Are you ready to scratch the Spring Cleaning itch? We know we are!
Spring Cleaning is a wonderful time to reset and give our homes a nice deep clean. We’re here today to help you do it in a way that has the least impact on our earth. Because cleaning should not have to mean filling our houses with chemicals and filling our landfills with waste.
In this blog post, we’ll be getting into our favorite eco-friendly cleaning essentials, as well as a few things to consider to ensure that things stay earth-safe year round!
Eco-friendly Cleaning Supplies That Actually Work
Earth friendly cleaning products often get a bad rep. Sure they are planet-safe, but too often they don’t clean as effectively as their single-use or chemical laden counterparts. As busy parents ourselves we know the importance of finding products that actually work AND are safe for our families and the environment.
The First Eco-Friendly Must-Have: Reusable Paper Towels
Ask most any family what single-use products they go through most in their homes and you’ll likely hear Paper Towels mentioned in their top 5. Especially around Spring Cleaning time. So what’s the real MVP of eco-friendly spring cleaning? Our machine washable reusable paper towels, aka Paperless Towels! These are arguably the easiest way to clean more sustainably, as disposable paper towels continue to contribute to household waste more and more each year. You might think – “well, paper towels are biodegradable!” or “there are worse things that could be making their way into the trash” – and while those might be somewhat true, they put a veil over the hard truth about the overconsumption of paper towels and the impact it has on our environment.
The Impact of Paper Towels
Every day more than 3,000 TONS of paper towels are trashed in the US alone. It takes 51,000 trees to replace a single day's worth of paper towel waste! If every household committed to using just one less roll per week, we’d save over 28 MILLION trees per year.
How to Reduce Paper Towel Waste?
Washable + Reusable Paper Towels! Not only will they help reduce waste and conserve energy for the good of the collective, but a huge perk: they function better too! Our Esembly Paperless Towels are soft, sturdy, and highly absorbent. They won’t fall apart under the weight of a messy task. Instead of going through roll after roll to wipe down your glass, wood, or metal surfaces – you can easily use your favorite eco-friendly cleaner* with our Paperless Towels to make your home sparkle. And when you’re done? Simply wash, dry, and reroll them up! Our reusable paper towel roll is compatible with any standard paper towel holder. (We know breaking old habits can be hard so we designed our reusable paper towels to mimic the look and functionality of the paper towel rolls you’re used to.)
And while reducing waste is surely a perk, so is saving money! As opposed to buying roll after roll after roll of expensive paper towels, purchase a set of reusable paper towels once and use them for years to come. Nothing like a good win-win!
*Here’s a recipe for a homemade multi-purpose cleaner that everyone on the Esembly team just loves. If you’re looking for a store bought cleaner, we are big fans of this one from Blueland and this one from Grove.
A Sustainable and Sanitary Alternative to Sponges
Second only to paper towels, the kitchen sponge is another spring cleaning necessity!
The problem with traditional kitchen sponges
Brace yourself…we have some bad news about kitchen sponges. Second only to paper towels, the kitchen sponge is another spring cleaning necessity.
The average kitchen sponge has been found to contain 45 billion bacteria per square centimeter! If not disposed of regularly, your sponge could hold more funk than the inside of your toilet. (yuck!!). It is recommended that sponges be thrown away every 2 weeks, or weekly if you cook with dairy and meat. That’s not only wasteful, it’s expensive!
Swap your old Kitchen Sponge for our Silicone Sponge + Sudser!
As you’re assembling your spring cleaning tool kit – say goodbye to your old icky sponge and hello to a silicone cleaning sponge, like our new (patent pending!) sustainable, sanitary GoTwo Sponge.
The GoTwo sponge is made up of two parts, a “forever” base made of non-porous, bacteria-resistant food-grade silicone and a removable organic cotton “Sudser” cover. The silicone sponge base provides the structure and the bristles for scrubbing and the Sudser cover brings the foamy, soapy, suds!
Every few weeks (or as needed) simply remove the compostable Sudser and replace it with a new one to keep your sponge fresh!
Our silicone cleaning sponge works even better than your kitchen sponge at cleaning dirty dishware and scrubbing crustry pots and pans. Just wet it with warm water and your favorite eco friendly dish soap* and put it to use! When you’re done cleaning with it, rinse and hang it on the clear suction hook (that the set comes with one) in your sink to dry.
