My parents had prize winning Persian cats and show pigeons before they had children. In truth, even before my parents opened the pet shop and boarding and grooming business that was our family business for almost 20 years, our home was like a wildlife preserve. We had cats, snakes, song birds, horses, ponies, dogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, a raccoon, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, pigeons, doves, parakeets, parrots, cockatiels, and peacocks. This was not serial pet ownership, we had several of each of these various pets all at the same time.

I know it sounds amazing that one family could house and feed that many pets, but we lived in rural Missouri and had a huge house and a bit of land so there was room for everyone.

Growing up with a pet menagerie like that you can’t help but learn things about how to care for a pet and keep it safe from toxic chemicals in the house.

So here’s what a liitle bit of what I learned from Mom and Pop about how to be clean without toxins when you are a pet owner:

Pine oil based products can cause health problems, even death, for cats. It is the phenols that are the danger. So read those cleaning labels and keep all phenol based products out of your house if you own a cat or kitten.

Also if you have cats in particular stay away from pest sprays because anyone who has a cat knows that they love to chase bugs. All a bug needs to do is crawl through the wet spray, get chomped on by the cat and ingest the poison. Many a pet owner has learned this the hard way.

Again this is all common sense, but stay away from those chlorine bleach based toilet bowl cleaners too, since dogs will often drink from the toilet since the water is always cool in the bowl.

Visit our other posts for suggestions on how to  make homemade cleaning products to clean toilets and bath tubs using vinegar, soapnuts, and baking soda.

You will find the best and most accurate information on which packaged cleaning products are hazardous to pets by visiting the ASPCA site.

Here’s the link Cleaning Products & Household Hazards 

In my next post I will share some creative ways to make homemade non-toxic cleaning products using soapnuts. I’ll also offer some thoughts on stain removal without using toxic chemicals.

If you want more information about what soap nuts are and how to use them visit my other blog http://soap-nuts.info for information.

In my last post I mentioned that I would share some information on which essential oils are safe for contact with your baby.

My sister lives in Ada, Oklahoma and has a thriving massage therapy business there. One of her specialties is pre-natal massage for expectant mothers. She and I are both great believers in the power of essential oils for healing common ailments, so we’ve have done extensive research on aromatherapy and the use of essential oils. However, just because something is all natural or chemical free it does not mean that it is safe.

Please keep this in mind if you decide to add essential oils to your laundry, especially if you are using soap nuts as an alternative to chemical based laundry detergents. Some people do feel they want to have both clean and scented laundry. Adding a few drops of essential oil to the soapnuts pouch before you drop it into the washing machine with your baby clothes or nursery linens is the answer to get the scent, as well as the chemical free cleaning.

Below is a concise article on which essential oils are safe for exposure and contact for infants and babies. The article actually discusses direct skin contact of the baby with an essential oil, but remember your baby is still developing internally as well as externally so before you scent the laundry consider which is safe for contact with your child.

In addition to the healing properties of essential oils, lavender scent also has a calming effect when inhaled that’s why you will find so many packaged baby cleansing products with lavender scent on the shelves in stores. We strongly suggest you use only essential oils and not chemically altered fragrance oils. This cannot be stressed too much.

How to Know Which Essential Oils Are Safe for Babies

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Essential oils must be treated with care at all times and many of them carry contra-indications as to their use, such as not using them during pregnancy or on babies. However, there are some essential oils that are not only safe for baby but are also good for baby.

Steps

1. Select the safe oils for babies according to the baby’s age.
   • From birth to 2 months: Chamomile (both German and Roman), Lavender, Yarrow and Dill are safe essential oils.
   • From 2 months to 6 months old: Adding to those already listed, you can also include Coriander, Neroli and Mandarin essential oils.
   • From 6 - 12 months old: Gradually add Grapefruit, Aniseed, Tea Tree and Calendula essential oils.
2. Be aware of how to use the oils safely and in what quantities. Always follow reputable instructions and always have a trusted recipe at hand.
3. Decide how you wish to use essential oils with your baby. There are some suggestions offered under “Tips” for starters. It is a great idea to do some research during pregnancy for suitable remedies for baby ailments and soothing.
4. Do not ever use eucalyptus or wintergreen on any child under 2 years of age. They can be lethal.

Tips

• Essential oils for babies have such uses as helping to alleviate diaper rash and dried skin, such as cradle cap.
• Massaging babies with essential oil is a delightful way to bond with and soothe your baby.
• Oiling babies can be refreshing, clean and fun. But don’t abuse your power; if they react unpleasantly to Burmuda or White Rhino scents, don’t force it. Alleviate your frustration by chewing ice or counting to 10 instead.

