A favorite cleaning product.

A very long time ago, maybe last spring, I was shopping at Target (Tar-jay) and ran across CALDREA cleaners.

"CALDREA ESSENTIAL COLLECTION invites you to enjoy every moment you spend caring for yourself and your home. Our products contain the finest plant-derived ingredients and are fragrant, biodegradable and never tested on animals." (As per the bottle-- you know I could never come up with something like this.)

There were several products like dish soap, countertop cleaner, stainless steel cleaner, hand soap and all-purpose cleaner which can be used as concentrate to make countertop cleaner. They also had candles in the various scents. So there's Hoozey sniffing away at the various scents- yes, I actually will refuse to use something if I don't like the smell.

Herbs of Provence- natural essential oils of rosemary, thyme and sage. "Refresh your senses with the sunny, savory fragrance of a kitchen garden. Complementary notes of lavender, lily of the valley and mint evoke the easy charm of the south of France." My take-- definitely herby and green with some floral. Reminds me of a Bath and Body Works lotion my mom once gave me that was basil something or other- which I never used because I am a foodie but on the yummy citrus, desert side. Prefer this one in kitchen use since the smell is quite herby. 

Citron Ginger- natural essential oils of grapefruit, ginger and basil. "Brighten your day with the spicy tang of ginger and a lively twist of citrus. Green notes of basil impart freshness and a touch of cool to set this fragrance apart from the ordinary." My take--- green but with a brisk citrusy finish. This is quite clean without being as bold as the Herbs of Provence. I use this in bath, kitchen, wherever because it is a really bright, clean smell.  

Olive Oil- natural essential oils of coriander and cedarleaf. "This green, uplifting fragrance adds an herbal twist to the heady scent of fresh-pressed olives. A fresh touch of coriander is complemented by base notes of cedar, amber and musk." My take-- this one is more soapy clean scented without tons green notes. Originally I passed on this one because in the candle form (that I was sniffing) it was rather dull. 


So originally I bought one countertop spray in Herbs of Provence and Citron Ginger (at $5.99) each. I took them home and started using routinely to clean my granite countertops in the kitchen. I really enjoyed the essential oils scenting the whole room and they really did clean countertops well.

Next Target shopping trip I picked up the all-purpose cleaner in both scents- $10 each but would make LOADS of countertop spray since 4 tablespoons is enough to make a bottle of the countertop cleaner. I soon started using this cleaner to do many of my cleaning chores. I used as countertop cleaner, tile cleaner, sink cleaner, tub cleaner, all around cleaner. I loved the room freshening aspect of them without the chemically smell that one usually associates with cleaners. A few months later I bought this 3 pack combo with countertop spray, dish soap and hand soap pump in a wire holder. I have this next to my kitchen sink. I have replaced the hand and dish soaps with conventional brands using the bottles that came with the set.

As I said early, I had planned to blog about this since it is a greener cleaning product and know that many of you like to get away from a lot of chemicals. Then last week when I was in Target I found these products on clearance. I hope that this doesn't mean the end of them but in any case I bought a countertop spray in Olive Oil (now ironically my favorite scent) and several bottles of the all-purpose cleaner at half price. I hope this isn't the end of CALDREA because it has become MY cleaning product. At least with my stocking up I'll have a few years of happy cleaning.