Earth day, every day

In honor of Earth Day (yes I am late, hey it has been a crazy week as usual), I wanted to discuss Earth friendly cleaning supplies. I caught a segment on Good Morning America with (I think) Diedre Imus who has a book out (?). Anyways, she was talking about environmentally friendly cleaners. I was pleased to see she had vinegar and baking soda on her table! I use these as my primary cleaners around the house, along with some of the Method brand cleaners found at Target. In addition to being super cheap, baking soda and vinegar is totally fine for consumption. So, when I am scrubbing the tubs, you know, those big drinking vessels where my kids LOVE to fill containers and then drink their bath water, I feel confident that they are getting no toxic chemicals. The combo of the two do foam and the baking soda is a great abrasive. It is even a great combo to help flush out any slow moving sinks. Vinegar works great on toilet bowl stains, just let it sit for a while before flushing. Did you know vinegar is also a disinfectant? The acidity kills many bugs which is nice in the bathroom! And, when we have the "ick" going around, I throw some in with the laundry to make sure all the buggies are killed, especially on any soiled sheets. It negates the need for bleach. I knew bleach was toxic but in the brief spiel I caught on Good Morning America, Diedre was saying the bleach fumes collect at ground level, which is awful for our little ones running (or worse yet crawling) around. They cannot escape those fumes. I did not research this and we don't usually use bleach except for the case of raw meat drippings in the kitchen sink so please Google this yourself if you need more info. But, as a rule we keep the bleach to a very minimum. Diedre also mentioned (and this disgusted me) that there was a test done on commercial baby food (i.e. Gerber) and in 1 jar there were 16 different pesticides found. YIKES! What is all that about?? I didn't know anything about this stuff when I had Matthew. I made 99% of Emma's food myself and I wanted to with Matthew but I guess I just did not know how to get started. Looking back, I am so sorry I didn't learn more because I wonder what impact those toxins had on his system. Even baby foods (including those "Puffs" - I think I remember them having soy and trans fats, there was something bad in them) you have to watch out. It is sad that we have to check ingredients of baby food, those should be among the purest there are. But, moving forward, if everyone would use safer cleaners, walk or bike a little instead of drive, maybe start a garden and compost and recycle, maybe we can help the Earth and give back instead of just taking. Just a few thoughts in honor of Earth day.