green.clean.

It’s not like me to wake up earlier than I have to get a workout in, if I have to be at work before 10am.  However, I wanted to see if I could successfully get up, do a 30min yoga session and still make it on time to work and still eating a hot bowl of oats. 

Let’s see how I did.

Alarm set: 6:15am [had to be at work by 8am]

Get out of bed: 6:25am

Get dressed + drink a 16oz glass of water + let the dogs out: 6:40am

Start yoga video: 6:45am

Finish yoga video: 7:10am [I skip the end shavasana..probably not the best practice…but oh well :)]

Start Steel Cut oats:  7:11am [YES, I made steel cut even in a busy morning!]

Clean up + makeup + stir the oats a few times + make huz a green monster: 7:30am

Photograph oats + gather things: 7:35am

Out the door with my oats and my mini spoon: 7:37am

Arrive at work: 7:55am

Feeling fabulous after morning yoga!!  Totally woke up every muscle in my body and my brain :)

These steel cut oats were fabulous…even eaten in the car.  I drive on a very straight and slow road for a few miles before getting on the freeway…don’t worry :)  I’m hoping next time I’ll get up RIGHT at 6:15, so I have time to eat at home.  It was actually almost easier to make these oats because I didn’t have to pay as much attention to them.  With rolled oats you have to kind of stand by the whole time but with these I just stirred every 5min until they were done, about 15-20min.

• 1/4c Irish steel cut oats
• 1 1/4c water
• 1/4c almond milk + vanilla + 1/2t cinnamon[added in last 5min]

topped with:

• 1 medium banana
• 1T Bob’s Red Mill coconut granola
• jam
• 1T pnut butter

Lunch break:

• 8oz tomato basil soup
• scoop of quinoa cranberry salad
• small scoop of spinach saag with tofu
• chipotle roasted sweet taters

I kept my pair for a snack a few hours later.  I love taking small tastes :)  I am going to try making sweet taters like this low + slow.

Delicious 75% DARK chocolate square for dessert!

When I got home, I was a on a GREEN mission.  I wanted to get my green cleaners mixed up so I could do a good cleaning before my mom gets here. 

I picked up a few ingredients today:  distilled white vinegar – essntial oil [sweet orange…it was the cheapest ~$3] – baking soda – castile soap

This smelled SO good.  A great CLEAN smelling scent.

Dr. Bronners soaps are awesome.  You can literally use this for 18 different things, just like the label says. 

If you’re not familiar with the Dr. Bronner’s products check out the website.

DESCRIPTION:

Our most popular fragrance. The peppermint essential oil tingles the body and clears the mind. Because therapeutically peppermint oil is a mild stimulant it increases vitality and clarity. All oils and essential oils are certified organic to the National Organic Standards Program. Packaged in 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.

INGREDIENTS:

Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Mentha Arvensis*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Peppermint Oil*, Citric Acid, Tocopherol

[source]

A large box of baking soda.

I made my own labels for the bottles :)

The all-purpose cleaner recipe came from here and consisted of:

• 1c vinegar
• 1c water
• juice from 1 lemon

1. Combine all ingredients in the bottle and shake to mix.

Review: I might add a few drops of the essential oil to get rid of the vinegar smell a little bit more.  It’s not too strong and mostly evaporates once it dries, but not completely.  So far, I cleaned the toilet with this and it worked GREAT.  It didn’t seem to leave a residue.  It sprayed well out of the bottle.  It didn’t smell strong at all.  There didn’t seem to be more elbow grease required than normal. This really seemed to work very well.  I’m WAY excited :)

I have purchased some green products before that literally DID NOT clean.  They were almost greasy and just pushed the grunge around.  I do really like METHOD products and what was in this spray bottle before was JR Watkins Natural All-Purpose Cleaner.  It smelled like coconut + was fabulous.  However, at $4/bottle it is WAY more expensive than what I just made.

I was really skeptical as to how this GLASS CLEANER would work.  I found the recipe here.

