I changed the filter in my Get Clean® Water pitcher last night and was shocked to see the rusty colored yuckiness it had successfully kept out of the last 80 gallons of water I consumed (the image above features the old filter and a brand new unused one side-by-side).

I have lived in Long Beach, New York for two and a half years now and have certainly noticed that the bath and toilet water run a little brown every so often, but I had never noticed this at the kitchen tap. I decided I needed to learn exactly what this discoloration could mean, since recently published water quality tests in our town had shown no violations in copper, lead or iron levels (although they are present in every sample tested which is why I'm adamant about filtering my water). I hit the internet to learn more and, according to this report on the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection website, orange or brown water simply means rust, either within my home's pipes or in the town water mains. It is also likely that the metal compound that's rusting is Iron. Because the discoloration in my home is inconsistent, it is likely in the town lines and there's probably little I can do about it. According to Livestrong.com, low Iron levels commonly found in drinking water do not pose a toxicity risk, and usually only cause the aggravation of stained bath fixtures or wash loads, as well as a metallic taste in unfiltered drinking water.

But I'm of the "better safe than sorry" mindset and will continue to filter the nearly 200 ounces of water I drink every day. Of additional concern is that for the 2+ years that I used a Brita filtration pitcher, I never saw a collection of such sediment, making me extra glad I switched over to Shaklee's pitcher, which is certified to reduce 3 times as many contaminants as Brita or PUR systems and the only pitcher filter on the market that removes lead when present. I popped the new carbon filter into place, poured myself a glass of water before bed, and slept a whole lot easier.



While supplies last, Shaklee is offering A Year of Cleaner, Healthier Water, which includes a BPA-free 10 cup Get Clean Water Pitcher, Refillable Filter Housing Kit, and a Water Filter 3-Pack, all in a free gift box at the special price of $117.65 (or $99.95 for members).

Perhaps you are already thinking "what do Amanda's dirty sneakers have to do with eco-friendly home design or matters relating to parenthood?!?" Well, I could just reply that it's my blog and I can post what I want, dirty footwear and all....or I could try to explain the strange experiment I've conducted and why I'm posting aerial shots of a half-clean pair of Vans slip-ons for the whole world to see.

It all started on a canoe trip last year. I wore these puppies and they got very dirty, as you can see. And usually if something is damaged or soiled beyond cleaning it goes in my "out box" immediately, destined for the trash or Salvation Army. But I wear my various Vans slip-ons incessantly and this particular pair had only been in my life for a few months; it would have been premature retirement. I just could't do it. As a parent of a little boy, you'd think I'd have a stain removal tool box loaded and ready, but there is not a not a bottle of bleach or an ounce of Shout whatever-it's-called to be found in my house. No chemicals, no carcinogens here. Just a sad, badly stained pair of shoes.

Fast forward to a few months ago when I ordered my first package of Nature Bright from Shaklee's Get Clean line, a completely pure and nontoxic household product family that I have been using, adoring and distributing since January 2011. It's a laundry booster and stain remover according to the package but really it's a glorious all-natural bleach alternative and stain banishing hero. (They really should have me write their copy, no?) It had been successfully removing various art class materials from my son's school outfits, those mysterious oil stains that you never remember making, stubborn ring-around-the-collar from shirts that were also bound for the "out box," and everything else I challenged it with. I even used it to remove mildew and whiten grout. But it never occurred to me to tackle my stained shoes until I was packing up the "out box" again for another donation run and a light bulb went off.

Channeling my inner Billy Mays, I mixed some water and Nature Bright and scrubbed one shoe with a little pressure for about a minute. I let it sit and rinsed it a half hour later. Here are the results:




Good, but not good enough, so I went back in with another few minutes of scrubbing and about an hour of setting time before rinsing. Hallelujah!! One Van was white again! See for yourself:




So now it all makes sense, right? This post is simply about my experience with my favorite new eco-friendly cleaning product, that all parents or just anyone who is breathing should have, to keep everything in their home stain-free. Perfect Baby Green Blog content. Contact me at ajm2727@gmail.com for more information on how you, too, can be green and stain-free. Now I'm off to whiten the other half of the pair.....

Sadly, it is still more expensive to make many environmentally conscious purchases. A can of zero VOC paint still carries a premium. The Diesel engine VW I was coveting for the last month would have burned cleaner than a gas car and gotten far better MPG. But alas, I couldn't afford the upfront cost increase, so I defaulted to a good old gas model.

I'm a girl on a budget, raising my son as a single mother in hard economic times. So I scanned my lifestyle for ways that I do in fact save money through the environmentally responsible choices I made and I came up with the following list, proving that it is possible for economic = eco-friendly.


1) I swear by the reusable cloth snack bags by Itzy Ritzy as a way to simultaneously save money and resources. Here's the math: a 50 count box of slightly smaller Ziploc sandwich bags from Kmart.com were advertised at $2.19 (and I believe prices at my local Waldbaums are much higher). I sent along two reusable bags in my son's lunch and snack every school day this year of which there were approximately 180 and then there were snacks for car rides, beach outings and park trips....so let's call it around 400 bags per year. This totals $17.52 before S&H, but for just $9.99 each before S&H I have zippered reusable bags that will last years.

2) Turning off lights and appliances when not in use is a no-brainer for saving money and saving resources. It may only equal 20 bucks a year or so in savings, but conserving electricity is simply the right thing to do. I take it a step further by not having AC in my house so my summer electric bill is a few dollars a month compared to the $100 or so I used to shell out July through September in the city.



3) The reusable water bottle trend has certainly caught on and we all know filtered water is usually a safer bet than tap. But it's a surefire way to save pennies too! I've probably purchased about half a dozen pretty steel canisters over the past few years but if I had bought individually bottled water or had a 5 gallon filling station at my home, I'd have easily spent hundreds every year. The cost of filters for the average water filter pitcher system is around $60/year. (The Tree of Life Bottle pictured above is $9.98 from Gaiam and of course I use the Shaklee Get Clean Water pitcher that filters out more contaminants than PUR or Brita models.)

4) I recently discovered 7-11 coffee refills for .99 cents (any size!). I think my medium coffee was around $1.65 so I save about .60 cents a day if it's a one-cup day and even more if I'm refilling multiple times. This only works in the burbs where 7-11's line the streets. Going out of one's way for a refill would clearly cancel out the savings in fuel costs. I believe Starbuck's also offers a BYOC discount, but the budget-minded like myself try to stay out of Starbuck's.


5) My 32 oz bottle of Shaklee's Get Clean Basic H2 Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate is still about 2/3 full and I purchased it for the member price of $10.35 in January. And if you know me, you know I clean my house A LOT. So, for around $10 I get a year of 750 squeaky clean square feet. Not to mention the space I save under the kitchen sink by not having to have a half dozen targeted cleaning sprays and bottles. (Send me an email at ajm2727@gmail.com, I'd be happy to help you save money and space too!!)