• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Blue House Blog

believer | creating a home of peace, health, abundance and beauty | laughing a lot

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Truth
    • Contact Me
  • Recipes
    • Trim Healthy Mama
    • Nourishing Traditions
  • My Home
    • Remodeling
    • Before and After
  • The Fine Print
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy
    • Media
  • Shop

The Blue House is Going Green…Healthy Cleaning Products

Melissa Beene Ford/ Uncategorized

Ever since BF was diagnosed with encephalitis a year and a half ago, I’ve been trying to make efforts to get all the chemicals out of our house. Did you KNOW that chemical exposure can cause encephalitis?? Very scary, especially when you consider the odds that we were given when BF got sick, that only 1/2 of people even recover from encephalitis and out of the 1/2 that DO survive, they can have varying degrees of brain damage. It goes without saying that we ALL want to do whatever we can to avoid the risk of death or brain damage for the ones we love!

In addition to going chemical-free for our OWN health, I just think its the responsible and Christian thing to do to be better stewards of the Earth that God gave us. If you’ll notice, if its good for YOU, its usually good for the Earth as well.

A few things I’ve started doing are buying Seventh Generation laundry and dishwasher detergent (I buy it at the Granary). Since your clothes are in contact with your largest organ, your skin, I believe that it is SO important that we avoid chemicals there. And, typical dishwasher detergents are loaded with dangerous things both for yourself AND for the environment. Dishwasher detergent (typical store-bought) is POISONOUS!!! Isn’t that crazy?? And the author of several books I’ve read, Hulda Clark, says that if someone in your home has cancer, you should HAND-WASH their dishes to avoid the phosphates that cause CANCER TO GROW. I don’t know about you, but if it causes cancer to grow, I don’t want my kids getting traces of it on their Winnie the Pooh dishes. I know of several people who make their own laundry detergent with varying degrees of success. I haven’t tried that yet, but I’m sure I will at some point when my to-do list gets a little shorter. For now though, I’m very happy with the Seventh Generation products. My clothes appear very clean and fresh, with no over-bearing flowery smell like you get from most detergents. Actually there’s no smell at all. It ain’t cheap, but to me, its worth it knowing that’s one more step toward keeping my family healthy, as well as the planet!

I just came across this website that gives instructions on making your own cleaning products. I haven’t looked too closely yet, so I can’t say personally how effective any of the suggestions are. I WILL say that baking soda and vinegar will clean almost anything, and I have started buying both of those products in bulk at Sams to do a lot of my cleaning with. (I also wash my hair in BS/vinegar but I’ll talk about that later in another post. :))

So, my friends, what are YOU doing to make your home and planet a healthier place?? I’d love to hear your ideas, hints, tips and suggestions in the comments section!! Any healthy websites or blogs you know of? I’d love to hear. 🙂 I welcome your comments!

Recent Posts

  • Ask
  • Two Natural Ways to Cope with Grief
  • Covers Over
  • God vs Earthly Parents
  • For they are ever with me

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Moore Family says

    May 26, 2008 at 3:11 am

    Yeash that is so scary. It really does make you want to take a look at the things you are bringing into your house. We have slowly but surely been weeding those things out of our house, but still have a ways to go.<BR/><BR/>Sarahlarae

    Reply
  2. Modern June31 says

    May 26, 2008 at 4:20 am

    I recently discovered that Clorox makes a line of all green cleaning products and I love them. They clean really well. http://www.clorox.com/products/overview.php?prod_id=gw

    Reply
  3. Steve Hengsperger says

    May 26, 2008 at 1:01 pm

    The Clorox line is plant-based. I’m not sure if you’ve done your research but plant-based ingredients included in some green cleaners include limonene (a citrus-based oil), pine oil, and the foaming agent coconut diethanolamide — all of which can cause allergic dermatitis. And a recent study of natural and nontoxic consumer products found the suspected cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane in

    Reply
  4. Dave says

    June 10, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    As a professional carpet cleaner, I see the need for cleaning products that won’t cause the building occupants harm. I constantly search for and only use carpet cleaning products which are truly safe, effective and eco-friendly.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Me


Hey there... I'm Melissa! Texas girl. Mom to three + one goldendoodle. Believer. Old house fanatic. Creating a happy + healthy home with purpose is my passion. I'm so glad you're here!

