5 Highly Effective Ways to Green Your Household Cleaning Routine
While keeping your home clean and tidy may be your top priority, the way you clean it and the products you use also affects your quality of life. Here is a list of green, healthy alternatives you should consider the next time you decide to binge-clean.
Switch to commercial green cleaners
Conventional, store-bought cleaners are packed with harmful chemicals that do more harm than good, although many tend to think otherwise. Most of those products are petroleum-based, and when used to clean the house, the toxic particles spread onto our clothes, floors, furnishings, and dishes, and they continue to linger in the air, which can cause numerous health issues, especially those related to respiratory organs.
However, there is a way to make your home look fresh and clean while still being considerate of the environment. As the global consciousness about environmental preservation rises, we’re seeing more companies putting green, eco-friendly cleaning products on the market. They’re usually biodegradable and do not contain toxic chemicals, making them perfectly safe to incorporate into your everyday household cleaning routine.
Make your own natural cleaning products
If you’d like to completely ditch the store-bought cleaners and go all-in with your new green cleaning routine, you could try to make DIY versions of commercial cleaners. Do it like our grandmothers did it in the past and rely on natural cleaners to tackle dirty surfaces. Lemon juice is perfect for tackling greasy surfaces such as ovens, microwaves, and stoves, while white vinegar can be used to disinfect surfaces and keep the dirt at bay.
When these two acids are mixed with baking soda, you get the ultimate cleaning trio – a powerful cleaning paste that dissolves any stains and makes scrubbing go a lot smoother. You can also mix vinegar, lemon essential oil, and olive oil and get a natural, homemade cleaning product that will clean and polish your wooden surfaces at the same time.
Rely on nature to keep your home smelling fresh
While most commercial air fresheners help get a nice-smelling home in a matter of seconds, they contain a number of toxic chemicals that are harmful to both ourselves and the environment. When you add that to the fact that the air in our living space is often more toxic than the air outside (due to toxic materials that are used for building our homes), it becomes clear that your indoor air quality has to be optimized in a natural way.
Open your windows to help get the toxins out (especially when cleaning), and rely on fresh flowers, eco scented candles, and boiled herbs such as cloves or cinnamon to infuse your home with a fresh, lovely scent.
Use eco-friendly waste management services to dispose of your garbage
There comes a time when we go for a binge clear-out and scour our living space from top to bottom. What we’re usually left with are piles of garbage that we don’t really know how to dispose of, especially when it comes to bulkier items such as furniture.
Countries with high environmental awareness like Australia have a network of companies that offer eco-friendly waste management services, making it easier for homeowners to keep their seasonal cleaning routines eco-friendly. Homeowners from the southern part of the country can order skip bins from Adelaide and get a skip bin that is suited for the removal of solid and green waste. Instead of taking up valuable space in your home, the discarded furniture and items are properly disposed of and then processed in the most efficient, environmentally friendly way possible.
Give your clothes and items a second life by donating them
After a binge-cleaning session, you’re also left with a variety of clothing garments and items you don’t really use anymore but are still in good condition. Why not give them a second life? Go through your things and see what you can donate to charities.
You can also Craigslist or eBay to sell your items online or give them away for free. This will help free up some space in your closet while also helping someone in need. It’s also an eco-friendly way to ensure the items are being reused instead of ending up in already enormous landfills.
Day-to-day cleaning and tidying is a must, but it doesn’t have to involve lots of harmful toxins and chemicals. With these green cleaning tips in mind, you can keep your home looking spic-and-span while also being kind to Mother Nature.
By Mike Johnston