3 Green Tips for your home

All around the world we are celebrating the World Environment Day, but let’s take a step back and realise that saving the environment is more than just a day’s work. These green tips for your home and eco-friendly household cleaning tips and ideas will not just help you save money, but will also ensure that the products you use are safe for you and the earth.

Let me share with you some of the eco-friendly and go green ideas that I use in my daily life. It’s a habit that one needs to inculcate everyday and follow it too.  If you are looking for easy ways to clean without using any of the chemical options available in the market, you have already taken the first step.

Green Tips for your home

Make your own cleaning solution

Nothing works better than a mix of equal amounts of water and vinegar in a spray bottle. Add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to it and you have your custom cleansing solution. Use tea-tree or lemon essential oils for your kitchen solution. It will leave your kitchen fragrant and insect free too.

Use chemical free surface cleaners

Often in Pune, there is an Eco Market Street, which is something on the lines of a flea market. They stock and store all chemical free options and needless to say, that is one flea market I never tend to miss. I have discovered some of the best brands over there and also introduced my readers to them. My current favourite surface cleaners are from Strategi and Mitti Se (earlier known as Nirvaaha). Strategi has a lot of products but the surface cleaner is something that you really should try. I have been using Mitti Se for almost 4 years now and I wonder how I was using the chemical laden options!

Use stuff around from your home

I use a lot of things available in my kitchen to clean things at home. Lemon is the best veggie that you can use to clean things in your home. And well, there are other uses for things at your home too!

Clean your microwave.  Put a bowl of water with a few lemon wedges and run it for 2 minutes.  The steam will help loosen the hard particles or the food that’s stuck in the insides while the fragrance will help mask all odours.

Make a quick cleansing face pack.  Take two tbsps of gram flour and add a pinch of turmeric to it. Add the juice of half a lime and a tbsp of yogurt to make a paste. Apply on your face and neck for 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water. You have a chemical free face cleanser that works wonders on your skin!

Clean a clogged drain.  Pour down a cup of vinegar in the kitchen sink and let it stay for about an hour. Pour some cold water down the drain to unclog it. Once a while pour down a mug or two of hot water to clean the drain from any clogging or grime build up.

Use some salts.  Add the juice of a lemon and sprinkle salt on plastic chopping boards to naturally clean and disinfect it.

Make some cloth dusters.  Turn your old tees, towels or linen into cloth mops or dusters that you can use in the house. It will also help you recycle all your old things and put it into good use. You won’t need the paper rolls anymore!

Clean the toilet bowls.  Add a cup of concentrated vinegar to the toilet bowls and let it stand for an hour before you use a toilet brush to scrub clean and get rid of the toilet rings.

Not very comprehensive, but simple and easy green tips for your home. These are some of the things that I do most of the time to ensure that I am doing my bit to save the environment. Share with me some of your favorite green and eco-friendly cleaning tips and ideas. What are your green tips for your home?