Last Wednesday, I attended a lunch at Riverhouse, a green technology condominium in the city. During lunch, I had the opportunity to listen to several speakers regarding keeping an eco-friendly, healthy home. Let’s just say that by the time the (delicious) lunch ended, my brain was spinning trying to absorb all of the information that I had just learned.

Fortunately (for you) I’m not going to share all of the frightening statistics regarding indoor pollution that I learned. Suffice it to say, it is very important that we as parents are careful to monitor the things (that are within our control) that come into contact with our children.

Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of Seventh Generation spoke briefly about his company’s background and its commitment to safe and environmentally responsible products for a healthy home. (Did you know that the company’s name comes from the Great Law of the Iroquois that states, In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations?)

Next, Dr. Greene, a pediatrician (and father of four) shared information regarding the effect that toxins in common household items have on kids. A light bulb went off in my brain as he was reading the ingredients and warnings on some of the products. Yes, I have some natural cleaners (like from method, one of my favorite companies), but I still had some that were not green. Immediately, I thought of the oven cleaner that I had used a couple of weeks ago after having a big spill in my oven. (I vowed to throw it away immediately!) Dr. Greene shared a lot of other information (like chemicals in diapers and such) but at a certain point, my brain started screaming “TMI” – too much information. Rather, I chose to focus on the simple changes that we could make in order to make the air in our home less toxic. Three simple ones were to open your windows, to buy some household plants and to use natural products as much as possible. Those are pretty easy.

After that, Christopher Gavigan, CEO & Executive Director of Healthy Child Healthy World introduced us to the Health eHome. The site is a partnership between WebMD, a leader in online health information and Healthy Child Healthy World, a nonprofit which focuses on protecting the health and well-being of children from harmful environmental exposures. I like that this program is interactive and offers tips and information about healthy, safe, green living in “bite-sized pieces”. You can choose how much (or little) to learn and apply at a time. (I plan on “tackling” a different area of my home each month to make it as healthy as possible without exasperating myself!)

Lastly, pregnant Gossip Girl star Kelly Rutherford was also on the panel. Already, a mother of a son (2), Ms. Rutherford was very passionate and outspoken regarding the value of making her home as healthy as possible for her family.

At the end of the event, we were each given a bag filled with Seventh Generation products to jumpstart our healthy home makeovers. I gave the organic paper towels and napkins to my son’s pre-k class (hint, hint schools!) but kept the cleaners for myself. (I tried to give those to the school too, but they wouldn’t accept them. Darn!)

Here’s the best part…

To celebrate “National Cleaning Week” (March 23-29), I’m doing an “Under the Kitchen Sink Makeover”, similar to what Dr. Greene and Kelly walked us through at the event. One lucky Mom in the City reader will receive a reusable gift bag filled with Seventh Generation products (one each of a dishwasher, laundry, spray clean and paper product) to kick-start your own eco-friendly “Under the Kitchen Sink Makeover.”

To enter this special one week giveaway, please tell me why you think that you need an “Under the Kitchen Sink Makeover” in the “Comments” section below by Wednesday, April 1st. (Additionally even though there will only be one winner, I encourage you to join the free Seventh Generation Nation in order to receive monthly coupons for products, special offers, etc. They really do have a large range of eco-friendly products from cleaners to baby products to feminine care, etc.) As an added incentive, you get a bonus entry in this “Under the Kitchen Sink Makeover” contest for joining the Seventh Generation Nation. Good luck!