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Need an excuse to get together after your local food potluck? Host a Green Cleaning Party.

As the Chicago Tribune reported on May 21, green living is now fully mainstreamed, and there’s no better evidence of that than the eco-friendly Tupperware-style parties. But, unlike the sales pitches that might have kept you from RSVP-ing to a Tupperware party or two, these parties aren’t about selling products, but sharing information. At a Green Cleaning Party attendees learn about the chemicals in their household cleaning products, toxins that have been associated with asthma, developmental, and reproductive health problems and learn how to make healthy cleaning alternatives from their pantry.

Since March, more than 100 communities have hosted green cleaning parties through Women's Voices for the Earth a national environmental group. The party-goers are mostly women, as women still do the vast majority of housework and make many purchasing decisions. “We realized that a lot of women never really thought about the chemicals that are in those cleaning products,” director of Women’s Voice for the Earth, Alexandra Gorman Scranton told Tribune Newspapers. “A lot of people are saying [home-made mixtures] are the cleaners my grandmother used. They worked then and it turns out they work now.”

To learn more: Healthy and Green Living has tips on how to make window cleaners, furniture polish, mold killers and more using baking soda, vinegar, and tea tree oil. Here’s a basic cleaning spray using vinegar, water, and lemon juice from Associated Content. The bonus: you save money when you make your own Comet.

Photo from Healthy and Green Living.