Category: Healthy Home

Whether you are a stay-at-home or working parent, teaching your children how to clean and stay organized will improve your life and theirs.  You can teach your children good cleaning habits by being neat and tidy yourself. Hanging up clothes and putting things away after you use them sets a good example for children to follow. Here are some ways to encourage your children to clean up and organize:  

Decorate boxes, baskets, and plastic tubs with your children that can be used as toy storage.

Store the boxes under beds and in closets.  Decorated baskets and shoe boxes also look great on bookshelves.  Keep board games on shelves, small toys in small containers, medium sized toys in medium size containers, and reserve toy boxes for large items.

Cleaning before bedtime.  Five minutes before bedtime, get the kids to put their “stuff” away.  Praise your children for keeping their toys and books organized, and make sure to let them know how nice it is to wake up in a clutter-free home.

Storing toys.  Store half of your children’s toys and switch them around every few months.  This way, they can “new” toys to play with while staying organized all at the same time.

Have your children pick out toys they don't play with anymore and so they can donate them to the Salvation Army, friends, or relatives.

Put up hooks and pegs on the backs of room door and on the insides of closet doors for quick hang-ups when the children come in.

Assign each child a different color towel and make sure they hang it up after every use. Explain that this not only keeps the bathroom clean, it saves water making your home a “greener” environment.

Let the children help in the kitchen. They can wash vegetables, set the table, clean the table, or load the dishwasher.  Try not to expect perfection, but do try to praise them for helping out.

Have children listen to music while they are cleaning.  If they don’t have iPods, play a cd everyone likes and take breaks to dance a bit.

Set aside a period of time each week for children to dust and vacuum their rooms, and to clean under the beds.  Make sure to clean your room at the same time so you are setting a good example.  Be certain to schedule quality family time after as a reward. Keeping their room clean will become a good habit and something to celebrate.

Maid Brigade House Cleaning Services cares about the health of you and your family.  For more information on healthy green living and green cleaning, please log on to greencleancertified.com or maidbrigade.com.  For more information on "Household Cleaning Products and Breast Cancer", please watch our video at www.greencleancertified.com/greentv.

When most people hear the words, "air pollution," they usually picture car exhaust and smokestacks.  But pollution isn't just about the toxic fumes that are spewed into the great outdoors.  Pollution inside our homes is a serious threat, not only to our health, but to the environment.  The pollutants we introduce to our homes and office buildings migrate into our outdoor air and eventually into our land, drinking water, and waterways.

Sources of indoor air pollution include building materials, fuels, carpeting, paints, furniture and household products, such as air fresheners and cleaners.  Many of these products contain volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which are hazardous to breathe.  According to the EPA, concentrations of many VOCs are five to ten times higher indoors than outdoors.  Poor ventilation also contributes to the problem, creating mold and other bacterial contaminants.

What can you do?  Try to minimize products containing VOCs as much as possible.  Make your own natural, cleaning products with baking soda, vinegar and lemons.  When painting or putting in new carpet, ask for low-VOC, formaldehyde-free paints and adhesives.  Look into purchasing eco-friendly area rugs made with chemical-free wools.  Install exhaust fans in your kitchen and bathrooms.

Maid Brigade House Cleaning Services cares about the health of you and your family.  For more information on healthy green living and green cleaning, please log on to greencleancertified.com or maidbrigade.com.  For more information on "Household Cleaning Products and Breast Cancer", please watch our video at www.greencleancertified.com/greentv.

If one of the visions dancing in your head this holiday season is to "go green," then you are in luck!  Here are some eco-friendly ideas to prep your house for entertaining and fill it with seasonal spirit and natural scents.

Green Clean Your Home

The holiday season is a time of cozying up in the house, so this is the perfect time to clear the air inside of toxins as well as dirt and dust. Use mild, biodegradable natural and non-toxic cleaning products. Look for ones that don't contain harsh chemical solvents, chlorine, ammonia, or synthetic fragrances.  Baking soda or vinegar mixed with a little water make excellent all-purpose cleaners.  If possible, try and open the windows a little while cleaning to let toxins out and fresh air in.

Buy A "Green" Christmas Tree

Avoid artificial trees that are made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC).  Choose a fresh tree instead.  Live, potted trees are reusable.  After the holidays, you can plant your tree or leave it potted in your yard and use it again next year.  Or, recycle your fresh cut tree.  Look for a lot (or an organic tree farm) that sells trees grown locally and without pesticides.

When the holidays are over, don’t put your tree out with the trash.  Instead, see if your community has a tree-recycling pick-up day. Recycling services turn trees into compost or mulch for community parks and other public areas.  Log on to earth911.com to find a tree recycler in your area.

Seasonal Fragrances and Decorations

This year, find your decorations in your backyard instead of heading to the store.  Berries, flowers, and evergreen branches are beautiful decorations and fill the house with seasonal aromas.

Make holiday potpourri by simmering ingredients such as lemon or orange slices, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom, and nutmeg.  Add to your seasonal scents by baking gingerbread cookies.

Instead of buying new decorations, use family vintage ornaments, or buy some from a thrift store.  Have your children make ornaments from homemade clay, scraps of fabric, old holiday cards, and nontoxic paints and glue.

