What gets homeowners through the endless spring-cleaning to-do list? It’s thinking about the fresh, clean home you’ll have waiting for you.

You desire your home to smell like the fresh air or fragrant flowers or trees you smell during your walks in the Lake Elmo Park Reserve or on the trails near your home in the Wildflower at Lake Elmo neighborhood instead of the toxic, synthetic fumes emanating from your variety pack of cleaning supplies.

If you want your home to smell as good and fresh as the great outdoors, it may be time to switch to natural cleaning products.

Switching to an all-natural cleaning regime will not only help you achieve a fresh, natural smell in your home – it’s all good for you and your family’s health, the planet and it’s also easy on your piggy-bank.

Here are a few tips and recipes to clean the all-natural way:

  1. Use reusable cleaning supplies: To save money and reduce waste, invest in microfiber cloths that can be used hundreds of times. They’re super absorbent and four times more effective than regular cleaning cloths or paper towels and they’re lent free, non-abrasive, hypoallergenic and are 98.8% effective at removing bacteria from smooth surfaces. Make the switch and invest in a couple dozen microfiber hand cloths and in a microfiber dust and wet mop. It’s also good to have half a dozen glass spray bottles on hand to put natural cleaning solutions in, natural heavy duty sponges and wooden or bamboo cleaning brushes.
  2. Use all natural cleaning solutions: Cleaning a home with natural solutions instead of harsh chemicals helps keep indoor air quality safe for you and your family. According to wellnessmama.com, the top natural cleaning ingredients you’ll need are white vinegar, liquid castile soap, natural salt, baking soda, borax, washing soda, hydrogen peroxide, lemons and essential oils (optional). For natural cleaning solution recipes from Wellness Mama, visit, https://wellnessmama.com/6244/natural-cleaning/
  3. Make your home smell good naturally between cleans: Keep your home smelling naturally fresh by using an essential oil diffuser. If you don’t have a diffuser, add water, a bit of baking soda and your favorite essential oil to a small glass spray bottle. Shake and spay in the air or on fabrics. Houseplants are the cheapest investment in keeping your home fresh 24/7. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reported in their Clean Air Study that the best air-purifying house plants are Areca Palm, Snake Plant, Money Plant, Gerbera Daisy, Chinese Evergreens, Spider Plant, Aloe Vera (Can also be used on your skin or ingested to improve digestion), Broad Lady Palm, Rubber Plant, Chrysanthemum, Weeping Fig and a Dragon Tree. 
  4. You can also burn all-natural soy candles, make gel air fresheners (Recipe link: https://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/how-to-make-your-own-gel-air-fresheners/) or make stovetop potpourri out of sliced lemon and herbs (Recipe link: https://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/how-to-make-your-own-gel-air-fresheners/).

Now sit back and enjoy your clean, fresh home!