Green Business Spotlight | GreenEarth Cleaning

One area where I don't feel like I have "adulting" down properly is in the world of having clothes dry cleaned. I'm honestly far too lazy to keep on a schedule of bringing clothes to the dry cleaner and picking them up, and I don't own too many "dry clean only" pieces in the first place.

But dry cleaning is an important part of keeping your clothes in pristine condition, especially if their care requires it over regular machine washing. And when it comes to sustainability, ensuring that your clothes last as long as possible helps to keep a lot of textile waste out of landfills.

The drawback is that the conventional dry cleaning process is not very eco-friendly, especially with the chemicals used. PERC is a common dry cleaning solvent that has been reduced over the years, but can still be found, and it's a volatile organic solvent that that can pose serious health hazards, per OSHA. Plus, PERC can be the culprit behind making plush items clumpier, like comforters or stuffed jackets.

Photo courtesy GreenEarth Cleaning

However, there is a greener alternative, and that's where GreenEarth Cleaning comes in.

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New Year Organization: Decluttering

Decluttering is always a popular topic around the beginning of the year, and as we move into spring cleaning season. In my Times of Acadiana column last week, I shared a few ways to donate or recycle items you don't need so that you don't just throw everything on the curb for the trash guys to pick up.

There are so many options that it can be overwhelming to send everything to its proper destination, but I'm aiming to make it easier for you with a list of common items and the places they can go, so you don't have to do the research. However, I won't be coming to your house to do your cleaning out, so you're on your own there.

From clothing to housewares to books to home renovation materials, there’s a place to donate and recycle just about anything in your home. Sort and group your items that can be reused so you can donate them to different organizations.

Clothing/Shoes/Accessories

Fairly new clothing (especially children’s and infant clothing), shoes and accessories can be brought to consignment shops, where you can make a small amount of money back. Some stores in the Acadiana area are Clothing Loft, Clothes Mentor, Plato's Closet, and Once Upon a Child.

Older clothing can be donated to organizations like Arc of Acadiana, The Extra Mile, Salvation Army or Goodwill.

There are also tons of online consignment shops, like ThredUp or Tradesy, although the process may take a bit longer than doing it locally.

Garage Sales

If you’ve got a large collection of a variety of items, consider holding a garage sale. You’ll get rid of a lot of stuff that can be reused, and you’ll make a little cash in the process. Garage sales can be kind of a pain in the butt to prepare for, from sorting through all your stuff, pricing everything, getting the word out, and then waking up before the sun on a Saturday, but the payoff is usually worth it.

Visit my blog post from last January that details how to host your own garage sale.

Online Exchanges

If a garage sale isn’t your thing, try selling items individually online through Facebook marketplace groups (my husband's site of choice!) or other exchange apps/websites like Ebay, Letgo, or Craigslist.

And if you exchange goods within Lafayette, take advantage of the new safe exchange location in the Lafayette Police Department parking lot, thanks to Councilwoman Liz Webb Hebert! The spaces are surrounded by cameras that capture images of the transaction, along with vehicle license plates. The goal of the safe exchange location is to make buyers and sellers feel more at ease while making sale transactions.

Household Items

Donate household items to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. They accept furniture, appliances, working light fixtures, home decor, hardware, and even some construction material. They’ll also pick up larger items if you call and schedule a time with them. If you're remodeling at home, donate old fixtures still in working condition - including fans, sinks, cabinets, or lighting. (The ReStore is also a great place to purchase items!)

If you’re decluttering later in the year, donate your stuff to Hospice of Acadiana for their annual thrift sale. Check out my blog post from last fall on the annual thrift sale. Last year, they accepted:

• Baby and toy items 
• China/crystal/collectibles
• Christmas and Mardi Gras decor
• Garden/outdoor items
• Home decor
• Jewelry/boutique items
• Kitchen items
• Small appliances
• Linens
• Bath items
• Small furniture pieces
• Wall art

Random, Miscellaneous Items

Freecycle! Offer good items to friends, family or neighbors. You never know who may be in need of something, and on the flip side, you never know when they might have something you need.