Children can also help make snow globes in watertight recycled jars. Several snow globes displayed together on a table or mantel make a beautiful winter wonderland!

Eco-Friendly Lighting

Candles and holiday lights are a big part of the holiday season, but electric holiday lights consume a lot of energy and standard paraffin candles are made from petroleum products.

If you are stringing up lights, conserve energy by turning the lights on only at night.  Make sure to use LED lights because they are brighter than standard mini-bulbs and use one-tenth the energy, which can help you save on your energy bill.

When it comes to lighting a menorah or a tabletop, buy candles made with natural ingredients such as palm oil, soy, or beeswax. Electric menorahs are another option.

Maid Brigade House Cleaning Services cares about the health of you and your family.  For more information on healthy green living and green cleaning, please log on to greencleancertified.com or maidbrigade.com.  For more information on "Household Cleaning Products and Breast Cancer", please watch our video at www.greencleancertified.com/greentv.

Hanukkah is a good time to rededicate yourself, your family, and your community to helping the planet.  Making the eight nights a little more eco-friendly is easy and traditional.  Here are some simple things that you can do to conserve energy, not just at Hanukkah, but year-round:

Replace an outdoor light fixture with one that has a motion-detector. Outdoor lights that are left on all night waste electricity, increase your energy bill, and add to night-time “light pollution.” A fixture with a motion-detector will turn on only when needed.

Make a plan to decrease your car use. Automobiles emit greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Examine your driving habits and see if you can tele-commute, walk, bike, take public transit, or combine errands to reduce the amount you drive.

Make your own Hanukkah gifts! Take a photo and design a frame for it, knit a scarf for the winter, or make a set of beeswax candles. Use recycled materials if you can. You can find lots of great books about homemade gifts in your local library.

Eat less meat and buy organic, locally grown foods. Large-scale meat production uses a huge amount of natural resources, particularly grain, topsoil, and water. Eating organic food is better for your health since it reduces your exposure to pesticides and antibiotics. Buying food grown close to home supports family farms and reduces the amount of energy used to prepare and transport food.

Give your furnace a tune-up. Forty-percent of home energy use is for heat. An inefficient heating system can waste 30-50 percent of the energy it uses. Oil furnaces should be serviced annually and gas furnaces every two years. A heating technician can do the tune-up for $50-100.

Save paper by sending environmentally-friendly Hanukkah e-cards, or, make your own paper cards with recycled paper.

Wash a full load of clothes and use cold water for the rinse. Washing machines use 32-59 gallons of water per cycle, so waiting until you have a full load of clothes will save both water and energy. A warm water wash and a cold rinse will clean nearly all clothes well.

A classic oil-burning menorah uses pure olive oil and cotton wicks. This is better than common paraffin wax candles, which are oil-based.

If you don't want to mess with oil in your menorah, look for pure beeswax candles.  These burn cleanly, use no petroleum materials, and fulfill the mitzvah.

If you're crafty or want to get the kids involved, try making a menorah out of everyday items, like potatoes, ornaments, magnets, or pastry tips. This is a clever way to recycle and personalize the holiday at the same time.

Maid Brigade House Cleaning Services sends warm wishes for happiness, love and peace to you and your family on Hanukkah and always!

For more information on healthy green living and green cleaning, please log on to greencleancertified.com or maidbrigade.com.  For more information on "Household Cleaning Products and Breast Cancer", please watch our video at www.greencleancertified.com/greentv.

This year, why not give your family the gift of health?  Keeping your home free from toxins is a great place to start!

Here are some ideas for keeping your home and your family healthier:

Avoid chemical house cleaning products by choosing natural ones. Baking soda, vinegar or orange oil can replace almost any chemical cleaner.

Avoid chemical pesticides at home. Use baking soda with sugar or peppermint oil instead.

Avoid synthetic chemicals in personal care products and cosmetics. Read labels and avoid those ingredients with which you’re unfamiliar.  Avoid products that contain parabens, diethanolamine (DEA), or phthalates.

Try not to use mothballs. Mothballs contain paradichlorobenzene, which is very toxic. Instead choose sachets made with natural herbs and essential oils like rosemary, lavender, thyme and mint, which are natural moth repellants.

Avoid heating food or storing it in plastic. Most plastic contains bisphenol-A (BPA) that migrates into the food stored in these containers. BPA has been linked to thyroid and other hormonal problems.

Reduce your fragrances. Most perfumes and colognes, scented candles, plug-in air “fresheners,” pot pourri, laundry soap, fabric softeners, dryer sheets and house cleaning products are loaded with toxic ingredients that have been linked to hormonal imbalances, mood swings, fatigue, brain damage and many other symptoms.

Switch from sponges to natural cloths for cleaning. Most sponges have been treated with a chemical called triclosan, which is toxic to the skin and immune system.

Eliminate mold with tea tree oil.  A few drops of tea tree oil can be used on a cloth to wipe down walls, floors and other surfaces to help kill mold.

Choose "VOC-free" paints for your home. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), are linked to cancer.

Toss the non-stick pans. Teflon, Silverstone and other coatings emit harmful perflourochemicals (PFCs). The EPA classifies them as carcinogens.