Be Green

There are plenty of eco-friendly ways to clean your space and they are not expensive.

USE REPURPOSED DUST RAGS. Use old t-shirts cut into large squares. You can even fashion an old towel or washcloth into a reusable swiffer cover to keep items out of the landfill as you go about your daily dusting chores.

REMOVE MOLD NATURALLY WITH VINEGAR Squirt vinegar on stubborn mold and mildew in your bathroom and let it soak for a few hours to kill the mold and then scrub it away. If that doesn't work, try making a paste of baking soda in a bit of water and apply it to affected areas to use as a gentle abrasive.

FRESHEN UP WITH BAKING SODA Baking soda can super-charge your dish soap to scrub baked-on residue away from your pots and pans. You can also use it for its odor-absorbing properties. The classic example is keeping a box in your fridge, but you can also sprinkle baking soda into carpets to keep them fresh — just be sure to vacuum up the excess the next day.

USE VINEGAR FOR AN ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER Try using some with a bit of recycled newspaper instead of Windex to clean glass and mirrors, or replace your rinse agent with vinegar in your dishwasher. You can also mix vinegar and water in equal parts to make an all-purpose floor mopping solution.

POLISH METAL WITH LEMON Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle the exposed fruit with salt, then use it as a scouring pad to polish metal. After a quick rinse and buffing with a soft cloth, your fixtures will look good as new.

Just about all of your homemade solutions will be cheaper and are better for the environment.

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Recycled clothes,