Without going into a whole lot of detail, suffice it to say that I’m a busy woman. With a daughter who stays at home with me and a blog and graphic design business to run, there’s not a lot of time left at the end of the day. And while going green is an incredibly important part of my life, and my livelihood, I admit even I am mildly annoyed by the fact that “green” is rarely synonymous with “convenient.” In fact, the two terms are nearly polar opposites. While I understand this disconnect is for my own good (because convenience generally = disposable), it still gets under my skin from time to time. So when I find a company that manages to successfully package Earth-friendliness and convenience together, I’m an easy sell. Sun & Earth did this for me.
There are lots of companies making green cleaning products these days, and because so many of the ingredients tend to overlap, it’s sometimes tough to pick brands out of the bunch. Sun & Earth makes itself a standout by creating products that few other eco-friendly companies are making. Case in point: Liquid fabric softener, dryer sheets, and even dishwasher packets and a stain removing pen a-la Tide. They sent me a virtual treasure trove of products to test, so I’ll break them down with brief thoughts on each:
All-purpose cleaner: Smells like a freshly cut orange and powers through grease like nobody’s business. I only had to spray once to get tough stains off our ceramic cooktop and microwave, and that impressed me to no end.
Glass cleaner: Wasn’t streaky at all and left mirrors glass glistening like it was brand new.
Dishwashing liquid: Again, smelled like a fresh cut orange and did a great job of cutting through grease on dishes without leaving my hands feeling dry or cracked.
Dishwasher packets: I have to admit I wasn’t terribly impressed by their performance. I wish the orange fragrance was a bit stronger, although that is definitely a personal preference. Where they fell short is in scrubbing. I’ve been trying to break myself of the nasty, water-wasting habit of pre-washing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. I restrained myself for a couple of loads and put the dishes in without washing or rinsing them first. Some of them didn’t come out clean when I used just the packet. It took the addition of some Palmolive Eco+
Hand soap: The orange fragrance here was actually a bit nauseating for me — slightly more like orange-flavored cold medicine than an actual orange. But my daughter loved it 
It did leave our hands feeling incredibly clean and well-scrubbed.
Laundry detergent: I’m picky when it comes to laundry detergent, and we’ve gone through a lot of green brands in our search for one that meets our needs. Sun & Earth did a great job of getting our clothes clean, although I also have a nasty habit of using too much detergent (ie. 2 caps instead of just one). That habit defeats the purpose of buying natural, concentrated detergent, but I’m working on it
Fabric softener (liquid): I loved this! I grew up using both liquid fabric softener and dryer sheets. Wasteful, I know now, but that’s the way we always did it. Over the past year or so, I had quit using liquid softener because I couldn’t find one made with natural ingredients. This often meant we’d wind up with clothes that just weren’t soft enough and felt scratchy. The Sun & Earth softener smelled great, and worked like magic to keep our clothes soft and virtually free of static, even when we used no dryer sheets.
Dryer sheets (biodegradable): I’ve tried to find “natural” dryer sheets that would actually biodegrade, but the best I’d been able to do is Arm & Hammer Essentials
Other goodies: Sun & Earth also sent me a reusable shopping bag with a hard bottom, which has been great for heavier grocery loads. The last item in the bx I received was the stain removal pen. I haven’t tested it yet, but something tells me my daughter will give me an opportunity to do so the next time we eat out.
Overall, I was impressed by the performance of the full range of products, although there are 1 or 2 I might not purchase on my own because of my personal preferences. But the laundry detergent, fabric softener and all-purpose cleaner are going on my list of go-to products, particularly because the prices are so reasonable. Definitely.
Why It’s Green:
- Cleaners made from coconut and orange oils, among other plant-based, natural and non-toxic ingredients
- Free of petroleum-based cleaners, chlorine, phosphates, dyes and perfumes
- Packaging contains recycled content and is recyclable
- Sun & Earth has been making green cleaning products since before “green” was a mainstream term
Price: $3-11.99
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I’m Jennae Petersen, and I’m a lot of things. A mother, a graphic artist, a connosieur of beautiful interiors and a purveyor of all things design. Green Your Decor was borne of frustration in my attempts to find eco-friendly housewares that were also beautiful, and inspiration to do something to reduce my own carbon footprint and help others do the same in a beautiful way.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I just went to the website, and I was able to get all their products (Sample sized) sent to me for just the price of shipping, which was $10.00 to Maryland. Thats not too bad to test out their products, especially since I have tried multiple “green” cleaning supplies only to hate them and not use all of them. Thanks for the link!
You can use tennis balls in your dryer instead of buying the spikey dryer balls! I read this tip in Readymade, tried it, and haven’t gone back to dryer sheets. You may have to use 3 or more tennis balls in your dryer during winter though to cut down on static electricity but other than that they work great.
Condo Bluess last blog post..Stylish DIY Dog Toy Storage
@Celena That’s great! I never even thought to request samples. Hopefully, you’ll find them as effective as I did
@Condo Blues I’ve heard about this and have wanted to try it. We have a dog whose cage is right next to the dryer, and she hates the dryer as is. She’d probably have a heart attack if we put tennis balls in there
But maybe we’ll have to try it one day when she’s running around in the back yard. Thanks for the reminder!