How to easily Green your Spring Clean, giving a Sustainable Sparkle!

So where does the concept of spring cleaning come from? The origins are unclear but either the Persian New Year or the Jewish’s cleaning before Passover are both possible sources.

But why is there a need to “spring clean”? It’s all about coming out of hibernation and starting afresh for the coming year. Not necessarily just cleaning away the old cobwebs both physically and mentally, but also it gets you in a more positive mindset. Everything looks clean, smells clean and you know that you have gotten away with 12 months worth of dust in the corners or “I can’t be bothered I’ll do it later” type of piles!!

You can green your clean!

Thankfully people are beginning to realise that you need to be able to clean in a more environmentally friendly way and in a more healthier lifestyle way, and starting off as you mean to go on i.e. with spring cleaning could be a great way of doing this.

The best thing to do first is to do a bit of decluttering. It is also more satisfying if you just focus on one room at a time. Then you will see a big a big difference in one room, rather than a bit of a difference in several rooms. Don’t forget to support your local charity shops by donating anything which is in a good condition, the charity shop would love these. Whether it is nick-nacks, kitchen utensils, clothing or children’s toys they would all be readily accepted to be recycled and reused at the charity shop and not in land-fill!

Start when it’s a nice day, so you can open the windows and get some fresh air in. So with any cleaning, dusting or moving furniture, air is circulated allowing fresh air in, and old air out!

A few product suggestions…

With any cleaning area that you are wanting to start in your home, I would highly recommend Bio-D. I am not an affiliate to this company or to any companies to be true, but Bio D is an amazing brand which has been around since 1989. It is British, vegan, it is a B Corp Company, suitable to be used in septic tanks, cruelty free and it still works!!

Windows. The best way to get a clean, sparkly, smear free window is to use white vinegar. People worry about their houses smelling of a Fish and chip shop! But the smell of vinegar does go when the liquid evaporates. If you are still not convinced use citric acid, dilute in hot water so it dissolves and then spray and use it like white vinegar.  If you don’t want to use white vinegar, there are products on the market which are eco friendly and do not contain harsh chemicals ie Bio D

The humble lemon can be used for a multitude of things and not just sliced in a gin and tonic! If you would like a list of ten ways that lemons can be used, please sign up to my newsletter (hopefully you’ve seen the pop-up on my website!) and you’ll get these as a thank you!

In the garden…

If you have a patio or paving which has gone slimy or mossy, Sprinkle with soda crystals, and then use a watering can to dampen. Although soda crystals are biodegradable please be careful that this does not go into ponds or where there is aquatic life.

To brighten up and clean any plastic garden furniture you have use some bicarb cream (which is like other yellow creams but this is eco friendly) on a damp cloth and wipe over. This cream is also great in the bathroom!

For BBQs, Make up a solution of Soda Crystals – one cup in five litres of water, soak the grills and utensils before cleaning with a wire brush. For barbecue body casings, apply with a sponge or brush and leave for an hour before washing off with a sponge soaked in the solution, then rinse with clean water. A wire brush or scouring pad will help remove burned on grease and food. Alternatively, you can use Liquid Soda Crystals. DO NOT USE SODA CRYSTALS ON ALUMINIMUM

In conclusion

This is not the complete spring cleaning ‘plan’, of course, but I hope that this has given you a great starting point to show you how to easily green your spring clean, giving a sustainable sparkle!

Being green can also save you some pennies, too. So why not browse some of the products available in my shop to make a start?