Have you ever stopped to consider the environmental impact of your house cleaning? Let’s face it, we rarely stop to consider the effects of our preferred methods. It’s easy to simply combine whatever cleaning product is in the cupboard with rolls upon rolls of paper towels to clean your kitchen areas, and use multiple gallons of water to mop floors and wash windows. This all leads to a waste of countless materials and resources over time.
However, we’re huge advocates of using less and keeping sustainability in mind. That’s why we’re going to describe to you a plethora of ways that you can leverage your eco-friendliness, starting today.
So without further ado, here are some of our favorite ways to be eco-friendlier when cleaning your home.
MINIMIZE WATER CONSUMPTION
Water is life. It’s a precious resource that we in the western world easily take for granted. We use copious amounts of water in our daily lives, consuming way too much per household during the morning routine alone - so using less water for cleaning your home is a great place to optimize your planet-friendly cleaning routine.
Instead of filling up a large mop bucket with water and soap to clean your floors or stairs, minimize your water consumption by mopping with a natural cleaning solution instead. For other kitchen clean-ups and sticky spills, using an eco-friendly kitchen spray rather than a bucket of water and soap is a great way to salvage our overuse of water.
Similarly, when you’re washing your dishes, invest in a cheap plastic tub that you can put in the sink. Then fill with hot water and turn off the tap rather than leaving the tap on and wasting excess water. Oh, and resist the urge to refill a sink to finish off the dishes if the water seems dirty.
Likewise, don’t switch on your dishwasher until it’s full. All too often, we’re guilty of running a short cycle of a few dishes and wasting water. This goes for the laundry as well - only put a load on when you have enough dirty clothes to justify the water use.
SWITCH TO RECYCLABLE & REUSABLE ITEMS
With just a little conscious decision making, we can make a serious reduction in the use of disposable items like paper towels, plastic garbage bags, vacuum bags, as well as household items like coffee filters and computer paper.
Consider how many rolls of paper towels your household could save if you switched to a reusable microfiber cloth. This is a potentially huge impact that favours a dedication to reducing our reliance on paper products. Further, you can do things like switching to a reusable coffee filter basket, investing in a bagless vacuum, and reusing plastic grocery bags as kitchen garbage bags.
We can invest in computer paper that’s been sustainably produced to limit consumption of new trees, opt for paperless billing, and subscribe to e-editions of our favourite newspapers and magazines to limit our intake and disposal of other household paper products. When we recycle and reuse, we end up having to clean less, dispose of less, reusing what we have, and taking responsibility for our actions. It all adds up.
USE PRODUCTS WITH SUSTAINABLE, ECO-FRIENDLY INGREDIENTS
Opt to use household cleaning products with safe and natural ingredients like baking soda, essential oils, and vinegar. The chemicals used in many standard cleaners have been proven to contribute to many health conditions, allergies and even asthma within the home. Ensuring a toxic-free environment in our homes creates less demand for these harmful products and helps to build awareness to their potentially harmful effects.
The big question is always ‘Do they work?’. Well, you may be surprised to hear that green cleaning products have capabilities equal to, or greater than those of artificial chemicals, meaning you won’t be sacrificing the cleanliness of your home switching to cleaners with naturally-derived ingredients. At AspenClean, our all-natural cleaning supplies are pet-friendly to boot - ensuring that every member of your family can live their lives to the fullest. When used with microfiber cloth instead of paper towel or another form of disposable waste, you can achieve maximum results, cleanliness, and optimal sustainability.
DON’T DUMP HARSH CHEMICALS
Dumping harsh traditional chemicals down our drains, or into our lawns and yards is hugely harmful to the environment, and downright wasteful. Instead, take your household hazardous waste (HHW) to your local collection depot, where it can be disposed of safely. Make sure to seal all containers and keep them separate when you have them collected or disposed of.
To summarize, then, by switching to greener and more sustainable cleaning alternatives, you’ll waste less, save money, and be able to enjoy a healthier and more effective way of cleaning your home.
And if you learn more on "how to live a more eco-friendly life", check out our guide!
