Valentine’s Day is only one week away, do you have a creative, green gift for your special someone? No? Well there’s no need to worry!  Check out our last minute green Valentine’s Day gift ideas below.

1. Organic and Fair Trade Chocolates

Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates

Chocolate that is grown, produced and marketed in a way that isn’t harmful to the planet or the farmer.  Plus they taste great!

The Daily Green has a great list of 19 of the Best Organic and Fair Trade Chocolates.  Check it out.

2. A Potted House Plant

Peace Lily

It doesn’t get much greener than an actual plant.  Just to be safe, I wouldn’t get a potted plant as a replacement for roses, but it would go great in addition to some lovely organic roses (see below).

Don’t know what type of house plant to get?  Check out our post about house plants that actually clean your indoor air.

3. Organic Roses

There are lots of online flower retailers that now offer Eco-friendly and even USDA Organic certified roses and other ornamental flowers.  Organic Bouquet offers Veriflora certified organic roses that are perfect for Valentine’s Day.

You could also check with your local Denver or Boulder florist to see if they have any organic roses available.

4. (non-toxic) Scented candles to set the romantic mood

Medium Romance Gift Basket

Way Out Wax has an extensive line of hand made, all natural soy candles scented with non-toxic essential oils.  No harmful additives or dyes are used.

Check out their romance gift baskets, available in small, medium and large.

5. Clean the House

Everyone loves the gift of free time and everyone loves a nice clean home.  Why not offer to clean up the house this weekend and let your special someone kick their feet up and relax.  You could also buy a Clean Conscience gift card and give the gift of green cleaning and then spend the free time on a romantic picnic.  Contact us to purchase a gift card for Valentine’s Day (picnic not included with gift card…).

Happy Valentine's Day

Photo credit: Picinic - via Visit Finger Lakes on Flickr

Are you ready for Super Bowl Sunday? Not unless your flat screen TV is clean. Here’s how:

How to clean series:

Flat Screen TV or Monitor

Today’s flat screen TV’s and monitors must be cleaned differently than the old CRT monitors. The CRT monitors had a glass screen and could be cleaned the same way you would clean any other piece of glass.  Flat screens (Plasma, LCD, LED) are much more sensitive and can be easily scratched or damaged so they require some special care when cleaning. Before attempting to clean any TV screen or monitor you should always check the owners manual for instructions or special care.

Follow the easy steps below to safely clean your flat screen monitor or TV in just a few minutes.

1. Turn off the TV/monitor and let it fully cool down for roughly 30 minutes. When the screen is dark, it will be easier to see the areas that are dirty or oily, and when it is fully cooled off there is less chance of damaging pixels.
2. Use a dry, soft cloth and very gently wipe the screen. A great choice would be the microfiber type of cloth used to clean eyeglasses. Avoid using paper towel and never use anything remotely abrasive.
3. If the soft dry cloth did not completely remove the dirt or oil, do not press harder in an attempt to scrub it off. Pushing directly on the screen can often cause pixels to burn out.
4. If necessary, dampen the cloth (do not spray the screen) with distilled water or with an equal ratio of distilled water to white vinegar. Many companies also sell small spray bottles of special cleaner for flat screen monitors which you may want to consider but the vinegar mixture is usually just as effective.  Avoid cleaning products that contain ammonia, ethyl alcohol, acetone, toluene, ethyl acid, methyl chloride, or window cleaner (which is mostly ammonia). These chemicals can react with the materials that the flat screen is made of which could yellow the screen or cause other kinds of damage. Also avoid tap water as the minerals can leave white spots on the screen. Never spray liquid directly on an LED, LCD, or plasma screen. It could run inside the monitor and cause damage.

The new year is here! Did you make any green resolutions for 2012?  Here are some great green resolutions that are fairly easy to implement, make a difference, and that you’ll enjoy.

Green Resolutions for 2012

Reduce meat consumption – have one or two vegetarian days (or more) per week.

Beef CAFO

Switch to organic meat – When eating meat, make a concerted effort to only eat organic meat.  Don’t buy meat products from Concentrated Animal Feed Operation (CAFO).  These operations generate lots of animal waste and the close confinement allows pathogens to run rampant.  As a result, CAFO animals are given large amounts of antibiotics and steroids to ward off infection.  You can read more about CAFOs here and here.

Reduce gasoline consumption

• Ride a bike or walk to close by places of business and interest
• Car pool to work
• Take public transportation one or more times per week

Grow some of your own food!

