The flowers are blooming and the temperature is slowing increasing, which can only mean one thing: Spring is finally here. And what better way to prepare for the lovely seasonal change than by doing a little spring cleaning, eco-style.  For a few tips on how to start, continue reading below.

Tackle Closet, De-Clutter

Before you start dusting off book shelves and wiping down windows, you should really scour your entire dwelling and get rid of items you don’t need anymore.

Go through shelves, your closet, and other drawers and start removing things you don’t want. However, don’t just “chuck” them in the trash. The best way to go about this is to have an organizational system and create three to four different piles: recycle, donate, re-use, and trash.

In the recycle pile, put items like loose paper and shredded documents that you don’t need along with electronics that need to be thrown out properly.

In the donate pile, put clothing, shoes, furniture and other accessories you can give to your local clothing donation center; use the items to have a garage sale; donate to websites like Freecycle, or give the nicer items to consignment shops like Plato’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange to earn some extra cash in the process.

In the re-use pile, put items that would make great materials for craft and re-purposing projects, such as using a pile of books to make a desk stand or frames of old pictures. Lastly, in the trash pile, make sure to dispose of items that can be harmful to the environment like batteries and old paint.

Create Homemade Composts

Cleaning out your drawers is great, but don’t forget about cleaning out probably one of the messiest places in your home—your refrigerator.  But before throwing everything in the dumpster, see if any of it can be used to create an indoor or outdoor compost. Don’t really have a garden that could benefit from homemade compost? Spring would be the perfect time to start one and get some more oxygen in the environment.

Use “Green” and Natural Cleaning Products

Now down to the actual cleaning part. Buying some eco-friendly cleaning supplies is great since they don’t omit harsh toxins, but if you really want to help sustain the environment while saving some money along the way, try to make your own using the all-purpose cleaning recipe we retrieved from TLC.

What you’ll need: a spray bottle, 1/2 teaspoon of washing soda, two drops of liquid soap, 2 cups hot tap water.

Directions: Combine the ingredients in the spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved.

Remember to swap out paper towels for cloth ones or sponges and go for a traditional broom as opposed to the kind that uses disposable cloths will getting rid of grime and dirt.

Air Dry Clothes

Lastly, since the weather is typically nice, opt to hang dry or line dry your clothes outside when doing laundry. You’ll use less electricity which is great for the environment and you’ll save some money by simply using the Earth’s natural elements in the process. Make sure not to keep them out for too long if you don’t want your clothes to get too “stiff” or “crispy.”

This is a guest post by Eliza Morgan who is a full time blogger.  She specializes in writing about business credit cards. You can reach her at: elizamorgan856 at gmail dot com.