I have another new discovery....... Tea Tree Oil. It works really well with bathroom mold. Lassens has an amazing selection of several natural oils. I mixed Tea Tree Oil in a bottle with water and spray it after every shower. It helps keep the shower clean. I bought a few other oils and add them to a spray bottle with water and use them as air fresheners as well as a few drops in some potpourri have a continuous scent. I even sprayed my car interior. Lemon Sage has a really nice fresh scent.

While shopping at Lassens I discovered they had some really great all natural products by Seventh Generation, Beauty without Cruelty and Earth Friendly. Everything from drain cleaners to stainless steel cleaners. I also realized I save a lot of money by making my own cleaners and furniture polish with vinegar, water, lemon oil or olive oil. http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2007/11/05/the-natural-way-to-clean-everything-in-your-house/The microfiber mops have really come a long way and really clean the dirt without leaving a film. Good riddens to Swifter cleaning supplies.

I found a new soap to clean delicates. For those of you who follow the caring consumer guide, http://search.caringconsumer.com/ and will not purchase products that are tested n animals and destroy our environment – Woolite is definitely not an option of washing delicates. I have been using Dr. Bonner’s Pure Castle Soap. It is wonderful!!!!!!! I use on my delicates and even cashmere and wool. They all came out great. The soap comes in several scents. I bought lavender – very nice. It is made with all organic oils. It has several uses listed on the back of the bottle. Dr. Bronner has been around making this product for 60 years. His bottle is full of his philosophies. Very fun reading, “Directions state, To Simplify and Enjoy Life more, dilute 1/2 oz of solution with water etc…..” The soap is biodegradable so environmentally friendly and can be found at Savon's, Lassens and Drug Store .com or directly at http://www.drbronner.com/

Costco has a new line of Cruelty Free and environmentally friendly dish washing soap and laundry detergent and being Costco very reasonable priced. I have used the laundry detergent and I like it. For an extra boost for white I use the Trader Joes version of Oxi Clean OXO clean (Oxi Clean is Not cruelty Free)

I also read several disturbing articles about non stick pans. I never realized how toxic they are especially after they have been used for several years. The scratches leach the toxins into your food. I am now a Stainless Steele cooking ware advocate. Here is a great reason to switch, “PFOA is currently found in the bloodstream of 95 percent of American men, women, and children.” http://greenfertility.blogspot.com/2008/03/non-stick-cookware-continues-to-prove.html.

Have Fun :0

Household Cleaning Products.

Most Household Products are labeled as "Hazardous to Human and Domestic Animals". So why do we continue to use these products in our everyday life???? Go check your own cleaning products and see how many are labeled as harmful.

We clean our sinks, countertops, floors, refrigerators, ovens and stove tops with harmful cleaning chemicals. We often place our raw food as well as dish towels, utensils, glassware and toothbrushes on the "clean" countertops with the thought we have killed all bacteria with our cleaning products. In fact, we have placed an invisible chemical harmful film on all of the surfaces that end up in our bodies. Our families and pets walk and lay on the "clean" floors. Many cats/dogs lick their paws and are ingesting the harmful chemicals. We walk on the floors and then proceed to put our feet on the sofa and in between our clean sheets in bed. That clean smell is a film left behind from these cleaning products. So as you can see we are subjecting ourselves and our animals to harmful chemicals by cleaning.

There are a growing number of cases of children developing asthma and lung problems when their mothers used cleaning products and air fresheners while she was pregnant. http://www.osm-inc.com/july24.html. They attribute many of asthma issues directly related in to the inhalation of harmful chemicals in cleaning products. There are also an alarming number of adult onsets of asthma due to cleaning products. //http://groups.google.com/group/misc.health.alternative/browse_thread/thread/75211b7224dd212a


How do we avoid exposing our families and pets to these chemicals as well as not supporting companies that test on animals? As I mentioned before, there are several great companies that provide a good product, chemical free and are cruelty free. The links for Method, Seventh Generation and Beauty without Cruelty are all on the products tab on this page. For those of you who want to be adventuresome and make your own cleaning products I have found several very easy and effective recipes for cleaning everything to your sinks, showers, floors and polishing wood.


Here is a link to several natural cleaning recipes http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2007/11/05/the-natural-way-to-clean-everything-in-your-house/. I have used almost all of them and they work great. I really liked the wood furniture polisher and the mold remover recipe in the bathroom (bleach use to be my bathroom clean all!). I also like the suggestions of essential oils instead of the air fresheners and carpet deodorizers.


Have fun with all your new recipes.

Cruelty Free Beauty and Household Products

Passion - what is passion? "Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for anything and often requiring action. Passion often applies to lively or eager interest in or admiration for a proposal, cause, or activity or love." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_(emotion). I am passionate about animals and they are the reason why I chose to blog.

I have become aware of the unnecessary cruelty of testing on animals through many major common products we use daily. I have, as many others, been fooled by the marketing of cosmetics as well as household products. I have come to realize that the testing is not necessary but still done in abundance. I always knew that testing existed but chose to close my eyes and continue to buy my favorite hair,cosmetic and cleaning products in bliss. Once my eyes were opened there was no turning back.

It is amazing how much information is out there and how many good companies don't test but also don't market it as such. I started researching all my favorite companies and made lists of companies that test and others that don't. http://search.caringconsumer.com/. It is also disturbing how many large companies continue to test on animals. What would be the reason to continue to test a product containing bleach on animals. I would think they know the harm that will be caused by bleach?


Have you ever read the label in a Pine-Sol Bottle? The warning, " Hazard to Humans and Domestics Animals"" Hmmm what are we cleaning our house with? The ugly truth..............to be continued.