If you are in a position where you understand that the world is in trouble, and that humans are the only force that can help it, then you will likely want to know how you can reduce the impact that your day to day life has on the planet. In a way, cleaning is a major, but also unnoticed threat to the environment; it uses many harmful chemicals and a lot of plastics. Cleaning is also a huge component of the wasteful ‘throwaway’ culture of modern life. You are like de-sensitized to the amount that you chuck out, but with all of the landfill sites in the world pilling over into ocean dumping grounds, the way in which humans throw things away needs to change. For these reasons, it is essential that you take a step back and look carefully at how you deal with your home; are there changes that you can make to ensure that you are contributing the greener future of the planet, or are you helping its demise with the rest of the population?

To start with, have a look on the back of the cleaners that you use. The products that you use around the house are often more dangerous for humans that the dirt that they aim to get rid of, and it is often the case that these chemicals can be particularly bad for the skin and lungs, especially in younger children and babies. If you are at all worried for both the health of your children, and that of the earth and your future generations, then you need to think about what you can replace these chemical cleaners with. There are products out there that are made without any harmful chemicals in them, using things like minerals and plant extract to clean in a much more environmentally friendly way. These cleaners tend to come in recycled and refillable boxes, but can often be expensive. A good way to reduce your impact without denting your wallet too hard is to look into alternative cleaning methods, using things like lemon, baking powder and vinegar. For instance, pouring baking powder and vinegar down a blocked pipe with a bit of boiling water will be sure to unblock it in no time. The ‘normal’ product that you might usually use for such an operation would contain masses of bleach and other dangerous substances which are terrible for the planet as well as your health.

If you can, use tools that make sense for sustainability. You will find that materials like metal and wood go a lot further than the conventional plastic used in cheaper equipment. The likelihood of you having had a cracked bucket or dust pan in the past year is extremely high, but if your bucket was made of metal, then this is a lot less likely. You will find that tools made from these materials can often be found having been made in the country that you live in, rather than being shipped in from other countries. By buying these sorts of things, you will be both reducing the amount of plastic going on to landfill sites, as well as the amount of fossil fuels burnt in getting them to you in the first place. Sustainability goes hand in hand with reducing the amount that you throw away, from cloths and sponges to plastic bottles, it all needs to be reduced, so that humans can set out towards a sustainable way of life that works with the planet to secure the future.