May is the perfect time to tackle that spring cleaning to-do list. This year maybe you’ve already switched to sustainable cleaning products or maybe you’re just starting. Ditching single-use Swiffer pads and dusters saves money in the bank and reduces our environmental impact. Not to mention the many health benefits that come with natural cleaning products. In this blog post, we’re not only talking about the best eco-friendly cleaning products but how to use them!
Sustainable Bathroom Cleaning
Eco-Friendly Foaming Hand Soap
Hand soap is a quick and easy sustainable swap to make in your home. There are tons of items on the market but the two best are Blueland Foaming Hand Soap Tablets and the Zero Waste Hand Soap Paste. For the tablets, you drop one in an 8-ounce mason jar of water and let it dissolve. For the soap paste, you’ll cut the bar into 6-8 cubes and do the same. Both options suds up nicely and keep your hands clean. For either option, top the mason jar with a foaming hand pump and you’re ready to go!
Plastic Free Toilet Brush
Toilet brushes are a necessity but the plastic waste doesn’t have to be. The best sustainable swap is a plastic-free wooden toilet brush. Use it just like a regular toilet brush but store it in a ceramic bowl or container that you don’t need or use anymore. This will also spruce up the look of your bathroom.
Zero Waste Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Regular toilet cleaners are full of harsh chemicals so the best sustainable swap is toilet cleaning fizz bombs. They’re made with biodegradable ingredients and they are completely zero waste. Plus, they’re fun to use! When it’s time to clean the toilets, drop one in the bowl and use your toilet brush to mix the water around a bit. Then wait 5 minutes, scrub the bowl, and flush. These fizz bombs are made with hydrogen peroxide and essential oils that’ll leave the bathroom smelling amazing.
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Zero Waste Laundry Detergents
There are three great options for sustainable laundry detergent. To choose one it really just depends on your preference. There are Bluelands Laundry Tablets where you drop a single plastic-free tablet into the washer. If you like the thought of your detergent in sheets, try the Zero Waste Laundry Washing Strips. To use these you’ll add a sheet to your washer and that’s it. The third sustainable option is Organic Laundry Soap Paste where you dissolve the bar of soap paste into a large glass container. This creates liquid detergent with natural ingredients without the plastic containers.
Eco-Friendly Laundry Stain Stick
Sustainable stain sticks that actually work can be so tricky to find. The old-fashioned hand-cut laundry stick does the best job. You’ll use it as if it were any other stain stick but it’s also useful for much more. If you’re in a pinch you can use it for laundry detergent or even at the kitchen sink to wash dishes. Who doesn’t love multipurpose?!
Sustainable Dish Washing
Sustainable Dish Brushes and Scrubbers
This May ditch the plastic dish brushes and scrubbers for a sustainable swap. There are tons of options to choose from. Honestly, they work better than the plastic ones anyway. Depending on your personal preference, there are wooden dish brushes, compostable sponges, and plastic-free bottle brushes. They all work so well, just use them like normal and they’ll last a long time.
Reusable Swedish Dish Cloth
There are tons of dish cloths but the problem that makes them not sustainable is in how they’re produced. Many times they’re made by underpaid workers and full of dyes. The Reusable Swedish Dish Cloth is soft and made sustainably with water-based inks. When its long-lived life is up, it’s biodegradable so it turns back into the earth. Quick tip, you can use this dishcloth as a paper towel as well!
Zero Waste Dish Soap
The best sustainable dish soap is one without plastic packaging and toxic chemicals. This May the perfect swap is the Savon de Marseille cube. It lasts such a long time and cleans dishes very well. You can use this two ways: with a dishcloth or a wooden dish brush. My favorite is the wooden dish brush to save on soap and get the scrubbing done while washing.
Sustainable Dishwasher Tablets
If you prefer to wash your dishes in the dishwasher instead of by hand, you can use eco friendly dishwasher tablets. These tablets are shipped in recyclable packaging. Their tablets are made with plant-based formulas. You can even set up a subscription so you receive these dishwasher tablets on a schedule at your front door! Dropps also now offers carbon neutral shipping on their orders by purchasing carbon offsets for each order.
Sustainable Household Cleaning
Reusable Unpaper Towels
Paper towels can get so expensive and the worst part about them is after one use they usually go straight into the trash. This May make the sustainable swap to reusable unpaper towels to save money and reduce your waste. They come in adorable colors and prints so you can get whatever style you like. You’ll use them just like a regular paper towel except when you’re done, throw them in the washing machine with your laundry. You’ll be able to reuse them for years to come.
Sustainable Cleaners
Just like the toilet cleaner, you don’t want to use chemical-ridden conventional cleaning products which is why sustainable cleaners are so important. Instead of buying all those plastic bottles, you can use an eco-friendly multipurpose cleaner for everything. There are two great options for this: Blueland Multisurface Cleaner Tablets and DIY cleaners. The Blueland Multi-surface tablets are just like their laundry tablets. The Blueland Multi-Purpose Cleaner starter kit comes with one tablet and a reusable container or you can purchase the tablets individually and dissolve them in your own glass reusable spray bottle. You can use this on your floors, hard surfaces, kitchen counters, bathroom sinks, and everywhere else! You can just as easily use this as a bathroom cleaner as well as a glass cleaner. For creating your own cleaning products, Pinterest has tons of sustainable recipes to choose from. You’d be surprised by the cleaning power of simple plant-based ingredients like white vinegar and baking soda!
Organic Reusable Napkins
Organic Reusable Napkins are the perfect sustainable swap for those just starting out this spring. They’ll save so much money and reduce your waste greatly. You use them just like any other napkin except when their dirty toss them into the wash with your laundry. Keep them in a kitchen drawer, your vehicle, and your purse.
Reusable Swiffer Pads
Swiffers are great but the pads create so much waste each time we mop. The best sustainable solution to achieve the same cleanliness but reduce waste is using Reusable Swiffer Pads. You can use these pads on any kind of mop with a pad attachment. When you’re done with each use, toss them into the laundry. You’ll have them for a very long time.
Washable Duster
When I first discovered the washable duster it changed the game. Every time you’re done dusting instead of throwing the duster in the trash, toss it into the washing machine. It’ll come out clean and ready for its next use. The fabric is either from an old pair of pajamas or dead stock that wasn’t sold. You’re helping combat waste while reducing yours!
By opting for eco-friendly cleaning supplies, we can minimize our impact on the planet while still achieving effective cleaning results. From natural ingredients to refillable containers and plastic-free packaging, there are numerous options available to make your cleaning routine more sustainable. We can slowly transition our household products to safer cleaning solutions!