Gettin’ Green With Martha
We recently walked into our second home Home Depot and what should we see but a brand new line of cleaning products on display right by the entrance. Apparently Martha has gone green.
Her new line is called Martha Stewart Clean and it boasts 99% plant and mineral based biodegradable ingredients in everything from all-purpose cleaners, wood floor cleaners, laundry detergent, dishwasher liquid, and toilet bowl cleaners. They’re even certified by the EPA Design For Environment program, are 100% non-toxic (which means they’re totally safe for kids and pets) and have no artificial colors or preservatives. Which is definitely a good thing in our book. Especially when you think about how many cleaning products have to be locked away under the kitchen sink thanks to their non-kid-safe warnings.
We love her whole “effective, responsible, and safe” approach to cleaning (even the packaging is 100% recyclable) so we just had to pass it on and see what you guys think.
Have any of you tried these cleaning products on for size yet? We assume they’re pretty close to Dr. Bronner’s line of castille soap available at Target (which we love for its plant-based and all-natural ingredients). And the best thing about our new Home Depot discovery is that they must work really well for big M to put her name on them… which we hope will encourage anti-all-natural peeps (some folks claim they don’t work as well) to give ‘em a whirl and see just how far they’ve come. Who knows, they might be your favorite house-cleaning upgrade of 2010. And since January is all about fresh starts and clean slates it might be the perfect way to kick off the year with a bang. Or a good old fashioned scrub-down…
Psst- Wanna whip up your own all-natural cleaning solutions at home? Here’s a post full of DIY recipes for homemade cleaners that really get ‘er done. And if you’re wondering how we keep Casa Petersik clean, check out this pretty exhaustive post on the subject.
Psssst- Oh and of course we weren’t paid or perk’d by Martha (or anyone else for that matter) to write this little post, we just genuinely thought this new line of cleaning products was of interest and wanted to share it with you!
Psssssst- First (slightly altered) image found here.
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Well let me be one of the few to say that the ecofriendly cleaners offered by HD leave something to be desired. Sorry :) I have a janitorial business, I also work at the deeepot. Does your US HD sell Ecomist products? I think this is a similar product to Martha’s stuff up above. My HD recently switched over to using all eco friendly cleaning materials. I think it’s really really great, the ecomist is totally safe, enviro friendly and according to the MSDS it’s even safe to drink! Crazy huh…
But… I’m not fond of it, maybe Martha’s stuff is better… I still think vinegar, bleach, baking soda and the like with some elbow grease are the best cleaning materials for most surfaces.
I find the environmentally product similar to what you’ve posted about isn’t suitable for commercial use, I also haven’t had much luck using it at home. It doesn’t treat salt build-up on floors well, nor does it take care of lime deposits. I find that after using Eco friendly stuff for a while I really have to haul out the vinegar to get a sink or tub shiny again… Just my two cents.
Thanks for the scoop Arenda! We definitely love hearing both sides of the story- that’s totally why we asked! I guess nothing beats good ol’ vinegar in the end, huh?!
xo,
s
I haven’t tried those yet, but I definitely will once I need to restock my cleaning supplies! And from the photos you posted, it looks like they have some pretty nice price tags as well! :)
I have switched almost entirely to homemade cleansers (still used 7th generation dish detergent and laundry soap) thanks to your awesome post awhile back.
I hope this isn’t off-topic, but do you two ever mop your floors? If so, do you have a specific method you use? And how do you dry them thoroughly afterwards?
The key to our mopping routine is that we don’t get our hardwood floors very wet to begin with. We learned from our floor refinisher that you just want a moist rag or mop and never anything sopping wet, so whenever I mop I just swipe a moist rag with a smidge of Mrs. Meyer’s All Purpose Cleaner on it (oddly I get on the floor and do it by hand like my Italian mother but we also like the O-Mop from Target) pretty quickly across the floor. Then I follow that with a moist rag without any cleaner on it (to theoretically “rinse” the floors without getting them very wet during either step). It seems to work like a charm. We have shining wood floors over a year after getting them refinished- and they always smell great after a nice seasonal cleaning. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I love mrs meyers- I use the hand soap and the all purpose cleaners. I use the all purpose in my bathrooms and my kitchen and I find it does a great job on the dining room table without ruining the finish. I love the smell and I don’t worry about the kids touching it or using it to clean for that matter(like that ever happens).
For Carrie: I pour straight Borax into my toilet bowl and then a generous squirt of Dr. Bronners (I use peppermint in the toilets). Scrub that all around until it is nice and soapy and then leave for about 10-15 minutes. Flush. Borax disinfects the bowl, the soap cleans it, and it has a lovely peppermint smell. Hope that helps!
Sherry, that’s hilarious about the hand mopping. I did exactly the same thing after our NYE party. The floors were so sticky, that I went through the house three times with a Swiffer wet mop … to no success. But one go around with the Mrs. Meyers and a rag (on my hands and knees as well) and voila! I’m about ready to Freecycle that Swiffer.
Hi John and Sherry!
We have been using the Martha dishwasher detergent for about a week now and we love it. It gets everything super clean, even when the dishwasher is totally full, and the price was about the same as any other. By the way, for the poster that asked, the products are manufactured by Hain Celestial. I watched Martha’s morning show a few weeks ago and she had these products on. It seems like a lot of thought and research went into them. I agree with the other posters about the fragrance (or lack thereof.) By the way, love your blog and congrats on the little one on the way!!!!