A few months back, I cleaned out in my office's copy room, and realized just how many notepads we had stored up that no one used. I simply posted a photo on my Facebook profile asking if anyone needed some spares, and the stack was spoken for within a day! Although the paper is all recyclable, I didn't want to dispose of perfectly usable items, and I knew that there would be places who would gladly accept free notepads.
 

Books, CDs, DVDs

The Friends of the Lafayette Public Library is a nonprofit organization that manages donations and runs a semiannual book sale to raise funds for the Lafayette Public Library.

Located next to United Way of Acadiana on Pinhook, and equipped with a handy dropbox, the Friends take books, CDs and DVDs, but not encyclopedias, textbooks or magazines.

Textbooks

Last year, I researched where to recycle textbooks, because it can be difficult to find somewhere to send them. While I believe many college textbooks these days are digital, there's still a good chance you've got paper textbooks taking up space at home.

• Books for Africa
• Green Textbooks
• Better World Book
• Textbook Recycling
• Recycle Your Textbook

Household Cleaners, Paint, Pesticides, and Chemicals

Collect any household cleaners, pesticides, paint or chemicals for Lafayette’s semiannual Household Chemical Day. Typically held in spring and fall, the event is open to residents of Lafayette and unincorporate areas of the parish. The collected materials are recycled or properly disposed.

• Chemical cleaners
• Gasoline
• Herbicides
• Mercury thermometers
• Paint and paint products
• Paint thinner and stripper
• Pesticides
• Photographic chemicals
• Pool chemicals
• Stains
• Turpentine

 

Electronics

Bring your electronic waste to Household Chemical Day as well, or bring items (like old computer monitors, keyboards, cords, cell phones or phone chargers) to Best Buy or Office Depot.

Electronic items that are accepted at Household Chemical Day:

• Laptops
• Computer hardware
• Computer accessories
• Telephones and telephone systems
• Cell phones/bag phones
• Security systems
• DVD movies and video games
• MP3 and DVD players
• XBoxes, Playstations, Wii
• Digital cameras and DVRs
• Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS)
• Circuit boards (any type)
• Networking equipment
• Fax machines
• Processors
• Telephone and computer cables
• Printers
• Toner and ink jet cartridges
• Stereos
• Portable GPS devices
• Flat screen monitors

Recycling information for these items (through medication) is courtesy of Lafayette Consolidated Government.

Televisions and computer monitors smaller than 32"

Best Buy
Office Depot (fees may apply)

Rechargeable Batteries

Best Buy takes lithium ion only
Batteries Plus

Automotive Batteries

Louisiana Scrap Metal
Most Automotive Stores (AutoZone, Firestone, Advance Auto Parts, Pep Boys)

Motor Oil or Antifreeze

Most automotive stores
Wal-Mart

Compressed Gas Cylinders

Ameri-Gas: 2317 N. University Ave.

Tires

Public Works South District Yard, 1017 Fortune Road (ph: 291-7072)
Colt Inc. Scrap Tire Center

Compact Fluorescent (CFL) Bulbs

Home Depot
Lowe's

Appliances

Louisiana Scrap Metal
Once a month curbside collection (check LCG's Bulky Waste map for your designated week)

Fire Extinguishers

Gulf Land Fire Safety Inc., Carencro, La.

Medication

Most local pharmacies (call ahead)

Mardi Gras Beads

Donate them to LARC or Arc of Acadiana. Both organizations repair and resell beads, providing employment and proceeds for people with developmental disabilities. This is one of my favorite things to do every year after Mardi Gras, so that beads can be reused and not trashed. (And if you're riding on a Mardi Gras float - purchase your beads from one of the two retailers!)

In Lafayette, if you're going to be at Le Festival de Mardi Gras at Cajun Field, drop your beads in the truck near the stage - all collected beads go to LARC for sorting, repairing and reselling.

