Cleaning up!

When we moved to Alabama, I realized that our property has a septic tank. If you don't know what that means it is simply this: An individualized waste-water disposal system. The house is 50 years old so our septic system is struggling a bit, but still working for now. Nevertheless, because a septic system relies on bacteria to break down waste, one has to be extra careful what they put down the drains. That's right. No more "anti-bacterial" cleaners for the Alexanders (shocker to me because I am crazy about bleach). This is good, because for years now I have been trying to figure out how to make the switch to organic and plant based biodegradable products. I just thought they were cost prohibitive. Now, I don't have much of a choice. For now, these are the products I have found and have been using for months. They smell great, work great, and yes - they are more expensive.

Myers, Method and Kirkland (Costco) have good solutions for dishes. Whether my kitchen sink or dishwasher - I have to be mindful of what goes down the drain!

I filled up a spray bottle of vinegar water. This is what I clean around all my drains with. For an abrasive scrub, I use baking soda on EVERYTHING! And I know I can be safe with Myers' All Purpose Cleaner.

For hands: all my bathrooms have Myers hand soap. It smells divine.

For showers: I love Dr. Bonners Castille soap. It's expensive, but transcendent. I am trying to figure out how to make my own shower gel. But that is about 5th down on the list right now. I have tried washing my hair with baking soda, and conditioning with apple cider vinegar. It was a good experience, but I have not gotten used to the feeling of no suds. :)

Laundry, I have been using ECO, a product I get at Sams. And Myers fabric softener. My friend Meredith has started making her own laundry detergent. She gave me a sample which I have been using the last couple of weeks. So far, so good. She is going to teach me how to do it. I will post about that in a few weeks.