Written by: Jenni Keniston
There is something about the first warm days of Spring that inspires me to want to purge, organize and clean my entire home. Anyone else? Luckily, at Scoop Marketplace, I can find everything I need to help get my home squeaky clean. Best part about picking up all my supplies at Scoop is that I don’t have to worry about any unnecessary toxic chemicals or plastic packaging waste coming into my home.
Contrary to what most grocery store home-care aisles would try to make us believe, it only takes a few products to tackle most household cleaning tasks. Even better is that most of these natural, eco-friendly ingredients are items you probably already keep stocked in your pantry.
No-Fuss, Zero-Waste Cleaning Supplies:
- 16 oz Glass Spray Bottles
- All-Purpose Cleaner Mix (Liquid or Grains)
- Unpaper Towels
- Compostable Sponge
- Toilet Brush
- Essential Oils (if desired)
- Baking Soda
- White Vinegar
- Liquid Dish Soap or Castile Soap
- Olive Oil
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Nellie’s Oxygen Brightener
- Stainless Steel Funnels
- Bamboo Toothbrush (old ones that have retired from teeth cleaning)
All-Purpose Surface Cleaner
From countertops to bathroom fixtures to glass surfaces, a simple all-purpose cleaning mixture will usually do the job. I like the option of being able to mix a cleaner myself at home and avoid paying for the weight of the water. I just mix 1 tsp of Scoop’s All-Purpose Cleaning Grains with water in a 16 oz glass spray bottle and grab some Unpaper Towels for wiping.
Easy DIY All-Purpose Cleaner - Mix up ¼ cup vinegar, 1-½ cup water, ½ tsp on castile soap and your favorite combo of essential oils in a glass spray bottle.
Hard-To-Clean Surfaces
For those spots in the kitchen and bathroom that require a little extra elbow grease, my go-to ingredient is always baking soda. Just dump some baking soda on there, spritz with water to make a thick paste, let it sit for a while (depending on how thick the grim is) and then scrub away with a compostable sponge. This works great for cleaning the inside of the oven, removing caked-on stove top spills or dirty pans, bathtub grime and toilet bowls.
Dusting
For zero-waste dusting I like to use washable microfiber clothes. I always use a dry cloth or a wet cloth, or a combo of both, depending on the type of surface I am dusting. For the tough-to-wipe corners or materials, a vacuum with a brush hose attachment is a must. Just remember to always dust your rooms from ceiling to floor.
Wood Cleaner and Polish - Mix ½ cup of vinegar with ½ cup of olive oil in a 16 oz glass spray bottle plus lemon and lavender essential oils.
Wash Your Hands!
In the current world of COVID-19, we are all even more aware (than ever before) of the importance of keeping our hands clean. When I stop by Scoop to refill on cleaning supplies, I also bring my glass hand soap pump dispensers and small glass spray bottles. I highly recommend trying our new bulk Rosemary and Mint Hand Soap and our locally made bulk “Farm Hands” Hand Sanitizer Spray.
A few extra eco-friendly and healthy tips to help freshen up your living space:
- Did you know sunlight disinfects? Let the sun shine in or take your cleaning projects outdoors.
- Throw open the windows and let your home breathe in fresh air.
- Skip using the laundry drying machine and set up a clothesline or drying rack outside.
- I see this all the time on Pinterest for some reason, but don’t mix baking soda and vinegar in cleaning mixtures. They cancel each other out.
- I am a minimalist and a big supporter of purging one’s home of all items that are no longer needed or wanted. I also passionately believe that it is important to dispose of our “stuff” as responsibly as possible. Please attempt responsible (and respectful) alternatives before throwing items in the trash or dumping them off at a local donation center. Here are some of the routes I like to take:
- Post the items on a local gifting site such as your neighborhood Buy Nothing group to see if there is someone who wants or needs that specific item.
- Spring is a great time of year to host a rummage sale. Ask your friends or family members if they would like to team up to have a weekend yard sale.
- Find out if there are any local recycling programs, recycling centers or repair shops that could use the item. There are a lot of great resources in the Greater Seattle Area such as Ridwell, Recology, 1 Green Planet and Seattle ReCreative.
* Always test out a new cleaning mixture on an inconspicuous location before applying to the full surface. Even though these cleaning options are more natural, please always keep any and all cleaning products out of reach of children and pets.
