I'm very excited to announce the launch of our new magazine - Clean Green Living!

You can see it here:

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Scary Halloween Stains Can Be Removed With A Few Simple Things

Halloween can be a big stain holiday!  On Clean Green Talk Radio we share tips on how to remove everything from chocolate to red wine. And you just need a few simple things to remove them. You’ll need an ice cube, white wine, rubbing alcohol and a few other simple ingredients. Listen in and find out how to have a very HAPPY Halloween.

Click here to listen to the podcast

Sara Snow Is My Guest On Clean Green Talk

Join me as I interview green living expert, Sara Snow. Sara understands healthy and natural living in a way few of us do, and it’s her mission to help impart that knowledge and experience to people all over the world so they too can live a greener lifestyle. Learn how Sara’s family and upbringing shaped her and how that experience earned her the title of “green living’s real deal.” You can call and ask her questions at 1-866-50clean (1-866-502-5326) or join the conversation on my facebook pagewww.facebook.com/greencleaningcoach

Rockin' the Laundry with Kim from Rockin' Green Soap

Kim Webb

Today on Clean Green Talk Radio, we had the founder and CEO of Rockin' Green Soap on our show.  She is a mom of three kids AND is running a very successful company. Kim says she felt deep the inspiration when her son, Jackson, was born. She began blogging and opened her own retail store that sold cloth diapers. She became a cloth-diapering fanatic, owning more than 200 cloth diapers
herself! However, Kim had trouble keeping her cloth diapers stink- and residue-free as she suffered from hard water. Minerals would build-up on her diapers and render them useless. It also caused her diapers to give off awful odors. She found that other moms were experiencing the same problems and were becoming fed up with washing cloth diapers....


Listen below to our interview and all the things we learned about laundry soap.  And we even learned what "Cloth Diaper Mom's" call their smelly diapers...  You'll have to listen to find out!

How To Clean Your Dryer Lint Screen

A simple solution that will remove the oils that build up on the dryer lint screen.

Four Tips for Keeping Your Bathroom Cleaner

http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/designer-bathrooms#slide-1

A question I received yesterday was "How can I create a schedule to keep my bathroom cleaner?"  Really what you need are a few routines to cut down your actual cleaning time. Here are a few tips for the bathroom:

• Swish the toilet every morning with your toilet brush. This will keep the bowl cleaner so you don't have to clean as often.
• Use an "eco-sponge" in the shower while you are in it. The sponge uses the technology of friction to clean off soap scum. It's great for glass shower doors too.
• "Dust" your bathroom every day with a dry microfiber cloth. This will keep the buildup to a minimum and make actual cleaning a cinch.
• Keep a small battery operated vacuum in the bathroom and run it every day on the floors. This will keep the hair and lint to a minimum.

Safe Germ Killers

Bleach is a household cleaning product for one reason. It is very effective in killing that bacteria on your countertops or other surfaces in your home. However, not only is bleach toxic to those micro-invaders but it is also terrible for you and your family, especially when it finds its way from you countertops to your food. There are better, safer ways to protect yourself from salmonella, e-coli, and other scary bacteria. Below is the link to watch part 2 of my 10 part video series to help you get a safer, green cleaning home.

http://www.greencleaningcoach.com/ar/safe-germ-killer

Not only will the tips in this video save you some money as you will be able to use common home ingredients but you will have the added benefit of knowing that the cleaning supplies you are using aren't harming the health of you and your family. The fact that creating your own cleaners can be fast, fun, and easy is just a bonus.

Spring Cleaning - Get the Family Involved

Spring cleaning will go a lot faster if you have some help. Having a clean house isn't just to your benefit, it's something the whole family can appreciate. So get them working with you and you will see that winter dirt disappear in no time.
Make a Plan

The best way to make sure everyone is working is to have a plan. This will keep everyone on track. If you have children who are prone to comparing their workload, ensure your kids have their own tasks. Then they can complete them without comparing time.

Have the Right Tools
By making sure that you have the right tools you can make your tasks much simpler as well. Vacuuming will be easier with the right attachment, steamers will get dirt out of grout and showers, microfiber mops and cloths make water the only cleaning solution you need, and using a cycle in your dryer to get the dust off of your curtains will save hours of washing. The microfiber cloths especially work perfectly for young children. Just hand them a spray bottle filled with water, one of the cloths, and set them to work washing any glass doors, windows, or mirrors. It's a simple but useful task where they won't get hurt or make a mess. 

