand soap and automatic dishwasher detergent to review. I’ll get to the dishwasher detergent later, but this post is all about the nice hand soap.
I adore this soap. Here’s more on why I like it:
• Refreshing, but subtle scent. It has a citrus scent, but overall it just really reminds me of a clean-smelling kitchen. It’s not at all like some of the strong lemon-scented “kitchen soaps” for sale.
• It’s obviously gentle. The hypoallergenic soap is made for sensitive skin. It’s natural with soothing ingredients like aloe vera.
• Made in the USA, and …read more

In my recent post; 23 Refillable Liquid Hand Soap Pumps, a reader (and cool blogger I know – Angelique) asked:
“I was wondering if you (or any readers) knew of a cheap way to make your own liquid soap from all those crazy “soap slivers” that slime around the kitchen, bathrooms, showers and tubs?
There has to be a way to liquify them, right? Or am I in la-la land?”
Angelique is not in la-la land. I answered her question in the comments, but one I answered it with a short version (leaving out specific timing), and two, since maybe you …read more

This is a fun painting soap for kids. The one problem with it is the food coloring. There are some organic food colors available, but they won’t be as bright as if you use normal food coloring. That said, even if you use normal food coloring, this is a much healthier soap paint than the ones you see at the store. Plus no excess packaging.
I’ve been considering trying to make this with natural veggie, plant, or fruit dyes, but I’m not sure how well it will work. If you do try to make painting soap with all natural dyes remember …read more

This week we’ve been auditing our bathtub and shower. So far, we’ve looked at basic adjustments you can make to your tub and shower, and your personal water habits in the bathroom. Today let’s look at what sort of products you’ve got sitting in your tub.
Here are some likely items:

Soap
Shampoo – conditioner
Loofah or sponge
Face cleaner
Bath toys
Bubble bath
Razor
Shaving cream (often in those pesky aerosol cans)
Shower caddy

Each of the items above represents an item I could write a lot about. Since this is a blog, not a book, we’ll look at some quick facts and solutions. Later on, at some point on …read more

Christmas is almost here. I’m hoping you’ve shopped before now. However, if there are a few of you (like me) who haven’t exactly finished yet here are some ideas.
There are a few places online that are still taking last minute holiday orders. Shipping may cost you but it’s possible to still save because you aren’t in your gas drinking car driving around frantically. If you’re going with online solutions check the fine print of the shop’s shipping policy carefully.
Here are a few online ideas:
Dirt Candles: First off, these candles are soot free (yippee). The perks just go up from there. …read more