It’s that time of the year again when you want a fresh start. Here are 10 green spring cleaning tips to get under your belt.
- De-junk your wardrobe. Every time you wear an item of clothing, replace the hangar with one of a different colour so that by the end of the month you can see exactly what you’ve been wearing and what has been sitting unworn. Anything you haven’t worn in six months is just taking up unnecessary space. Pack it into bags for hospice so that the less fortunate can benefit.
- Breathe naturally. Those chemical-based air fresheners are not good for you. They can be eye, lung and skin irritants. Make your own air freshener by leaving open a box of bicarbonate of soda or having fresh flowers in the room.
- Mop it up. Paper towels might seem handy to use, but all that paper ends up thrown away. Rather get into the habit of using cloths that you can wash and re-use.
- Make vinegar your best friend. Straight out of the bottle it’s excellent for cleaning floors and windows. Mix it with baking soda to get rid of carpet stains and clean sinks.
- Dispose of the drama. When you’re around people that bring you down, add unnecessary drama to your life or make you feel drained, they literally deplete you of energy that can be used for something more positive.
- Green spring-clean your appliances. Try to replace old, energy zapping appliances with newer, more eco-friendly ones that conserve energy.
- Delete your mail as you receive it. It’s easy to get a cluttered mobile or email inbox. So stick to the rule of attending to messages as you receive them.
- Get more indoor plants. They reduce indoor air pollution and provide more oxygen to your home.
- Hang laundry out to dry. Use the drying power of the sun instead of letting everything head to your dryer.
- Love lemon! By placing half a lemon in your dishwasher, it will not only make your dishes cleaner than clean, but it also removes residue from dish washing powder.
