Maybe it’s because I was raised by the neatest woman in North America, the kind of woman who had three extra cords spliced into her vacuum so that she could buzz through the house without switching outlets and a pair of rubber gloves stashed beneath every sink, or maybe it’s because I have five boys who take the horseshoe and hand grenade approach to toilet usage (i.e. close still counts) but I have to confess that I love the smell of bleach.

Can a girl who loved her Tang give up the chemicals and their powerful odors to green up house cleaning? I am a little skeptical about both the cost of green alternatives, and the ability of the nice stuff to really get the bathroom clean, but I’m willing to give it a try. Today I took the advice of Beth Terry of Fake Plastic Fish and bought an industrial sized box of baking powder and about a gallon of vinegar. I plan to try to use some rags (no shortage of those, thanks again to the 5 boys and their ever decomposing wardrobes) and maybe some newspaper to clean glass.

When my beloved Tide runs out, I’ll need something for the high efficiency washer we have just bought, so if anyone has any thoughts on that, please let me know….