Be sure to subscribe to emails so you don't miss a post!

Search for Something

ARCHIVES

I don’t know who’s big idea it was to strip 80 I don’t know who’s big idea it was to strip 80 years of paint off of this door down to the wood and start over… but that person has no business starting new projects. 😅 My neighbors must have thought this project would never end. *I* thought this project would never end. 😰 If you’re thinking of doing this yourself? Just don’t, ok? Throw the whole door away and buy a new one. 😂🤣 Just kidding.  Old house weirdos like me… we can’t just do things the easy way. Anyhoo… after some trial and error, @sherwinwilliams Celestial is what I landed on, and I have to say… I like it. Periwinkle-ish blue looks great with the yellow house and will look even better when the azaleas are in bloom. Was it all worth it? That’s not important right now. 🤭 Will I do this all again in two years? The magic eight ball says… without a doubt. 👏🏻 I’ve already picked the next color. #gluttonforpunishment #somefoolsneverlearn #oldhouselove #oldhomelove #makinghome #southernliving #gardenandgun #azaleadistrict #tylertx
Spring in the Azalea District makes the winters in Spring in the Azalea District makes the winters in an 80-year-old house completely worth it … what broken pipes, icy hardwood floors and drafty windows? 🤔 I forgot already. #comeonspring #azaleadistrict #tylertx
Happy Saturday ☀️ Happy Saturday ☀️
Salt Lake City is always magical ✨ Salt Lake City is always magical ✨
2022 had its highs and lows for sure, but scrollin 2022 had its highs and lows for sure, but scrolling through my pics from the last twelve months made me realize how blessed and content I am. Prosperity, love, and peace have been ours in abundance, in spite of the pain of losing my dad. The second picture is the last picture of him… the last time I saw him. 💔 But God has been good to my family this year and 2022 is ending far better than it began. 😄 #2022inreview #thanksforthememories
Who wants a Christmas tour of my home? 🙋🏼‍ Who wants a Christmas tour of my home? 🙋🏼‍♀️
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
That’s it. That’s the tour. (Slide two). 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It’s a new trend I’m starting: bare Christmas tree. Lowe’s tag still attached (so quirky and unexpected)! Christmas ornaments still in boxes. Coming soon to an Anthropologie window display near you. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Every year I think, “next year I’ll do better. Next year I’ll have it together.” And then, here we are on the SIXTH Christmas that we’ve been in this house, the sixth Christmas I’ve dragged our chaotic bunch of Christmas mess out of a chaotic garage I still haven’t unpacked from our move six years ago. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Maybe this year is the year I’ll organize it all and put it back neatly so that by Christmas number 7, it will be smooth sailing. People will flock to my social media to see how I’ve pulled everything off SO PERFECTLY. Next year will be my year. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Seems every year there’s less and less bandwidth for all these things. There’s more grief and stress, less money. More demands, less grace. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I put this sign on the wall in my office so I could keep it in front of my eyes: Love. Joy. Peace. And all that. I am SO unlike Jesus most days. So lacking in all of these character qualities. And that’s WITH waking up most mornings and spending my first 30 minutes with God Himself. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
How lost would I be without that? Geez. I can’t fathom. I REQUIRE being transformed by renewing my mind every single morning, and even then, responding to people and life with love, joy, peace and patience doesn’t come naturally. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It’s the goal, though. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This weary world needs that from us Believers during this season, more than ever… even more than an Anthropologie-window-display worthy Christmas home tour. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I’m working on both.
Instagram post 18046618504353300 Instagram post 18046618504353300
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Ella Theme by Code + Coconut