your cleaners are sabotaging your health.

I haven't always been a hippie at heart.  But now that I am, I am a firm believer it's the best way to live for overall health.

Did you know that a lot of cleaning agents out there are linked to developmental disabilities and cancer?  Yeah.  Think about how close we get to that stuff after spraying it in your bathroom, your kitchen...  even what you eat off of?  You're eating those chemicals!!  Gross.

not everything "natural" is safe

I never liked cleaning.  Honestly I still don't.  But...  as with many of us, we get older and have to start "adulting".  After moving in with my husband, my role as "primary cleaner of the house" became apparent and so I tried to get myself excited about it with some more "natural" brands out there.  Not going to mention names, but they have the pretty packaging, the pretty colors and pretty scents.  Although these "natural" brands claim that they're better for you, (yes, they're probably better than conventional cleaners), a lot of them are still filled with artificial colorings and fragrances.

So what did I do after I learned this?

I tried making my own cleaners at home.  You've probably seen all the recipes on Pinterest for natural cleaning products you can make with just a few ingredients (lemon juice, castile soap, essential oils, white vinegar, etc).  I got all excited, bought my supplies and... it was kind of exhausting!  Yes, I knew what was going into my cleaners, but I felt like I had so many "supplies" around the house that I was left with the same mess of bottles and potions that I had before I started.  It was too much measuring too, and being an anti cooking book kind of home cook, measuring is just NOT my thing.  Anyway, I tried to stick with it, but one day I happened to listen to a life changing podcast from an awesome girl.

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she recommended... Branch Basics.

I promise you, the day I listened to the podcast I checked out their site.  A couple days later...  SOLD.  At the time, we were renovating our dream home and I felt like it was the perfect chance to get a fresh start in creating a healthy (and clean) home environment.  Once my shipment arrived, I was HOOKED.  I filled all my bottles, started cleaning and HOLY CRAP does this stuff clean well.  Their "streak free" bottle really does live up to its name!  Our granite counters?  Sparkling.  Here is the REAL test though.  This might be a bit TMI, but I'll tell you anyway.  I have a workout top that I have had for a while now, and let's just say that the pit stains on the inside of it are pretty nasty.  These pit stains have been there forever (you can't see them from the outside of the shirt), but one day I decided to spray a bit of the "all purpose" bottle onto the stains.  I let it sit for about two days before I put it in the wash.  Once it came out...  the stains were gone.

On top of Branch Basics working so well, I think what I like the most is that I have full control over how I mix the formulas.  I love the color coded system, and I like how all I need is ONE bottle of concentrate, so I only have to worry about running out of ONE thing!  I also love that it's fragrance free because I have super sensitive skin and avoid strong fragrances.  I can use this stuff without dish gloves!  I will say though, I do make my potions a bit more customized than just altering the level of concentration (per bottle instructions).  Even though I am sensitive to synthetic fragrances, essential oils are something I love.  So what do I do?  I just add some drops of oils (lemon, lemongrass, lavender, eucalyptus, etc) to the bottle.  The smell fills the room as I clean, I know it's safe and it adds some extra cleaning power!  What's not to love, especially when you get get $10 off your first order with the link below!

Click here for $10 off your first order of Branch Basics!

​Alright, here's the summary.  Typical cleaners aren't safe.  Most "green" cleaners aren't actually healthy either.  Making your own cleaners (while effective) can be a pain in the butt.  Branch Basics comes in and saves the day with an easy system, awesome product, pretty packaging, and great customer service!  Are you sold yet?  If you are, awesome!  If you aren't, try their starter kit, it's only $5!

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