I'm goin' green-er!

Growing up in Oregon means you are green. Oregonians are keenly aware of where the rest of the world gets its paper and lumber (our backyards), we'd rather get wet in the rain riding a bike to work than drive a car with toxic emissions, and we are experts at recycling. We were taught in school at a very young age to sort paper and plastic and tin, turn in pop cans to get 5 cents back, and to keep glass separate from all the rest. Our state motto is: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. (Not really, but I'm sure an Oregonian must have coined it!)

After high school, I moved to Utah and was shocked at their lack of recycling savvy. There were a dismal amount of blue bins for recycling at college, businesses had to pay if they wanted to recycle their waste, and people looked at you like you had three heads if you asked about curbside recycling. I worked in a law office where reams of paper were nonchalantly tossed out practically every day--it was like Oregonian hell. The head honcho of the law firm refused to even think about recycling because of privacy issues and the cost it would incur to have our paper shredded and securely recycled. After awhile, my conscious couldn't handle it anymore so I decided to start my own little recycling pile under my desk. Any paper I used and had to toss went into my own private recycling box. When the box was full, I quietly took it home and dumped it into the huge blue recycling dumpster at my apartment complex. (I did a happy dance when they put in the dumpster!) The attorney I worked for, who also was a good friend, teased me all the time about my "stash" but even he would occasionally contribute to my pile and say, "Here you go, Miss Green." I'm sure my office cohorts thought I was a little nuts but I felt better about doing my part and the Oregonian in me was satisfied.

Now that I'm living in the Oregon forest again, I'm back in my element. The past few years I've watched the whole "green" movement take place and have found it to be not much different from what I was taught as a youngster. Being green is a way of life for an Oregonian. Everyone else is just catching up!

Recently I became intrigued when a friend of mine suggested a book to me about how to make your own household cleaning solutions from all natural products. I read through it, copied a few pages and recipes, even bought some of the supplies, but never found the time to experiment with them. I'll admit I was a bit skeptical about the efficacy of these homemade solutions. Besides, what could strip my bathtub of soap scum better than the caustic, cancer-causing chemicals I already use? They do a pretty darn good job and with little effort. As green as I am, I'm all about saving time and effort--it's a balance.

So today I decided to clean the bathtub and get it sparkling again. Just a year ago we remodeled our bathroom and installed a new fiberglass tub. When the shower tile was being installed, some of the grout film settled on the top part of the tub and I have never been able to get rid of it. It's a faint ring of light brown around the tub that isn't terribly noticeable at first glance, but nonetheless is annoying to my detailed eye. In the beginning I tried all the usual chemicals to clean the stain, but nothing worked. I looked for advice online and found someone who recommended rubbing the stain with lemon essential oil. He said the grout film would come right off. Yeah right, I thought. I had tried soap scum remover, chlorine bleach, Mr. Clean--pretty much everything underneath my kitchen sink. The stain wouldn't budge. So lemon oil was going to take it off? Whatever.

So there the bathtub sat for a year--brown ring around it and all. For the most part I could get the soap scum off the rest of the tub, but the brown ring always remained. Last week I noticed the whole tub looked terrible. It wasn't shiny anywhere, the brown ring seemed to be getting more noticeable, and there were ugly scuff marks on the outside from the kids shoes. Even Jason mentioned it looked horrible. Hence, my determination today to get it sparkling.

I did my normal routine: 1) Warn kids they'd better use the potty now because it'll be awhile before the toxic haze dissipates from the bathroom; 2) Open window for ventilation; 3) Spray down entire tub with Tilex soap scum remover; 4) Gasp for breath as I feel the cancer-inducing agents enter my throat and lungs; 5) Think to myself there must be a better way; 6) Hastily leave the bathroom and shut the door behind me; 7) Wait 5-10 minutes; 8) Reenter toxic zone; 9) Wipe down tub with sponge; 10) Rinse with water--DONE.

The problem was that afterwards the tub didn't look any better than before. Hmmm. Now I was getting depressed. And, to top it off, I had messed up step #7 by waiting too long and the chemicals had eaten off part of the finish on the bathtub plug. Great. Now I had ruined my beautiful oil-rubbed bronze finished bathtub fixture AND my bathtub was destined to look dingy and disgusting forever. A little voice in my head said, "Why don't you try to the lemon oil? The tub can't get any worse." So, I dug out the essential oils I purchased a few months ago, dabbed some on a rag, and gave it a shot. HALELUIAH!!! Would you believe the brown stain melted away with hardly any effort? I about fell over in disbelief. I proceeded to shine up the rest of the tub--all the while giggling with excitement over this new miracle cleaner. (I also tested the orange oil which worked well too, and I suspect the tangerine oil I have would also have worked.) And the best part was that it smelled heavenly!

So, my question is: What the heck are we doing making and selling these horribly unhealthy, unnatural cleaning products when something so simple and so completely natural as an essential oil works just as well--if not better? I must say this is a messed up society we live in. No wonder we have cancer and autism and diabetes and everything else that ails our society these days. This experience was a true eye-opener for me to see that something simple and natural should not be ruled out as a solution. I am so excited to dump my chemicals and try the other cleaning recipes I have. Not only will it be green for the environment but also for me and my family. And may my experience inspire you to turn towards something a little greener and try something new and natural. You may be surprised at the results!