Choosing Household Products

About two years ago I started really looking into the products I use around the house both for cleaning as well as body products. I already had some knowledge and liked to choose products that seemed more "natural" and kinder for the earth. I use a lot of vinegar, washing soda, baking soda and lemons in my cleaning regimen but I do like to have a couple of prepared products on hand. 

The few things I buy prepared for household cleaning are all purpose scrub, dish soap, laundry soap, dishwasher soap and a hardwood cleaner. I have always embraced brands like Method , Mrs. Meyers, Biokleen and Dr. Bronner's. None of these companies test on animals, are biodegradable, use natural ingredients of high quality and seem to really care about the environment and the people using their products. 

I love gathering information so I can make good choices and decisions. One of the resources I use is the Go Cruelty Free website. This is where you can see if the products you use are made by companies that test on animals. There are so many good products available by companies that do not test on animals that it seems silly to not choose one. 

The most recent site I found that has given me some information on the products I use is the Enviornmental Working Group. They firmly believe we have a right to know what products might pose a health or environmental risk and what some solutions might be. Not only limited to products, they have information on our drinking water, cell phone radiation possibilities, sunscreen safety and pesticide residues. All very serious topics. 

I found that some of the products I have loved because they are "natural" are actually full of ingredients that may pose a risk to me or the environment. They grade household products on an A-F scale using these metrics:

• Asthma/Respitory Risk
• Skin Allergies/Irritation Risk
• Developmental/Reproductive Toxicity Risk
• Cancer Risk
• Environmental Risk

This new tool helped me look inside the "natural" products I have been using and see what they are made of. A lot of the ingredients on the packages are foreign to me so this was helpful. I do know that even too much of a natural product can be harmful. Of course how often you use these products etc really makes a difference. But if you are suffering from asthma you might want to now which products to avoid.

I did make a list of my current products and check each of them on the site to see what grade they received. After seeing a failing grade on some of my products I made a list of the grade A products that I would be willing to switch to when I need to buy next time.

I thought you might like this information as I think we all deserve the right to know what is in the products we use. 

Kitchen Gadget Review #1

Until this last year I called small apartments my home. Within these tiny walls was a even tinier kitchen in which I had to make the so called "magic" happen. Even I was amazed that I could churn out pounds and pounds of dog biscuits for the store in this small space or throw dinner parties for 14 guests. 

One of the most challenging aspects of small kitchens is the storage space. I love kitchen gadgets. I could hoard if space and money allowed. But something I learned from the amazing Mr Alton Brown is that there should be no "unitaskers" in the kitchen. I could not agree more. These tools are marketed so well you are sure you need them - all of them. Garlic presses, melon ballers, egg poachers, toasters, apple corers and egg slicer all designed to do one job and take up room in your kitchen for the 390 days a year you do not use them. 

One of the kitchen appliances I love is the KitchenAid Stand Mixer. I loved my orange KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer almost to death. It was taking a huge beating turning out batch after batch of dog biscuits for the store. To its rescue came the even awesomer KitchenAid Professional 600 Series Stand Mixer. I know what you are saying - how does a space challenged kitchen have room for 2 stand mixers. I love my smaller orange mixer so much and he is so handy for quick smaller jobs. And his bigger brother does all the heavy lifting for the dog biscuits. Each of them are used weekly and I think that qualifies for keeping them both. 

Now if you have a stand mixer you know that they are the so much more than a mixer. The attachements are endless and a wonderful way to add in other "appliances" without really doing so. From ice cream maker and pasta roller to meat grinder and juicer - pretty amazing. 

One of my favorite attachments is the beater blade - mine is by New Metro Design. Why didn't I think of this. Turning the mixer off to scrape down batter is tedious. This tool does the job for you. There are several makers of these types of beaters and KitchenAid actually makes their own now. 

For about $24 you have a beater blade that will let you multi task while it does an amazing job of mixing you batters. Best for thinner batters like cake and pancake types. The classis metal beater is still best for stiffer dough like cookies.  If you don't have one and make a good amount of batter type recipes in your mixer then run out and get yourself one.