Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Method All Purpose Cleaner Review

05/29/2013

When I started focusing on becoming more eco friendly then I started looking up companies that have eco friendly lines. I was having a hard time finding eco friendly options in the stores and I thought that maybe if I knew what brand names to look for I would have more success in finding them.

Among other brands Method was one that I heard about. On the bottle Method states that they are a natural surface cleaner, with non-toxic plant-based powergreen technology. It also states they use biodegradable ingredients in their products. What is PowerGreen technology? No clue, however online on their website methodhome.com they explain all of the ingredients, what they are, and their health and environment effects.

ingredientwhat it ishealth + environmental summary
water (aqua)diluent / solventdeionized for purity; extracted from abundant source
decyl glucosidesurfactant (cleaning agent)very gentle on skin and non toxic to people; readily biodegradable; made from corn sugars and coconut oil
lauryl glucosidesurfactant (cleaning agent)very gentle on skin and non toxic to people; readily biodegradable; made from corn sugars and coconut oil
sodium carbonateboost alkalinity, dissolve stainsbaking soda analog - non toxic if eaten or in skin contact; disperses safely in the environment; abundant mineral source
sodium gluconatebuffer, anti-spotting agentnon toxic in use and not irritating to skin; readily biodegradable; made from corn sugars
lauryl ethoxylatesurfactant (cleaning agent)non toxic in use and not irritating to skin; readily biodegradable; derived from coconut + other plant oils. Aka lauryl ethoxylate
potassium citratecomplexing agentnon toxic in use if ingested or in skin contact; readily biodegradable; produced from corn sugars
fragrance(parfum)fragrancefree of phthalates, NPEs and other dirty ingredients; non toxic in use, free of carcinogens and tested for skin irritation and allergies; blended composition is partly essential oils and partly synthetic ingredients
polymeric colorantcolorsafe for people, free of heavy metals + allergens; effective at ultra-low levels; won't accumulate in environment; made from synthetic materials


For my all-purpose cleaner I chose the french lavender scent, however they also have four other scents: cucumber, pink grapefruit, ginger yuzu, and clementine. I haven't tried any of the other scents and just tried my method for the first time today. I will post pictures soon of me with the method as promised, I'm not just an anonymous online blogger I care about what I blog about and I try the products I review!

Method left my counters looking as clean as they did with the lysol kitchen cleaner I previously used. Method all purpose is also NOT anti bacterial which is actually a good thing. I will do another blog about why you should NOT buy anti bacterial products for your blog which I actually learned about in biology in my college studies and I watched a documentary where a scientist said the same thing. Ultimately using Anti Bacterial products in your home will kill 99.9% of bacteria, but the .1% that remains will be resistant and thats the last thing you want because due to cross resistance those same bacteria can also be resistant to penicillin and other pharmaceuticals prescribed by the doctor to fight infections caused by those bacteria.

I think I paid $2.99 or so for the bottle of method, which is a generous size bottle. I did have a $1 off coupon that method sometimes puts out, so regularly the bottle is only $3.99. That bottle is all-purpose it can be used on glass, wood, counters, tile, and stone! The only thing I'm not a fan of is the scent I chose. The French Lavender isn't bad but it reminds me of old women, you know that older lady that always wear lavender or her house smells like it? They do have other scents I will be trying after I run out of the method I have now however.

To me a major bonus of the all-purpose method is that it is all-purpose! I plan on using the rest of my windex and other products and then NEVER buying them again! I look forward to the day that I can just have a couple of cleaners under my counter and have all of them be non toxic! It's my goal for that to be the case and to have my household cleaners switched over to non toxic completely by time I have a baby, and no I'm not pregnant again yet. After two miscarriages I don't see myself playing around with potentially harmful chemicals when I'm pregnant or having it around my child.

Comment Below, Whats your favorite cleaner and what did you think of this product or line? Oh and if you have tried the various scents then what do you think about that?

Does being eco friendly mean spending more money?

05/29/2013

I have always heard people tell me that they can't afford to be eco friendly. When I lived in apartments with my husband we still attempted to recycle but with limited space and no nearby recycling bin we didn't do super well. When we moved to the town that most of my family lives in I immediately starting researching recycling options. I know many towns have FREE curbside pickup of recyclables and what do you know, so does the one I moved to that all of my family lives in. I had previously discussed recycling with them and they all made it seem like they couldn't get curbside pickup, it was to much of a hassle to save up their recyclables and take it in. I paid $8 for my recycle bin which is REFUNDABLE if I choose to return the bin when I move to another city. Recycling is just one way to be an eco friendly family!

I think the simplest thing to remember when trying to be eco friendly is the three R's: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle. Of course I have already went over recycling, not all cities do have curbside recycling but for those of you whose cities offer curbside recycling then there is also a great program called recyclebank that allows you to earn rewards for recycle! Now lets discuss reducing and reusing.

I have actually saved a lot of money on the reusing step! Reusing doesn't have to be reusing your own stuff, it can be simply buying used or giving your items a second life by selling them in a yard sale or donating them so someone else can use them! Growing up I was a little snobby in that I HATED getting used clothes. I wanted everything new, and now that I'm paying all the bills and saving up a down payment for a house... well I'm not as snobby. My friend who I never would have thought would own anything that had been pre used actually told me about this great store: The Goodwill Outlet. I have found SEVERAL things there that are actually brand new with tags! The best part? Other than helping to save the environment of course, is the price $1.39 per pound! That means you can get several light weight items for $1.39. I have gotten clothes here with tags on them that are for $40 and more!

Another thing to reuse of course is bags! I recycle my plastic store bags and paper store bags when I forget to bring my reusable ones, however one of the best things to reuse is bags because it will reduce the need for plastic bags that are ruining our ecosystem and killing wildlife, especially in the ocean! I also like reusing the glass jars that you get from pasta sauce and jelly or from the green olives!

Now for the last of the R's reducing! I focus on this step as a way of saving money naturally even if I weren't looking at it as a way of being eco friendly! I'm an economics major now but my goal is to be a personal financial adviser. One of my favorite quotes about finances is "It doesn't matter how much money you make, its all about how much you keep". Think about it, its a very true statement. Many lottery winners wind up broke after winning the lottery because they aren't responsible with their money!

One of the best ways to reduce your impact on the environment and save money is to consolidate vehicles or even just trips! With the price of gas and insurance I imagine that the average person could save over $100 a month by loosing a vehicle, not to mention they would get money for selling it! If it was a vehicle that wasn't paid off and they were paying on they would get even more money in savings! We all know that our cars aren't great for the eco system even as much as they have been improved in the last decade. Most cars also use gas to run which as we all know is a non renewable resource. We also have had gas spills somewhat recently that have harmed the environment and killed wildlife!

Well me and my husband still each have our own vehicle and I don't know that that will change anytime soon he is wanting a motorcycle when he gets home from basic and tech school which is much better for the environment than his truck. My next vehicle will also be much more fuel efficient is not a hybrid! We all need to take the steps that improve the environment but still allow us to live happily and don't cause to many strains. For some families having only one car is unreasonable, for my husband its not an option, for some of you it may be!

Of course I will get into more detail on how to be eco friendly on a budget I thought the simplest steps should be your first on your journey. We can all recycle, we can all start buying somethings used either from a thrift store, yard sale, or goodwill, and most of us take extra trips in our vehicles that we could consolidate or drive further than we really need to. Money should not mean that you can't take steps to do things that are beneficial for our environment!