Take a Kinder Approach to Cleaning

We’ve got the dirt on keeping your home clean, naturally.

Keeping your home clean no longer means that it can’t also be green. We know that indoor air pollution has serious short and long term health effects. A common culprit are highly fragranced and concentrated cleaning products. Fortunately, introducing potentially toxic substances into you home isn’t the only way to create clean surfaces, and pleasant fragrances.

When you’re choosing a product, the bottles are just as important as what’s in them. Bottles are made of recycled plastic, glass, or sold with refill packets that greatly reduce the amount of plastic used.

Some cleaning accessories have had a makeover too. Rather than using single use wipes, some cleaning cloths are now made to go the distance, coming out from a wash cycle as good as new. Sponges and scrubbers are designed to go into the compost once you’re through with them. Brush handles are made of bamboo or wood, with the option to buy just new interchangeable heads.

We know that indoor air pollution has serious short and long term health effects…

Don’t overlook the importance of recycled items too. Old t-shirts can be upcycled into perfect rags. Newspapers make surprisingly excellent glass cleaners. Old towels shouldn’t go into the bin, you’ll find them incredibly useful. Even old jars and containers can be pressed into service.

If you’d like to try some home-style cleaning remedies, you might even already have all the ingredients that you need for a fresh approach. There’s a new understanding of the kind of products that your grandparents might have created, with ingredients like vinegar and baking soda taking on a new importance, and essential oils, like eucalyptus, tea tree and lavender taking prime position.

When it comes to greener cleaning, little and often is key. Because you’re not using harsh chemicals, it’s important to stay on top of the tasks, and give your natural solutions the chance to do their job. Making cleaning mindful helps to take the chore out of the task.

Whether you’re decluttering or attacking a dirty surface, you can introduce a meditative twist to the task. Wiping, sweeping, folding and sorting can all be appropriate activities. Give them your full attention, commit to a job well done, and enjoy the process, along with the results.