Plastic Bags

As I wrote more about in last week's Photo Friday post, recycle your plastic bags at:

• Rouses Markets
• Robie's in Abbeville
• Target
• Albertson's

As always, be sure to check with any organization to confirm they can accept your donations or items for recycling - before you load up the car.

Is there an item you want to get rid of that isn't in the list above? Leave a comment here, or email me, and I'll do some research for you, and add it to the list!

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New Year Organization | How to Host a Garage Sale

So you're cleaning out at home, and you're racking up a decent pile of stuff to get rid of. Donating is always a good option, but if you've got enough stuff, why not try to make a little extra money from it?

Image: Red Oak, TX

Coming from a garage-sale childhood, I can attest that they are both awesome and horrible at the same time. We held one every few years and it was always very successful, and we'd compete to see who sold the most stuff. At the same time, I have great memories of going garage-saling with my mother. We would plan our route when the weekly classified paper would come out, then load up in the truck and make our morning trip. We found so many treasures on those trips, from clothes to household goods to furniture, and I'm sure it had some impact on my future as your favorite crazy treehugging blogger.

Pros:

• Cleans out the house.
• Recycling your goods instead of throwing them out.
• Money in ya pocket!

Cons:

• WHY ARE THEY SO EARLY IN THE MORNING?
• The planning.

As a child and teenager, there's nothing worse than getting up at 5am on a Saturday. As an adult, I might be able to tolerate it a little more. The pros outweigh the cons here, especially when it comes to some $$$.

Now, I have been living with my fiance for almost two years now, and for those two years, we have talked about having our own garage sale. It's a common story for many couples: move in together, combine things from two separate apartments, and have a lot of duplicates.

And now, for what I'm kind of embarrassed to admit: we still haven't had that garage sale. We still have most of that extra stuff in storage. But this is the year. (Yes, wedding year, but that's not what I mean right now.) This is the year we have that garage sale. And you can thank my mother for prodding us along, basically by saying she and my dad were going to have their own. And we said, "That's a great idea! We'll bring our stuff over to sell!"

#Adulting: Mooching off your parents' garage sale because you haven't gotten around to having your own.

I Want to Have a Garage Sale. What Do I Do?

• Start collecting your items. Go through all closets: clothes, shoes, accessories, jewelry, purses, outerwear. Go through the kitchen and dining room. Go through your bathroom (hey, why not sell those hotel bottles of shampoo you took but never use?) Go through kids' toys. Go through your movie and CD collections. Go through the holiday decorations. Drink some wine while you do all this, because it's tedious.
• Pick a date and force yourself to stick to it. Give yourself enough time to collect all your items. Two months out is pretty ideal. One month is pretty rushed. Four or more months, and you'll probably talk yourself out of doing it. Consider holidays and typical weather for the time of year you're interested in.
• Begin pricing your items and keeping an inventory list. There are a few ways to price: Use blank labels from an office supply store and write your prices in, use preprinted price stickers, or just make signs to hang above your groups (All Tops $2, All Shoes $5, etc.) While this might seem like the easiest way, it can get a little hectic on the morning of your sale, when someone comes up with a massive pile of stuff and you have to remember what each price is, because it's not labeled. I prefer stickers so I can clearly see what I priced something.
• Find tables/racks for your goods. You'll need something to lay your items out on. If you use folding tables or your patio table, you may want to mark it "Not for Sale", because someone will probably try to buy them. If you're selling furniture, use it to hold smaller items. Rolling wardrobe racks are great for hanging clothes. If you can't find or borrow those, use some rope tied to anchors or between carport columns. Ask around to see who might have tables you can borrow.
• Start publicizing your sale. Your newspaper's classified section is still a great place to advertise your garage sale, because you'll be included with other sales, and people can plan out their itinerary. Plan to advertise about two weeks in advance, and the week of your sale. In today's age, it's common to share everything on Facebook, but by advertising your garage sale online, even just by sharing a status, you are sharing your address with the world. Don't sacrifice your privacy or safety!
• Get money to use for change. I asked my mom for guidance on this one, but she says she can never remember the best combination of bills to get. You'll want a few hundred dollars' worth of change to cover yourself. Stick with more smaller bills ($1, $5, $10) and just have a few larger bills ($20). Don't forget to note how much cash you're starting with, because you'll need to subtract it from your sale revenue to figure out your profit.
• Stock on up plastic shopping bags. It kills me to even say this, but when you're planning a garage sale, choose plastic bags at the store, so you'll have enough on hand to use for your shoppers. Or, just ask friends and family for their spare plastic bags. (If you're a garage sale shopper, bring your cloth bags!)
• Ask friends or family for assistance. You might need a few sales associates to work the floor. Offer them a portion of the profits or free lunch and beer.
• Get your items ready. If you have an enclosed garage, you can put all your items out on display the night before. If you have an open driveway, keep your items right inside the house for security, and just carry everything out the morning of.
• Go to bed early! 4:00 on a Saturday morning is early AF.

