My Healthy Home Repurposed Cleaning Caddy for Earth Day

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I am a member of the Collective Bias Social  Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. #WalgreensOlogy

Earth Day is just around the corner.  I feel strongly that I should make purposeful choices in the items I purchase and bring into my home.  If you’re a familiar face around Organized 31, you know that I almost singularly use repurposed items in my organizing and crafting.  The main reason I choose to use repurposed items is because I want my healthy home to be a haven for my children and I feel a social responsibility to leave a healthy earth to my children.  In addition to repurposing and recycling, I choose to look for products that are better for the environment and free of chemicals that could be harmful to my children.

Several years ago I made the choice to use cleaners that won’t harm the environment or my family and will still clean.  My favorite non-harmful cleaner to use is baking soda.  I find that baking soda can tackle most messes that require scrubbing, whether it’s small messes on my dishes or huge messes like those in the oven.   Recently I learned about Ology products that are free of harmful chemicals and  better for the environment (the paper products are 100% tree free, stop and think about that for a moment).  Since Ology is only available at Walgreens and it’s just down the block from me, I popped over to Walgreens to check out what they had. #WalgreensOlogy

I was impressed with the number of Ology products they have; cleaning products,  paper products and personal care products. I picked up several to try along with my regular shopping list.  Of course, I brought everything home in cloth bags.  I keep a cloth bag full of cloth bags in the trunk of my car so they’re always available when I go shopping.  Using cloths bags for shopping saves a plastic tree (I know, it’s corny, but it amuses me) and can hold much more than plastic or paper bags.

When I saw the shape of the bottle of laundry detergent I immediately knew the bottle would be perfect to make a repurposed cleaning caddy.  After using the detergent (which cleaned even dirty rags well and makes even the whole laundry room smell  fresh), I simply drew a line in pencil and then used household scissors to cut the spout off the bottle.  Be prepared that cutting the plastic at the top of the bottle requires some strength and a sharp pair of scissors.  I used a file to take a couple of sharp edges off where my cut wasn’t as smooth as I wanted.

Before I loaded my new cleaning caddy up, I took the time to cut my sponges into smaller pieces.  This makes the sponges last longer.  I wash the one I’m using after every couple of uses, but when the sponge finally reaches that really gross stage, I can throw it out and still have two-thirds of the sponge left.

An added benefit to my repurposed cleaning caddy – it smells great!  The Spring Lavender & Vanilla detergent smells really fresh and clean without being over-powering, so my cleaning caddy smells nice. I loaded my cleaning cloths and sponges up and am ready to go clean.

Now for the question my entire family was interested in – how do you make paper products without trees?  Ology’s paper towels, bath tissue and facial tissues are made from renewable sugar husk (which would otherwise be thrown away) and quick-growing bamboo.  Using these resources instead of trees, is safer for the environment.  Although I do use reusable cleaning cloths and sponges, there are just some messes that require a paper towel.  I found that the Ology paper towels were a bit thiner than regular paper towels, but still held up well when I scrubbed the sink.  And the questions we’ve all been waiting for – did the tree-free bath and facial tissues hold up to the …. skin test? My family of 5 are split, with 2 for and 3 unsure.  I think the texture of the tissues comes down to personal preference.

Wonder why I was interested in the shampoo and conditioner with no harmful chemicals?  Here is several feet of reason! 

 With so much hair, I’m very interested in personal care products that expose my family and the earth to fewer harmful chemicals. Since Ology is endorsed by Healthy Child Healthy World, an organization focused on creating healthy environments for children, I feel comfortable with my children using the Ology soap, shampoo and conditioner.

 Join me on Earth Day in making purposeful choices to live with fewer harmful chemicals and to leave a healthier earth for our children and grandchildren.  Grab your own healthy home repurposed cleaning caddy, cut sponges and choose better for the environment cleaners .