After a long winter, it’s that time once again.  Every year, we all have to cut through the dirt and get organized.  Thorough spring cleaning is a great idea if you’ve been shut in all winter.  You’ll feel better, your home will look better, and guests will feel more welcome.  Cleaning is a great way to celebrate spring and feel better about yourself and your home.  There’s a reason we have a tradition of doing it in the spring, after the long, dim winter months.  It can really help you feel more alive.

However, many mainstream cleaning products and techniques aren’t so environmentally or health friendly as we might like them to be.  Dangerous and harsh cleaning solutions are bad for the world around us, and they’re not so great to get on your skin, breathe, or otherwise be exposed to.  This is even more of a concern if you’ve got small children or free roaming pets in the house who might come into contact with cleaning chemicals.

The good news is that a healthier, more ecologically friendly spring clean isn’t hard to do.  You won’t have to worry as much about kids getting into the cleaning cabinet.  Here are some tips to help you get the job done quickly and easily so you can enjoy your tidy home.  Cleaning can be easy, healthy, and worry free, as long as you know how to do it.

Indoor air pollution can actually be a lot worse than outdoor pollution, even in cities with air quality problems.  It’s been said that indoor air conditions are often as much as a hundred times worse than those of the air outside.  A lot of that comes from volatile organic compounts (VOCs) and offgasing of cleaning supplies, paint, wallpaper, carpeting, dry cleaning materials, and other substances inside the home.  You might not know that many of the substances used to clean and disinfect bring their own toxins and problems.

So, if you’re concerned about a healthy environment in the home for you and your family, step one is to open the windows and get fresh, comfortable air moving around.  It doesn’t take all that much effort to do, and you’ll be amazed by the great results.  All the musty smells of winter will be carried away, your home will feel a lot better, and you’ll get to enjoy the breeze, too.  Spring is a great time in almost any climate, so enjoy that fresh air before it gets too hot to be pleasant.

Next, take a look at what you’re using for cleaning, disinfecting, and deodorizing.  Chemical air fresheners are a big culprit, with aerosols being the worse - the substances in them can cause lung and nerve damage in some people.  Think about using essential oils, dried or fresh flowers, homemade potpourri (the commercial types are often laden with chemicals), cedar, or even just an open box or dish of baking soda.  Cinnamon, orange peels, and cloves simmered on the stove will make your home smell deliciously fresh, for instance, and other spices work very well, too.  All these things can make your home smell much better without causing environmental or health problems and most of them use a lot less packaging, too.

Many cleaners contain dangerous chemicals, too.  Detergents are made from petroleum, which isn’t harmful to our health, but can be harsh and uses a lot of oil.  Soap based cleaners from vegetable sources like coconut or olive oil are known for being gentler, but they’ll still get the cleaning done.  Use bleaches and commercial cleaners sparingly and only when other alternatives aren’t doing the job.  After all, chlorine containing products can burn eyes and skin, and are extremely dangerous when swallowed.

While chlorine bleach breaks down faster in the water system than many detergents and other disinfectants, it’s still not a great choice, since it can have significant environmental effects before it breaks down.  Choose a sanitizer that has less of an impact, or skip disinfecting entirely - while it’s important for a hospital, it’s much less so for your own home.  In fact, the wide spread use of antibacterial soaps is resulting in less effective water treatment and stronger germs!  That’s one good reason to disinfect less often.  There are a lot of cheap, healthy, and environmentally non-damaging substitutes that can do just as good a job with cleaning most of the time.  Let’s take a look at a few.

Simple, Non-toxic Cleaners You Can Make At Home

Vinegar - this simple acid is a great cleanser and won’t hurt you, most surfaces, or anyone who comes in contact with it.  It doesn’t cause serious problems with the water system, either.  It’s great either straight out of the bottle or in a solution for cleaning floors and windows, and works well when combined with baking soda for stain removal.

Vinegar, baking soda, and very hot water can even be used to fix a clogged sink, depending on what’s causing the clog.  Just pour a quarter cup of baking soda and salt into the drain, followed by a half cup of vinegar, then stop up the drain.  Wait fifteen minutes and pour the hottest water you can down the drain.  There’s a good chance the clog will disappear!  This works best for slow drains rather than complete clogs.  To deodorize a toilet, pour three cups of vinegar into the bowl and allow to stand for a half hour.

