What Would June Do?

When I started thinking about this portion of our class project, the reduction of chemicals in the home, I started to think about June Cleaver. As the archetypal American mother, June kept the Cleaver household spotless. What kinds of products did she use to keep the sheets white and the floors gleaming? Bleach and Mr. Clean, or plain old baking soda and water? Above all else, I like to think that June had the health of her boys in mind when selecting products for her home. Although I do not aspire to be June Cleaver (Claire Huxtable is more my kind of gal), I do care most about the exposure of my family to chemicals and chemical residuals making their way into wastewater effluent. I started by taking stock of what cleaning products I have in my home. I was amazed and a bit ashamed that there were so many! I have bleach, Draino, car upholstery cleaner, Comet, Seventh Generation products of all kinds (wipes, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, laundry soap, toilet bowl cleaner), Arm and Hammer carpet powder, Nature’s Miracle, Windex, Murphy’s Oil Soap, and Mrs. Meyer’s Lemon Verbena all-purpose cleaner. Wow – not good! To my credit, I do not use many of these products. The bleach was inherited from the previous owner of my house 4 years ago, and I can’t remember the last time I used Comet, Nature’s Miracle, or the car upholstery cleaner. Fortunately, my city hosts an annual springtime household hazardous waste day, so I plan to unload several of the above products at the public works department for appropriate disposal. The things I use the most are made by Seventh Generation and consist primarily of plant-based compounds. The Mrs. Meyers cleaner is also plant based, phosphate free, and the company does not test on animals. Even Murphy’s Oil Soap is biodegradable, phosphate free, and is recognized by EPA as “chemically safe”. Even though I primarily use “green” cleaning products, I still don’t like to use them around my daughter. Seventh Generation products still contain synthetic preservatives. I also noticed that a lot of the essential oils are from tree bark. Were these oils produced sustainably? So, I set a goal for myself. GOAL: reduce the ingredients in household cleaners to only those that I also cook with. Because I use all-purpose cleaners for… well….. everything, I started there. Like most people who make their own household cleaner, I used white vinegar and baking soda. I also wanted a pleasant scent, so I added fresh lemon zest to the mix. Over time, the lemon oils will infuse the cleaning solution for a great fragrance.

The cleaner worked so well on the kitchen floor and bathroom fixtures, that I didn’t even notice my heels and pearls! I also mixed a paste of lemon juice and baking soda to work out stains on the kitchen counter. Lemons are not local, so I purchased a lavender plant and lavender seeds, so that I can cultivate a crop of the wonderfully fragrant herd. As the plant matures, I plan to incorporate lavender into multiple homemade products around the house.

I'm really excited about eliminating chemicals from my home and replacing all of them with homemade, food-grade solutions. I think June would be proud!