Over the last two years there has been a growing trend for the normally dull task cleaning! The U.K has gone cleaning obsessive with the growing number of home decor and cleaning accounts on the gram. This tight net community shares tips and tricks into getting our homes spick and span. A sight that the infamous duo Kim & Aggy would be proud.(does anyone remember those fluffy gloves?) This massive section in the world of bloggers has created so much positivity. People have used cleaning as a therapy to control their anxiety, made lasting friendships and created small business all with the same common denominator, a mop and bucket!
JUST A CONVERSATION
This conversation isn’t meant to be controversial and there is no judgement, I too have a home decor account and I’m part of instas community of interior/ cleaning fanatic’s. But as I scroll down my feed and flick through my stories I can’t help but think about the singe use plastics being stock piled and the amount of different products we are all using to clean up our sinks. This isn’t criticism, I too have a couple of Zaflora bottles with different scents stacked in my cleaning basket, I’m also the guilty owner of a packet of surface wipes. As i’v said before in past blogs, I am no ECO warrior princess, with the world in a state of climate crises, I know I can do better to become conscious of my carbon footprint. I do recycle all the time and its no secret I don’t buy fast fashion, however I know I can do more.
Which brings to why I’ve grabbed myself a brew to sit down and discuss this topic with you. I mean, I’m really interested to know has this trend caused any affect? are we unconsciously contributing to more plastic waste?
I don’t know about anyone else but since this pandemic started in March 2020 my home has never been so clean. Everyday touch points like handles, light switches, remotes and even the banister rail gets a good wiping a few times throughout the day (perhaps a little obsessive). If there is ever to have great home and self hygiene, now is certainly the time to practice good hygiene. There is noway I’d endorse the idea to just throw out our feather dusters and I’m not suggesting we just don’t clean our homes, however is stock piling and using different types of products that clean the same thing perhaps as obsessive as my Covid touch point rota I’ve got going on at the moment.
But what is the alternative? Now I know there is a lot of brands who are fully aware of their products carbon footprint whom already have taken the initiative to produce packaging that contain either less plastic or are now made recyclable. This is definalty a fantastic step in the right direction, or do we need to go four steps further?
ECO TREND
As quick as the trend for cleaning came there is also a new wave of Eco friendly cleaning businesses creating an ethos to sustainable cleaning, contributing to the 40 billion pound household cleaning industry. They are fast growing in popularity with environmental friendly natural ingredients and sustainable reusable packaging. Eco blogger and bloggers alike have even taken to recommend the OG Kim and Aggy baking soda and vinegar mixture and vintage jars of bicarbonate of soda is becoming more popular on pictured kitchen shelves.
The rise for wooden handle cleaning brushes and reusable cotton cleaning pads might not just be because we are all climate crises aware. Could it possibly be down to the pretty aesthetics a glass bottle and bamboo scrubbing brush adds to a space? When we up-cycled our utility room and installed open shelving, I knew that the plastic floor cleaner bottle would be a complete eye sore stored on my rustic shelves. I set about buying the amber glass cleaning bottles because they looked a lot prettier than the single plastic alternative.
I think it was then as I decanted the cleaning products in to the vintage jars, it struck me at how many single use plastics I had. It was also frighting how many of those single use products would perform the same cleaning job as each other. Selfishly my first thought was the amount of money I had spent on the different types of brands which potentially was the same product. My second thought was then the amount of plastic I had in my cupboard when in reality I could be using less.
PRETTY STORAGE
I picked up my vintage amber glasses from amazon. I was amazed at how many different eco friendly alternatives already available. In the rabbit hole of recommendations I noticed more and more eco friendly cleaning solutions which got me thinking about what I could change moving forward. I know there is some products that I can’t live without and will continue to use, but surly small changes roll on to big impacts? My fear is getting into a bad habit, buying cleaning products that are in single use plastic pouring them into my pretty glass jars, because surly that is defeating the object?
I said at the beginning I wanted to open up a conversation with you and that I hope I do. In my quest to cleaning up my plastic (pun unintended) I want to know, do these old school cleaning hacks like bicarb and baking powder actually work? Does the Eco friendly cleaning alternatives compare, or are as good as the leading house hold cleaning products on the market? I’d love to hear your recommendations if you have any and I’m interested in trying staple home made remedies, saving a few pennies as well as the world in the process is always an assentive 😉 lol.
Drop your thoughts in the comments which ever they will be, lets get chatting :).
Much Love
S x
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Really important conversation..I too feel like I use to much plastic , especially for my cleaning needs. Something needs to be done. Glad you’ve opened a conversation 🙂
I tried using the baking soda mix to clean my oven , omg what a nightmare the dam stuff made such a mess , I couldn’t get it off ! So I’m sorry to say I had to use my normal oven cleaner which yes came in a spray can which I’m sure cannot be recycled but I’ll never try the bicarbonate mixture again . 🙄
Oh that didn’t sound like a fun experience, I think oven cleaner is one I couldn’t live without. I absolutely love my oven cleaner oven pride, the liquid stuff. It’s quick, easy and makes my oven shine like a brand new penny. I haven’t used baking soda on my oven just yet, In fact I’ve not used it to clean anything so it’s really interesting to hear your experience. I will have a try though and see if it works for me. I think as long as we are Making one change, like we have with our own shopping bags can only help. Have you ever used vinegar on your windows? I’m scared to try? What if it smells like vinegar all the time 🤦🏻😅🤣