How I de-toxed my house by going from 20+ cleaners to only THREE!

I am pretty excited to be starting my healthy living blog - finally!!! I have been thinking about doing this for some time now, but like any true procrastinator, I kept putting it off. I think that comes from the perfectionist in me. If I don't think I can do it right, then I put it off until it I just do it! So here it is. I thought the first post I would share would be how I de-toxed my home - literally! BTW - I am not a fancy blogger as you can tell. So you'll have to forgive my basic looking posts. I plan on that improving with time. But the content here is definitely worth the read I think.....so read on!!! :)

Here is a picture of the many many toxic cleaners that my husband and I removed from our home.

I couldn't believe how many we actually had! And they are not even all in this picture! Are you like me and just keep buying products hoping you will find "the one" that actually does what you want it to while not killing you in the process? Over the years we just kept buying and buying. and this is what we ended up with! ack!! I finally said "enough!" after my husband and I had our first child over 2 years ago. I started realizing that the cleaning products I had probably weren't the best for me or the baby when I was pregnant. It's amazing how we don't think about things like this when it's just us but once you add a little being that you are completely responsible for to the mix, things really change, don't they? Speaking of little beings, I must digress and share with you about our second one we had 5 months ago now. He was quite the surprise as he showed up 6 weeks early! The docs in the NICU told us that we were in for a year or more of respiratory illness with him since he had a lot of breathing issues early on, including pneumonia. I am so happy to say that he has never really been sick since leaving the hospital. I attribute that to the non-toxic, non-fumy cleaners that we now use. (read on!)

So after doing a ton of research, I actually was able to get rid of everything (and more!) in the picture above and replace them with only three cleaners. Yes, just THREE!! Here is my after picture on the three products I use to clean MY ENTIRE HOUSE!!!

That's right - three simple, but more importantly SAFE and EFFECTIVE (not to mention very economical) products! Safe for my entire family. Basic H2, Basic G and Scour Off - all from Shaklee's Get Clean line of products.

So if you aren't familiar, Shaklee is this truly awesome company that has been around for over 50 years now. They are the #1 natural nutrition company in the US. That means Shaklee sells more natural nutrition products then any other company does. And the integrity and science behind this company is beyond anything I have ever seen. My dear hubby is a research scientist with pharmaceuticals and once he started looking into the science behind Shaklee's products, I couldn't get him to stop talking about it! So here is the low down on the three products we have switched to. First up, my all time favorite cleaner, Basic H2. I call it a cleaner but it is that and so much more. And Basic H2 just celebrated its 50th birthday! Talk about being ahead of its time. It is natural, organic, and works in so many ways. One of my favorite things about Basic H2 however, is the fact that it is completely safe to use around and even with my kids. My 2 year old LOVES to help me clean and I have no problem letting him with Basic H2. Here he is after we cleaned the fireplace door together using the Basic H2 window cleaner. Awesome!

I really think that everyone should have a bottle of Basic H2 in their house. It has over 1000 uses! One bottle of basic H2 is equal to over 5800 bottles of Windex!!! How can that be you may be asking? Well, the break down of how to use the Basic H2 is here:

