Go green: 25 spring cleaning tips

Two years ago, I was inspired by this article on earth-friendly (and wallet friendly) spring cleaning tips. (Update: I fixed the link)

One thing I hadn’t thought of before is that we have tons of hand towels and small square kitchen towels that never get used. So I put them in a little basket on the kitchen counter and we use them in place of paper towels--to cover food in the microwave, wiping down the counter or floors, etc. When they’re dirty, we put them in a laundry basket out in the garage near the washing machine, and when the basket is full, we wash all the cloths.

We also switched to cloth napkins--we had a few and I bought a set from TJ Maxx for super cheap, and then we happened to get some when Captain Caffeine’s grandmother died and we were cleaning out her house. She happened to have a ton that had never been used, so we took them and use them now. When they’re dirty, they get put in the laundry basket in the garage.

I also found a pattern and knitted a few Swiffer pads from leftover yarn, which I wash and reuse. They’ve actually been better than regular Swiffer pads because they’re textured and scrub better.

I reread the article yesterday and realized that a better way to clean the floor would be to use our own mopping solution, so I’ll write the recipe down so I’ll have it handy next time we clean the floors. We’ve been using a “lavender” scented PineSol solution that smells horribly strong and nothing like lavender.

What are some “green” cleaning tips that you have?