Mix a quarter cup of baking soda in a cup of vinegar for an easy toilet cleaner, as well.  Vinegar in the refrigerator works as well as baking soda to deodorize - just put an open cup into the fridge.  Use heated vinegar to get food off of dishes.  Glass and ceramic can be put into the microwave with a mix of vinegar and water, then heated.  Metal can be simmered on the stovetop with the same mixture.  Stuck on food comes off easier when you use vinegar and heat.  Simple white vinegar is a great choice, though some people choose cider vinegar, too.

If you’ve been told that white vinegar is a petroleum derivative, you’ve been misinformed - food grade vinegar comes from grains, though laboratory acetic acid may use petroleum in its production process.  If you don’t care for the smell of vinegar in cleaners, there’s an easy way to fix the problem.  Just mix a little peppermint oil or another essential oil into your cleaners.  You’ll get to enjoy a “clean floor smell” without the headache that comes from many commercial cleaners.

Baking Soda - This cheap, useful abrasive works well with vinegar or on its own.  It makes a great air and fridge freshener, can help you get odors out of furniture and carpets, can help with scrubbing porcelain surfaces and dishes, and reacts with acids to create a bubbly cleaning solution.  There are all kinds of uses for baking soda and its somewhat harsher cousin, washing soda, that allow you to avoid using commercial cleansers with greater side effects.  A cloth dipped in hot water, baking soda, and a little dish soap is great for cleaning walls and kitchens.  Mix two tablespoons of washing soda in three cups of water for another window cleaner that won’t streak like plain water.

Salt - Another inexpensive abrasive that breaks down easily and isn’t hard on the water supply, salt has a number of uses around the home.  It can be used for many of the same abrasive cleaning procedures as baking soda, but that’s not all.  A thick paste of salt and vinegar is a fantastic polish for copper, silver and brass.  Just apply it with a soft cloth, then buff and rinse thoroughly.  Dry the metal well and your silver will shine like new.  Salt is great for spills of oil, eggs, and similar materials, making them much easier to clean up.

Salt and hot water in equal quantities make another great drain cleaner, though you should avoid using this too often in a black water system (like a septic tank) since it can upset bacteria ratios.  Wipe down your windows in the car and at home with a sponge dipped in salt solution, then dry them for windows that won’t frost or ice over when it freezes - as it often does once or twice in the spring.  Rock salt in greasy cookware helps remove oil when scouring and salt is great for getting coffee and tea stains out, too.

Soak a kitchen sponge in saline to disinfect without using chemical antibacterials.  This works on a cutting board, too.  Pour salt where you see ants to keep them out of the area.  You can even use salt and boiling water on weeds in your gardens to kill them - just don’t get this substance on your regular plants.  Salt sprinkled onto a sheet of paper will clean an iron that’s run over it.  Just make sure you run the steam to get the salt out of the jets and wipe the iron plate down with a damp cloth after it’s cool.

Rubbing Alcohol - A one to one mix of rubbing alcohol and water with a tablespoon of vinegar added makes an excellent evaporating cleaner for glass surfaces, computer screens, and similar areas that won’t streak or cause health problems.  This substance is also a reasonably non toxic disinfectant (though it shouldn’t be ingested).

Olive Oil - Mixed with lemon juice, olive oil is an excellent polish and conditioner for wood, keeping it from drying out and giving it a fine, lemony gloss.  Spread evenly with a cleaning cloth, then buff with a dry cloth.  Use plain lemon oil in water for varnished wood surfaces, however.  Olive oil is also excellent for taking marks off of stainless steel appliances and other surfaces, without the toxins that come from commercial steel cleaners.

Hydrogen Peroxide - While the high concentrations used in laboratories can be dangerous, the drug store grade dilutions are quite safe.  Use hydrogen peroxide when you need a safe, healthy disinfectant for surfaces and other areas.  It can be used for babies’ rooms, in the kitchen, and in the bathroom, and it breaks down fast.  Remember that peroxide can also act as a bleaching agent, so test it on colored fabrics and plastics before you use it extensively.  Otherwise you could get a big surprise.

Don’t Toss It Out!

It’s time to stop throwing out cleaning materials.  One time tools like paper towels and disposable wipes should be avoided whenever possible.  Old tee shirts make fine cleaning rags, and natural fiber sponges are a great choice, too.  Actual natural sponges are harvested from animals living at the bottom of the ocean, so despite their lasting properties, they may not be the best choice for many people - sponge harvesting has some negative environmental effects.  Once you get used to tossing a rag in the wash instead of in the trash, you’ll wonder why you ever used disposables.