Added spring cleaning bonus: remove the Sudser and use the silicone sponge base to pull pet hair off upholstery!
*If you’re open to exploring a powder dish soap check out this great one from Blueland. Prefer a liquid? This one from Public Goods is great!
Eco-Friendly Laundry Solutions
Consider this: the average American family does about 300 loads of laundry per year. Now, if each load requires around 0.5 cups of detergent, that adds up to a significant amount of detergent being used annually. But what happens to all that detergent and packaging after it’s done cleaning your clothes?
What’s the Problem with “Regular Laundry Detergents”?
Well, for starters, traditional laundry detergents often contain harmful chemicals such as phosphates, chlorine, and synthetic fragrances. These chemicals not only pose risks to aquatic life when they end up in our waterways but also contribute to water pollution and eutrophication, which can lead to harmful algal blooms and dead zones in lakes and rivers.
But it’s not just the chemicals in detergents that are problematic; it’s also the packaging. Liquid detergents typically come in giant plastic jugs, which contribute to the growing problem of plastic pollution. In fact, it’s estimated that only about 9% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled, meaning the vast majority ends up in landfills (where they take hundreds of years to break down) or they float around in our oceans for all eternity.
And as for pods and laundry sheets… the truth is that pods and/or laundry sheets = more plastic, which is the LAST thing we want more of in our water systems, ecosystems, or in our families’ laundry! (Check out our friends at Blueland who have been doing an amazing job at getting the word out about the PVA or PVOH that is found in pods and sheets.)
Solution A
Powder detergent in refillable packaging like our Washing Powder!
Whether we like it or not, Spring Cleaning means lots of extra laundry. You’ll likely be washing tons of sheets, maybe some winter blankets that are going into storage for the summer, or other fabrics that need a refresh this spring – and an eco-friendly laundry detergent like our Washing Powder makes it simple to get the job done right, without the chemicals or waste!
There’s no compromise on performance with our eco-friendly formula. It was designed and patented to clean dirty diapers, so just think of what it can do for stinky blankets, dog beds, gym bags, old pillows, and so much more… it’s ready to pack a punch, all while being incredibly gentle on your skin, and the planet.
Why powder? Powder packs a punch compared to liquid detergent (which is mostly water) which means you need far less powder laundry detergent to get the same result.
Further, our Washing Powder is refillable! Our “forever” canister is made of recycled plastic bottles and when you run out, instead of having to buy another, just refill yoru canister with our super-sized Refill bag!
We promise, once you’ve experienced the magic of Washing Powder, it’s hard to go back! And subscribing makes it easy to ensure you never run out 😉
Solution B
What exactly are Agitators and how do they help?
Our Washing Powder is a great first step into green cleaning. Our Agitators washer dryer balls are another way to make your laundry routine even more earth-friendly!
In addition to water and detergent, mechanical action is another important component in your wash routine. Our Agitators are a set of 4 weighted silicone balls with spikes and nubs. In the washer they bump and pound into your laundry squeezing the stains and soil to the surface which helps the water and detergent to wash all the funk away. In the dryer, Agitators lift and separate the fabric which softens the fabric and speeds up dry time!
How is this more eco-friendly?
More mechanical action makes your detergent work more efficiently meaning you’ll need less! And as Agitators lead to shortening the time it takes for your laundry to dry in the dryer, less energy is used!
Spring Cleaning, Cleaner 🌱
We hope you find these tips helpful and that this post has left you excited to start your Sustainable Spring Cleaning journey! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our entire collection of Home Goods that will help you Live Less Disposably beyond the changing table. Because really, that’s what we’re all about. Helping families create small changes, so together, we can create a big and lasting impact! (and teach our littles by example for the next generation, too🤍)
Want to learn more?
Our co-founders host a free, virtual, Cloth Diapering 101 class every month to help cloth-curious parents get all the tools and information they need! You’ll learn:
- How to use the Esembly diapers and accessories
- How to easily and effectively launder your Esembly diapers
- The impact that your choice has on the planet, your wallet, and your day-to-day.
You'll leave with the confidence to Live Less Disposably and a 20% discount code to use on your first order. 🥳 We hope to see you there!
Sign Up for Our Next Cloth 101 Class
