Green Cleaning: 7 Eco Cleaning Tips to Keep More Green in Your Wallet

Everyone loves a clean house, but sometimes, the harsh chemicals used in mainstream cleaning products can harm the environment. This is especially problematic in the kitchen, where food can easily cross paths with some of your home’s harshest and most dangerous substances.

So, what can you do to reduce your environmental impact while ensuring a fresh, clean, and safe home for your family?  You may not know it yet, but you can accomplish much with a few common household ingredients in your pantry. The best part is that simple, eco-friendly solutions can save money.

1. Pots and Pans

For pots and pans stuck in grease, sprinkle with salt and scrub with the cut side of a half lemon. The citric acid in the lemon cuts through the grease, while the salt absorbs the greasy residue. This method can also be used to shine tarnished copper!

2. Oven

Apply baking soda to the dirty spots in your oven, then spray 50/50 water and vinegar mix to create a paste. Let this sit for about 30 minutes, then scrub clean. If you have excessive build-up from burnt spillover, you can also try heating a pan of 50/50 water and vinegar for a few hours. This will help loosen the burnt-on food prior to scrubbing.

3. Lingering Smells

After cooking overly fragrant foods, such as curry or fish, my mother always threw a pot of cinnamon sticks and a cut orange and boiled it for a few hours. The aroma of this blend always reminds me of fall. I still do this from time to time, for nostalgia sake.

4. Garbage Disposal

After you’ve juiced a lemon, you can cut the rind and throw it into your garbage disposal instead of the trash! The acid will help cut through the grease build up, and the lemony fresh scent will mitigate any unpleasant smells.

5. Faucets

The struggle is very real regarding hard water spots in Arizona. A simple solution for your faucets is to spray of soak your clogged faucet heads in vinegar. This will remove the buildup and have good water flow quickly!

6. Windows

Mix 2 cups water, 1/4 cup white vinegar, and 1/2 tsp. of dish detergent in a clean spray bottle. This will create a window spray that works great! Bonus tip - use old newspapers or those pesky weekly ads instead of paper towels. Not only will this give those ads a valuable purpose, but it will also give you streak-free windows!

7. Fruit Flies

In an empty plastic bottle, create a mixture of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap (I find that citrus-scented works best). The sweet smell will attract the flies, and the added soap will trap the pests. If you have gnats in a house plant, you can try spraying the plant's soil with a mixture of water and a few drops of dish soap. The concoction will help do away with the unwanted guest.

If you prefer to purchase an eco-friendly cleaner, there are plenty of great options for sustainable cleaning supplies. Many of these ‘green brands' also contribute a portion of their profits to sustainability programs or social-economical efforts. So, whether you are brewing up your own cleaning supplies or purchasing them, you can still feel good about making healthier decisions for your family and the world!

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