Care for the environment as you care for your home.

3 Green Spring Cleaning Tips You May Not Have Considered

1. Add a little greenery. Clean the air in your home naturally and install living air filters. Houseplants! Some of the most efficient air-cleaning houseplants include Spider plants, English ivy, rubber plants, and peace lilies. You’ll need 15 to 18 medium-sized (6 to 8-inch diameter container) houseplants for the average 1,800 square foot house. If that sounds like a lot, place a few plants in the room where you spend the most time.

2. De-clutter your wardrobe. So many of go through our clothes at the change of seasons. Donate gently worn items to charity, where they’ll get a second life, and donate torn and stained items (if they’re made of an absorbent fabric) to your rag collection, where they’ll replace wasteful paper towels. As you’re packing up your winter sweaters, replace those stinky mothballs with a natural and better-smelling version. We like to stuff an unpaired sock with cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and whole cloves and tie it at the end.

3. Paint your walls green. If your spring cleaning plans involve a fresh coat of paint, consider the VOC content of the paint when choosing your paint. VOC’s, or Volatile Organic Compounds, are chemicals that form vapors at room temperature. Some VOC’s, like the ones in many paints, contribute to smog and indoor air pollution, and can cause a host of short- and long-term health problems. The good news is that many paint manufacturers have started making low- or no-VOC paints. The bad news is that many of those manufacturers have simply substituted VOC’s with other non-VOC-yet-still-toxic chemicals. Be informed!

Here’s a link to some great home-made cleaning products and solutions from HGTV.