Spring Cleaning Tips: 10 Simple Steps for a Greener and Healthier Home

Spring and "springtime" refer to the season between Winter and Summer, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. We are now fully experiencing the Spring season--flowers and trees are blooming, and some of us are opening their windows for the first time in months. Many in northern climates experience Spring Cleaning this time of year--cleaning a house from top to bottom in the first warm Spring days of the year. This can be a daunting task for some of us but I found a book that really helps break it down into easy steps--and they are healthy, too!

 

A few years ago, Sloan Barnett came out with a book that cuts through the complexity of getting clean and green in our homes. Below is an excerpt that is worth repeating.
For more info on Sloan's book, please refer to
http://greengoeswitheverything.com/about.html








Sloan's 10 Simple Steps for a Greener and Healthier Home:

1. Start by replacing a bunch of your cleaners (your general spray cleaner, glass cleaner, counter top cleaner, floor and bathroom cleaners) with a natural, nontoxic all-purpose cleaner. You will only need one to do that. Really!
2. Replace your laundry detergent with a natural nontoxic one so the clothes you wear and the sheets you sleep on have no fumes for you to breathe.
3. Go to your bathroom and read the shampoo, makeup and moisturizer labels. Ask yourself, “Do I really need scent in these products?” Take stock of all of your other products and try to replace one a week with a safer, greener choice.
4. Use BPA-free plastic baby bottles and fill them with breast milk or organic formula. Choose powdered formula over canned formula to avoid BPA leaching from the can-lining.
5. Pay attention (without freaking out) to the toys you buy for your kids. Avoid lead paint and soft plastics that contain phthalates.
6. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store and avoid processed food. Even better, choose organic and locally grown meats, dairy, fruits, and vegetables.
7. Try to get the plastic containers out of your kitchen and replace them with glass containers.
8. Make a vow to stop buying bottled water—NOW. Instead, buy a water filter pitcher and keep two in your fridge at all times.
9. For cleaner and healthier air, open your windows once a day when the outside temperature is comfortable.
10. When buying new stuff for your home, focus on green products especially mattresses and carpets. 

Want to learn more about how your household products may be contributing toward your "Body Burden" with the amount of harmful chemicals and pollutants you have in your blood? Start below with the Body Burden Quiz:

http://greengoeswitheverything.com/quiz.html



Want to know more about Green, Safe, Powerful cleaning products that Always Work? Let me know and I'll share some Clean Fun facts with you.
~Cheryl