Cleaning surfaces and unblocking drains is usually perceived as a rather unwelcome chore. This is especially true if you’re proud to live a sustainable lifestyle and do not want to use store-bought conventional cleaners. But fans of green living (and cleaning) don’t need to despair. There are plenty of easy and very useful sustainable cleaning hacks that you can draw on when you cannot or do not want to buy an expensive eco-friendly cleaner, but want to keep it green at the same time.

How to Treat Stains Naturally

Even unusually stubborn stains can be treated using all-natural remedies. Hydrogen peroxide is an eco-friendly alternative to chlorine bleach and, diluted, a great cleaning solution that will work wonders on most stains. For food stains, sprinkle some baking soda on the area and then spray a water and hydrogen peroxide solution on the stain. Let it soak for a while, and then wash as usual. This green solution will even get rid of wine stains if you let it soak for long enough.

White vinegar can also act as an effective stain remover pre-wash. But keep in mind to always test any cleaning solutions on a small area first to make sure you won’t damage the fabric.

How to Unblock Your Sink

As an outdoorsy person who puts a lot of emphasis on a sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle – but at the same time likes creature comforts – glamping is the perfect choice of holiday for me. It’s low maintenance and close to nature, but with many of the perks that usually only hotel accommodation offers.

Last time I embarked on a glamping trip, I stayed in a cabin close to the woods. It was lovely to have a bathroom and small kitchen area at my disposal whilst still being as close to nature as you can get, but unfortunately, that luxury was short-lived when the sink clogged up on my second day. I had to choose between getting in touch with the owners to have them take action, and figuring out how to unblock a sink myself.

As a firm believer in green cleaning, I remembered a homemade remedy to clear the drains. All I needed was baking soda, boiling water, and a cup of vinegar. Luckily, the cabin had all of these things in stock. If you want to try this green unblocking remedy, pour the baking soda down the drain, then follow this with a few cups of boiling water. The baking soda will react with the water and dissolve any gunk. If the sink is still blocked after that, repeat the process with baking soda and vinegar, and carefully plug the drain. Then clear the drain by pouring down more boiling water.

Taking matters into my own hand rather than contacting the cabin’s owner saved me a lot of trouble – and time – so it’s always good to be prepared and have some cleaning hacks like this one at the ready.

How to Clean Surfaces the Green Way

Grease stains on kitchen surfaces are ugly. They seem to cling to kitchen surfaces like a magnet, and after you let them sit for a couple of hours, they can be tricky to remove. But if you’ve got vinegar and vegetable oil in your kitchen cupboard, you’ve already got yourself a highly effective surface cleaner to leave your kitchen sparkling. Spray vinegar onto the surface; let it sit for 15 minutes, then wipe off the surface with a cloth.

If there are still some greasy remains left after this first stain, it’s time to treat grease with grease. Soak a paper towel in natural vegetable oil to scrub away especially stubborn stains. This should remove even the most persistent stains.

Further Reading:

• How To Clean Your Bathroom In a Green and Organic way
• 6 Effective Ways to Make Your New House Green

Sources:

• What is Glamping? – Discover Glamping 
• How to Unblock Clogged Drains and Eliminate Odours – Cleanipedia

If you’d like to do something for the environment, but don’t really know where to start, don’t worry – you don’t have to change your entire lifestyle to make a change. It’s often the little things that add up and can make a real difference. If you’re scared of committing to a lifetime of organic and sustainable living, then why not start small and see what happens? We’ve compiled a few easy tips for beginners who want to work towards a more sustainable future and a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Eat Green(er)

You don’t have to become a vegan or vegetarian overnight, but why not skip meat once in a while and try and cut down on your chicken and beef intake? If you cut down on meat, you will also save quite a bit of money, which means that you could go to the butcher or farmers market more often to treat yourself to some grass-fed organic beef. After all, it’s quality over quantity. Plenty of people around the UK are doing meatless Mondays – and there’s no reason why you couldn’t be one of them. So look for some vegetarian recipes online and get cooking.

Choose Sustainable Cleaners

It’s easy to buy strong, harsh household cleaners from the supermarket, but did you know that you could simply use basic household items instead of harsh chemical cleaners and get the same effect? A mixture of vinegar and baking soda, with some lemon juice added in, makes for a great cleaner for household cleaning emergencies in the kitchen and bathroom. Cleaning has never been so simple and cheap – and sustainable.

Turn Off the Lights

We all know we shouldn’t waste energy, but how often do you actually find yourself leaving on the lights, simply because it’s easier? Try to make it a habit to turn off any lights and lamps that you don’t need, even if you’re just popping to the shop across the road. And remember to swap your light bulbs for energy-efficient ones to save energy and money. You won’t have to feel so bad if you do end up forgetting the lights once in a while.

Avoid Plastic

It’s generally a good rule of thumb to avoid plastic whenever possible. Take your own bag for shopping instead of getting a new plastic bag every time you buy something. Not only are tote bags sturdier than plastic, they will last you a long time, while being a lot better for the environment.  What’s not to love? Try and avoid bottled water, too, as plastic generates massive amounts of container waste. Get yourself a reusable water bottle that you can refill, and save some money while you’re at it too.

Sources and Further Reading:

• Maybe We Shouldn’t Ever Buy Grocery Store Chicken – Green Lifestyle Market
• Greening Yourself – Green Lifestyle Market
• DIY and Green Cleaning Tips – Cleanipedia

Of all the rooms in a house, it’s probably bathrooms that need the most attention – and a regular, ideally weekly, scrub in order to get rid of any dirt and prevent mould and unpleasant smells. But while you want to get rid of all the germs and soap scum, luckily, there’s no need to turn to harsh chemicals and toxic bleaches to keep your bathroom clean. Natural cleaning products are better for your skin, lungs, and the environment – and surprisingly, there’s nothing in the bathroom that you can’t clean the green way. Take a look at these simple tips for how to get your bathroom sparkling using only sustainable and organic cleaners.

