\nYou can make small shifts to improve the impact your cleaning routine has on the environment. We have 30 suggestions that are all so easy, you could start today.\n
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These add-ons are designed to use the handle you know and love (and already have at home) but can be washed and repurposed over and over instead of tossing the pad at the end of each clean.\n
As a reformed paper towel cleaner, I promise you\u2019ll get used to it. Find a place in or near the kitchen to store clean clothes, and keep a \u201ckitchen hamper\u201d to toss dirty ones into every few days. Because I use microfiber, my hamper is a Guppyfriend bag I hang from a hook \u2014 I toss the bag into the wash and it also helps keep microplastics from shedding into the wash water.\n
Cellulose dish sponges are great if you can compost them at the end of their life, but they do need to be replaced frequently, as often as once a week. A sturdy brush is still going to let you lather your dishes as you hand wash, but it can last a year or more with regular cleaning.\n
Your cleaners don\u2019t have to come in a plastic bottle. Dish soap bars do the same job but come packed and shipped in recyclable or compostable paper and cardboard instead. Keep one in a dish by the sink, lather up a brush and get to work.\n
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When it comes to nearly any cleaner you use at home \u2014 from laundry detergent to dish detergent to granite cleaner \u2014 there\u2019s a brand out there trying to make the supply chain smarter and more eco-friendly. Cleaning products are mostly water anyway, which is heavy, and you\u2019re paying to have that shipped to you even though it comes out of a tap at home. These concentrates come in smaller packaging that\u2019s usually recyclable, and allow you to dilute it yourself at home.\n
Wool dryer balls absorb the heat from the dryer, helping to fluff and dry your clothes quickly, so you\u2019re left with softer sheets and towels. If you want to add scent to your laundry, you can also drip some essential oils onto your dryer balls between loads.\n
They\u2019re pantry staples but also help create some excellent homemade cleaners. Use baking soda to de-grease in the kitchen, vinegar to clean scum in the bathroom, and lemon juice and salt to clean your cookware.\n
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A cloth and spray cleaner is the same, but lets you reserve your cleaner (so you use only what you need) and repurpose your tools. Or you can DIY a container of wipes if you like the grab-and-go convenience \u2014 just roll a bunch of rags together in a jar and cover with cleaner.\n
There\u2019s not a whole lot of difference between a microfiber cloth and a microfiber sock. And socks just so happen to be shaped nicely to fit over the end of your disposable handheld duster.\n
There are ways to keep your existing habits and tools, but make them a little more planet-friendly with a little adjustment.\n
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Synthetic fabrics \u2014 like activewear, swimsuits, microfiber cloths, leggings, stretchy jeans, or really most things that have some stretch \u2014 shed microplastics into the water every time you wash them, which end up polluting oceans and waterways. Wash them inside a Guppyfriend bag to catch those plastics and prevent them from washing away.\n
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Most liquid or semi-liquid water-based cleaners can be sent down the drain, according to the American Cleaning Institute, and solid cleaners like bar soaps can be composted or tossed in the trash. But a few cleaners \u2014 like oven cleaner or certain pesticides \u2014 are classified as hazardous waste and you may need to call your municipality to figure out how to safely dispose of them.\n
Check the bottle for a recycling label and make sure it\u2019s compatible with your municipality\u2019s recycling process. In my city, I can only recycle \u201c1\u201d and \u201c2\u201d plastics, and tossing anything else into my bin may risk contaminating everything I\u2019m trying to recycle. Also, just because it can be recycled doesn\u2019t mean it will: Clean the bottle well, and remove and toss anything that\u2019s not plastic \u2014 like the lid, or the sprayer top that has a metal spring inside \u2014 before putting the bottle in your recycling bin.\n
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Examine the packaging, plus what it shipped in if you\u2019re buying cleaners online, and try to get away from plastic. You can swap plastic-bottled cleaners for cleaners that come as loose or pressed powder, or in recyclable glass or aluminum bottles. (Or look for cleaners that let you keep your sprayer and just buy new recyclable bottles.) And if your cleaner comes shipped in plastic wrap, look for a sustainably-minded source online that\u2019s committed to paper shipping materials instead.\n
If you can air-dry your clothes, do it! It uses less electricity, has a carbon footprint of zero, and helps your clothes last longer. You don\u2019t need to buy a drying rack \u2014 you can hang clothes on the backs of chairs or over a fence or string outside. But if a new drying rack is what you need to commit to this habit, this one has great reviews.\n
Some people get a lot of use out of tools like a steam mop or pressure cleaner, but not everyone. Give it a low-impact test run by renting or borrowing before you buy.\n
Conserving products is always a good idea. If you\u2019re dosing higher than the label says you need to, you can definitely chill out on the cleaner. But even using the amount recommended on the label might be too much. Laundry experts say most people are using more laundry detergent than they need to, and detergent cap dosing cups aren\u2019t helping.\n
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If you just select \u201clarge\u201d every time, you could be wasting product and over-diluting your cleaner. Be mindful of those settings and choose the one appropriate to the load.\n
Unlike a washer, you can\u2019t just tell a dishwasher to run a half-load. If you absolutely need to run the dishwasher and it\u2019s not full yet, look for other things you can toss in there, like the microwave turntable, your countertop dish rack, or plastic or rubber kids\u2019 toys.\n
It\u2019s smart to work from top to bottom when you\u2019re cleaning so that any dust or dirt that falls isn\u2019t falling on top of an already-cleaned surface. Similarly, you can plot out your cleaning with a follow-the-wall strategy to make sure you don\u2019t miss a spot or clean the same area twice.\n
If you prefer to use disposable items for one reason or another, there are still some small ways to make your home habits greener.\n
They can pick up the tiny layer of dust from your console table and still get the floors sparkling clean.\n
They say single-use, but that\u2019s not always true. If you have a light cleaning day, why not see if the tiny bit of dust washes off and lets you re-purpose that pad again for a deeper clean? Or move from one area of the house \u2014 like dusting the bedroom \u2014 then try to wash the pad off before going in on a germier surface like the bathroom floor?\n
Swap the tractable plastic toilet brush pads for something that\u2019s made from natural materials and compostable, like coconut husks.\n
Just because you\u2019re ready to retire something from use, doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t find a brand new use for it somewhere else at home.\n
Rice water is actually great for cleaning since it\u2019s slightly acidic and the starchy sediment in the rice water can act as a sort of abrasive.\n
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Even if you don\u2019t want it touching your plates, it might still be good enough for the bathtub or your fiddle leaf fig.\n
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Boil it to sanitize and so you can bend the handle and get into tight corners.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You can make small shifts to improve the impact your cleaning routine has on the environment. We have 30 suggestions that are all so easy, you could start today. Smart Swaps 1. Keep your disposable mop handle, but swap the disposable pads for reusable, washable microfiber ones. These add-ons are designed to use the handle\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"You can make small shifts to improve the impact your cleaning routine has on the environment. We have 30 suggestions that are all so easy, you could start today.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[54,43,61,115,141,130,30,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-13240","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tie-life-style","8":"tag-clean-hack","9":"tag-cleaning-house","10":"tag-cleaning-tips","11":"tag-healthy-lifestyle","12":"tag-homemade-cleaner","13":"tag-house-keeping","14":"tag-household-hacks","15":"tag-life-hacks"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/green-cleaning0.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}