This is a very fun green resolution.  Even if you live in an apartment, you can grow some small bit of food from herbs on a windowsill to growing a tomato plant on your terrace.  However much or little food you grow, every bit helps to reduce fossil fuel use at numerous points along our industrial food supply chain.  From diesel in tractors and trucks to natural gas derived fertilizers, our industrial agricultural system uses a tremendous amount of fossil fuel.

Small Raised Bed Garden - via Flickr

There are other benefits in addition to reducing fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.  Growing a garden is a great way to spend quality time with the family.  One of my favorite benefits is that you can grow unique heirloom varieties of different vegetables.  They taste great and some of them look wild and exotic.

A related resolution: Eat more locally grown food

Eating locally grown food also helps reduce the amount of diesel fuel used for food transport.  Plus it helps the local economy.

You can buy locally at the Denver Farmers Market and the Boulder Farmers Market.

A perennial green resolution, reduce waste. 

There are so many ways that we can all reduce the amount of waste we produce everyday.  Here are just a few simple ideas to think about.

• Don’t use single use coffee cups

  PortionPac

• Carry a handkerchief with you instead of tissue paper
• Use old cloth, towels and sheets instead of paper towels to clean up messes in the kitchen. Wash, rinse and repeat.
• Green house cleaning. At Clean Conscience, we use PoritonPac and Sh-mop cleaning products that greatly reduce packaging waste and resource waste while providing a superior clean.

Have you made a green resolution this year that I didn’t mention?  Share it with us in the comments.

 Photo credit: redteam - Flickr

Hectic Holiday Shopping

The holidays are quickly approaching and there is still much to do.  Take a moment from your hectic holiday planning and check out these simple, no-nonsense ways to green your holiday season.  These tips may even save you some time to sit back, relax and actually enjoy the season with your family and friends.

Gift wrap:

Here are some great ideas for gift wrapping alternatives.

• Scarves, handkerchiefs or bandannas
• Old posters and maps
• Pages from a child’s coloring book taped together (this is especially nice for relatives who would enjoy the artwork)
•  Old newspapers
•  Last year’s holiday paper (press with warm iron if wrinkled)
•  Wallpaper scraps
•  Pictures or advertisements from magazines and catalogs (you probably shouldn’t use the Victoria’s Secret catalog)
•  Sunday comic pages
• Paper bags from the grocery store

Bows and ribbons:

• Reusable items, such as hair bows, ornaments, shoe laces or toys
• Stencils or pictures from holiday cards pasted onto a plain brown paper bag or box
•  Last year’s holiday cards cut up for gift tags
•  Old neckties

 Packing material alternatives:

• Biodegradable starch packing peanuts (available at a lot of shipping stores and online)
• Crumpled ads from the newspaper (The ink on glossy paper won’t smear as it does on the rest of the newspaper)

Gift ideas:

Instead of giving the usual gifts of plastic toys made in China or the latest and greatest electronic gadget; consider giving thoughtful gifts this year that are not resource-consuming. Some of the most favored and remembered gifts are those we can make ourselves.

• Look for gifts that are unpackaged or minimally packaged, without unnecessary plastic wrap or cardboard backing.
• Evaluate the gift for simplicity and durability.
• Buy durable gifts with long-term warranties (cue Lexus commercial).
• Know the store’s return policy and include tags or receipts for easier exchange or return.
• Consider the impact of your gift: Is it environmentally friendly and safe for children? Will it be reusable? Is it recyclable or made from recycled materials?
• Purchase holiday cards made from recycled paper or make your own from items found around the home.
• Give an experience (for example, a hike in the mountains or a day trip on a train).
• Give a garden! Seeds, gloves, tools, etc.
• Create a family recipe book.

After the holidays

• Save packing material, wrapping and tissue paper for reuse
• Cut up leftover wrap to make scratch pads
• Save bows, ribbon, tags, festive bags and boxes for next year
• Recycle your tree! Some communities make discarded holiday trees into mulch for use in community parks. Call your county for more information.
• Denver area Christmas tree recycling information
• Boulder area Christmas tree recycling information

Sierra Club TV offers similar tips and some others we haven’t covered in the following video.

Have other green holiday tips? Share them in the comments.

Happy Holidays from Clean Conscience!

Photo credit: Lars Plougmann - Flickr

Make your Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year holiday celebration more friendly to the environment.

Give the perfect gift to make the holidays easier and happier for your family; by giving the gift of more time…

Have you had enough of cleaning up after your loved ones and holiday guests before and after they visit?

Is cleaning your home getting in the way of spending quality time with your family and friends?

Are you looking for the perfect stress-free gift?

Look no further! Give the unique and thoughtful gift of green home cleaning this year from Clean Conscience.