A "Ten Minute Tidy"
If you can't coerce your family into a whole day of cleaning, you can use one of my favorite techniques, the "ten minute tidy." I get every member of my family to clean the same room for ten minutes. Each person has their own tasks, and since I have five in my family, it's just like I cleaned for 50 minutes. It takes a lot of time off of my workload. 

A Start to Spring Cleaning

As the sun starts to shine more and the air starts to smell like rain and flowers instead of snow, I always seem to get this itch. I look around my house and feel the need to do something, anything, to make the season come to my home. It doesn't matter that spring starts months after the new year; sometimes spring feels more like a fresh start than New Year's day. Perhaps it's because this is when you can see those baby bunnies hopping through your garden, troublesome though they may be, or because you can see those daffodils you planted last fall starting to poke out of the soil, but the whole world seems to be starting anew. And with this new birth comes my desire to bring at least some of that energy to my home. Step #1: Spring Cleaning.
It's not a new concept but spring cleaning if taken too seriously and on too grand a scale can seem daunting. To help you on your way I'm going to be posting a few blog articles a week with a few short helpful tips to keep you going.
So here commences my first tip. Everything around you is turning green. Why not make your cleaning products do the same? Since you are going to be using a lot of different cleaners throughout the cleaning process, you will want to use something that isn't going to make you feel less than up to the task. Signs that your current cleaning products may be negatively effecting you can include breathing problems like asthma attacks, headaches, rashes, or even a propensity to become sick and recover slowly. I have a friend who was diagnosed with Lupus because of a severe rash she had, but later she discovered that the cause of her rash was just left over detergent in her clothing. As a result she switched to a green detergent and has been better ever since.
If you are concerned about financing the switch, I find that the cost actually comes out to be more affordable. Though the cleaning products may seem tocost more, they last longer. By making the switch you are not only sparing yourself the chemicals but you are also helping the environment. It's the best way to celebrate the coming of Spring, by doing your part to ensure that the season will be just as beautiful in the years to come.

How to Hand Wash

How grateful we are for the luxury of modern appliances. We rely on them for just about everything. Our plates come out of the dishwasher sparkling, leftovers can be reheated in the microwave with just a few presses of a button, and most of all our clothes come out smelling fresh and clean after simply loading the soap into the machine. But what about those few times when modern appliances simply won’t do the trick, when you read those seemingly troublesome words “hand wash only?”

Now this one simple phrase may have you thinking of the dark ages when women brought baskets full of soiled clothes to the stream or perhaps you might remember that washing board you saw in the antique mall, but hand washing does not need to be an ordeal. With a few simple tricks you can keep the process not only simple but green. First you should make sure your sink is clean, or designate a separate tub for hand-washing. The last thing you want is for your clothes to come out smelling like the remainder of the carrots you peeled into the disposal. Also you will want to stick with a cold or lukewarm temperature, never hot. Don’t mix your colors. Just like in a washing machine, the colors can bleed, so if you happen to have washed that one red shirt first, you’ll want to consider draining the sink and getting a new batch of water.

Next you want to ad the soap to the water before you put in the clothing. This way the soap gets distributed equally through the garment. When hand-washing, I use soap flakes. There are no enzymes, bleaches, or perfumes and it is created from palm and coconut oil, making it all around natural and gentle, perfect not only for sensitive skin but for those delicate garments that can’t be trusted in a washing machine. If you want to go with something closer to a laundry detergent, there are some options that I have in my book The Joy of Green Cleaning.

If your clothes are particularly dirty, you may want to leave them soaking overnight. You can treat any stains by going old-school and rubbing soap into the stain with a small brush, even on both sides if the fabric has the strength to take it. This combined with the soaking should eliminate most problems you may have.

So to finish the process you want to dry the clothes in the gentlest manner possible. Since wringing will only disfigure the garment beyond all recognition, and hanging will stretch out the fabric, the best thing to do is to lay it flat on either a white towel or netted drying rack. For those sweaters that hold on to a lot of water, you can first role up the sweater in a towel, get rid of the extra water, and then lay it flat. In the end you’ll have the joy of wearing that special garment once again without worrying about the fit.

