Spring time has officially arrived and in many parts of the world, the snow is melting and the sun is shining again, getting us excited about the warmer weather, new beginnings and a chance to shed our heavy winter layers!
For many of us, this time of the year also means reorganising and deep cleaning our living spaces and making adjustments that can help us feel lighter in our day to day lives.
This time of the year is also a time where a lot of our undesired home items end up in landfills, when around 80% of those materials in landfills can usually be recycled instead. From recycling items to switching to green products, there’s so much we can do to avoid a significant amount of waste footprint. Not just that, we also need to take into consideration the type of chemicals we may be spreading around our homes during our deep clean too. This week, we’ve put together a few tips on how to spring clean your homes, but with sustainability in mind!
Go green on cleaning tools
Start trading in your paper towels for bar mops, microfiber cloths for old t-shirts and glove up with reusable, fair trade and certified natural rubber gloves. This can be the right time for you to switch to less wasteful cleaning products, such as Smol refillable sprays and biodegradable laundry and dishwasher tablets. Or maybe, you can start by switching your everyday cling film to reusable beeswax wraps from Wild & Stone instead.
Make your own cleaning products
Blend your own cleaning solutions, which you can customise with everything from lemon to vinegar, rubbing alcohol and essential oils. All you need to do is invest in a few glass pump and spray bottles to house your concoctions and you’re set. If you really don’t know what you’re doing, you can do what we do and follow Lynsey Queen Of Clean on Instagram, she gives out the best homemade cleaning products recipes!
Recycle & Compost
Spring cleaning isn't just about cleaning, but setting better habits for the months ahead. Start reading about what your council’s guidelines are to recycling and follow them, this goes for bigger home items too, such as your old electric whisk! Furthermore, composting food scraps or leftovers is a great way to reduce waste in the kitchen and turn what would otherwise be waste into nutrient-rich soil. When you're clearing out your fridge, cupboard or pantry then, compost expired food and donate in-date food that you don't want to a local food bank. And make this a habit!
Reduce Water Usage
Rather than running the tap when you need water to clean with, fill up a bucket to save water and use the "used water” to water plants. You should also only run your dishwasher and washing machine only when they’re full. For longer term water savings,, you can install low-flow toilets and flow-regulated shower heads to reduce water consumption and lower your energy bills.
Air Dry Your Clothes
Machine drying clothes accounts for 75% of laundry’s total carbon footprint, whereas air-drying your clothes as part of a sustainable laundry routine can help reduce climate impact by 67%. Furthermore, machine drying your clothes can actually damage the fabric, as each load imparts microscopic damage on fabric, and lint is produced from the resulting micro-tears in the fabric’s fibres. Over time, these tears will cause clothes to fall apart.
Spring means more sunshine and longer days. Take advantage of this and air dry your clothes and textiles on the washing line, or on an airer with the windows open.
Go Paperless
If you’re sorting through piles of letters to recycle, take a moment to note down which mail isn’t benefiting you, so you can unsubscribe and stop receiving it or switch to paperless for your important documents as most companies have this option nowadays. This is beneficial for the planet, and helps prevent clutter from building back up.
By helping you to create a clean and decluttered space, spring cleaning has a number of benefits for your physical and mental health. From strengthening your immune system to improving mental health to finding lost items, we see no reasons why you shouldn’t start yours this week! And don’t forget to comment below if you have any more spring clean green recommendations!
Love,
Cherchez La Femme team X
[info sourced on wildandstone.com, onetreeplanted.org and ethicalunicorn.com
All imagers sourced on canva.com]