simplify your cleaning products
There’s a cleaning product for absolutely everything. For many of us (including me at one point), all your different supplies and bottles get ‘shoved’ in the cupboard under the kitchen sink to the point you don’t know what you’ve got, or it falls out when you open the cupboard! And if you can’t see clearly what products you have, there’s a tendency to overbuy particular items.
So, I started to think about how I could cut back on what I was buying, and although I was buying eco products, I was still buying lots of bottles and replacing them with new bottles when they ran out, not so eco.
My personal aim, was to really reduce waste, simplify my cleaning items and replace with environmentally friendly ingredients to make my own bottles of cleaning supplies, and refill other items like washing up liquid and washing detergent. Here are a few tips to get you started. I also offer a service to come and help you with making up your own green cleaning supplies and simplifying your cleaning cupboard with you, if it’s just too much to tackle alone (see more details here).
Firstly, if you’re lucky enough to live anywhere with a refill shop (we have many in Brighton), then invest in some nice glass or plastic spray and pump bottles, and take them into your local refill store to top up when they run out. You can usually get liquid soap, washing up liquid, laundry liquid and conditioner, etc. If you don’t have any local refill shops, then try to buy in bulk, TK Maxx usually sell hand soaps in 1 litre bottles, and many of the greener online stores sell 5 litre containers of washing up liquid and washing detergent, store these and just top up into your own bottles. I use a basic label maker to print labels for them and no longer need to throw away so much plastic waste when they run out.
You don’t necessarily need different general cleaners for different rooms. One good general household spray is fine, then a wood polish for furniture, and any anti mould and mildew spray and bleach (if needed) for the bathroom. You can make up a general household spray from my simple recipe below.
Try to store items needed for separate rooms (i.e. bathroom) either in those actual rooms, or in separate boxes within your cleaning cupboard. One box for specific bathroom bottles, and another for more general cleaning sprays and wood polish. I separate spare washing up sponges and cleaning cloths into their own box also so I can always see how many I have and when I’m running low.
There are some great biodegradable washing up sponges on the market now, and wooden brushes, many with replaceable heads. And biodegradable bin bags are sold across many major supermarkets as well as online. Buy in packs and store in their own container, any spare sponges, cloths and brush heads.
With these few household ingredients, you can make a manner of different cleaning products, including bath and cooker scrubs, wood polish, floor and window cleaner:
Essentials:
White wine vinegar
Bicarb of soda
Castile liquid soap
Olive oil
Lemons
Essential oils (good scents to start with are lemon, lavender, tea tree and peppermint)
Recipe for a general household cleaner:
Citrus blast cleaner:
Fill inside a clean glass or plastic 500ml spray bottle.
2 tablespoons castile liquid soap
¼ cup lemon juice
10 drops lemon/ orange essential oil
Top up with distilled water. Shake and its ready to use. Spray over surfaces and wipe over with a damp cloth.