HOW-TO Video on removing stains from cups and mugs

Coffee stains have a tendency to build up on the inside of mugs after prolonged use. Clean coffee stains from mugs in this free video clip. If you are having trouble seeing this video you can also go to this link: http://www.ehow.com/video_12212281_clean-coffee-stains-mugs.html

How to Clean Coffee Stains From Mugs -- powered by ehow

The NEW Bon Ami Products!

Bon Ami or when translated from the French, “good friend”, is exactly what Bon Ami is – a good old friend. A simple cleaner that has been manufactured for over 120 years, Bon Ami powdered cleaner was “green before it was a product category”. Bon Ami was developed as a true act of recycling. In New England during the 1880's, mines were bringing up quartz to be ground and used in the new commercial cleansers. Feldspar was separated from the quartz and discarded. TJ Robertson found that the softer feldspar was gentler than quartz so he ground it up, added soap and created the first bar of Bon Ami soap. Since then, Bon Ami has been a favorite “old fashioned” cleaner that can be used for gentle scouring without allergic reactions or sensitivities.

Bon Ami has now developed a full line of cleaners for your home. After testing these products I have found the dish soap to be my favorite. It cuts through grease and grime on the dishes and left my hands feeling soft and clean. I especially loved the citrus scent.

I also tried the new Bon Ami liquid cleanser. I probably didn’t use it correctly. I used it as a “soft scrub” type of cleaner, but after reading the instructions, I should have used it in my shower. I’m going to try it there as I wasn’t that impressed with it on my counters.

I’ve always been a fan of the 1886 powdered cleanser made by Bon Ami. This is their original formula and really only has two ingredients. It is so gentle you can use it to clean acid rain off glass windows. It leaves behind a slight invisible film that protects the glass from salt spray, which makes it a favorite for boat owners and vacation homes. I was excited to try the 5 ingredient formula and used it on my glass topped stove with a gentle sponge. By working in a circle it removed most of the burnt on crud that was stuck to my stove top. It did take a little elbow grease and some patience but the powdered cleansser got it off.

The Bon Ami All-purpose cleaner worked great on tile. I used it to clean tile floors and it left them clean and streak free. It wasn’t as good on stainless steel or black fronted appliances. It removed the grease and dirt but left some streaks and smears. It had a nice citrus scent and was easy to use. I’d recommend using it with a larger looped microfiber cloth to get the best performance.

The best way to realize how committed Bon Ami is to being green is to read about their environmental stewardship. One example is in their development of their new line of products. They decided to not add synthetic fragrances and instead ask their customers to shake the products so that the essential oils are mixed into the cleaner. This example shows how committed they are to keeping their products simple and green. With this kind of commitment Bon Ami will continue to be "a good old friend"!

USA Today's - 5 Questions that help buy the right vacuum?

In today's USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2011-07-14-vacuum-tips-from-reviewed-dotcom_n.htm) there was an article  - 5 questions that can help you buy the right vacuum.  I thought for sure I knew the five questions. After reading the article I found that USA Today and I don't agree on the same five questions.   Let's compare notes.

USA Today thought the most important question was "how much do you want to spend?" Well if you ask my husband that question in a sales situation, he'd say "a dollar".  It's really not how much do you want to spend, but how much can you afford and is quality an issue. When I'm working to help someone find the right vacuum, price is not one of my top five questions.

Question two -What are you cleaning? Well, USA Today,  I usually assume that if they are purchasing a vacuum they are cleaning floors. My question is usually - What types of floors do you have in your home. I also want to know how they clean hard floors. My questions is : Do you vacuum them or use a mop?  I also need to know what type of carpets they are trying to clean. Berber carpet is much easier to clean than the new "shaggy" carpet. And I need to know if they own expensive orientals.  They need special care when it comes to vacuuming.

Question three - Where are you cleaning?  Again, USA Today - I don't need to know where - I need to know what they are cleaning. I would rather know more about what is in the home,  pets - kids - how many people are they cleaning up after.  Unless you are living in a closet or a box - where doesn't matter.

