During lockdown, I saw a lot of people on social media, blogs etc talking about sustainability. I’m sure you all saw the news of fish returning to waters in Venise & how much the level of pollution dropped in London. I saw a lot of information on sustainability, I read some fascinating blogs & I also saw a couple of different social media challenges, encouraging people to think about what they do.
It got me thinking about cleaning, cleaning products & what I do for both cleaning at home & in my work. There are a couple of “big” eco companies & if I’m being really honest with you I am not a huge fan of then! Method smells nice & if you keep on top of your cleaning on a regular basis I think it would be fine for that, but if you need something that will actually clean greasy, dirty surfaces, I don’t think it is strong enough. I was recently listening to a podcast talking about sustainability & the lady said on it unfortunately in some circumstances you do need some chemicals & I do agree with her. So I have recently ordered a couple of products from some smaller companies to try, I will try & give you some feedback on them in another blog.
So what can you do in the meantime … honest conversation, now open your cleaning cupboard how many different bottles do you have in there?! Now don’t get me wrong I know how easy it is to be “influenced” with the world of social media, that person you follow with the stunning kitchen who uses product x. You rush out to buy it, hoping it will turn your kitchen into theirs, even though you’ve already got 2 bottles of kitchen spray. Did it completely transform your kitchen, into Instagram perfect …. No!
It doesn’t even need to be on social media, your friend or your mum starts using something they love, I bet any money the next shop you did you bought some.
I think you could do most of your home cleaning with the products below:
• Anti- bacterial Washing up liquid – the anti bac part is important if you use it to replace the bottle below.
• Kitchen spray – although personally I think there is not better degreaser than good old hot soapy water & I will explain below another product I use on my kitchen surfaces.
•Anti bacterial / bathroom spray
• Limescale spray – if your water is anything like ours in Shropshire, you will need this. Please buy a product that is pure limescale & not one of these that does everything including limescale, it won’t be strong enough & you will end up not using it!
• Floor cleaner
• Polish – if you want to think more about sustainability I absolutely love beeswax polish, it’s so good for your furniture, no nasty chemicals & you can normally get it in a glass jar too.
•Toilet gel / bleach
• Zoflora – my final recommendation is zoflora, I dilute it in a bottle to spray my kitchen with when I don’t use soap & water, you can put in down smelly drains, into toilets add some to your mop bucket. So many different smells to choose from, I would be impressed if you couldn’t find one you love.
Of course there are a few additional products that you may use because you love them, Shake n Vac is one I love. But for me there are 9 products that I could clean my whole house with!
Now please don’t rush to your cupboard & start throwing everything out, that’s not going to help anything. Just be aware of what’s in there, start to use all the bits & bobs up & next time your doing your cleaning product shop, think do I really need this.
I know your all thinking, how am I supposed to clean my windows … hot soapy water, with plenty of soap, a sponge & a good window cloth honestly it is a million times better than any window cleaning products I have tried.
Another simple thing you can do, if you have any hard floors in your house, sweep them rather than hoover.
I recently wrote the next point in another blog, take your shoes off at the door. You will be amazed how much dirt, even clean shoes have on them. Less dirt, means less cleaning which is a win win all round I would say!
I think the important thing to realize, you don’t need to change your whole world overnight to become more sustainable, but every tiny thing you can do will make a big difference.
I also know you are just one person, but if we all made a few tiny changes the impact would be huge!
I hope this is another blog to maybe get everyone thinking a little differently.