The Green Thang

In an effort to live a "greener" and more eco-friendly lifestyle, I intend - every few months or so - to try making my own chemical-free cleaners to use in our home. I record recipes or mixtures I come across that are supposed to be both allergy-free and successfully cleanser-y so that we may be left with grimeless surfaces and shiny appliances, tubs, toilets, etc.

Making this stuff is generally (if one is to believe the suggestions found in magazines, websites, and books) very easy to make. A little water here, a little vinegar there. I saw one today that relied on Arm & Hammer washing soda (yes... washing, not baking).

With such cheap ingredients and so few steps, you'd think I'd have concocted some of these solutions years ago and tried them out in my house. But for some reason, I have persisted in buying expensive, chemically-enhanced cleaners in favor of the homemade version because (I think) deep down in my heart I suspect they work better. And I don't like germs. Or dirt.

As someone with asthma, it is ridiculous that I have not at least tried some vinegar/lemon alternative - before rejecting it outright - just in case it does miraculously clean my counters and leave the house smelling fresh!

I'm not entirely sure what the holdup or the hesitation may be. Perhaps it's laziness? Perhaps an inherent distaste for change? Perhaps a fear it will work so well I'll kick myself and feel all angry for not having transitioned sooner?

What stuff do you hesitate to do? What are the things you know you should be doing... and yet, week after week - perhaps year after year - they sit (undone, neglected, forlorn) by their lonely little selves waiting for some kind of personal revelation that will move you forward into action.

My personal list of as-of-yet abandoned and neglected goals:

• Exercise
• Eat right
• Pare down on my possessions
• Organize my junk
• Identify my trash (and throw it out!)
• Take vitamins
• Find a therapist to work with on an as-needed basis
• Read more school counseling articles and books
• Work on the landscaping
• Paint the garage and touch up the house
• Paint inside and try to finish up as much as possible
• And... oh yeah... start using green cleaners made from scratch!

I think a very large part of life involves striving toward a personal evolution, wherein we see the potential we have yet to reach... the person we long to be but have yet to become (or are able to be in sparkling, rare moments that feel like peacelovejoyharmonyexcitedYES when they occur).

Some may see this as a movement toward the divine, others as a way to become ever-more human. Whether it is enlightenment or grounding, spiritual or physical, ecstatic or humbling... most of us seek to improve upon who we are and how we live. And sometimes it is filled with purpose and direction; other times it is fraught with fumbling and guesswork. But it's movement nonetheless.

My movement just happens to involve hot water, washing soda, lemon juice, and a lot of vinegar. At least for today.