Question four - How does it filter the air?  Do we really need to know HOW the vacuum filters the air? Air filtration is important if you have allergies. We don't need to know HOW it filters. just that it does the best job. If someone in the home has allergies, we need to make sure the vacuum had a HEPA filter.

Question five - "How does it dump the dirt?"  Bagless vacuums tend to leak dirt, so if you are allergic to dust - a bagless vacuum is not a good investment. Think about it - you are going to spend $40 on a HEPA filter to keep the dust out of your home. and then DUMPING a canister full of dust in your garbage. You are being directly exposed to the dust you are trying to avoid. Vacuum bags were a great invention in the early 1900's. They made empting the dirt from the vacuum clean and easy. We have actually gone back to the future. Vacuum bags catch allergens and protect the motor in the vacuum from leaking dust. Vacuum bags are a small investment to keep you and your vacuum healthy.

Here are the questions I ask before helping someone find the perfect vacuum
How big is your home? Do you know how many square feet does it have?
How many floors does your home have?
Do you have stairs?
Do you prefer an upright or a canister.
Does anyone in your home have allergies?
Do you have  pets?
Do you vacuum your hard floors?
What type of carpets do you have in your home?
Do you have children?
Are you looking for a quality vacuum or something that will get you through until you can afford quality?
Is the weight of the vacuum an issue?
Who does most of the vacuuming in the home?
These questions give me a picture of your home and help me - help you find the right vacuum FOR YOU! To check out some of my favorite vacuums go to www.backdoorvac.com You will see some of the best vacuums on the market.

Out With Allergies - from Shape Magazine 2011

It was a real pleasure to work with Kate and the staff at Shape Magazine! I'm really glad that they realize that keeping yourself in "shape" means taking care of your environment too. Here is a small part of the article. If you'd like the entire piece, email me and I'll send you the pdf.

BE A GREENER CLEANER - by Kate Ashford
Every time you spray a cleaning product onto a surface, you breathe it in. "There are some dangerous ingredients in cleaners - such as formaldehyde and chlorine - that, if inhaled, can affect your respiratory system and irritate your lungs," says Leslie Reichert, author of The Joy of Green Cleaning. "And the risk doesn't stop when the sink is gleaming: those chemicals linger in the air for a long time." One solution: Make your own cleaner by mixing equal parts water and vinegar. This blend gets rid of dirt and kills germ without affecting your air quality.

Just A Thought

Why is it -  when a cleaning product says on the side of the box - keep away from children and pets - we don't have any problem putting that same product on our floors where are kids and pets are crawling and walking? I had this conversation with an old friend yesterday. He was telling me how he loved his floor cleaner. It worked so well and all he had to do was wipe the floor and throw out the cloth. I showed him on the side of the box the warning about keeping the product away from kids and pets. He had an aha moment and wanted to know what he could use instead. I recommended a microfiber mop with washable covers and just water. Nothing in that water will hurt kids or pets!

Share The Green!

"Hey, Leslie, I love your video.  I'm going to send it to my friend in MD because just last week when I was at her house, I told her she just has to get the blue cloth!!  They put a porch on their house that is all windows, ceiling to floor.  She said, "What's a blue cloth?"  Now she will see for herself what it is. "
From Phyllis K.



Staph Germs and Cross Contamination

Staph germs are in the news. Last night and today the news channels have been blasting us with the information that there are Staph germs in our meats.  They aren't even sure  if cooking the meats are killing Staph! Everyone running for the disinfectant. But before you start spraying make sure you use some good old soap and hot water to get the Staph germs off your counters and your hands. Yes that's right - soap and water. And be very careful of cross contamination. Here are a few tips after working with raw meat:

• Use your elbows to turn on the water faucet. If you have Staph germs on your hands you will contaminate the faucet when you turn the water on to wash them.
• Get a touchless soap dispenser to get soap onto your hands. Soap and water will remove the Staph germs from your hands, but you can't touch the soap dispenser until your hands are clean.
• Put any cleaning cloths you use on your counters directly into the washing machine.
• Don't use sponges to wipe off the counters. If you are one of those people that has to use a sponge, you can disinfect them by placing them in the microwave - wet- for 3 minutes. 
• Keep a nail brush under you counter and use it to clean your hands after touching raw meat. Scrub your hands and nails with soap and hot water. Then put the brush in the dishwasher to clean it.
• Make sure you wash your hands for an "alphabet". Just like we learned in preschool, sing the alphabet song so you make sure you wash all the germs off your hands.

