Maker: Marilyn of Lil’ Green Wagon

My favorite take away from this interview is that out of Marilyn’s need for a better, safe, cleaner product, a business was born. I love hearing about people who create based on their own individual needs, and then in doing so, they meet the needs of others around them! Meet Marilyn and stop by the farmers market and check out her goods.

{Angie}

Tell us a little about yourself.

Hi there! My name is Marilyn Nowak and I am the heart, soul and working hands behind Lil’ Green Wagon. I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada but moved to California when I was ten years old. Home is in Coto de Caza, CA (yes, home of the Orange County Housewives) with my husband, one of my three daughters and our four dogs.

What do you make or do?

I handcraft all natural cleaning and laundry goods using simple ingredients. I sell them at farmers markets and local shows (like Patchwork) here in Southern California, from a vintage 1958 Siesta trailer that I had converted into my mobile market trailer. The most unique aspect of my products is almost all of them are refillable. Simply stop by the farmers market with your empty bottle, jars or bags and I’ll gladly refill them, for less!

Where can we find your creations?

You can find me at the Irvine Certified Farmers Market on Saturdays from 8-12 or always online at www.lilgreenwagon.com. I have an Etsy page too but I just haven’t gotten around to perfecting it. I’m always posting updates on my products and markets or shows I’ll be at on facebook.com/lilgreenwagon and Instagram.com/lilgreenwagon.

How long have you been creating?

I’ve been creating all my life. Scrapbooking, card making, set building, furniture building, decorating, that kind of creating.  I never considered making cleaning and laundry goods as being creative. It was more of a necessity. I started making them about 7 years ago when nothing on the market seemed to work, smell great and be safe to use around my family and dogs.

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration everywhere! My family. My friends. My dogs. My home. My trailer. I find inspiration all around me. Knowing my home is free of harsh chemicals and safe for my children and dogs to be in, is my true inspiration. Not to suck up or anything, but I must admit, Delilah and Nicole inspire me as well. What they have accomplished in the past few years, is amazing.

What’s on the horizon for you?

What’s on the horizon for me is to see my products on the shelves of local stores here in Orange County. Stay tuned!

What inspiring advice would you give to other creatives be they established or just starting out?

Follow your heart and believe in yourself. The only thing worse than trying and not succeeding is not trying to succeed.

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9 Comments

  1. Marilyn and her amazing LIL GREEN WAGON cleaning products have been used by my wife and I for almost 2 years. We even tested her products versus conventional products and her products STILL outperformed not to mention are so much better for our environment. We are currently using her hand sanitizer, laundry detergent, and glass/mirror cleaner. In addition we are even testing some new products of hers as well.

    1. Thanks Adam! I love hearing that my products work better than the conventional ones on the market today. They’re filled with so many ingredients that are toxic to both humans and the environment. It’s people like you and Becky that will make the world a better and safer place for generations to come..

  2. I love Marilyn’s product!!!
    I love the smell and that they actually work. Her new stain remover and salts are amazing! I tried Dreft stain remover on my baby’s diaper blow out, it left the stain! I used Marilyn’s stain remover with a bit of the salt and they stained disappeared!
    I have also removed a blood stain from my sheets after “Shout” treatment didn’t work. I was amazed that in just one treatment Marilyn’s product worked!!
    I can’t wait to see if it can get a stain out of my husbands sweatshirt that 3 other products nor bleach were able to remove..

    1. Thank you Katarina! Baby stains are the worst and I’m so happy my products are working to remove them for you. Yayyy! The new products will be available in late August or early September.

  3. I have been using Marilyn’s products for two years now and LOVE them. The laundry wash is my favorite and her new stain remover is fantastic, got blood out of my son’s sweatshirt and red wine out of my favorite pair of white jeans!! When you spray the stain remover on your stain you can actually see it bubbling and going to work immediately on the stain. The laundry wash works better than anything you can purchase commercially, and it smells clean and leaves my machine cleaner smelling. I cannot say enough about how fabulous these products are, my laundry (which includes teenage boy sweaty clothes) has never been cleaner. Also love the toilet fizzes, carpet freshener, CLEAN for my countertops and SCRUB for my sinks!!!!! These are fabulous, earth friendly, products!!!

  4. I am so glad to see Marilyn and Lil’ Green Wagon featured here. Marilyn really opened my eyes to the importance of earth friendly products. Prior to using her products, I never really thought about how harmful the chemicals in the cleaning products I was using. I am thankful that Marilyn introduced me to her cleaning products. I have a good feeling using them because I know that there are only earth friendly ingredients and they WORK so great! I like all of her products, but my favorite are the Laundry Wash and Clean All Purpose Spray Cleaner. I really want to try the stain remover that someone mentioned.

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