The morning of your garage sale, get up early, make some coffee, and maybe send someone to pick up donuts (garage sale-day Meche's donuts are the best Meche's donuts!) If you advertised your garage sale to start at 6 a.m., expect people to show up ridiculously early - like 5 a.m. You can turn them away, or let them have first pick. Most times it's flea market owners or antiquers looking for the best selection.

Your garage sale may get pretty busy, so just stay calm! Negotiate with shoppers and keep an eye on everything so that someone doesn't walk away with a 100% discount.

By around 11:00 or noon, shoppers will wind down and it's time for you to close up shop! Box up whatever's left and save it for a donation. Count up your profits and take a nap. You've just completed your own garage sale!

Have you held a garage sale before? How was your experience??

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Reuse for Greener Cleaning

Nothing in life is free, but of course there are things you would prefer to spend your money on. I'd bet that cleaning rags are not one of those things.

Fortunately, being eco-friendly about your cleaning rags is one of the easier switches to make.

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Keep Your Floors and the Planet Clean

You've got at least one in your cleaning supplies, don't you? Pretty much everyone does. The thing that rhymes with...Miffer Meeper.

They're maddeningly convenient, and they get the job done.

They also get rull expensive when you have to keep buying refill boxes, and they're competing with K Cups to see who can be the most wasteful single-use item.

Step away from the single-use fiber sheets and learn about the greener alternatives!

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cleaner dish detergents

Now that you're well on your way to greening your cleaning supplies, this week we'll look at dish detergent, for both hand washing and dishwashers. Some of those same chemicals found in your sponges can also be in your dish detergent.

How clean is your cleaning, really? You have to eat off those plates!

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greening your kitchen sink

First things first, washing dishes by hand sucks. Oh, is that just me?

I love having a dishwasher, and I love using our dishwasher. If I'm washing something by hand, it's usually because I need to use it in .2 seconds or because it's too delicate or big for the dishwasher.

But whether you're a manual washer or automatic washer, chances are, you use a sponge in your sink. I use one to clean gradoo off plates and out of bowls before loading into the dishwasher. (Don't even get me started on prewashing before loading!)

Now back up a minute, and put the sponge down. Take a look at it. It's probably made of plastic, aka, it's essentially made of petroleum. Got an antibacterial sponge? It's most likely treated with triclosan, an environmentally harmful pesticide that's been damaging aquatic ecosystems for awhile.

Tell me there ain't a better way to clean them dishes!

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say bye to artificial dyes

While we're working on greening your laundry routine, let's go to the beginning. It's time to wash ya dirty clothes. Whether you use powder, liquid or detergent pods, you are probably cleaning your clothes in a mess of chemicals and artificial dyes.

