Green Spring Cleaning
While we are about to enter into what experts are arguing is sure to be one of the coldest weeks yet, we know your mind is on Spring. The season of renewal and fresh starts is associated most commonly perhaps with the idea of spring cleaning. This season, why not be good to yourself and the environment while revamping your home, clearing the clutter from the closet or going through old office drawers? "I run into a lot of people who think that in order to really clean their homes they need to use things with harsh chemicals, but that's just not the case." States green expert Kim Carlson, "It's so easy to clean with more health, body and environmentally friendly products that are often found right in your kitchen!"
To help your reader get started with green cleaning, Kim offers the following tips:
• Clean Sweep - When thinking about Spring Cleaning, the first thing you want to do is clear the clutter. Start by taking three reusable bags and placing them in the center of the room, one for donate, one for recycle and one for throwing away. Then go through your closet and drawers and really consider what needs to be kept vs. what you can get rid of. Many charities offer incentives like tax rebates for those who donated, the rest can be recycled or tossed.
• Fresh Start - To eliminate odors in your home and get it smelling fresh and clean, forget the air-fresheners that may contain harsh chemicals. Try sprinkling baking soda on your carpet or upholstery, let this sit for a while to soak in and absorb and then simply vacuum away. If this doesn't do the trick try making your own room spray with distilled water, isopropyl alcohol and your favorite essential oil (try lavender for relaxation or grapefruit and orange to energize and refresh).
• Room with a View - For cleaning windows and other glass doors or objects in your house, forget the Windex, make your own green cleaner. Mix a bucket of warm water with a quarter cup of white vinegar and squirt of plant derived liquid dish soap. Use a re-usable cloth to wash the window, squeegee and wipe edges with a different clean, dry soft cloth.
• Tough Scrubs - For those areas where it seems only the toughest chemicals will work like your bathtub, sink or toilet, think again! A solution of one part vinegar, four parts baking soda will do the trick. Simply scrub on, leave for a few minutes and then wipe away. If the vinegar smell is too much for you add a few drops of an essential oil like peppermint or jasmine to stimulate the senses.
So start this Spring off fresh and give your home and cleaning methods a green makeover.
Kim Carlson is an eco-savvy entrepreneur, green business author and eco-chic lifestyle expert. She is the Founder of five successful companies that use earth-friendliness as their driving force. Carlson's book, Green Your Work: Boost Your Bottom Line While Reducing Your Eco-Footprint - about the many advantages of being an environmentally responsible business - was released in January 2009. Her latest venture is the development of the EarthSmart Product Standard, a retail product certification program devised in collaboration with the country's leading scientists, academics and environmentalists that will prove to be the most innovative environmental screening process to date.