Are you someone who is concerned about the environment but can’t seem to let go of commercial cleaning products?
Well, I sure don’t blame you! Keeping your house spick and span should be on the top of your priority list.
But what if I told you that you could do both, by actually reducing your cleaning costs greatly?
By simply making a few changes to your usual habits and delving into your kitchen cupboard, you can keep your house clean in a green way.
So, keep reading to find out about some efficient environmentally friendly cleaning hacks and tips that will change your life for the better!
Declutter Your House
Let’s be real. None of us really need all the furniture and things in your house. More objects, means more cleaning so why not reduce the amount and keep only what we need?
Minimalism is a way of life that is very environmentally friendly. You don’t have to jump on the wagon straight away, but perhaps try and eliminate the unnecessary furniture and things that are accumulating dirt in your house.
Keep your house spacious and giving attention to the things you have will ultimately benefit your life and make cleaning a much easier process.
Keep the Dirt Outside
We’ve all been told as kids to leave our shoes outside. This might be annoying but it’s a full proof way to keep your house clean.
My advice would be to keep a spare pair of slippers for your house and another for your bathroom, and only wear your shoes outside. If you continue this for two days alone, you’ll notice the drastic reduction in dirt and dust immediately. That way, quick use of an energy-efficient vacuum cleaner every week or two should be more than enough to do the trick.
Spotless Glass
Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of lemon juice to half a gallon of water in a spare spray bottle. You could also make a vinegar solution using 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 10 drops of essential oil and add it to 2 cups of distilled water.
Before applying any solutions, wipe your window or mirror once with a soft cloth to get rid of the initial dirt.
Afterward, squirt the mixture onto the glass and wipe it away with a microfiber cloth.
Make sure not to use the same cloth you used initially, or you’ll just be spreading the dirt you wiped way at the beginning.
Homemade Toilet Cleaners
Toilets are probably the dirtiest places in our house that everybody wants to clean thoroughly, no matter how annoying the job is.
The good news is, you can keep your toilet bowl clean and hygienic with a simple homemade mix.
All you need to do is mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of vinegar and let it boil. Then, add around 1 cup of Borax and wait for it to dissolve. Afterward, add around 20 drops of an essential oil. When you pour this mixture into your toilet bowl and let it sit overnight, it will get rid of all the germs and keep your bathroom smelling fresh.
Just make sure to scrub the entire bowl with an old brush as well.
Getting the Grime Off of Vinyl
For smaller vinyl objects, simply use a cloth dipped into lemon juice and rub on the area you want to clean.
For the vinyl sides, apply a white vinegar mixture made of 3.5 cups of vinegar with ½ a gallon of water all over the sider.
If you have some persistent stains you’ll need to put in some more effort.
Make a paste of ½ cup baking soda with ⅓ to ½ cup of water. Using this paste on an old brush, scrape away at the stains you would like to remove. Finally, rinse off the solution using a water hose.
Furniture Polishing
Yes, that’s right, you can even polish your furniture naturally, using ingredients from your pantry.
There’s a lot of different variations for this magic mixture. I’m going to share with you, the mixture that I religiously stick by.
One mixture involves adding 2 parts of olive oil to 1 part lemon juice. You could also make a similar solution using ¼ vinegar or apple cider vinegar, instead of the lemon juice.
Use a soft cloth or rag to apply the mixture to your furniture. This will give it a shiny, polished look without the disgusting smell of commercial polishers.
Making Metals Shinier
You know how metals like copper and brass can turn dull after a while? Well using a paste of equal amounts of salt, vinegar, and flour, you could bring back their shiny and original look!
Rub on the paste onto the object and let it dry. Wipe it off after an hour with a soft cloth.
For less severely tarnished brass or copper objects, simply rubbing piece of lemon covered in salt will do wonders.
Just make sure to rinse off the surface afterward and dry it off properly.
Pet Carpet Cleaners
While there are a lot of pet carpet cleaners available in the market, you could also DIY a homemade solution to get the same results.
Mix equal parts of vinegar and water and place it in a bottle and spray the mixture on your carpet. If the state of your carpet is extremely bad and smelly though, you should definitely use a 100 % vinegar solution.
Then, scrub the carpet as thoroughly as possible. After the initial scrubbing, apply some baking soda along with a bit of the vinegar mixture, especially where there are stains.
Leave your carpet like this for at least two days and then vacuum it. You’ll see immediately that your carpet is smelling much better and all the stains are gone.
Cleaning Those Dirty Floors
You don’t need chemicals to keep your floors clean. All you need is a big bucket filled with a gallon of warm water and 1 cup vinegar. This will work on wood, ceramic, vinyl and even linoleum floors.
This mix is a quick solution and what’s more, you won’t even have to wipe with water afterward. So basically you’ll be keeping your floors clean with less water and no chemicals at all.
However, make sure to not apply too much of this mixture on your floor, especially on the wooden ones. Try and use just the right amount, without saturating your floor.
Keep Your House Smelling Fresh
The natural way is the best to keep your house smelling truly fresh.
The first and obvious thing you should do is keep your windows open for a certain time of the day and let the air and sunlight in.
Some beautiful fresh flowers and scented candles will make your house smell amazing as well. Other than that, you could also make a homemade freshener of your own.
Mix 10 drops of lavender essential oil, 5 drops of chamomile essential oil and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. Add this to ¾ cups of water and place the mixture in a spray bottle.
This is a tried and tested method and trust me, it’s much better than the ‘lavender’ fresheners we all buy from the stores.
Getting Rid of Pests Naturally
There are some harmless and innovative ways you can get rid house pests by using homemade ingredients.
Mice can’t stand the smell of peppermint. So instead of all the hassle of mouse traps and mouse poison, simply add some peppermint oil to all your cleaning solutions and your house will be mouse free.
As for ants, leaving a trail of cayenne pepper or black pepper will drive them away. Also, remember to always take your trash out regularly and clean up immediately after a mess.
Flies get attracted to leftover food so you could actually opt for the environmentally friendly way and compost all your food scraps.
Replace all Those Paper Towels
Tissues, toilet rolls, and paper towels are in no way environmentally friendly. It’s time we all started using towels and recycled clothes for our cleaning purposes.
This is simply a change of habit. Buy lots of clean towels and place them all over your house so that they are accessible to everyone. Washing them is not much of a hassle because you can just dump them in the laundry with your daily washing.
It’s also wise to keep old socks, scraps, and t-shirts and reuse them as cleaning cloths.
Final Thoughts
Living green is ultimately a lifestyle choice. You don’t have to be a 100 percent accurate, but there are some conscious changes you can make to your routine to use more natural ingredients.
I assure you, these homemade solutions and environmentally friendly cleaning hacks will keep your house just as hygienic, fresh and spotless, as any other store-bought product would.
So, go on and try these environmentally friendly cleaning tips and make the world a better place!
Author Bio:
Stepheny is a content writer at FeedFond. She’s a loving mother to her two children and is passionate about psychology and philosophy. To read more of her articles, visit FeedFond.com.