While you see Spring Mist, Island Fresh or Ocean Escape on the label, that fragrance alone could be a combination of several hundred chemicals, including many that are hazardous. According to Mother Earth Living, laundry detergents are often derived from petrochemicals and contain synthetic fragrances, even when they're marketed as “fragrance-free.” Optical brighteners are found in many detergent formulas; they're additives that emit blue light, making whites appear whiter. They tend to stay in clothes after washing, which can cause skin irritation. They also decompose relatively slowly and can be toxic to marine life. (If you want more detail on which ingredients are the most harmful, check out Mother Earth Living's list of laundry chemicals to avoid.)

So what's the alternative to washing your clothes in chemicals?

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soft clothes, minus the static and the chemicals

Dryer sheets make your clothes smell good and help reduce static electricity. But in order to function that way, they're loaded with chemicals, including toluene, styrene and phenol, which can cause acute respiratory tract inflammation and irritation, according to an Anderson Laboratories study. And that's in addition to aggravating some people's skin, especially if you're sensitive to synthetic dyes and perfumes. And it's not cool when your clean clothes cause you to break out or get a rash.

There are better and more natural ways to get soft, static-free clothes! 

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november 15 is america recycles day!

Put down your trash and mark your calendars for this Saturday, November 15: America Recycles Day! In the same way I like to say I act as if every day were Earth Day, I also tend to act as if every day were America Recycles Day.

 

Organized by Keep America Beautiful in partnership with Waste Management, AMCOR, Johnson & Johnson, Northrop Grumman, Pilot and the American Chemistry Council, America Recycles Day aims to bring recycling education and action to the country in fun ways.

This year, America Recycles Day focuses on what can be recycled. With the national recycling rate slightly above 34 percent, Americans have the opportunity to capture more material for recycling by recycling correctly. Confusion about what can be recycled curbside is among the common barriers to recycling more.

Visit the America Recycles Day website to learn more and find local events.

Another fun way to get involved on a personal level is to enter the ARD #recyclingselfie contest. You've got 10 days left to enter the contest, simply by posting a recycling selfie on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Tumblr and tagging it with #recyclingselfie.

Visit IWantToBeRecycled.org to find your nearest recycling center, and learn the facts about what materials can be recycled and what they can become in their new lives.

How do you plan to take part in America Recycles Day on Saturday?

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#YARDWORK

This past Saturday was a big day for Lafayette. Over 3,000 students and volunteers came together under the organization of United Way of Acadiana for a Day of Action, also known as the UL Big Event. One of the many volunteer projects was Community Releaf, where 200 trees will be planted at parks around the city.

Another project was a massive litter cleanup and visual display. 1,000 students worked in teams of 25 to pick up litter around the city, and it was collected and brought to the grassy field across from Cajun Field. There, eight-foot tall chicken-coop letters spelling #YARDWORK were on display, and all the collected litter filled up the letters. It is incredible to see.

Each letter was made up of specific types of trash. The # and Y were composed of trash from the Vermilion River. If only I could convey to you how fragrant it was out in that open, sunny field in front of those letters. Every so often, the wind would blow a little and the smell would fill our noses.

Also of note, our river is not the place for you to dump a CPAP machine. JUST SAYIN'.

The A, R, R and K were all filled with miscellaneous litter.

The D was dedicated to water bottles and other plastic bottles.

The W ended up holding trashed auto parts. Nothing like wrecked bumpers left on our roadways.

The O was full of illegal road signs. These are one of the biggest eyesores in the city, so it's nice to see them get cleaned up. If you insist on using yard signs, make sure to follow local sign ordinances first (page 26, you're welcome.)

I pitched in by taking a walk around my neighborhood Saturday morning and collected a bag full of trash - mainly drink bottles and cigarette butts. My boyfriend and I hopped on our bikes to head to the litter letters, me with a basket full of trash. I also couldn't help myself from picking up some litter on our bike ride. Thank you, whoever left half a cardboard box that used to hold maxipads. It's now in the R.

