A Clean House Isn’t Worth Breast Cancer

By sarajean on 7/23/10 9:07am
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As more information becomes available and more companies produce eco-friendly and healthier alternatives to household products, we’re gradually learning about the risks we face when it comes to the items we buy and fill our homes with. A new study from the journal Environmental Health suggests that women who use household cleaning products on a regular basis may be doubling their risk of breast cancer as they wash, dust, and prepare their homes for the white glove test.

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How to Reuse Coffee Grounds

By sarajean on 6/30/10 6:11pm
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As our family gets deeper and deeper into environmental alternatives and a greener lifestyle, I’m learning so many super cool things. One thing I recently learned about was how to reuse coffee grounds. We don’t make coffee very often in our home—usually when I have to be up for a long time, or if we have company—but when we do, we have plenty of grounds leftover to use in these projects…

Fertilizing Plants: Apparently the makeup of coffee grounds makes them an excellent fertilizer! As a bonus, they’re not as stinky as many other fertilizers, either (though I will argue with you to the death over the beautiful aroma of our earthy compost!).

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Tidying Up The Yard

By erika on 6/28/10 1:30pm
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I have to admit to being an indifferent gardener at best.  I have this problem, probably because I was raised in a series of apartments and condos, where I mentally categorize everything outside my front door as an undifferentiated mass of "outside."  I have to really struggle to see messes and problems, and I guess I'm just lucky that my yard can't be seen from the road!


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How To Clean Windows The Right Way!

By erika on 6/2/10 11:35am
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Once the sun comes out, you can't help but notice those dirty windows!  Since I work from home, I'm staring out my window all day long.  Also, I'm always looking for some dumb excuse to leave my desk and go do something else.


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Singing The Praises Of Simple Green

By erika on 5/14/10 12:09pm
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Always dilute Simple Green!Always dilute Simple Green!

In a world where every cleaning product is scrambling to greenwash itself, I think it's important to highlight Simple Green.  Simple Green was there first, and it still does it better. 


Not for me are the charms of the upscale, overpriced, boutique eco-friendly cleaners like Biokleen and Mrs. Meyer's.  Nor the chemical polluters of the world who champ their cigars and chortle and slap a green leaf logo on a bottle and call it "The Clorox Green Works Line."


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The Laundry Pump Conspiracy!

By sarajean on 3/13/10 12:50am
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I will never use the Tide pump again.

I had never even planned to, really; my sister, who works in retail, bought it on sale and gave it to me when she discovered that it wasn’t compatible with her washing machine (very generously, I might add; thanks, sis!). Now, we usually buy more eco-friendly detergent (Method is my favorite) but we’re not about to both waste a perfectly good jug of detergent or waste money when something has already been purchased.

But after using the pump, I’ve realized just how awful it is. I should have remembered; my mother used to use it (I think she still might, even) and I couldn’t stand it when I did laundry as a teenager. And I think it all comes down to a big, fat laundry conspiracy!

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Chinese New Year Cleaning

By sarajean on 2/15/10 4:38pm
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Happy Year of the Tiger!

It’s traditional to use this time during the Chinese New Year to clean, gut, disinfect, and generally purge your home. It’s a good time to do it, too, especially in my neck of the woods where it’s been constantly snowing and there’s little else to do.

While it’s traditional to do all of the cleaning before the New Year (which, this year, was on Sunday), cleaning on New Year’s Day is forbidden because it could sweep out the luck from the New Year. Now that the first day is over, however, you can still work on your goal throughout the month of February and get your home in tip-top shape well before the Jones family does in the spring! Here’s how.

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Get Organized Now!

By sarajean on 1/30/10 1:18am
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No, it’s not a catchphrase of the latest movement or a nationwide command secretly issued in the State of the Union Address. Get Organized Now! is a website run by Marcia Gracia, an organizational guru who maintains thousands of organizational tips, products, and packs to help you stay on top of organizing your life.

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Organize Your Home Day

By sarajean on 1/14/10 4:23pm
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Great Ways to Use Olive Oil Around the House

By Niki Fears on 12/23/09 11:04pm
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olive oilolive oilOlive oil has long been used in cooking and creates a great addition to the flavor of many dishes, particularly Italian style dishes and the health benefits of olive oil have been the subject of numerous studies and have become rather well known; however, olive oil also has a number of great uses for easy cleaning and household chores. Here are a few tips and tricks for great ways that you can use olive oil around the house:

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