• 1/4c vinegar
• 1/2t Dr. Bronner’s castile soap
• 2c water
• ~10 drops sweet orange essential oil

1. Add everything to the bottle and shake to mix.

Review: My expectations for this were low.  Why?  Because I have purchased non-green glass/window/mirror products that don’t work well.  Again, METHOD brand glass cleaner works really well, if you don’t feel like making your own.  However, this worked WAY BETTER than I could have ever imagined.  At first I used my microfiber close to work it around the mirror.  It wasn’t really picking up the wetness from what I sprayed and was totally streaked and terrible.  I grabbed a paper towel, which seemed to still just push it around.  However, I kept wiping with the paper towel [for all of like 10sec] and suddenly the residue was completely wiping off.  It was SPARKling clean!! 

Again, It really didn’t take scrubbing or extra hard work, just a few more strokes than normal.  I couldn’t believe how clean it got and it smelled FABulous from the peppermint in the soap and the orange oil I added.  Also, this cost PENNIES.  Yes, I had to buy the oils + castile soap, but they will last for a reallllly long time. 

I made up another empty bottle with a label for the tubs, countertops, and sinks.  I then realized there was baking soda in it and no water or vinegar.  This means, there is no way it’s squirting through a bottle ;)  So I made up a little batch of this in a bowl with a GREEN mini spoon..how appropriate! Recipe source.

Tubs, Countertops, + Sink Cleaner

• ~1T baking soda
• ~1T Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap
• ~6-8 dropped sweet orange essential oil

1. Add enough soap to make the mixture thick but spreadable with a wet sponge. 
2. Mix well.

To use:

1. Spoon some onto a wet sponge or dip sponge into the bowl.
2. Spread around counters or sink.  You might need to add a little more water to the sponge to help spread. 
3. Let sit for a minute or two and rinse off.

Review: I used this on our bathroom sink on the main level that I haven’t cleaned in over a week.  I do my makeup at this sink, so it was kind of gunky + gross.  Again, I was completely amazed at how well this worked.  No extra scrubbing was involved and it was easy to rinse away.  Also, it was nice to not have to be obsessive about rinsing it away like a gritty bleach product.  The metal faucet was sparkling and it smelled fabulous.  Again, this cost about $.25 and is great because you can make a small batch of it whenever you need. 

Success #3

It’s amazing that making your own cleaning products actually makes cleaning more fun.  I couldn’t believe everything well everything worked.  I used almost all green cleaning products before, but I know some of them still had a few iffy ingredients.  Not to mention they are pricey and sometimes seriously just don’t work.  Have you ever had a green cleaning product that was just awful?  I have had a few!

What to clean next???????????

NOT coconut butter…hehe

The *sparkling* mirror.  It took about 30 shots to get myself in the frame properly…well sort of properly ;)

I seriously AM this EXCITED. 

Three main points to sum up my GREEN product making experience:

1. These all took about 20min to make..if you’re moving at a snail’s pace.  That was WITH photographing.
2. They all worked…and worked WELL!
3. In total these cost well under $1 to make THREE products.

After this fun adventure we were off to the rock gym.  Today was great!  I have my full strength back after being sick.  Also, it was the first time I really felt stronger.  My stamina is improving and I could totally tell.  Normally when I’m bouldering I hit a wall [haha, no pun intended] and can’t go on anymore.  Tonight, we climbed a few roped routes and then bouldered.  I just kept going + going.  My forearms were tight but it wasn’t stopping me.  The only reason I stopped was because my hands are getting a bit ripped up and they were starting to hurt.  Super fun night!! 

I don’t have very good form yet…SO much to learn!

We then came home and enjoyed a cheesy pizza from Whole Foods and did a little cleaning.  Luckily my mom doesn’t get in until tomorrow night…so I have all day to clean + go to the market to get my freshy fresh eggs!! :)

Denver Peeps!!!  What should I do with my mom???  She is here until next Friday morning.  I have no plans yet except hitting up a few really cute spots for shopping ;)  I’m not going to take her on any hikes but she’s definitely up for checking out mountain sites and whatnot.  She + my dad actually lived in Colorado for 1 year right after they got married.  Kind of funny!  I need ideas for places to go + restaurants to try!  Fun lunch/breakfast suggestions or places with GREat food happy hour specials.  THANKS!!! 

Niiiight!!!

~Ashley