Zero Waste Cleaning aka Saving the World One Room At A Time
A house is not truly clean if the process of cleaning it has resulted in all kinds of unnecessary waste.
- Kathryn Martinko
Zero Waste cleaning is not only better for the environment, but also your wallet. Conventional cleaning products are often packed in plastic, not biodegradable, and not safe for our environment - would you want to swim in your shower cleaner?
We’ve put together some tried and tested tips and recipes for DIY cleaning in your home, and don’t forget Unapckaged also stock ready to use products that are septic safe and low-tox.
Kitchen
After washing and drying your cutting boards, rub half a lemon over them to disinfect and get them smelling great.
Mopping floors - Mix 2 tablespoons Castile Soap in 1 L hot water to wash your floors.
Washing Liquid - Use Castile Soap as a dishwashing liquid. It doesn’t suds up like other detergents, but the properties are still there to help wash your dishes OR bring in a jar and get some Carnation dishwashing liquid concentrate at Unpackaged. This concentrate is great at washing dishes and is septic safe.
Living Room
Odd socks or old socks are great as hand dusters. Even better, socks fit on kids’ hands too! Get the kids involved in your dusting.
Stains on the carpet or the rug? Spot clean the area with a cloth and (a very small amount of) washing liquid. Spray vinegar over the stain/spill and then sprinkle bicarbonate soda over the top.
The bicarb will fizz up slightly. Let it sit for 20 minutes.
Wipe off with a warm cloth. You may need to repeat the steps above for tough stains.
Always do a test patch first!
Bathroom
DIY Dry Shampoo - grab an old spice or powder jar to make it easy to apply.
Mix 2 TBSP of Arrowroot Powder with 1 TSP Cacao Powder (omit the cacao powder for lighter hair). Add in 2 drops of your favourite essential oils. Shake.
Sprinkle the mixture onto your scalp and hair roots, then work in with fingertips. You can use a clean makeup brush to apply to the roots.
Make sure you allow the product to sit for a couple of minutes before styling.
DIY Mirror Cleaner - mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of vinegar. Add in a couple of drops of essential oils (lemon is nice). Give it a shake and then spray onto your mirrors, windows, and splashbacks.
We’ve found that an old T-shirt is great as a rag for this job.
Laundry
Dryer balls are 100% biodegradable and will reduce your tumble dryer time by up to 25% (or more in Tammy’s personal experience.)
Wash in cold water and reduce your energy use, and improve the longevity of your clothes.
Stainless steel pegs will last you a lifetime. Grab marine-grade pegs and you don’t ever need to worry about them rusting, or bringing them out of the rain.
No more crumbling plastic pegs in the peg basket!
Stain remover - use our carpet/rug stain remover as above. Always do a test patch first.
Join an Unpackaged DIY workshop to learn even more ways to help reduce plastic and single-use items, whilst also saving yourself time and money.
Check out our current workshops available here
Do you have any tips on reducing waste when cleaning?