Green Clean Your Toilet

To get rid of nasty stains, calcium residue, and germs, mix together half a cup of vinegar and a spoon of baking soda, and let the mixture sit in the toilet bowl for an hour before you start scrubbing the toilet with a brush or sponge. If you do this regularly, you won’t need abrasive chemicals to keep your toilet spotless.

Using Homemade Cleaners in The Shower

No-one likes a shower full of soap scum – and all you need to get rid of soapy residue is some baking soda and biological dish soap. Mix those two together, apply to a sponge, and you’ve got yourself a powerful cleaner for shower doors and ceramic surfaces. If the stains are slightly more stubborn, use an old toothbrush for extra powerful scrubbing. For your shower curtain, mix some vinegar and water, spray the mixture onto the curtain, and clean it with warm water. If you’ve got mould on the curtain, apply some baking soda mixed with water and rub the stain. Did you know that you can also wash most shower curtains in the washing machine? Use an organic detergent to get rid of stubborn dirt and give your curtain an overhaul.

Unclogging Drains the Natural Way

Clogged drains in the bathroom can be a nightmare, but there’s no need to pour toxic chemicals down your drain – think of the environment, and opt for a natural de-clogger instead. Simply mix baking soda with vinegar and let the mixture sit for a while – it will break down any gunky residue and allow the water to flow again after. But keep in mind that this is no substitute for a plumber – sometimes, you just have to make that call.

Use Natural Scents

You don’t need to buy air freshener to have a constant lovely scent lingering in your bathroom – use lavender oil or peppermint oil to keep it fresh, or place dried herbs and flowers in small bowls around your bathroom. You can also add some lemon and cinnamon to a small few spoons of baking soda for a nice and cosy winter smell.

 Sources and Further Reading:

• Natural Cleaning Ingredients
• DIY Cleaning Tips – Cleanipedia

We know how unhealthy chemical cleaning products like bleach can be, and the environmental damage they can cause when disposed of improperly. Do we really want to clean our own home with these chemicals, where they can get into the air we breathe, the food we eat, even the clothes we wear? Of course not. Believe it or not, it’s just as easy to clean our homes using three simple natural products: lemons, baking soda, and white distilled vinegar.

Not only are these three items a lot cheaper to buy and healthier to use, we can also avoid buying into the excessive packaging of chemical cleaning agents. Without consuming this stream of cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, and plastic-wrap, you’ll reduce your household’s carbon footprint in an instant. While the Internet is awash with cleaning tips, read on to learn just some of the many ways we can clean our homes with lemons, vinegar, and baking soda.

Removing stains on fabric – Amazingly, these three ingredients can help us remove most of the stains on fabrics. If you have a stubborn stain on white cotton or linen, soak the stain in lemon juice, lay it under direct sunlight, and the stain should disappear. For other fabrics, soak the stained area in a water and vinegar solution, or mix a thick paste of baking soda, vinegar, and warm water and spread it on the stain. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes or even hours for maximum effectiveness. Afterwards, scrub and rinse. The stain or residue should be gone! Some synthetic fabrics like acetone can be damaged by vinegar, so use a paste of just baking soda and water in these cases.

Removing stuck-on residue from hard surfaces – That same paste of baking soda, vinegar, and warm water also treats stains and difficult residue on hard surfaces. Spread it on, let it sit for 20-30 minutes, and the stain or residue can be scrubbed away. Remember, vinegar should not be used on aluminium, cast iron, or waxed surfaces.

Getting rid of limescale – Similarly, the natural acids in vinegar are a great at dissolving limescale on surfaces which come into regular contact with water. Instead of using a chemical descaler, spray a solution of equal parts vinegar and water on your tiles and pipes. Let it soak, and scrub away the limescale. Boil the same solution in a kettle, and after soaking overnight and scrubbing with a clean toothbrush, your limescale should be gone. Or unscrew a clogged showerhead, and soak it overnight in a bowl or bag of the solution for the same results.

Disinfecting ovens, refrigerators, and hobs – Avoid commercial oven cleaners by mixing a solution of warm water, vinegar, and baking soda, with a few drops of lemon juice. Use this to scrub and wipe down your ovens, fridge and freezer interiors, and hobs. It’ll cut through the grease, disinfect the surface, and leave your kitchen smelling lemony-fresh. Again, for burnt-on residue, use the baking soda paste.

Cleaning drains and waste disposals – To clean out your sink, shower, and bathtub drains, pour down half a cup of baking soda, then follow with a cup of vinegar and plug the drain. Leave it for an hour, then pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain, and it should be clear! For your kitchen’s waste disposal, do the same, and then cut a lemon in half and send the two halves down the disposal for a final cleanse.

A natural air freshener – Baking soda easily combats odours, so to keep your fridge smelling fresh, leave an open dish of baking soda on the bottom shelf. You can do the same with microwave and conventional ovens, or microwave lemon wedges for 30 seconds to zap odours. If any garments or fabrics have developed a mildewy smell, soak them in a solution of water and vinegar. And to freshen your house in general, boil a pan of water with shaved pieces of lemon peel. Leave bowls of the lemony water in your rooms, and the air will smell a lot fresher!

These are just some of the countless ways we can do our household cleaning with these three easy ingredients. Say good-bye to buying chemical cleaners, and say hello to an organic, eco-friendly cleaning regime for your home.

Further Reading:

Uses for Baking Soda