6 Tips For Spring Cleaning The Green Way

It’s that time of the year again – Spring time and Spring cleaning. The flowers are blooming and sweet smell of lilacs are feeling the air. Time to air out the house from the winter dust. Time to clean all those nooks and crannies and appreciate the warm weather. Time to clean out those closets and get rid of all those items that are no longer useful to you. Wash your curtains and windows, reorganize your pantry, but most of all ridding your home of toxins and germs that have accumulated over through the winter from closed doors and windows and heating system fumes that can cause an unhealthy environment.  Do it all with natural  alternative products — the green way. Don’t make your home environment toxic with chemicals cleaners. Be clean the economical, natural, green, and healthy way.

How you ask? It’s easy! Let’s get organized and ready to start! All you need is the time, energy, white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, olive oil, a few old towels, and lemons.

1  Reduce you clutter and waste.

• Clean out your closets – donate your clothes!  That sweater that you think is just plain ugly that your Great Aunt gave you 3 years ago and it still has the tags on it —  Give it to a charity someone else might just think it is beautiful. Those jeans that just never quite fit right, just might fit someone else perfectly.
• Clean out junk drawers – we all have them rather we want to admit it or not. (Those drawers that are so convenient to hide items went someone comes to visit). If you’re not using it then don’t keep it. Recycle items –  like that old blender that you use to use quite a bit, but now you can’t  remember the last time you actually used it.  Just be honest with yourself and decide if you really have a use for it. If you don’t then, donate, recycle, reduce, and organize this year. Make  next years spring cleaning easy with less stuff to clean.
• Check out the basement – what you have no use for —  find another home for it.
• Go through your books and  magazine if you have not touched or used them in a year or more than it’s  probably time to donate it to a second-hand book store that someone else might be very grateful for. Before your old books and magazines start to mold and mildew find them a happy home. Mold and mildew can produce toxic fumes in our home and is one of the major causes of indoor air pollution.

2. Clean green: Scrub and dust.

Make sure your cleaning products have no dangerous chemicals such as:

• Phthalates (can cause infertility, birth defects, and are considered environment hazard)
• Volatile organic compounds (that have been connected to respiratory issues
• Petrochemicals or by products of petroleum ( linked to cancer)
• Phosphates, (which are harmful to the environment and water supply)
• Chlorine bleach or ammonia that can cause serious health problems.
  

Clean The Green Way:

• Use baking soda to scrub the sink and dirty grim and add some hydrogen peroxide to make a paste – will clean and disinfect most surfaces.
• White vinegar is a great disinfectant – use it to make your windows sparkling clean or if the smell of vinegar bothers your try 50/50 solution of hydrogen peroxide and water in a spray bottle.
• Peroxide is good for many jobs  with it antibacterial properties – use it with baking soda in your shower and bathtub, add some lemons for more disinfectant power and for a great deodorizer. Lemons will also shine your  stainless fixtures.
• Dust with an old tea towel and put a dab of olive oil on – it nourishes your wood furniture while the dust particles cling to the cloth.
• Another great recipe for dusting furniture that leaves a wonderful scent is to mix in a bowl — 2 parts olive oil to 1 part lemon juice.
• Rugs and mats — If you or someone in your family has allergies or asthma you want to avoid breathing in all that dust from rugs and mats – try shaking some baking soda on them and vacuüm, then take them outside to air out, bring them in and repeat the vacuuming with the baking soda.

3. Absolutely No Toxic Fragrances: Throw that chemical fragrances or scented candle out!

• If you want to add the sweet smell of aroma in  your home there are many alternative and natural fragrances – try using a small glass jar with a lid that you have punched small holes in and add baking soda with your favorite essential oils – just enough to make it moist. Set this around your house anywhere and you will  have heavenly scents through your house.

4. Clean you ceiling fans to purify the air:

Use a wet towel and wipe down each blade one at a time so you’re not blowing dust through the air. Make sure you are helping to purify and circulate clean fresh air through your home.

5. To Keep your house naturally cleaner use houseplants according to NASA report and help to reduce the spring cleaning:

•  Bamboo Palm: removes formaldehyde and is also said to act as a natural humidifier.

•  Snake Plant: Found by NASA to absorb nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde.

•  Areca Palm: Known as one of the best over all air purifying plants.

• Spider Plant: According to NASA is one the best plants to remove formaldehyde and carbon monoxide among other toxins..

•  Peace Lily:  Helps to remove mold spores, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene. Many people put these in their laundry room or bathrooms.

• Gerbera Daisy: Removes benzene from the air which can help improve sleep by absorbing carbon dioxide and giving off more oxygen through the night.

6.  Replace filters:

Make sure you replace you air conditioning filters frequently with high quality filters. Check your system to see what the manufacturer recommends.

Spring cleaning should be good for your health and the environment. Make sure your home is chemical free this spring and all year-long. You can be proud of yourself and know that you have a clean green home.  You have left your ecological footprint for a safer and healthier planet for  your children and all future generation.

ACTIVATING COMPASSION  —- INTERVIEW WITH JESSE NICHOLS GEORGE  GREEN SPRING CLEANING!!

     http://www.eyeonbeauty.info/

About the author

Marla

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Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog! I believe in living green, organically, and natural in every aspect of our lives. My mission is to help educate you on how to live green, help save our environment and to help you and your family live a happier, healthier life!