Caldrea Clean Scents Make Holiday Green Sense

If you support being clean and green, and your tastes lean toward refined design or a hip Crate-&-Barrel look, then Caldrea has a product for you. Made by the same folks behind the Mrs. Meyer’s line of cleaning products, Caldrea products are just as green, but their fancier packaging and selection of scents absolutely exude upscale elegance, kissed with exotic aroma-therapy benefits. (They’re biodegradable, not tested on animals, and really do work without harsh chemicals.)

Overly sweet, frou-frou smells choke me up, but these are as far away from that concept as you can get. Caldrea blends natural essences into such options as Ginger Pommelo, Basil Blue Sage, Lavender Pine, Sweet Pea, Citrus Mint, and Seville Orange Amber, among other fragrances, then infuses them into such household handies as dishwashing liquid, countertop cleansers, all-purpose sprays, powdered scrubs, laundry products, and linen sprays. They’ll make your home clean and dreamy, and while I never thought I’d recommend countertop cleansers or linen sprays as luxurious stocking stuffers, these can make unexpectedly wonderful gifts. (Trust me, with four cats and two dogs, I guarantee pet owners will absolutely inhale these products.) Caldrea’s website has new holiday scents, but these are the ones I know best:

Caldrea Liquid Dish Soap (Ginger Pommelo)

Caldrea Countertop Cleanser (Basil Blue Sage)

Caldrea Lavender Pine All-Purpose Cleanser

Caldrea Cloverleaf Sink Set (Basil Blue Sage)

Caldrea Room Freshener (Sweet Pea)

Stainless Steel Spray (Citrus Mint)

Loofah: Cleans Good, Tastes Great!

I used to buy these crazy looking squashes in Asian markets decades ago, long before I knew what they were. They’re long, deep green, with ridges all around the outside, and kind of spongy inside, so they sop up sauces readily and have a pleasant springy texture. I later realized these loofah squashes are the fresh versions of the loofah sponges used for bathing, and now for dishwashing and vegetable scrubbing.

Also known as luffa or luffah, the loofah is ecologically greener than natural sponges, which are harvested from the ocean and in some places, running scarce. They’re also more sustainable than cellulose sponges, which are manufactured from wood. I’ve seen loofah kitchen sponges in colorful shapes (red chile peppers, from Loofah-Art), and in natural straw color. They’re easy to grow, too, and some backyard gardeners split their loofah harvests between edible veggies and drying as sponges.

Cook up *Stir-Fried Luffah with Diced Shrimp and Garlic* and read details about loofah at Global Gourmet’s page on *Luffah Squash*.