Over the past decade or so, I have slowly converted all of my “traditional” cleaning products into reusable and natural products. I did the process very slowly, because it can be both expensive and intimidating to change out all of the products that you know and love! I wanted to outline some easy switches that you can make that will be healthier for your family, the environment, and your pets… and they work better and smell better too!

Ditch the paper products

The first swap I made was ditching the paper towels for kitchen towels. I do still keep a roll of paper towels on hand for extra gross clean up (think cat vomit), but one roll lasts us about six months or more. If you do a quick search, you will see that there are thousands of “unpaper towel” options, but they can be expensive, and in my opinion, they are completely unnecessary. Instead I bought several packages of washcloths from Target (you can also find them here on Amazon) for just a few dollars. I have white for the kitchen and blue for bathroom. They work so well for all types of messes, and I still have some of my original cloths from 10 years ago! I also think diaper prefolds make great paper towel subs, if you have any extra. We also use cloth napkins, and cloth pads, but I do draw the line at reusable toilet paper. If you are a cloth diaper mama, I can see cloth toilet paper being no big deal! These easy paper swaps save so much money and greatly reduce household waste.

Get rid of the Swiffer

I hated how much waste my Swiffer was using, but I loved the convenience of it. Luckily, it is easy to find reusable Swiffer pads now, both wet and dry. I also don’t use the solution that you can buy. Instead I use a 50/50 mix of vinegar and hot water, and occasionally add a few drops of cinnamon oil for a cozy scent. I keep 7 of these pads on hand, because I like to clean the tile floors every day, and only do laundry once a week. It is so much cheaper too. I was wasting way too much money on the mop pads!

Make your own surface cleaning sprays

It was really hard for me to stop using the yummy scented sprays for the kitchen and bathroom surfaces, but even the natural brands aren’t the best in terms of plastic waste. It took me a while, but I eventually bought a set of amber glass bottles, and started making my own sprays. I use the same sprays for all cleaning, and then add baking soda if I need to do extra scrubbing. I keep one bottle of straight vinegar (for extra strength cleaning), one bottle of 50/50 vinegar and distilled water (for general wiping and cleaning), and one bottle with 50/50 distilled water and vinegar, with an added spoonful of dish soap (which works really well on glass). If I am feeling extra domestic I will add some orange or lemon peels to the mix, for a nice scent. I usually have to refill these once a month. I also try to find vinegar in glass bottles instead of plastic.

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Have you made any changes to reduce waste in your home? I would love to hear any tips you have! I recently started carrying sets of eating utensils and straws in my diaper bag, so I no longer have to use disposable plastic when eating on the run, and it’s been much easier and more convenient than I thought it would be.