What does your eco-friendly cleaning routine look like? As the summer comes to an end and the new season begins, it is the perfect time to update your cleaning routine and make it eco friendly.
During the summertime, most of us are out and about on vacations and spending more time outdoors. As summer comes to a close, school begins to start and the weather begins to get cool. We start spending more time indoors and often need to do a reset.
According to the NY Post, the average American spends about 6 hours per week cleaning. With us spending so much time cleaning, imagine the positive environmental impact we could have by improving our cleaning routine?! Adapting to a fall eco-friendly cleaning routine would not only be better for the planet but also for your health. This is because many green cleaning methods are also less toxic than traditional cleaning methods.
In this post, we’ll talk about how to establish a fall eco-friendly cleaning routine and some important eco-friendly house cleaning tips!
Steps to create a fall eco-friendly cleaning routine:
Declutter and Minimize
Declutter: The changing of leaves during the fall is a great analogy for the changing season. Allowing habits that no longer serve you to die off and make room for the growth of better, more beneficial habits in your life.
Take the time to go through the areas of your home and declutter. Remove any products that are toxic, you no longer use, or are empty. This includes cleaning products, household products, health, and hair care products, and even things like paint and fertilizer. In addition, declutter areas of your house from items that no longer serve you.
Collect those items and separate them into three piles: trash, donate/giveaway, and sell. Any item that does not have an immediate purpose should go in one of those three piles. Decluttering is an excellent practice to incorporate into your annual eco-friendly cleaning routine because it is incredibly beneficial.
According to Psychology Today, here are six benefits of decluttering:
- Creates confidence
- Keeps you energized
- Reduces anxiety
- Helps stimulate creativity
- Reduces relationship and family tension
- It helps you discover things you may have once lost
Related Post: What is Project 333? Declutter Your Closet With This Minimalist Clothing Challenge
Pack Up the Summer Items: It’s time to pack up those summer items to put away for next year! Be sure to store these items away neatly and properly label them. This will prevent you from having to continuously buy new seasonal decor. One of the best things you can do for the environment is to buy less. This includes buying less of something as simple as seasonal decor.
Minimize Your Clothing: Switch your wardrobe from summer clothing to fall! I would suggest trying to incorporate a minimal capsule wardrobe like Project 333.
Following the guidelines for Project 333, I chose 33 items to wear for 3 months, changing my wardrobe each season. Even if Project 333 seems too extreme for where you are at the moment, decluttering is still a great way to kick off the new season!
Donate clothes that no longer serve you and put away summer clothes that you can use for next summer. By only having a few clothing options available, you are simplifying your closet area, decreasing decision fatigue, and minimizing your lifestyle.
Don’t forget to declutter your kid’s closet too!
Dust and Remove Cobwebs
I don’t know about you, but I don’t dust as often as I should. For your fall eco friendly cleaning routine, make sure to dust and clean out those cobwebs.
Dust: dust all surfaces, including shelves, electronics, light fixtures, and blinds.
Be sure to check for and remove any cobwebs in corners and ceilings.
For dusting, I use this retractable washable microfiber duster along with Blueland multipurpose spray.
Retractable Washable Duster
Bluland Mult-Surface Cleaning Spray
Use The EWG App
Before you buy new cleaning products, use the EWG app to choose healthier products. EWG stands for the Environmental Working Group. These products are measured on a scale of A-F or 1-10 – from low hazard/risk to high hazard/risk.
Choosing cleaner products helps to decrease your chances of being greenwashed. Greenwashing is “disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image” (source). It also has a direct impact on your health and the environment.
Toxic products lead to pollution of our waterways. Once they go down the drain or are sprayed into the air, they release chemicals that harm our health, the environment, and animals. Some research even states that toxic chemicals may leach from containers into the atmosphere.
Related post: The Best Sustainable Cleaning Products For Busy Moms
Kitchen Cleanout
Fridge and Pantry: Remove everything from the fridge and clean out the insides. Collect all fruits and veggies that are going bad and either compost them or use them to make your own veggie broth. Throw out expired items and empty containers. Wipe down cabinet doors and shelves, and organize the pantry.
Tip – Now is a great time to create a grocery list for the week ahead. I use this board to create a meal plan and create my grocery list based on the meals I plan to make that week. Meal planning is one way to reduce food waste.
Appliances: Move all appliances, even the larger ones, and clean them inside and out. For extra tough stains, use a combination of baking soda and dish soap. Make a slurry, leave it on the appliances for a few minutes and it should loosen up any baked-on food or buildup.
