We hope your January is going well so far, and that you got through “Blue Monday” without too much trouble! If you’re still feeling blue, we’ve got some super green eco-tips headed your way to help bring your goal of having a more sustainable 2021 into your cleaning routine. It’s more fun than it sounds - honestly.
Once again, don’t let the stress of being absolutely 100% perfectly sustainable or big, vague, unattainable goals frustrate you and hinder your progress! Every little change can make a big difference. Stains, spills, and sticky surfaces; your days are numbered! Here comes part 2 of Wild's Sustainable Swaps...
Sustainable cleaning 101
"My laundry process will be 100% eco" = I will take significant steps to reduce the inadvertent pollution that laundry causes.
There’s no such thing as perfection but there are lots of little things you can do to make your laundry much greener (...you know what we mean). Firstly, we would recommend our fellow eco-company Smol! Their laundry pods have an eco-formula and come in bespoke packaging which minimises cardboard and fits right through your letterbox (a bit like Wild!). No more big plastic bags and boxes full of laundry pods! Smol also have some other great eco-cleaning products on offer – well worth a browse! Secondly, if you use a tumble dryer instead of hanging your laundry out, this would be another good opportunity for a sustainable swap. Tumble dryers are notoriously expensive to run due to the amount of energy they use (and hence are big baddies for increasing household energy consumption and pollutants). Not only will you save on your electricity bill by air drying your clothes, you could also make your clothes last longer. Dryers tend to weaken the materials and can shorten their lifespan meaning you have to replace them more often!
"My cleaning routine will be completely eco and there will never be any waste from now on!" = I will swap to some sustainable alternatives where I can only throw a cleaning product or utensil away when it is truly unsalvageable.
There are loads of great swaps for cleaning that sometimes it can be overwhelming to choose! Here are some ideas to help you begin the process of green cleaning. You can use old t-shirts and bath towels in the kitchen for cleaning up spills or wiping down surfaces rather than buying disposable kitchen towel rolls, which are single use and usually wrapped in plastic (boo!). Old rags can be washed (with your new eco laundry detergent!) and used again and again – although if there is a particularly catastrophic spill, it’s ok if they too reach the end of their life. Home-made cleaners can be another great way to cut back on the amount of plastic bottles in your cleaning cupboard. Bicarbonate of soda is about to be your best friend – it’s a godsend for cleaning purposes and beautifully sustainable (which is why it was permitted to be in Wild ingredients – we’re very picky when it comes to ingredients!) Check out these great cleaner recipes and let us know how you get on! A personal favourite from some of us at Wild is a coconut washing brush! It lasts for AGES, means no more nasty plastic scrubbers or sponges that disintegrate and smell funny, and it’s a dream to use – Coconut Dreams you say? 😉 EcoVibe is a great site which has a fantastic range of eco-cleaning goodies. #Treatyourself
Just before we go, it’s important to say that, whilst we’ve suggested a couple of new eco-products you can invest in, the most eco-friendly way to do anything, including cleaning, is to use up what you already have! If you have 2 bottles of surface spray, use them first! If you have a whole box of laundry pods, work through those before opening your new ones (and then maybe you can use the box again to store your eco-friendly alternative)! With extra kitchen towel, you might not necessarily have to use it all up first, but perhaps that can be reserved for the real disasters that could send your reusable rags to the bin.
Share this article and comment with any of your own tips, or tell us how you get on with any of these! We can’t wait to hear about the sustainable swaps you’ve all made in your cleaning routines.