I've never felt so eco-nerdy as I did when riding my bicycle with a basket full of trash. It was like Treehugger ET Phone Home. I kept waiting for my bike to levitate, but it never did.

If you haven't checked out the giant #YARDWORK yet, make your way past Cajun Field soon, where the letters will remain at least through Homecoming on Saturday. (And if that doesn't inspire you to recycle while tailgating, then I'm just going to have to go stronger on the persuasion!)

Awesome job to everyone who spent their Saturday (and even Friday) hard at work and elbow-deep in trash!

The Litter Letter Project created this awesome time lapse video of the letters getting filled up. This was seriously all trash in our waterways and on our roads - our front yard. CLEAN. IT. UP.

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reducing waste in the laundry room

Clean laundry is a great feeling (and sometimes a mystical enigma hiding under the eternal pile of dirty laundry), but it can come at a very wasteful cost. Finding small ways to reduce waste during laundry will help save your money and the environment.

Image: Tip Garden

First things first. Detergent. Look for detergent with a minimal amount of useless packaging. Typically, large jugs of detergent use less plastic than the tubs of prepackaged detergent packs. But if you choose to go with the little detergent packs, make sure the plastic wrapper dissolves and doesn't need to be thrown away first. Either way, save the larger containers to reuse elsewhere. After properly washing all of the detergent out of a jug, use it as a garden watering can - it even has a spout for you. If you have the tubs of detergent packs, use the tubs for other laundry area needs, such as holding your recycled dryer sheets (oops! spoiler alert!), a collection bin of items left in pockets (in my case, 839 bobby pins and sometimes my Fitbit), or whatever else you might think of.

Eco-friendly laundry detergents, such as Seventh Generation, are free of the harsh chemicals that make up traditional detergents, and they work well in cleaning clothes (which is still the basic goal here). My clothes get clean, smell good, and don't leave me itchy. They are more expensive than traditional detergents, but you can stretch out the length so it will last. No matter which detergent you use, don't use too much! Use the measuring lines on the cup, or just pour a small amount into your wash and don't go overboard with the suds.

Now to drying. Look for an alternative method to disposable dryer sheets. You can make your own dryer sheets with cheap washcloths (or even old socks or cut-up t-shirts!) and a fabric softener/water solution, or use dryer balls that reduce static. Bog Berry wool dryer balls are another eco-friendly alternative to dryer sheets. The balls are reusable, chemical-free and made of wool, which lasts longer than yarn. (I haven't tried these dryer balls yet, but I plan to soon!)

But if you feel very loyal to those traditional boxes of good-smelling dryer sheets, you can still reduce your waste. For smaller loads, cut a dryer sheet in half and only use half. According to Gaiam, clothing made of natural fabrics don't get static cling - so if you don't have many synthetic fabrics in your laundry load, don't worry about putting a dryer sheet!

After your laundry has dried, check your dryer sheet real quick before you toss it out. Does it still have a fragrant smell to it? Use it again! If it seems to look barely used, save it for another load. If it's a little too worn for that, use it in a sock drawer or elsewhere in your closet to keep a nice, fresh smell. Once the smell is gone, you can save the dryer sheets to use as spare dust rags. The chemicals in dryer sheets that keep your clothes from getting static electricity also picks up dust on electronics.

Other ways you can reduce energy during laundry time:

• Wash as much of your laundry on cold water as you can. Towels and sheets, of course, are better washed in warm water to kill germs, but most loads of clothing are washed perfectly in cold water. Plus, colors won't bleed as much and fabrics won't shrink quite as much.
• Follow the wash directions to prevent accidentally destroying clothes (ahem). It's a bit of a waste to do laundry only to have to get rid of the shrunken, stained or ripped clothes. And it's just depressing if they're new clothes. 
• Line dry delicate or hand-washed items. If you don't have a drying rack, just hang clothes on your shower rod or an empty space on your closet rod. No electricity needed, and you don't have to have a line set up outside.
• Turn the dryer heat setting down a notch. It won't affect drying too much, and you won't be pushing out as much electricity.
• Wash full loads so you can maximize the energy use of the appliances - but don't fill them so full that they overload and break. Running a small load takes the same amount of energy, but you don't have as much to show for it. If you only have enough for a small load, and need an item before laundry day, consider hand-washing it to save energy. (But I can already hear you asking who has small loads of dirty laundry for days…I know, I know…laundry multiplies itself. I'm just gonna say it anyway!)
• Run the washer and dryer in the morning or evening, when energy use isn't at its peak - especially during the heat of summer. (Why am I reminding myself of this misery…?)

