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Green Practices: Green and DIY Chemical Substitutes

At Aldrich Guest House, it's important for us to make sure that we're minimizing our environmental footprint while maximizing the luxury and comfort that we provide. We're proud to have attained TripAdvisor's Green Leader Silver Level status in addition to being a Certified Green Lodging Partner by VisitGalena.org. In this series of posts we'll be sharing actions, both big and small, that we have taken to reduce the amount of resources we use and increase efficiency all while maintaining the quality experience that we have become known for.
One of the ways we're making it easy for you to feel confident that you're ‘Staying Green' when you're with us is by reducing and eliminating the use of chemicals whenever possible. This reduces waste from packaging of cleaning and other products since we're able to use reusable containers, prevents unwanted chemical runoff into waterways and groundwater, and means that you don't have to worry about anything icky being close to your skin or in the air. Here, you get to take a vacation from the hustle and bustle of life and many of the chemicals that are around us in our daily lives.
While it's always a work in progress, we're proud of the steps that we have taken and the innovations we continue to utilize to remain as environmentally friendly as possible. We look forward to welcoming you soon to our green lodging destination and showing you that ‘green' can be just as luxurious and rewarding!

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Laundry Detergent and General Cleaner

Laundry soap and cleaning products can have some pretty harsh chemicals...so we make our own! We use a recipe for our laundry soap that's been handed down and good ol' vinegar and water for glass and surface cleaning. Good for the environment and for you.

Lawn and Garden Care

No chemicals on our lawn either! We employ natural remedies like crushed eggshells to keep the Japanese beetles off the flowers, introducing native species of plants in our gardens, and plucking out the dandelions by hand. This means that our lawn isn't a perfect monoculture, but it also means more bees, butterflies, and violets! And as many know, gardens and deer can be a bad combo so we make our own deer repellent using eggs, garlic, cayenne, and milk. It's Bob Villa recommended and we can say from years of experience, it works!

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Yard Equipment

We use an electric lawn mower, weed trimmer, and snow blower for our half-acre yard meaning no gas or oil and their smells or exhaust. Plus, it's much quieter making sure you can hang out on the screened-in porch even when we're mowing the grass!

Composting

We compost our food scraps and other organic material. We use this the following year in all of our flower beds to help keep things looking fresh and growing strong.

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Planning a visit to Galena, Illinois? Make your reservation with us now to experience what makes us the next generation of bed and breakfasts. Afterall, if you're not staying at Aldrich Guest House, you haven't experienced the best Galena has to offer!