How to Green Your Spring Cleaning

Nothing like the thought of spring to make you want to clear the junk out of your house and make everything sparkle! Here’s how to do it without your junk ending up in the landfill and your house full of cleaning chemicals.

  1. You know the old saying: one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. When de-cluttering, take a good look at what you’re getting rid of and make sure that it is going to the right places:
    • Gently worn clothes (including shoes, jackets, mitts, jewelry, etc.) can be donated to many non-profit organizations, both to clothe those that aren’t as fortunate as many of us, or to sell to a second-hand store to raise money.
    • The same goes for household items…everything from small kitchen appliances, artwork, or that crystal candy dish that your great-aunt gave you at your wedding 15 years ago (and that still hasn’t been taken out of the box!).
  2. Take advantage of the City of Edmonton’s reuse and recycling initiatives.
    • Have you ever heard of the Re-Use Centre? The Reuse Centre accepts various items from Edmonton residents free of charge and makes them available to organizations and individuals for reuse. Go to their website to read the long list of items that you can drop of there!
    • The Reuse and Recycling Directory will provide you with a listing of charities, businesses and City services that can reuse, recycle or dispose of your unwanted household items.
  3. When it comes to making your house sparkle, consider what you are using for cleaning supplies. Most of the conventional cleaning products we all grew up with are petroleum-based and have dubious health and environmental implications. Do you really want those chemicals around your house; your children; your pets? You have two options to make your house shine in a green way.
    • Use a natural cleaner. There are new companies cropping up all the time with amazing cleaning products to clean your dishes, your laundry, your floors, your appliances. There really is no need to buy the mainstream toxic concoction. Some product lines that are favourites of the TulaJane sustainability coaching team include Seventh Generation, Ecover and BioVert.
    • Never underestimate the cleaning power of basic, unassuming, household ingredients like baking soda and vinegar. For some great recipes for cleaning your entire house go to Vinegar and Baking Soda Cleaning Recipes