Now that I got your attention please check out my last post. It didn't make the most recent journal list because I was working on it for several days a little at a time.

I have finally realized the absurdity of using toxic chemicals to clean in the hopes that I will be healthier and more germ free. Clean is healthy, but toxins are not, so why would we want to spread them all over our homes and bodies in the hopes to be cleaner? The problem here is brainwashing. These chemical companies have convinced us that we NEED them?!

Maybe you think, well fine, I'm not an environmentalist, so why does this matter to me, but the fact is that it does. These toxic products cause extreme amounts of harm to our bodies the more frequently we are exposed to them. We clean to make our homes safer, not to cause neurological disorders, cancer, respiratory problems, birth defects and infertility by their noxious odors and residues. Somehow these chemical companies have convinced us that if we don't use their product, than we are not safe. Clean is NEVER toxic because it just doesn't make sense.

I don't know everything there is to know about cleaning without damaging chemicals, but I hope to learn from you if you have any tips of your own. I'll provide the basics of what I have learned so far from my own experience cleaning.

Dust is bad. Dust is all the particles in the air we really don't want to be breathing. Dust is the pollutants in the air that settle on everything we have. In Buffalo and surrounding areas, we have a lot of dust and much of it is from chemical factories. To remove the dust safely is easy. Don't use products that contain cancer causing petroleum dissilates, rather us an electromagnetic cleaning cloth. It is a dry cloth that dust is attracted to. They are a prerequisite for a clean home. Instead of throwing them away you keep them and wash them with your regular laundry. You can clean the dust away from virtually anything with a smooth finish. I use the cloth to clean televisions, computers, glass, pictures and frames, furniture, stereo equipment etc. They really can hold a lot of dust before needing to be washed.

Glass cleaners should not contain ammonia which is listed by the EPA's Community Right-to-Know list as a toxic chemical. A good alternative is vinegar. Even Windex, who makes the noxious blue version that contains ammonia, offers a clear vinegar alternative, but hey why buy vinegar and water? Make it yourself.

To wash floors, use vinegar. Vinegar is one of the best cleaners around. I thought I hated vinegar and the smell, but now I love it. Most people don't know that it has disinfecting properties without chemicals. Vinegar is especially great with tile. For wood try using the brand Ecover's version of Murphy's oil soap. You can find it at the co-op or Wegmans.

The most important thing to have in cleaning is a good vacuum. Vacuums are a huge source of allergens and molds. You need something that really SUCKS and traps the dirt well. Bag less vacs are the worst! That is what I have because I haven't been able to afford a new one. Every time you have to empty the dirt you breath in everything that accompanies the dust cloud that follows after emptying it. Vacuums should have bags. Unfortunately, most of today's vacuums are the bag less ones. You should vacuum as the last part of cleaning before washing the floors, but this doesn't apply to bathrooms. Bathrooms should be vacuumed before cleaning because you can get all the hairs before they get wet when they are impossible to pick up. You can even vacuum the shower, bath and sink before it gets wet. Don't wash hair down the sink, because that causes blocked drains. Vacuuming gets rid of dirt, dust and mites that can cause allergies and respiratory problems.

The next thing you need is a non-toxic all-purpose cleaner. So far I have found Method, found at Wegmans and Target to be the best. This cleaner works better than every toxic chemical I have used and everything smell better and cleaner. Method is great for cleaning counter tops, sinks, toilets, microwaves and stove tops. I use the grapefruit kind and just love it. Dissolves grease better than toxic alternatives.

To clean inside toilet bowls, just use vinegar. Remember vinegar disinfects and removes deposits.

To clean kitchen sinks, use a baking soda paste. Scrub it around to get rid of food gunk. Finish the sink off by wetting a sponge and pour white vinegar over it. Always use white vinegar. Scrub the wet sponge in the baking soda paste. The fizzling cleaning action from the baking soda and the vinegar is the CLEANEST and also very fun. Not only will the sinks be disinfected and odor free, but this will also keep your drains free from blockage. Preventing blockage means that you won't be tempted to buy chemical drain openers that are far from safe for living organisms. Keep food from being washed down the drain by using your sinks food catchers or buying them if you don't have them. Never pour fats down the drains. I pour fat into old coffee cans and store them in the fridge.