Warnings

• It is always prudent to ask your health professional for some advice before using on your baby or toddler.
• Always read the labels. If in doubt, do not use. The place of purchase should be able to provide you with advice if you ask.
• Do not ever use “essential Oils” that say not to use internally or on the skin. This are not essential oils but petrochemically distilled fragrance oils. Make sure your oils live up to everyone of these expectations: How To Find Out if Your Aromatherapy Essential Oils Are Pure Therapeutic Grade
• Are the fragrances of your pure therapeutic grade essential oils subtle, rich, organic, and delicate? Do they feel natural? Do they smell stronger, more real and less chemical than your current brand?
• Are the fragrances of your Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils consistent from batch to batch as an indication that they are pure and painstakingly scrutinized by small farms rather than carelessly, industrially, processed on a large scale?
• Does your essential oil supplier send each batch of essential oils it receives through up to five different independent lab analyses before the essential oil is released? Will they produce them on demand?
• Are the tests performed by well known standard independent labs?
• Does your essential oil supplier grow and distill its own organically grown herbs? Are the distillation facilities part of the farm where the herbs are grown so they are freshly distilled, maintaining their potency?
• Does your essential oil supplier use low pressure and low temperature to distill essential oils and preserve the essential oils fragile chemical constituents? Are the distillation cookers fabricated from costly stainless steel alloys to reduce the likelihood of the essential oils chemically reacting with the metal?
• Does your essential oil supplier have representatives traveling worldwide to personally inspect the fields and distilleries where the herbs are grown and distilled?
• Do they scrutinize the facilities to check to see that no synthetic chemicals are being used in any of these processes?
• Does your essential oil supplier care about the farms they use and make sure they are fair trade? Meaning the local farmers get fair pay and not 3rd world change.
• Does your essential oil supplier sell all essential oils in 2 sizes to save you money? And available to everyone without the hassles of network marketing?
• Does your essential oil supplier offer free shipping, low cost shipping, and discounts in appreciation of your patronage?
• Does your essential oil supplier provide knowledgeable staff to answer you questions about use, and supply as much information as possible free of charge?
• Are over 98% of your current brand of essential oils certified organic buy real certification? Are they willing to provide this upon request?

Related wikiHows

• How to Breastfeed Twins
• How to Find the Perfect Baby Shower Centerpiece
• How to Make Baby Wipes
• How to Put Shoes on a Baby

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Know Which Essential Oils Are Safe for Babies. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

If you want just the scent of lavender on babies clothes and linens conside taking a few tablespoons of lavendar flowers and putting them in a fabric pouch in the drawers or closets where you store your baby clothes and linens.

In my next post I will share information about non-toxic chemical free cleaning for pet owners. You’ll want to be sure to read that post because like a baby your pet can have dire health complications from exposure to certain chemicals. You’ll be surprised by some of the things I’ll share in that post.

I’ve been reviewing the Google Analytics reports for this blog and see that ninety-nine percent of my visitors are looking for recipes to make homemade chemical free cleaners.

I always try to deliver on my promises so I’ve been scouring the internet trying to find more recipes that you won’t see everywhere.

My greatest cleaning challenge is stain removal on clothing. This is especially true of food or wine stains  on my antique table linen. Most of my table cloths and napkins are about 50 years old, made from fine natural fibers, and are from my mother. These are cherished possessions and I want to use them, but whenever we have guests invariably a glass of red wine gets spilled or sauce from a dish seasoned with turmeric ends up getting dripped. I have said for many years if someone could come up with a safe chemical free stain remover for turmeric they’d please millions of people and make a fortune in the process. I’m working on that so check back to see what I find works for turmeric stain removal. Removing the red wine stain is easy. Pour club soda on a clean natural fiber cloth and blot the stain. Blot do not rub!. For bigger red wine spills I usually lay the table cloth on top of the washer and pour club soda freely onto the stain and then blot the excess. Repeat the steps as needed until the stain is gone. The faster you do this after the spill, the less likely the wine will saturate the fibers of the table cloth, carpet, or clothing and become resistant to stain removal. This pour and blot technique has also worked for my white carpets, but again you have to do it quickly after the spill for maximum success.

This morning I found another great website with recipes for homemade cleaning products. Many of them are chemical free and non-toxic. Some alternative cleaning recipes use laundry detergent or liquid soap as an ingredient, for which I would recommend substituting soapnuts liquid. If you don’t know about soapnuts, or where to buy them and how to use them, be sure to visit my blog http://soap-nuts.info. I have a list of suppliers there and also have already posted ways you can use these amazing natural soap pods as a replacement for traditional chemical based detergents and soaps.

The Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD) offers an exceptionally well organized and concise list of recipes for homemade cleaning products.

This is a waste management company you can’t help but love; one who genuinely cares about the environment. Don’t you wish all waste management companies offered information on ways to protect the environment, your family, and your hard-earned money?

