Whether it’s the flowers or the fresh air, with spring around the corner, the new season has a knack of inspiring us to start anew—bringing a little bit of the outside world's energy into our own homes. A phenomenon that's better known as spring cleaning.

It's easy to get carried away in the act without considering the environmental impact of what we're doing—like inadvertently creating more waste, polluting landfills and waterways with plastic and chemicals.

But spring cleaning doesn’t have to dirty the planet. Here are our tips for cleaning with a conscience.

Spring is a great opportunity to sort through your belongings and see what you can do without, starting with your wardrobe. Critically sort through your clothing and let go of items that you no longer love, or that you can’t remember the last time you wore. Try passing down clothing in good condition to friends, selling to consignment stores, or donating to those in need. Have clothes worn beyond repair that can't be given away? Cut them up into cleaning rags to give them a second life in your next stage of spring cleaning.

After clearing your wardrobe, go through storage closets and drawers and see what things you can say goodbye to there as well. Try moving from room to room, tackling one at a time to slowly declutter your home.

Once you've gathered your unwanted items, it's time to make sure they're disposed of responsibly. See what can be reused, repurposed, or regifted. From there, see what's recyclable and what isn't based on your cities recycling program.

It's important to be thorough in your search and not make any assumptions—throwing non-recyclables into the recycling can cause issues to your local waste management system, like decreasing efficiency, damaging equipment, and sending contaminated batches of recyclable material to landfills.

Likewise, don't assume everything that's not recyclable is fit for the trash. Check where you can safely dispose of batteries, lightbulbs, and other household items that your city disposes of separately to prevent soil and water contamination.

Doing a thorough cleaning of your house is a great way to usher in spring. Resist the urge to clutter your household by stocking up with too many chemical-filled, plastic-stored cleaning supplies. Many of the toxic chemicals in these supples can pollute waterways, and are often overkill for household cleaning.

Opt for fewer, multi-purpose cleaning solutions with natural ingredients. Try eco-friendly products, like low-waste concentrated cleaning tablets, which can be combined with water in a reusable bottle to form a cleaning solution. Or make your own solution instead, using pantry staples like white vinegar, baking soda, and a little lemon juice for a fresh scent. Have children? Consider it an at-home science project that actually helps with the chores.

Skip single-use cleaning tools that will just end up in a landfill, like disposable wipes, paper towels, or plastic sponges. Plastic sponges slowly degrade over time, causing tiny pieces of plastic to run down the drain, polluting our waterways.

Instead, try washable, reusable cleaning cloths that do the trick with less waste—simply throw them in the laundry and use them again! Better yet, make your own from old towels, blankets, or clothing that has run its course.

Keep your house feeling fresh in an eco-friendly way with sustainable scents. No need for aerosol sprays or deodorizers filled with harsh chemicals. The easiest, zero-waste way is to simply open your windows and let spring do its thing.

For a little extra oomph, try organic essential oils. Made from plant extracts, they’re entirely natural and incredibly potent. Use them with a diffuser if you have one, 

 with baby oil, an old glass bottle, and bamboo skewers.

You can even add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to your homemade cleaning spray for added freshness while cleaning!

Lower your footprint further by carrying your cleaning through to the online world. Close all your extraneous tabs and delete the hundreds of old emails from people that sit untouched in your inbox. Those emails take up data storage, so keeping them in your inbox costs energy that contributes to carbon emissions. Tidying your inbox reduces the footprint of you and your inbox—and will help free up some space in your mind as well.

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