A few weeks ago I started a little project into finding things to clean more 'green'. The number of chemicals that are in most of our daily cleaners is enough to really scare the average human. The thought of them in our water and environment when they don't maybe need to be compelled me to try and find some not-very-expensive and yet effective alternatives. My budget does not have a lot of room to indulge in some fantasy quest to use super fancy imported cleaning products that come in pretty bottles.

This one, is a toilet bowl cleaner made by major manufacturer, Clorox. It is a branch of their company called Green Works. So, that does two things for me; one, the name is one I know even if I don't really know the name 'Green Works' and the other is that I am hoping that Clorox is putting out a product that actually cleans. So, given those two factors- plus the decent price I gave it a try.

The ingredients are all natural and biodegradable. The fact that is not animal tested really pleased me!













I've used the product now for about 2 months and I've been very happy. The liquid is thick and clings to the side of the bowl which makes cleaning easy. I live in an old building and rust stains from the pipes are a battle, and this has really kept them at bay. I haven't noticed any lack of cleaning power.

The ingredients are mostly citrus based. There is coconut and lemon oil and citric acid. There is no bleach and no big long chemicals that I can't say aloud. When I've used it, it's a nice citrus smell and no cloud of chemical fumes- a bonus in bathroom cleaning.

One of my problems with attempting any sort of green cleaning in the past has been that the prices were so premium. You always have to go looking at fancy boutiques or in the fancy section of the grocery store (oxymoron, but you know what I mean) and then you paid more for less, not to mention that you weren't very sure that the product would actually clean. This one was a decent price, just $2.59 at my local large store with the bullseye. If you've been thinking about trying some new clean green product, I would recommend this one. Any that you have found and liked?

Farmer's Market

In the early foggy cool of Saturday morning I strolled downtown to the little farmer's market. Amazingly, I have lived here for a year and never been - shocking!

There were only about 18 stalls, so it isn't huge by any means, but it was pretty. There were far more plants for sale than anything else. Little starter vegetables for your garden like summer squash, tomatoes, lettuces and broccoli, flowers like impatiens, marigolds (good for fending off bugs), lilies and irises are ready for gardens with houseplants in the mix as well.

There were two stalls with local and organic meats. I didn't get anything this time, but it's good to know for the future. There was also a very tempting goat cheese stand, and I will definitely be visiting that later. Mmmmm.

It is very, very early in the growing season here so there were limited options compared to what I imagine the market will look like next month or in August. Asparagus is one of the largest local crops and it is just past peak season so I got a nice bunch of asparagus. There were only two little scrawny quarts of strawberries and they were hotly fought over by several purchasers. So, I left those for another week or two. Soon the pick-your-own places will be open!

I did, however get a bunch of rhubarb. I love rhubarb, it's a favorite of mine for sure. Rhubarb pie, rhubarb fool, rhubarb compote, oh yes. I wish there had been more strawberries, but I have some frozen and a few canned peaches. Not ideal, but whatever.

I found a bargain in a bag of spinach for $1 and head of bibb lettuce for $2. Then I grabbed a bunch of pretty red radishes to use in my salad. There were onions and chives, but I didn't need them and they were a bit pricey honestly. The luncheon salad I made from these was lovely.














I think that there were bargains to be had and certainly the produce is farm fresh, beautiful and tasty. Some of it was pricier than I expected, but it is a luxury to just walk over and pick out the things that I want. I look forward to going back as the summer moves on and more produce is available.

When I get my car back (cross fingers, the mechanic is back from vacation tomorrow!) I can pick up my cooperative farm share and stop by the more bargain-priced roadside stands.