With the gift of green home cleaning you will help the environment, stimulate the local economy, and delight your significant other, friends, family, or holiday host.

Green home cleaning is the perfect solution that you can purchase without leaving the comfort of your home or office. You can forget about facing the crowds of holiday shoppers, eliminate the worries of on time delivery from online purchases, and know that your gift will be truly appreciated.

Our green home cleaners use environmentally friendly products that are safer for people, pets, and the planet. You will feel fantastic knowing that this holiday season you are contributing to a greener earth and giving the gift of more free time. Who doesn’t need more free time during the holidays or just a break from the mundane chore of keeping a clean home?

Clean Conscience provides home and small business cleaning services that use eco-friendly products and practices. Our team of Clean Conscious cleaners have been screened and trained; so no need to worry about who is cleaning your home or business.

Call Clean Conscience today! We proudly serve the Denver and Boulder metro areas.

Denver: (303) 495-5656

Boulder: (303) 647-5018

It’s that time of year and Martyn Church of Eco Snow Removal has graciously offered to be a guest blogger and provide insight into whether or not ice melt can be used safely around our children, pets and landscaping.

The snow season is upon us and we’re looking for a safe product to melt the ice on our North facing sidewalks and driveways.  We don’t want to harm our children and pets, nor kill our plants, and as we walk down the aisles of the store, we’re bombarded with tons of seemingly good choices.   The beautiful packaging on these ice melt products show children sledding and dogs prancing.  They’re labeled with phrases such as “Salt Free,”  “Pet Friendly,” and “Safe for the Environment.”  Can we trust them?

I cannot speak for every product out there, but what I can say is that at this moment in time, unlike the food industry, the ice melt industry has no FDA-like regulations regarding honesty in statements on packaging. Translation…We cannot trust the pictures and words on the labels!

A few examples that I have seen include one package that said:  “No Salt” on the front label, and yet just under the name of the product, it said “MAG CHLORIDE.”  Now I don’t know what their chemistry teacher told them, but according to the science books in our libraries, Mag Chloride is indeed, SALT.  A more accurate label might have been “No Table Salt.”  Some packages say “Pet Safe,” but then we look at the contents on the back (if we’re lucky enough to find them there) and read that they’re exactly the same as the regular brand.

There are products out there that are truly salt-free.  However, they tend to be much less efficient at melting snow and ice.  With these products, the very problem we were trying to avoid may still occur.  In an attempt to make them work better, we’ll end up using twice as much.  This over application can still be harmful to plant life, concrete and pets.

Some advice for everyone…First and foremost, if you don’t need to use ice melt, then don’t!  Let the wonderful sun do its magic!  If on the other hand, you do have some shady areas where only ice melt will do the trick, then buy the ice melt products that are at least labeled with details.  If the package does not clearly display the contents, then put it down and find one that does. Try to buy a blended product with a mixture of salts and corrosion inhibitors.  If it has something called CMA (calcium magnesium acetate), that is good.  See if it has at least 20% CMA.  You might pay a premium for these, but a little goes a long way and you’ll be better off in the long run.

One more thing…If you chose to use ice melt, apply it at the application rate found in the directions. This may not seem like a lot at the time of application, but will most likely be enough to do the job. A big mistake many people make is thinking that the more you put down, the faster it will work.   Don’t do it!!  Not only does this slow the melting process, it will most likely leave ice melt residue behind.  So just apply the recommended amount and let the product do its work.

Thank you for reading this post and I hope it has helped you in keeping your property and your loved ones safe for the winter season.

Let It Snow.

Eco Snow Removal Owner, Martyn Church, is one of only seven Certified Snow Professionals in Colorado. He is considered by SIMA, the National Snow and Ice Management Association, to be an expert in the industry. Martyn recognizes the importance of reliable, top-notch service, and is committed to maintaining the highest level of knowledge and training for himself and his team of “Snow Fighters.”

Eco Snow Removal is committed to providing snow and ice management services with minimal impact on the environment. Fueling their vehicles with recycled vegetable oil and bio-diesel, utilizing polyurethane plow blades and specialized ice melt products, are a few of the many ways in which the company works to maintain environmentally friendly practices.

If you are a mom and feel judged about the cleanliness of your home, you are not alone. According to the Motherlode parenting blog in the NY Times, Neglected Children, Messy Houses and Guilt, both stay at home and working moms worry about the cleanliness of their homes. Here are a few of the findings:

•51 percent of working mothers feel guilty about not spending enough time with their children
•55 percent of working mothers feel guilt about the untidiness of their house

•44 percent of stay-at-home moms feel guilt about the untidiness of their house

With the holidays around the corner, and life about to get busier, Clean Conscience is here to help – get rid of your guilt and add time back into your day by getting your house cleaned.