The other product I'm in love with from Method is the eucalyptus and mint soap dissolver and shower stain remover. This stuff is good and works better than their toxic cousins. You spray it on shower tile and wipe with a sponge. To clean tubs and shower floors Bon Ami scouring powder is good. It doesn't have that bleach in it that gets into your lungs every time you pour it out. The stuff works well too, and can also be used to clean sinks as well.

Instead of cleaning with paper towels as my predominate method of cleaning, I switched to these blue cloths that come in a familiar paper towel roll. These cloths leave no lint and can be rinsed again and again. Always work from most clean to least clean. For example, clean the kitchen with one rag, the bathroom sink and then the toilet. When you get to the toilet, throw the rag away, you don't want to spread those germs and bacteria to other surfaces. They never leave lint like ordinary paper towels which can't be rinsed like the blue cloths. Recycled paper towels are a great concept, but unfortunately, they are inferior. Washable, lint free rags would be a better alternative if you didn't want to use the blue coths.

Use products that don't contain bleach to clean. To clean shower stalls and bathtubs use Bon Ami, this cleaner is great at scrubbing away stains, dirt, mildew, odors and bacteria. You don't need toxic chlorine.

On that note, I'm looking for laundry tips. I haven't found an eco-friendly detergent that I can afford. If you know of an economical alternative let me know.

LAUNDRY

In place of ridiculously scented fabric softeners, use just plain white vinegar. About 2 tablespoons in the rinse cycle is perfect. This is better than all of the commercial fabric softeners available. If you want to enhance your detergent, use less of the product, but add Baking Soda to the wash cycle. If you want to add the vinegar to the rinse cycle, just put in the fabric softener dispenser, a Downy ball or just add it manually.

Baking Soda to the wash cycle is so beneficial. It makes brights and whites more vibrant while acting as a fabric softener and odor deodorizer. Your clothes will never be fresher or softer. Baking Soda is so diverse. It absorbs odors. Put in your refrigerator or sprinkle on your carpets in order to trap odors. To test effectiveness, add vinegar and see if it sizzles. Buy big boxes of baking soda, because it is so universal. Don't ever buy little bottles of vinegar, you must have lots of vinegar! Soak things in vinegar, it works better without toxins. Get rid of water deposits by soaking shower heads and sink sprayers in vinegar.



To clean hardwoods, after vacuuming use water and vinegar, or something similar to Murphy's Oil Soap. I use Ecover which has a similar, but is more eco-friendly by using linseed oil as their base. You can get on your hands and knees which is a time tested method or if you have large surfaces try a flat wet mop head that can easily be washed.

I think this is enough for now (If you are still with me), but I'm sure as time goes on I'll have more tips or new and improved ones, or others I forgot to mention. I learned a lot from Deidre Imus who seems way more sheik than her husband.

Toxic=NOT clean



UPDATE 6/11/07

I forgot to mention that vinegar should be diluted when washing floors. Just put as much or as little as you like in a bucket of hot water. Besides using hands and knees, do your research on finding a nice mop. Don't buy things that will go in landfills in a year or two if you can help it.

Tonight I saw Mighty Heart, the movie featuring Angelina Jolie as Marianne Pearl. Great film with superb acting. Angelina's skills as an actress were above and beyond my normal expectations of good acting. There are some I saw online who object to a white woman playing a mulata who has more black than white, but I think that Angelina fit the part well. If Marianne Pearl is not offended, than why should anyone else? Angelina could be mistaken for a Cuban mulata more so than Halle Berry. If Angelina can play the part so convincingly than why should the part be given to someone who has some black in them? Angelina actually looked very similar to Marianne with her wig on. Interesting thing is that Angelina became friends with Marianne before the idea of a movie materialized. I think that my favorite part about Angelina was her very believable French accent.

Maybe one day I will meet Marianne, she practices with the same Buddhist organization I do, so it is possible. Her Buddhist practice is very subtly interwoven in the film. It makes me think of how difficult it would be to retain your faith in such a difficult time. Regardless of the faith you have, I think that this would be a difficult situation. Anger is such a strong life condition and can become so overpowering. Marianne did well in changing her anger into something positive. She defeated terrorism in a way that war and violence could never do because war and violence is terror itself.