Moring Living on Martha Stewart Living Radio

Maybe I'm crazy but I love talking about cleaning, no matter how early it is.Yesterday I got up really early to talk about green cleaning with Betsy Karetnick from Martha Stewart Living Radio's Morning Living Show. It was like finding my long lost sister! Betsy likes to talk "cleaning" too! Our plan was to talk about spring cleaning and how to get started. I recommended making a list - and as Betsy said - make sure it's on paper so you can CROSS things off it! Nothing feels better than crossing things off a list.  To start off your cleaning I think you should start with your windows. I gave Betsy one of my green cleaning recipes from my book.

Here is the glass and mirror cleaner:

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 corn starch

2 liter bottle of club soda

You mix the corn starch in the club soda until it dissolves then add the white vinegar and put it into a spray bottle.

We also talked about using my favorite "tool" which is the Blue Cloth. This is a special microfiber cloth made especially for glass and windows.  All you do is wet it with water and wring it out really well and just wipe the window. You don't have to dry it - it will dry on it's own with no streaks, smears or lint. Betsy agreed that this sounded even easier than using the DIY recipe. I said that if you like to spray and wipe, just use a bottle of water and dry the window with this cloth. You will save time and money (no paper towels) with this one simple cloth.

Lastly we talked about how to clean the floors. I told Betsy about my system for cleaning floors without a bucket. Instead I use a microfiber mop and a few covers. Just wet the covers in the sink using hot water and wring them out so they are damp. Then just put a small amount of your floor cleaner in a spray bottle and add lots of water. It will be the same concentration as if it's in a bucket. Spray the floor with the cleaner and go over it with the microfiber mop. Replace the cover when you feel like it's full of dirt. Don't rinse out the cover, just place it in your washing machine and get a new clean mop cover from the sink. This prevents cross contamination! And your not spreading dirty water on your floor.

We wrapped up our 20 minutes by talking about how satisfying it is to look around see what you've accomplished. Cleaning can be fun - when you have the right tools - and someone you can share it with - right "sista"!

Something Old, Something New - When It Comes To Laundry

Everyone has some little trick to make laundry easier. Here's one I heard this week that I really questioned worked. So I came home and gave it a try. Here is the tip:
Place your wet clothes outside on a sunny day right on top of the snow and it will remove spots and if their white - makes them really white.

That's it! Such a simple tip. Seemed to good to be true so I gave it the ultimate test. My husbands old white bathrobe that should have been thrown out years ago. It's been turning yellow and has spots all over it. So I put it into my front loading washer with just a 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide and let it go through the wash and rinse cycle. Then I put it outside on the snow in the sunniest spot in the yard and left for work. When I came home it was frozen solid. I brought it in and put it in the clothes dryer. When it came out it was "hotel white"!  Not being totally convinced that it had worked - I took it up and put it next to my new white robe and you really can't tell the difference. I don't know the science behind why it works - I just know it works. You've got to try it and let me know if it works for you!

Dirty Little Secrets

Everyone has a dirty little secret - something you'd rather not have shared with the rest of the world. Well, mine are never left "unshared".  My "tall, dark and handsome husband" loves to share my secrets - especially at church!

Last Sunday was my turn at giving the children's sermon at church. I was all ready to go until I woke up with a little "sickness". I was down for the count. My husband offered to handle it for me. He is exceptional at public speaking and can do a children's sermon with his eyes closed.

His eyes were definitely closed when he picked up the old guitar case he decided to use as a prop! It was behind the piano and hadn't been dusted in a LONG time. Not only did he show everyone at church what a bad housekeeper I can be - it also went up on our local TV station! Now everyone knows I don't clean behind the piano. My response? LETITGO! (it's the line my sweet 16 year old taught me) LETITGO! - it's one word and it's perfect. So I don't clean behind the piano. Nobody should be back there- and nobody cares! Now I just have to go back to bed 'cause I feel my "little" sickness getting bigger!