Hey Amber,
Thanks for chiming in with that info and your review of the dishwashing detergent. Good to know!
xo,
s
Carrie,
Like Cheryl, I use borax or baking soda and some Dr. Bronners, but I wipe all of the surfaces of the toilet (and um, the floor surrounding…) with peroxide. Kills germs and odors, very safe and cheap too. Nothing stronger needed–really
Thanks Carrie and Cheryl! Great tip!
xo,
s
I have been using Clorax Greenworks for about a year and like them. I might have to check into these.
My husband and I made some all purpose spray from your DIY cleaner list last week. The stuff works great! I can’t believe that people would say that all natural cleaners don’t work as well. The homemade version works better than our old cleaner, and I feel a lot better about using it!
We also tackled a clog in our bathtub with some baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water (also from your DIY page.) It wasn’t a terrible clog, so that method worked wonderfully!
Hey Ashley,
That’s amazing to hear! We’re so glad two natural methods that we passed along worked like a charm in your house! Woot woot.
xo,
s
love ecover and it’s affordable – the lime cleaner is the only product that cleans the hard water buildup in my bathtub. but they have everything like window cleaner and softscrub. but the smell is good – i hate the smell of vinegar!
I saw the some of the Martha line for sale at Giant Eagle. Most green cleaner lines are a bit more expensive than the conventional ones, but Martha’s seemed priced above and beyond most of the green cleaners for sale. It might be where I was shopping though, Giant Eagle’s prices are higher than most.
I clean using vinegar right out of the bottle because it’s already sold as a 5% acid solution. I used to mix water with it in a spray bottle but found I used twice as much to clean – because I was watering it down. Oops.
I was thrilled when I came across Martha’s green products last week and quickly snagged some of the wood floor cleaner. I used it immediately and was pleased, but not thrilled (my friend are collectively gasping right now that I am not singing Martha’s praises…..her website has been my homepage for longer than I would care to admit). There is no odor, it cleaned well, and it didn’t leave any kind of residue, but the floors don’t glisten the way I would like. That said, I’ll keep using it but will likely experiment with others.
I use the Shaklee products for other household cleaning and love them–they clean really well, the window/mirror solution leaves no streaks, and since you mix your own from the concentrate they last forever (I splurged and bought their spray bottles and they are the cutest). They are another fantastic option worth investigating, and since the concentrate is only $12 and makes 48 gallons of cleaner, you really can’t lose!
I think it’s great that Martha is trying to go green but these are some expensive products. With Norwex microfiber, you can clean 90% of your home with JUST water which is about as green as you can get! Norwex offers other green cleaning products too (with no chemicals) for those big jobs. Full disclosure, I am a Norwex consultant but I only promote those Norwex products I have personally used and dig. The Norwex Enviro Cloth and Window Cloth with just water are amazing. Enjoy reading your blog!!
Michelle
I work at a Home Depot in Alabama and we have been carrying the the new Martha Stewert line for about a month now, and I have yet to see a single purchase of her product. Yes it is on the pricey side, but it is Martha what do you expect, but has anyone smelled it? I do not like the smell. To me it smells like a dirty house not a clean one. When I clean I like my house to smell clean.
Martha looks green, no matter what they say. LOL
Some great products here. Also, for those who want to make their house green and save some money, this should prove to be a valuable resource.
http://tinyurl.com/housegonegreen
Hi Guys, I’m in Australia and use a combo of green products here. I like the method products, eco store (nz) and earth choice. I also use the bicarb/vinegar way of unclogging drains and a homemade window cleaner of vinegar/water/dishwashing detergent (green of course). I definitely think the green products are more expensive but in my mind it is money well spent. Thanks for providing such a great blog!
Dr. Bonner soaps are on sale at Target this week (at least in my area)! I picked up the peppermint and a sample size of the almond. Woo hoo!
Awesome! Thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
I just bought the all-purpose cleaner and bathroom cleaner and I love them. I use less than products like windex, and it dries streak free. Plus, my hands don’t smell weird afterwards. I would definitely try her other products.
From what I understand about Martha Stewart, she has always been a proponent of natural/organic living. For example, she has always gardened organically, she has always been focused on being as waste-free as possible, and I seem to remember seeing a number of conservation-minded efforts she has promoted/created on her television program. My point is, I think it’s less that Martha is “going” green, and more that she is bringing into the fold of her company’s business model a philosophy about natural living that she lives. No, I don’t think she’s a hippee, but I do believe she is sincere in this effort, and not trying to take advantage of a green ‘trend.’ She has every right to make her company more current, more innovative, and in line with what so many of us have said we’re looking for. And though the cleaning products themselves are pricey, on the flip side, her low-VOC, low-odor new paint line at HD is MUCH less expensive than Ben Moore. I just think that Martha, because she’s Martha, is often unfairly characterized. Which is unfortunate, because I do think she has wisdom to share.
OH! And the whole “Martha and Home Depot” thing?? It’s way more than the cleaning products. Whoa! There’s the new paint line, the cleaning stuff, they’ve got indoor/outdoor rugs, the patio furniture…sounds like they are forging ahead with a new relationship. Yeah, she’s really putting herself out there as the face of her brand, all over again. I seem to think there’s an entire ‘martha stewart’ section of their webpage.