Contact Clean Conscience today for a quote for a green house cleaning for a clean healthy home for your family.

The Don Aslett Museum of Clean had a traveling showcase  at the ISSA/Interclean show. More than a hundred artifacts from the exclusive 5,000-piece collection were transported from the Pocatello, ID museum and displayed at the Las Vegas Convention Center for this year’s show.  Many items dating over 100 years. It was really cool to see how far the industry has progressed, especially the vacuums. Here are a few pictures…

Halloween is right around the corner and if you’ve been looking for ways to make your Halloween celebrations healthier for your family and the planet, then check out our ten tips to green your Halloween.

1. Carpool and Walk

Walk your own neighborhood and then carpool with friends and family to go Trick or Treating in other areas.  Park strategically near the entrance of a neighborhood or subdivision and walk through it.

2. Use natural products for outdoor decorations

A great way to green your Halloween is to use natural items like straw, corn, corn stalks, pumpkins and squash in place of plastic one time use decorations from the party supply store.  Farmers Markets and local farms are great places to look for these fall harvest items.  Not only will you reduce your impact on the local landfill with plastic garbage but you will also be helping out your local farmers and the local economy.


3. Compost your outdoor décor 

If you used natural items like the ones listed above then you can compost them and use the compost in your vegetable garden or flower bed in the spring.  Watch this video for easy Halloween composting tips.

4. Bag those treats responsibly!

via GreenHalloween.org

Use reusable grocery bags or an old pillow case for holding treats.  You can also get creative here and make the bag part of the costume.  An old backpack for your little zombie hiker or an old purse for your little princess.  You can also purchase reusable trick or treat bags.  These can then double as extra reusable grocery bags.

5. Get creative with your costume

Use old clothes and household items as props instead of plastic one time use costumes from the pharmacy.  This approach does require a bit of creativity but it’s a great way to spend some quality time with the kids.  Another advantage of using old clothes and household knick-knacks is that they are reusable and perfect for a costume swap. Talk to friends and family members to see if they have any of their children’s older costumes that they could swap.  Also, check out the National Costume Swap Day^™ website for ideas on how to set up a swap.

6. Donate your leftover Halloween candy to a good cause

Instead of throwing away leftover candy that is still edible, where it will end up in a landfill, donate it to a good cause.  You can have your candy sent to the troops overseas by donating to Operation Gratitude or Any Soldier.  Food pantries, children’s hospitals, and nursing homes will generally accept donations, including candy.  Keep in mind that all candy that you donate should be in its original wrapping.

via Stretch Island Fruit Co.

7. Think outside of the candy box

You don’t have to give conventional candy.  There are lots of organic and unconventional sweet treats that you can give.  Check out the real fruit strips from Stretch Island Fruit Company.  Lärabar makes healthy whole food bars.  They are also having Halloween sale!

Trinkets and collectables from local businesses and giftshops are great too, especially if they are made locally too.  Kids like unique things like polished rocks or some other unique keepsake.  Buying locally also strengthens our local economy.

8. Use beeswax candles

Light up your Jack-O-Lanterns with beeswax candles. They are all natural while paraffin candles are a petroleum byproduct.  There are lots of online websites selling beeswax candles.  If you want to buy locally consider asking around at your local Farmers Market or contact the local apiary.

9. Choose ethical and sustainable chocolate

Choose Rainforest Alliance Certified™ chocolate for Halloween treats. To help support healthy farmlands, forests and wildlife habitat — as well as the well-being of farm workers and their communities — look for chocolate that features the Rainforest Alliance Certified green frog seal! Find certified chocolate here.

10. Throwing a Halloween party? Skip the single-use dinnerware.

If you are going to a party or planning a quick meal with family and friends before trick or treating, skip the single-use dinnerware. Choose a more sustainable option, like compostable products. Click here to find compostable dinnerware on Amazon.

GreenHalloween.org has lots of great tips, ideas and suggestions to help make your Halloween fun, healthy and green. What other green ideas are you employing to green your Halloween? Share with us in the comments. 

It was great to see so many customers visit the Clean Conscience booth at this weekend’s Green Sprouts Baby and Family Fest at the Denver Zoo. We held a raffle for a free house cleaning.  It’s fun to have an opportunity to meet the people who enter the raffle and hear how much they would love to have their home cleaned by Clean Conscience. This year’s lucky winner was Jill S of Denver. Congratulations Jill! We look forward to giving your home a healthy green cleaning!