Too bad the movie opened with a commercial for the National Guard. Someday people will laugh at us in the future when they are watching the vintage US propaganda films that compel us into the US Army to kill and be killed so we can kick terrorisms ass. I see we are doing a great job killing all the terrorists. Everything is so much safer now that we have "smoked em out of der holes".

UPDATE

6/05/07 Yes my shirt was made in China and I ate fried dough off of a Styrofoam plate while I wore it. If I knew that it was going to be served on that piece of oily trash I would have declined. I do have to say that I am a hypocrite because I contribute to warming, but I am trying to change my ways. Too bad I am eating the flesh again. Next post Green Clean.

6/06/07 CORRECTION my shirt was made in Honduras and my next post is Mighty Heart not Green Clean.

I went to see my Grandparents at their cottage in Black Walnut PA. The cottage faces the Susquehanna River which has become a new refuge for the Bald Eagle that has just recently been removed from the endangered species list. My Great Grandfather helped build this cottage along with his friends. The work was completed in 1937 and took years to finish considering the harsh economic times. Since that time the cottage has been known as the Black Walnut Lodge. I have come almost every year since I was born.




This is the rear view which is the part that you first see upon driving up. This always confused me that this was the rear of the cottage even though it faced the road which is gravel.



This is the view from the Susquehanna. Despite being elevated on pillars the second story of the cottage was flooded in 1973. Great Grandpa built this to last.




This is the view from the opposite side of the river. I'm looking upstream towards the island that me and my sister took the canoe around. Once you do all the work of paddling upriver, you are rewarded by being shot back down for a swift scenic ride.





This is how I got to the other side of the river. It is the "River Rat" that my uncle built with my aunt and grandfather. Now it is 45 yrs old! This has always been my favorite boat because I hate motor boats.




This is my beautiful sister Vanessa.




This is her dog Oliver.








This is my Daddy.




This is the storm that knocked the power out when I got there. It was out for 12hrs. It was so hot and I was sweating so bad without a fan in the upstairs dormer.



Here is one of the Bald Eagles. My Dad got a much better pic, but I don't have it so here is this one.




My Grandparents have a Humming Bird feeder.















This is the rail road directly behind it. You can still hear it go by everyday.





The clouds were so beautiful.









On the way home I stopped at wyalusing Rocks. The property belongs to Natives but the view is open to the public. It is amazing and one of the most photographed views of the area for obvious reasons.




So much of the area is farm land. The cows don't even look like they are suffering here.




The hawks love this area and because you are so high up you actually share their air space.







This hawk so had its eye on me.






Again the clouds were so beautiful. The hawks seem so free in the air like that.






This Ben Franklin is in the town of Towanda. I think it is probably the last surviving five and dime. I can't believe they are still open.







Here is their historical court house.





Stephen Foster took up residency here. He wrote "Camptown Races" and "Old Susanna"

De Camptown ladies sing dis song, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
De Camptown race-track five miles long, Oh, doo-dah day!
I come down dah wid my hat caved in, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
I go back home wid a pocket full of tin, Oh, doo-dah day!

Gwine to run all night!
Gwine to run all day!
I'll bet my money on de bob-tail nag,
Somebody bet on de bay.

De long tail filly and de big black hoss, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
Dey fly de track and dey both cut across, Oh, doo-dah-day!
De blind hoss sticken in a big mud hole, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
Can't touch bottom wid a ten foot pole, Oh, doo-dah-day!

Chorus

Old muley cow come on to de track, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
De bob-tail fling her ober his back, Oh, doo-dah-day!
Den fly along like a rail-road car, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
Runnin' a race wid a shootin' star, Oh, doo-dah-day!

Chorus

See dem flyin' on a ten mile heat, Doo-dah doo-dah!
Round de race track, den repeat, Oh, doo-dah-day!
I win my money on de bob-tail nag, Doo-dah! doo-dah!
I keep my money in an old tow-bag, Oh, doo-dah-day!

Chorus





This is the view of Towanda from a bridge on the Susquehanna. My battery died here.