Lazy New Year's Day at Home

Before and after

Biggest Kitchen Table -- Green Cleaning

Today's discussion (and I interpret 'today' in the broadest sense possible, encompassing last week, when Rhonda actually discussed it) is on Green Cleaning.

'Green Cleaning' makes so much sense. Whatever you call it. You don't need a trendy name or 'eco-friendly' term to do what our grandparents just did as part of life. Really, it's just about cleaning. It is about simplifying the process, eliminating excess, reducing unnecessary chemicals, and learning how many uses a simple thing like baking soda has.

We've been better at this, but just last week Joel and I had a discussion/minor conflict over 'bathroom cleaner' versus the baking soda method. What it boils down to is that we haven't made it simple enough to do it the right way. Joel pointed out that it's a lot easier to grab the spray bottle of chemicals than to find the baking soda, find a rag, etc. So that is my task for this discussion. Joel has already started by assigning a container to keep the bathroom cleaning stuff in. We use old socks as rags, so there are a couple of those in there. Joel assigned a particular sock to use to clean the outside of the toilet, and I wrote 'toilet sock' on sharpie on it. I think this is probably kind of scary to anyone who happens across it in our flat. I like to wonder what our friends think of us sometimes.

My goals for green cleaning:

• Buy a separate baking soda to keep in the cleaning box.
• Mix up a general all purpose cleaner that will keep in a spray bottle. I have loads of recipes for this but haven't done it yet. That would make things easier.

What are your thoughts on this? Is it easier to just buy chemical cleaners? Is it worth the initial extra time to use 'green' cleaners? Are you convinced that natural ingredients really get the things clean?

PS Another interesting event -- our friends just gave us their eco-balls, which you use instead of laundry soap, and the balls last 18 months before needing a refill (an example of when greener is cheaper - we will now spend zilch on our laundry for the next year). They gave them to us because the husband missed the smell of laundry detergent in his clothes. Have you ever tried the green option and then decided you like your old habit better?

Joel leaves, home subsequently shatters.

1. Food waste is up. Way up. So far I've had to throw away:

• a half bag of salad
• leftover couscous with sweet raisin/apricot chicken stuff
• leftover rice (it was too late for rice pudding)
• an apple
• a lime
• there's some ham nearing the end.
  

This is getting dire, folks! I need the man's belly!

1. Basil is down. Something is wrong with my adorable wee beloved cretin. He isn't as fiery as he used to be, he isn't even trying to bite my fingers when I stick them in his cage. When I hold him he doesn't resist me pulling out of his cage, and he doesn't run for my shoulders right away either.
2. These numbers are all messed up. There's two number ones and these are ALL the sort of problems no one but JOEL can fix. Let's petition for him to come back.
   

What makes our marriage work:

Hamburgers.

There have been times when Joel is not so emotive, if you know him you know this is fairly often. Sometimes he's a bit flat, and if you are looking for an exuberant response you better just go elsewhere...
Well in those cases, I have found the solution...
suggest we can have hamburgers for dinner soon!

I did this last week and Joel went from about the excitement of a nervous turtle straight to the unharnessed hype of a chihuahua.

Maybe we should have hamburgers every night.