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4/20/2009
How to Go Green: Spring Cleaning
Throwing open the windows on the first warm day of the year is one of life's great pleasures—until, of course, all that sunlight and breeze makes you realize how dusty, dirty, and cluttered your house has become during the winter hibernation. Even the messiest among us get the urge for spring cleaning—and though we don't all act on it, those of us who do should keep the annual scrub-down as green as possible.
Home cleaning supplies
The strength of any deep clean comes from the supplies you use to wipe, polish, scrub, and soak—but that doesn't mean you have to stock up on sprays and powders that are made of potentially toxic antibacterial chemicals. Find out how using kitchen staples—like vinegar, baking soda, and good old hot water—can get your house as sparkling clean as anything on the shelves (at a fraction of the price), and how those once-a-year jobs (like vacuuming the refrigerator coils) can make your home more efficient than you realized.
Home organization
Get a jump on your spring cleaning by tackling all of your home's trouble spots, from junk drawers and closets to garages and attics—because having less to clean makes the job go that much more quickly. Once you've managed to get rid of those magazines you'll never read and those clothes you'll never wear, find green ways to get them out of your house, from donating and recycling to selling or reusing—which can help make someone else's life a little greener, too.
1. Reduce
The first step to fighting messes and keeping your home spic-and-span is getting rid of all that stuff you never use. Go through all the places where it accumulates—try closets, junk drawers, out-of-reach shelves, attics and basements, and any other place where you're inclined to toss stuff as you say, "I'll deal with this later"and be diligent about— separating out what you really will use someday from what you never will. Be honest: you may say you like that sweater your aunt gave you for Christmas in 2004, but if it still has the tags on it, you aren't ever going to wear it. And be practical: do you really need that quesadilla maker?
2. Reuse
Now you have a pile that you're ready to get rid of—but wait: don't just trash it. First, go through and see if any of those items could serve a purpose you haven't thought of before: Do you have enough books to stack up and use as a side table? Can you take the frames off those ugly paintings and use them elsewhere? We know of ways to reuse everything from single mittens and broken guitar strings to holiday greeting cards and ceramic tiles—so while we aren't suggesting you keep all this around just in case, see if any of what you have can save you from buying something else.
3. Make your own household cleaning supplies
Buying eco-friendly cleaning supplies is a good start, but for a truly green clean, make your own cleaners. You'll bypass the resources that go into production, shipping, and purchasing—from making that plastic spray bottle to getting the product to your local supermarket—and you'll save a ton of money. Most of your home can be cleaned with recipes that are a combination of hot water, vinegar, and baking soda or washing soda; add a few drops of essential oil for scent if you prefer. Since you're only making what you need as you need it, you're cutting back on waste, and you won't have any worries about what kind of toxins you may be spraying around your kids and pets.
4. Recycle
Once you've exhausted all the other options, it's time to hit the recycling bucket. Of course you're already recycling newspapers, magazines, and any glass that isn't salvageable, but take a second look at the rest of your trash, too: did you clean out the fridge? Find a compost pile. Get rid of old electronics, from cell phones to VCRs to ancient computers, by passing them off to retailers with a recycling program or to a specialized electronics recycling company. Check anything plastic to make sure it's recyclable, and make sure to safely dispose of anything that's not recyclable or trash-friendly, like old paint or batteries.
5. Get the right home organization tools
Now that you've managed to weed out the useless from the useful, you need to find a system for organizing what you've got left—because if you can't find something when you need it, you'd might as well not have it at all. For this, you'll need storage containers, but that doesn't mean you need to stock up on (non biodegradable) plastic bins; instead, try cardboard boxes wrapped in pretty paper, bamboo baskets, or cloth bags made from old t-shirts. Raise your storage with eco-friendly shelving to free up floorspace and make your rooms look bigger. And note: if, while you're organizing, you find items that don't seem to fit with anything else, those are likely goods you could add to the "donate" pile.
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