windows/glass/mirrors: mix 1-2 DROPS of Basic H2 to 16 oz. of water

all purpose cleaner: mix 1/4 tsp. of Basic H2 to 16 oz. of water

degreaser: mix 1 1/2 tsp. of Basic H2 to 16 oz. of water

I use Shaklee's spray bottles . They work really well and the instructions are printed right on them so you don't have to remember it each time you mix it up. It's really easy and since you are using the same bottles, you save on plastic bottles going into the landfills. Pretty cool. One bottle of Basic H2 will last you FORever! Ok, forever is a very long time. But it really will last you a VERY LONG TIME! And the best thing is that this cleaner works on so many things. You can dust with it (it repels dust so you don't have to dust as often - awesome!), you can clean your windows, glass and mirrors with it (no streaks! It works like magic, esp. when you pair it with a microfiber cloth like the ones from Shaklee), you can clean all of your appliances with it, counter tops, high chair tray, cars, windshields (works great in our midwest weather!), you can clean your cement and power wash your house with it, you can use it for gardening to give you a higher yield on veggies (because it makes water wetter, which helps with the soil quality), you can use it to remove gum, crayon and ink stains, and the list goes on and on. You really have to try it for yourself to really see what I mean. And because it is so concentrated and the bottle lasts for so long, it is CHEAPER then anything else on the market! So great. Safe, economical, good for the environment, has a 1000 uses.....wow! THAT is why it is my very favorite Shaklee product. :) Here are a few more before and after pics that I took using the Basic H2:

my dirty oven door before! ick! look at all of those grease stains!

and after! wow! look at that shine! Now I can actually check in to see how my food is doing without having to open the door to look and let the heat out! I also used a little bit of the Scour Off here, which I will talk about next.

Here's another picture. My 2 year old decided it would be fun to color with crayon on my white cutting board. Here's the before:

and the after. I used a little straight Basic H2 concentrate with my microfiber sponge.


Since this happened, I have actually seen before and after pictures from other people showing how their kids colored with pen on their sofas! They just used the degreaser bottle and let it soak and then rubbed it out with their sponge. That works too!

For more info on Basic H2, click here .

So as much as I could go on and on some more about Basic H2, I will move onto another fave of mine and that is Scour Off! It used to be called At Ease if you are familiar with Shaklee back in the day:)


One of the great things about Scour off (and there are many!) is that one little canister will last you 1-2 YEARS! Awesome! A little really does go a long way here too. And it is made out of cherry pits so it smells REALLY good! I use Scour Off a lot to clean my glass top stove. I don't know about you, but I do like my glass top stove until I actually cook on it and something boils over! It burns right on. Water is actually the worst at burning on, isn't it? But it is no match to Scour Off. I just get my mircofiber sponge wet, put a little Scour Off on it and rub the mess away. Here are some before and after pics of a nasty encounter I had with some cranberry sauce a few months ago:

Before: (obviously!!!)
and after using Scour Off:
YES! I have to admit that I was a little nervous about that one. I did have to use a little more oomph then usual but it did clean it well. After, I just sprayed a little all purpose basic h2 on it to finish the job. whew!

Basically, Scour off can be used in place of any scouring cleaner that you have used before. The difference is that it is completely safe for everyone! I use it to remove hard water deposits in the sink, to clean our "glass" shower door (that was quite a job but it cleaned it SO well. I was impressed!), and to clean the inside of my oven (no more harsh toxic oven cleaners here!) etc. I have even used it to get black marks off of my kitchen floor. Here are some before and after pics of that:
Before
And after using Scour Off and my microfiber sponge. So nice!

For more info on Scour off, click here

So my last cleaner to close the trio I use on my entire house is....

Basic G! click here

One quart of Basic G cleans up to 64 gallons!!! Wow! That's because it is super concentrated like the Basic H2, so you just mix it the same way you do the all purpose Basic H.

1/4 tsp of Basic G to 16 oz. water in a spray bottle.

Basic G is a germicide. It will kill any and all bacteria, virus, germs that you can think of. We use it in the toilet, on the garbage can, diaper pails, on the counter after we have handled raw meat, etc. People with cats also use it around the litter box. The cats don't sense it and are not bothered that their area has been de-germed:)

Basic H and Basic G also come in a handy wipe form for easy clean ups, esp. when you are on vacation or on the go.

So there you have it! That is how I went from 20 + toxic cleaners to only THREE non-toxic, safe, natural, effective and cost saving cleaners!!!! The cabinet under my kitchen sink has gained so much room since I did that and my family is sooooooo much healthier and happier because of it!! And by using Shaklee's Get Clean products in their Get Clean Starter Kit, you will save over $3400 in cleaning supplies! Good stuff all around! :)

I hope you enjoyed my first blog post as much as I enjoyed writing it and I hope you learned something from it! Thanks for reading! :)

Rebecca