By the way, WSWMD makes a great point on their alternative cleaning recipes page. One we all should keep in mind. Always label your homemade cleaning products and keep them out of reach of children (and pets).

Vinegar, for instance, is an acid. If accidentally sprayed into the eyes it will burn and if you add essential oils to your cleaning products to improve the scent of your home you need to be very careful about exposure of babies  to essentail oils in particular.

I’ll share more on which essential oils are considered baby safe in my next post.

This morning I found some more great YouTube videos on ways to clean and be green. Some of the tips for non-toxic cleaning products and homemade chemical free cleaners are excellent. There are also tips on ways to make your home more eco-friendly.

Keep it GREEN!

While doing research for tips and recipes for homemade chemical free cleaning products I came across the following excellent article on using baking soda to clean. It is such a comprehensive article I wanted to share it with you. Not all of his 30 tips relate to cleaning with baking soda, but the other tips are a great way to save money and use one common household item for many other uses besides baking.

Michael Bloch
Green Living Tips.com
Green Living Tips is an online resource powered by renewable energy offering a wide variety of earth friendly tips, green guides, advice and environment related news to help consumers and business reduce costs, consumption and environmental impact on the planet.

Below the article on his site you’ll find more helpful tips from his readers, so if you’re still looking for more inexpensive, effective, homemade chemical free ways to clean  be sure to visit his site and read the tips that follow the article.

Next post I’ll be offering every tip I can locate on ways to clean your home using vinegar to make homemade cleaning products.

These days the environment is one of the most talked about topics in the media, on television, and in coffeeshops, as well as just about every place else.

Because more and more people are interested in environmentally friendly products and protecting their family, their pets, and the environment from harmful, often toxic, prepackaged chemical based cleaning products I want to share some great videos from Threadbanger with you.

In this video you’ll see easy to follow instructions for making environmentally friendly, chemical free cleaning products for wood furniture, kitchen counters, and glass. They are homemade environmentally friendly cleaning products that cost just pennies to make.

Below are some other great tips on Do It Yourself Projects you may want to check out:

One of my favorite places online is http://squidoo.com because I find so many passionate and very useful lenses there.

Recently I found this Squidoo Lens about homemade chemical free cleaning products.  http://www.squidoo.com/homemadecleaningproducts . Although the lensmaster only covers things you can do with baking soda and tea tree oil the hints are helpful to at least get you started replacing chemical clenaing products with homemade chemical free choices.

Another site you may want to visit for tips on creating an environmentally safe, chemical free home is http://www.vinegartips.com/cleaning/ which touts the value of vinegar as a household cleanser that is effective for killing most mold, bacteria, and germs. Since distilled white vinegar is perhaps one of the least expensive chemical free cleaning options those who are looking for frugal cleaning tips will also find that site very useful.

My absolute favorite site is http://www.care2.com/greenliving/healthy-home/nontoxic-cleaning the entire Care 2 site is perhaps one of the most content rich sites I have ever visited. Since their entire premise is that one person can make a difference the tips, articles, and information they provide offer each of us the chance to actually Make a Difference. They do it without breaking your budget, which is something that most of us are looking for right now.

I truly believe that most people do have a conscience and are interested in protecting the environment, reducing waste, and living a healthier life. The reason that more people don’t take action may be lack of information and increasing their expenses.

So http://non-toxic-cleaning.com is working on making a difference by offering the least expensive ways to clean your world without breaking your budget, and by giving you easy access to information that you can use today.

Welcome to our non-toxic cleaning blog.

What you’ll find at http://non-toxic-cleaning.com/blog is information about how to clean almost everything in your world without exposing your family, possessions, and the environment to toxic chemicals.

History has taught us that as “man” has evolved the negative impact on the environment has increased in exponential proportion. Environmental pollution is not caused only by factories, automobiles, and machinery. It’s also caused by laundry detergent, dishwasher powders and liquids, chlorine in swimming pools and spas, and insecticides, just to name a few.

The waste from packaged cleaning products increases the need for additional recycling which uses energy and releases the toxic chemicals into the environment through waste water.

The good news is that for every product that pollutes the environment while it cleans, there is a natural alternative which will clean without excessive expense and without exposing your family to harsh chemicals, toxins, and perfumes.

People with allergies to airborn pollutants, fragrances, and chemicals often are forced to pay a hefty price both economically and in personal discomfort just to maintain a clean home. We are your champions in the search for safe, chemical free, cost effective, natural, and safe cleaning products.

Each of our posts will offer either a product review of an environmentally safe, chemical free cleaning product or offer a home made recipe for cleaning almost every possession you own. The reviews will be based on personal experience and not just ads for products that market themselves as environmentally friendly. Whenever possible we’ll offer you a link to where to buy a product we recommend from the least expensive, best quality merchant.

We hope you will enjoy the vast resources and information we’ve compiled.