Day 7: Zero Waste Cleaning
A lot of cleaning products go straight into our water system.
Dish soap goes down the sink.
Dishwasher detergent down the drain.
Laundry detergent, all purpose cleaner, toilet cleaner, stain remover….. the list is endless!
Often these products use REALLY harsh chemicals which then go on to pollute and damage our environment. UGH.
The big challenge I find is the trade off between something working well and something being environmentally responsible.
I’m not going to lie, sometimes I just have to accept that I’m going to have to scrub a little harder to get the same results.
At Nude Foods Market we are HYPER strict on the environmental impact of our cleaning products. SO many ‘eco-products’ are guilty of major green washing and we refuse to be a part of that. If it’s stocked at Nude Foods, you know it is the absolute top of the range in terms of its eco-credentials.
Here’s a run down of easy ways to zero waste your cleaning closet:
| What? | Buy it | DIY / More Info |
| All Purpose Cleaner | Valencia Orange All Purpose Cleaner | Mix 1/4 cup baking soda and 1 cup vinegar, pour into basin and let it set for a few minutes. Scrub with brush and rinse. For rust stains, spray with vinegar and leave overnight before brushing with baking soda |
| Dish Soap | Dish Soap or a dish soap bar | Check out this recipe. Although honestly, it’s a lot easier to just buy this! |
| Dishwasher Detergent | Blueland Dishwasher Tabs or , locally-made grapefruite pomegranate detergent | 1 cup Washing soda 1 cup Borax ½ cup salt ½ cup citric acidMix together and store tightly covered in a Mason Jar. Use one tablespoon per load. Add vinegar to the rinse dispenser for the best results. |
| Laundry Detergent | Laundry detergent by ECOS Laundry Sheets, Laundry Tablets by Blueland, Laundry Pods or Moon Valley Organics Laundry Detergent | Home-made laundry detergent is hotly debated but if you want to give it a go, here’s how. |
| Toilet Paper | Earth First Toilet Paper | If you’re feeling SUPER hardcore there’s something called ‘Family Cloth.’ Yep, you guessed it, it’s REUSABLE toilet paper. |
| Paper Towels | Try these cellulose cleaning cloths. Outlasts 15 rolls of paper towels! 100% biodegradable, natural, and reusable. Dishwasher, washer/dryer, and microwave safe. | OR reusable cloths are awesome. Just wash and reuse. And for ultimate sustainability, grab those stained / ripped clothes you no longer want, cut them up and use them as cloths. When my kids were still in (cloth) diapers, I used these instead of wet wipes, keeping them damp in a little bag to use when out and about. |
| Dryer Balls | Dryer Balls | Dryers are one of the worst culprits for pointless energy consumption in the home.
Personally I use a drying rack for 95% of my drying. In the Colorado climate they dry super fast plus last so much longer because don’t get damaged by the heat. The only thing I use the dryer for is towels as they seem to go all crusty if you let them dry naturally. Adding dryer balls to your dryer helps make the drying more effective so uses less energy. |
| Scouring Pads | Scouring Pads | Pretty sure you can’t make these yourself…. |
| Cleaning Cloths | Skoy Scrubs are awesome | The brightly colored skoy scrubs seem to be able to scrub things clean while not being so abrasive that they damage anything. I then just throw them in the dishwasher or washing machine and they come up looking great! |
| Spray bottles | Stainless Steel Spray Bottle | Or reuse what you already have. Plastic spray bottles can last for years so don’t recycle them until you really have to (remember the sprayer portion is NOT recyclable.) |
| Wooden Broom | Wooden Brooms | You can get SUPER expensive brooms but they’re also cheap to pick up at places like Home Depot. |
| Dustpan and Brush | This recycled version from our friends at Earth Hero | My mom bought me a wood and stainless steel set and honestly, I wish I could display it somewhere it’s so nice! |
| Toilet Brush | Plastic-free toilet brush | If you already have plastic brushes, don’t chuck them out as they can last for YEARS and I just don’t think there’s much of a second hand market for them LOL. |
| Dish Brush | Plastic Free Dish Brush | We often have these available in store at Nude Foods. |