Eco-Friendly Cleaning Hacks To Make Your Kitchen Sparkle

Whether you’re in the kitchen for a quick ten-minute meal or preparing for a whole feast, the working area will have to be cleaned afterward. If you are not a fan of chemical cleaning products that could harm your health and the environment, there are eco-friendly solutions that will keep your conscience and your kitchen clean! You can make the simple switch to green cleaning products or take a look at your pantry and make your own! You may be surprised at how effective natural ingredients can be in keeping your home fresh and sanitized.

Making the decision to switch from using hazardous, chemical-filled cleaning products to more natural home-made products can be beneficial in various ways:

Making your own cleaners will save you money as the ingredients last longer and are cheaper than store-bought products.
You know exactly what is in your cleaner. No more worrying about a hidden ingredient that could cause allergies or damage to surfaces.
You’re producing less waste. You can reuse the same bottles for your home-made cleaners which also clears up space in your cabinets because you don’t have to store a variety of cleaning products anymore!

We can all do a better job of preserving the natural resources of our precious planet. To help you make the switch to non-toxic, home-made products, we compiled our favorite ways to use natural ingredients as kitchen cleaners.

Mix your own all-purpose cleaner. Take a reusable spray bottle and fill it half full with lemon peels. Then mix in equal parts water and distilled vinegar. Let this solution sit for two weeks so the lemon peels can infuse, then drain it and fill the liquid back into the bottle. The acid in lemons is actually antiseptic and antibacterial so this cleaner doesn’t just smell good, it also does its job at keeping your kitchen surfaces sparkling clean!
Make your garbage disposal smell fresh again. Shove a tray full of ice cubes down your garbage disposal and turn the water on cold. Run the disposal and wait for the ice to clear out the drain. The water may rise up for a little bit but once it recedes, you can toss in a few lemon wedges to fight bad odor. Turn off the garbage disposal and rinse out the sink. The ice actually sharpens the blades so you can repeat this routine monthly to keep your garbage disposal clean and running smoothly.

Scrub wooden chopping boards with salt and lemons. To clean your favorite chopping board or cast iron, simply sprinkle salt on it and rub the surface with half a lemon. The lemon will sanitize the surface and the salt will help rub off grease and grime. Let this paste sit for five minutes and then scrape the salt off. Rinse everything with a wet sponge and it should look as good as new! You can toss the lemon half in the compost to make this cleaning routine zero-waste!

If you’re interested in more eco-friendly cleaning hacks, check out the visual below!