If you’ve been trying to make your home a bit more eco-friendly, your cleaning cupboard is a great place to turn to for big changes. Cleaning your home can produce a lot of waste – from thrown out paper towels to single-use plastic bottles, there are ample opportunities to change habits to create a more sustainable home.
Use what you already have at home
Contrary to what eco-friendly cleaning brands try to tell you, you don’t need to purchase an entire starter kit to make your cleaning routine more eco-friendly. Usually, the most sustainable option is what you already have in your home – even if that product isn’t typically touted as such. Using what you already have means you won’t throw out perfectly good cleaning products, and you won’t have to go to the store to purchase more. If you’re looking to become more eco-friendly, wait until a product you already have runs out before buying something else.
Wool dryer balls
Wool dryer balls are a great way to make a big impact in your laundry room. Dryer balls typically come in packs of three or four and they replace your dryer sheets. These handy-dandy wool balls will almost always be made of 100% wool and won’t have added chemicals – but check the box or bag just to be sure. Lots of households like to drop some essential oils onto the balls for added scent, but this is totally optional. And the best part is that they’ll last forever, as long as they don’t go missing or the dog doesn’t find them in the hamper before chewing them to shreds.
For even more energy saving, line-dry your clothes during a sunny afternoon. Not only will you reduce energy from skipping out on the dryer, but the sunshine acts as a bacteria-killing disinfectant.
Vinegar and baking soda
Vinegar and baking soda are two favorites in eco-friendly households – both together, and apart. Vinegar is an acidic cleanser while baking soda is alkaline – so mixing these two together usually means that they cancel each other’s cleaning powers out. However, because the combination will create a fizzing effect, they’re great at breaking up dirt and grime in hard-to-reach places, such as drains.
Used alone, diluted vinegar works great on limescale, hard water stains, breaking up cooked-on food along stovetops and creating a streak-free shine on windows and glass. Mix baking soda and water to create a paste that acts as a gentle abrasive to effectively clean sinks, tubs, showers, countertops and even your oven. Baking soda is also great for reducing odors – sprinkle it on top of rugs and upholstery, let it sit for 15 minutes and vacuum up for a fresher-smelling home.
Reusable cleaning supplies
Now that reusable rags are becoming more popular as households aim to reduce waste, it’s easy to find cleaning cloths, washable sponges, duster pads and much more. You can also repurpose old bath towels by cutting them up into smaller squares and use them as rags around the home for general cleaning and dusting. There is a reusable cloth for nearly every cleaning task around the home – so you can enjoy a streak-free shine on your windows and glass, easy dusting with microfiber and mopping your floors with a recently-washed mop head.
Refill, refill, refill!
Since plastic is nearly impossible to avoid when it comes to cleaning products, try and get as much use out of that plastic as possible by refilling your supplies at a refill station near you. Refill stations make it easy to fill up on necessities like laundry detergent, dish and body soap, shampoo, household cleaners and much more – and they typically charge by weight, so you can fill up just how much you need. Refill stations may also allow you to broaden your horizons and expose you to products that may not be available at your local grocery store!
