You know it’s that time of year again when the air smells crisper, the flowers are blooming and the days are brighter, longer.  The urge to get outside and enjoy the fresh air increases, and so does the itch to clean out and re-organize the cave you’ve been hibernating in all winter.

Keep it green while spring cleaning this year, and everything will be a whole lot fresher!

Eaze up on the Febreze.  Open your windows!   It may not be known to be harmful but air fresheners like febreze are mainly made up of water and come in large plastic spray bottles or aerosol cans.  It also creates build-up on anything you spray it on and although it may smell fresh, it’s not making the air in your home clean.  Use water from your tap mixed with a little essential oil (like lavender) as a room spray.  With your window’s open and some lavender mist in the air, what could be better?

Keep the dirt out.  Invest in a good door mat.  It’s surprising how much dirt can get tracked into the house on a daily basis.  Keeping a door mat at all the entrances to your home will keep dirt from travelling through, providing a cleaner, healthier space for you and your family. Yes, it’s that simple.

Two Ingredients.  You’ve heard this before: You can use baking soda and vinegar for almost everything.  Stay away from those toxic chemicals and stick with the good ‘ol B&V.  Baking soda deodorizes and can scrub away build-up while vinegar kills bacteria and mold.

Sort out your stuff.  Although it may all feel like garbage to you, when you’re purging your closets, cupboards and storage rooms keep in mind the saying that someone’s else’s garbage is another man’s treasure.  Donate, recycle or sell the stuff you don’t want before you throw anything away.

Try holding your own swap party.  Pick a theme like books, clothing or tools and have your friends and family bring over items they don’t want.  You can trade or sell to each other and make a celebration of it!  The free store is also becoming a new trend where you can drop off items you don’t want and take something home with you for free.  Yup, shoplifting is encouraged!  In Vancouver, Rhizome Cafe (organic!) holds monthly free stores just like a swap party with a different theme each month.  Check it out!

Be creative.  Although it’s tempting to go out and buy plastic containers to solve your organizing dilemma’s it’s not always the best answer. Some of the simplest ideas are also the most economical and environmental.  Such as storing your sheets inside their pillowcases rather than those plastic linen bags.  You can also check out your local liquor store for wine crates.  If you make a donation to charity, you can take those funky wooden crates home with you for storage! 

Brighten up.  We all love are whites to be whiter but who wants to pour chlorine bleach all over our bamboo sheets and organic cotton towels?  Try throwing in a cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide (the same kind used for cuts and scrapes) into your load of whites and you’ll see a difference without the toxins.  Hang those lovey’s up to dry outside or in front of a window and they will scream clean!

Sources:  Granville Magazine, Treehugger.