Karen Peltier

I was un-pleasantly surprised this past week when I opened my pantry door to only find a rotten, horrible, stench. Yikes! Even though I am the one with the "nose" in the family, I couldn't seem to find the culprit as the smell was so pervasive.

So, I had to enlist the family's help. My daughter looked for a while with the help of a friend. No luck. Fortunately, my husband discovered the problem -- a bag of potatoes containing a few that had turned bad and promptly put them outside. However, that didn't immediately take care of the smell. It lingered. And lingered...

Well, the next day I realized I had to take some action with an earth-friendly air freshener, such as one from the Top 12 DIY Green Air Fresheners. I decided to do a few spritzes of eco-friendly air freshener spray and then I put a bowl of baking soda on the pantry shelf, which is a fabulous, natural deodorizer. I followed this by cleaning the floor of the pantry where the bag of potatoes sat with a solution of water and vinegar, a great natural disinfectant.

Voila! By the end of that second day, my pantry smelled pleasant as a pansy. So, if you've got some air "issues" in your home, don't be shy, give some air freshening green cleaning a try!

Smashed avocado, a bit of marinara sauce, some ground-in chocolate, a splash of red wine....It sounds like an ingredient list for an unpleasant recipe. But these are the kinds of stains I find everywhere in my house on my furniture and favorite clothing items. Almost every week, I discover new and exotic combinations, like dirt and make-up, or grass and black tea.

So, I was very excited with Seventh Generation's release of its newest product -- Natural Oxy Stain Remover. I was truly hoping it would be the answer to my dreams (OK, maybe I'm stretching it a bit) and finally get rid of all my unwanted spots and stains. It did indeed help with some stains, but not all of them, unfortunately. But I did find a few surprising uses for the product. Read my product review to get the scoop.

Therefore, aside from many natural do-it-yourself home remedies that remove spots, I'm still seeking a commercial, oxygen-based product that works really well and still brightens and whitens. So, if you are sick of fighting spots and stains, too, and have a favorite, commercial "green" spot remover, please share it with me. And deliver all of us from this onslaught of spots and stains!

Meet Eco-Me's Green Cleaning Product Line.

While perusing the green cleaning section at my local Whole Foods Market, I recently discovered Eco-Me's natural cleaning products line. New to the store, each bright, colorful product had friendly names in large, bold letters prominently displayed on the label that seemed to shout out to me, "Hey, friend! Check me out." I couldn't help but take notice of the attractive packaging of the "Bill, Dave, Emily, Matt, Phil, Kate, Suzy, Jack, and Emma" cleaning products. They all had a specialty (e.g., cleaning floors, toilets, carpets, etc.) and definitely wanted to get my attention.

I decided to go over and "introduce" myself to "Bill" or rather, "Bill by Eco-Me, All Purpose Cleaner" as he's called formally. He wasn't shy bragging about himself. In fact, he was a "natural" at acting "all-natural." Right on the label in a big block of orange color, "Bill" gives a spiel about how great vinegar works and mentions how no harmful ingredients are in the product to re-assure me that I was getting a safe, environmentally friendly product.

Impressed, I decided to take "Bill" home to see if everything he claimed was true. Bill was no liar. Read my review of the "Bill by Eco-Me, All Purpose Cleaner" for all the dirty details. And say hello to "Bill" for me the next time you see him at the store.

Photo © Eco-Me