Clean Slate

What good is a tidy home when the cleaners you use are polluting the environment? Here are some ways to reduce harmful and toxic cleaning.

• Do as much as you can with baking soda and water, which are safer, effective cleaners for your tub and shower.
• Pop a mildewed shower curtain into the washing machine after presoaking heavily mildewed areas in a bucket filled with 1/4 cup bleach per gallon of water (make sure it's safe for the fabric first). The solution can then be used on other bathroom surfaces. Hang the washed curtain back up in your bathroom to dry. Ventilate well when working with bleach.
• Vacuum floors or dust-mop them with a microfiber dust mop; don't sweep them. Microfiber mops trap and hold fine dust and grime better than your broom does.
• Use a lambswool duster to remove cobwebs and dust from ceiling fixtures, exposed beams and corners.
• Freshen your fridge with baking soda. When thinned with water to a grainy consistency, it's the perfect weapon for attacking chilled-on food, grime and fridge dunk. Rub on with a white nylon sponge, let set a minute or two and rinse clean with damp paper towels.