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Any family can benefit from green cleaning. When you clean green, you do not use any harmful chemicals or abrasive products in the cleaning process. Imagine the benefits of having bleach quality clean floors without having to have the harmful toxins contained in bleach in your home. Of course, when you consider green cleaning supplies, you also need to consider the benefits to the overall environment.
- Toss your toxic products - Check under your kitchen and bathroom sinks and in your hall closet. See all those concentrated, toxic, harmful cleaning agents? Say bye bye! There are too many environmental alternatives to keep those eco-attackers around.
- Replace old products with new green alternatives - Click here to get started using your very own environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies.
- Reduce, reuse, recycle - You’ve heard of the three R’s a million times and they’ll never get old. You know what else takes a long time to get old? Certain cleaning staples. Invest in a durable mop, broom, bucket, dustpan, and energy-efficient vacuum that you can use time and time again to keep your home looking immaculate. We love the Black & Decker Cordless handheld vacuum cleaner, perfect for getting into those hard to reach spaces, and energy star approved! Also, don’t overwhelm your home with cleaning products or it could end up smelling like an airport bathroom. Remember, less is more.
- Conserve - Minimize how much water you use. A few less drops with every clean can really add up to a big environmental impact.
- Don’t forget the windows - Windows are areas of the house that are sometimes neglected or forgotten when we tidy up even though they are one of the easiest parts of the house to clean. If you want to lift your home’s appearance, make sure to mind your looking glasses. Clean windows allow sunlight to flood into a room creating a vaster, cleaner, more open feel, thus further energizing your cleaning efforts.
- Declutter - Get rid of what you don’t use, but if you can’t help your packrat nature, we have some useful tips for you. When entering a room, the eye reads right to left and tends to linger a bit longer in the middle. If you can’t carry out your clutter, make sure your mess is not center stage. Moving items against walls and corners creates a more open feel and a sense of feng shui. Another way to tackle clutter is to disguise it. The kitchen is a common gathering space. A variety of kitchen products are available that make everyday kitchen staples look like part of the décor. The newest earth-friendly kitchen craze is bamboo. From cutting boards to salt boxes, check out all of the fantastic bamboo products available to give your kitchen clutter a facelift.
- Get Organized - A clean home is more attainable and maintainable when everything has a place. Great earth-friendly ways to get organized are by reusing shoeboxes to store photos, receipts, greeting cards, or other items that collect over time. Filing systems and shelves are another great way to clear out your workspace while keeping everything in order. Legare is a company that makes great eco-organization items. We love their Letter-Size File Cart in Espresso and the Bookcase in Wheat.
- Sayonara Stains - If you’ve seen the commercial of the man on the interview whose talking stain overpowers his own voice then you can appreciate why this is part of our checklist. Make sure that you’ve done all that you can to get rid of stains so that their voices don’t nullify your cleaning efforts.
- Measure maintenance - How likely is it that you can keep up with what you’ve set up? You put all your shoes back in their boxes and stacked them up securely in your closet. But we both know that by day 1 at least two pairs will be tried on, boxes thrown asunder. Look for more manageable organization and ensure upkeep by regularly putting things away, wiping up spills, cleaning up small messes, and staying on top of laundry and dishwashing. Take a look at Planet Inc’s 100% laundry and dish detergents to keep you on the right eco-track.
- Relax - Kudos on a job well done! Now sit back, relax, and enjoy your clean, green, happy home!