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spring cleaning, minus the toxins

Now that the time has changed, spring is fully in the air, and with that comes spring cleaning! I've been spending the past few weeks cleaning out unneeded items in my house, and now it's time to give the whole place a good scrubbing. 

One of the first things to do when you're ready to get cleaning is to look at the products you have. Many cleaning products include strong, artificial colors and fragrances and harsh cleansing agents like bleach, ammonia and acids. These chemicals can produce indoor air pollution by off-gassing toxic fumes that can irritate eyes and lungs. Think about the surfaces your children or pets can get on, and then think about what products you use on those surfaces. Do you want your two- or four-legged loved ones ingesting toxic chemicals? (I know I don't!)

There are many eco-friendly cleaning products out today, and many of them do just as good a job as their standard counterpart. Two of the biggest brands around are Seventh Generation and Mrs. Meyers. You can find items ranging from hand soap to dish soap, dishwasher detergent, countertop spray, carpet cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, shower cleaner and laundry detergent. Both brands take the toxins out of their products, and Mrs. Meyers products are plant-based. And they both WORK. Mrs. Meyers' countertop spray really does well in making my kitchen shine (well, as much as an ugly apartment kitchen CAN shine!)

Image: Jabo's Ace Hardware

Clorox has a greener line of cleaners under the name Green Works. The products are all plant-based and biodegradable. It's probably the most widely available alternative product line.

One brand I recently discovered and love is Ecover. Their dishwasher detergent works very well and gives me peace of mind that no gross residue is left on my dishes. (In fact, this is a good time to remind myself: You're running out of detergent packets...go buy more!)

The Daily Green features reviews of 7 top green cleaner labels, including Mrs. Meyers, Seventh Generation, Green Works and Ecover. Real Simple reviews 10 green cleaning products. And Oprah tested green cleaning products and found which ones work the best.

And when you are shopping for cleaning products, look for the Green Good Housekeeping seal. It was introduced in 2009 with the goal of testing the green marketing claims of many supposedly eco-friendly products on the market and "set a mainstream bar for consumers who want to live a greener lifestyle."

But maybe you want to be really crafty, and maybe feel a little like a scientist. If that's the case, dive in and make your own cleaning products! Vinegar, citrus and baking soda are staples of so many homemade cleaners that do all kinds of tricks. And here's a secret cleaner you will have never thought to use...vodka! It can do so many things around the house...or at the very least, drinking it while you clean can make the time go by a little quicker!

The Daily Green shows different homemade cleaner recipes for different purposes. And Apartment Therapy recently featured a tutorial on making a citrus cleaner that I would love to try.

Homemade cleaners can clean countertops, windows, tile and floors, all safely.

And beyond actual cleaning products, if you're looking for a new mop or broom, look for one made of recycled materials. I recently found a broom at Target made with recycled bristles and plastic. And if you're crafty, you can make your own broom! I recently found this tutorial on making a broom out of plastic bottles.

And don't forget to stock up on greener sponges and rags. One big key to being green is using reusable items instead of disposables. Use rags instead of paper towels. Even cut up old t-shirts to use as rags (just make sure they aren't water-repellant!) There are reusable Swiffer duster alternatives, which will drastically cut down on waste.

After you tackle spring cleaning the eco-friendly way, your house, family and pets will love you even more!

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