Sink and Garbage Disposal: Don’t forget to deep clean the sink! I use Melioria cleaning scrub with a cleaning brush to scrub out the sink. It leaves the sink super shiny. Then put vinegar and baking soda down each side of the sink to freshen up the drain. Adding food (like citrus peels) and oils (like essential oils) to your drain can clog your drain and back it up – yes, even if you have a garbage disposal!
Bathroom Cleaning
The bathroom is one of my least favorite places to clean, but the place that I clean weekly because it can get out of control quickly. During this fall eco-friendly cleaning routine, we’re giving the bathroom a deep clean.
Tub and shower: clean out the tub and shower thoroughly. Make sure to get in the corners of the tub and shower and clean all the buildup off the faucets and shower head. Here’s my favorite combination for the tub and shower.
Clean Up The Bedroom
For this fall eco friendly cleaning routine we’re also cleaning our bedroom sustainability.
The start of fall is the perfect time to change your bedding. If you haven’t already made the switch to sustainable bedding, now is the time! Choose bedding that is made with sustainable materials such as Tencel, eucalyptus, organic cotton, or bamboo.
I LOVE these incredibly soft and comfortable sheets made of cooling eucalyptus and tencel, lyocell fibers. They’re not only breathable and gentle on your skin, they’ve also been voted by Esquire Magazine as the best cooling beeding for hot sleeprs!
Freshen your home with non-toxic solutions.
Avoid air fresheners and traditional candles during your fall eco friendly cleaning routine!
If you’re anything like me, I like to incorporate fresh smells into my home while cleaning! Unfortunately, I’ve discovered air fresheners and traditional candles are not the best way to freshen your home.
Research has discovered that candles and air fresheners typically release chemicals that can be toxic to the air and your health. Try to avoid synthetic air fresheners, even in small amounts (source).
Try an air purifier: Use this air purifier to help refresh the air quality in your home and remove odors. There is a light on top which indicates the air quality. The air purifier is also quiet and creates a noticeable difference in the air quality.
Non-toxic, refillable candles: These are the coolest candles around! They’re not only non-toxic and smell incredible, but they’re also refillable! this means it cuts down on the amount of waste from traditional candles. Instead of buying new jars each time, you simply buy more wax pellets and refill your jar!
Take Care Of Your Garden and Leaves
Garden: Fall is a great time to garden because it is not too hot to be out in the garden and your new plants have a chance of surviving because there is less heat!
Planting new plants and trees is great for the fall because their roots have time to establish before the winter cold. This fall, clean out weeds and clear out any pest-ridden or diseased plants. This is an important step to your eco-friendly cleaning routine because it will help you prep your garden for fall planting!
Here are some great fall plants to consider adding to your garden this year:
Veggies (source):
- Brussels Sprouts
- Beans
- Radishes
- Turnips
- Collards
- Green Onions
- Kohlrabi
- Lettuce
- Cauliflower
- Peas
- Kale
- Parsnips
- Raddicho
- Celery Root
Leaves: When leaves are left on your lawn, they provide a natural fertilizer. Too many leaves, however, can suffocate your grass, leaving you with dead patches. Especially if leaves accumulate in large piles during the rain. Instead, rake your leaves and collect them for compost.
Composting leaves are a great way to add “browns” or carbon to your compost. This helps to maintain a balance and create rich, organic soil. Learn more about composting here.
Be sure to clean out your gutters for leaves and other debris to prevent clogs during fall rains.
Reuse Previous Fall Decor
Instead of buying new, reuse what you have.
According to research, Americans represent 5% of the world’s population but generate 30% of the world’s garbage.
In addition, the demand for seasonal decor continues to be on the rise as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (source). Because we are spending more time at home, people are continuing to invest money in their homes to make them more vibrant and livable.
The largest retailers for seasonal decor are Walmart, Dollar Tree, Target, and Party City (source). While it is incredibly tempting to deck your home in brand new decor for the season, remember that our money is our power. Reducing what we buy helps to decrease carbon emissions. Carbon Dioxide emissions are greenhouse gasses that are contributing to our climate crisis.
If you feel like you really need something, try thrifting. Thrifting allows you the opportunity to mix and match different items and use your creativity to find items that could match your style.
You can also try more natural decor items like pumpkins, leaves from your yard, and plants – such as mums.
I hope you enjoyed learning about the best fall eco-friendly cleaning routine!
Are you ready for fall? What items are in your eco-friendly cleaning routine for fall?
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