A Green Spring Lawn

Don’t forget about the lawn, too.  Spring cleaning often continues outside the house itself, and many people use incredibly toxic materials to keep their lawns green.  Your lawn could be using too much water, spreading non native plants into areas where they outcompete existing ones, and putting fertilizer and weed killer into the waterway.

Conventional mowing is also noisy and polluting, plus it uses up a lot of oil (lawn mower motors aren’t terribly efficient).  A quieter, more environmentally friendly mower is an excellent choice.  Just remember that with old fashioned human powered mowers or electric ones, you may need to mow a little more often.  Some of these machines do best when they don’t have to deal with a lot of grass at once, and can clog if you go weeks between moving sessions.

The good news is that there are a number of things you can do to make a difference with your lawn.  Choose grasses that are drought resistant and natives if possible.  If you feel you must water your lawn, do it with greywater - drain water from the sink, shower, or washing machine - and use detergents that won’t affect the soil or plants.  To cut down on water used for the lawn, use low pressure sprinklers and pay attention to whether the lawn is being overwatered.  Water either in the morning or evening, and avoid watering when there’s a heavy dew.  Unless the grass looks thirsty, you don’t need to water at all, either.  Aerators will help you encourage your lawn to grow deeper and need less water.

Cut your grass longer in the spring and summer so it’ll use less moisture, and use a mulching mower if possible.  Electric mowers and mechanical mowers are preferable to gasoline powered ones.  Avoid fertilizer if you can, and use seaweed, manure, or other organic fertilizers instead of synthetics if you feel like fertilizing is a requirement.  Never over apply a fertilizer - this can run into the water system and cause algae problems, plus it’ll damage your grass in many cases.  Chemical fertilizers are powerful substances, so make sure you follow manufacturer’s directions if you choose to use them on your lawn or in your garden.

Weed killer should be avoided in the yard and in the garden, since it causes environmental problems and weeds can even become resistant to it.  Use hot water or the hot water and salt mixture listed above, or just pull weeds by hand.  If you’re going to be doing some landscaping in the future, you may wish to consider xeriscaping, particularly if you live in an area where grasses aren’t native.  In arid parts of the world, using local plants and setting your lawn up as part of the local landscape will save you money, use less water and be healthier for the local environment, too.  You’ll also be amazed by the local wildlife you’ll attract!

Relax a few standards, too.  Over the years, we’ve become convinced that if a home isn’t hospital-clean, it’s not a good place to live.  However, there are many differences between hospitals and homes - your home probably isn’t full of sick people with compromised immune systems.  By scrubbing and disinfecting constantly, you’re creating a less healthy place that requires a lot of upkeep and may even cause you stress.  A home that’s not magazine ready can still be a healthy, welcoming place, and you’ll spend less of your time keeping it that way, too.

Safety and Reading Labels

Remember that when you get rid of any toxic products around your home, you need to do it safely.  Never pour them down the drain, dump them in the trash, or pour them on the ground.  Instead, find out if your community has a day for disposing of household hazardous waste, and read labels for proper disposal.  No one wants to damage the environment further while they’re trying to remove the dangerous chemicals from their home!

Even on supposedly green products, be sure to read all labels.  There’s little regulation on the use of the words “green” and “environmentally friendly” as of yet.  That means that ordinary products may be passed off as green just by adding a scent or changing the packaging.  If you don’t know what’s in it, it might not be green.  A good producer of ecologically friendly products will be willing to tell you what they use.

There are all kinds of ways to green up your spring cleaning, and most of them will not only make your home a healthier, more environmentally friendly place to be, they’ll also save you money.  Green products made at home are an excellent source of cleaners, since they’re inexpensive and you know exactly what you’re using.  Of course, if you don’t have the time or inclination to make your own cleansers, you can also check out some of the many brands of eco-friendly cleaning products on the market.  Just check to find out what’s in them and what their effects could be before you buy.

That way, you’ll know you’re cleaning safely and healthily, and you’ll be able to enjoy your new, cleaner home without guilt or worry.  Green cleaning is an excellent choice for anyone, no matter where you might live.  From apartments to family homes, a green spring clean is a smart choice.