Declutteringyour home can be good for your health. When it’s done the right way, decluttering can be better for the environment as well. If you want to clean up your home environment without cluttering the planet, here are some eco-friendly cleaning and organizing tips you should definitely keep in mind during the process.

Go Green with All of Your Cleaning

Before you start decluttering your home, make sure you have the right cleaning products to make the process easier. Since you’re giving your home a fresh start, why not do the same with your cleaning routine by switching to safer cleaning products and tools. “When people clean using products and methods that are free of toxic or unsafe materials, and that are safe for the environment and human health, it is called green cleaning,” HomeAdvisor explains. So, make the swap easier by using this green cleaning list, which is full of helpful resources and tips that will make detoxifying your home simple, and safe.

You can also find lists of potentially problematic cleaners you should remove from your routine (and potential green replacements), as well as easy-to-follow instructions for making your own effective, all-natural cleaning solutions. You can also look up your existing cleaning products and see how they compare to others at the database maintained by the Environmental Working Group. With a few gentle ingredients, you can even mix up a bottle of all-purpose non-toxic cleaner to tackle various messes around your home. As an added bonus, you can customize the scent of your homemade disinfectants and purifiers by adding any combination of essential oils. Peppermint is always a good choice for freshening up the air in your home, but you can also bring other combos into your spaces.

Get Rid of Your Bad Paper Habits, for Good

If your home is filled with paper products, you are not alone. Americans accountfor over 30 percent of the world’s total paper use. Given that Americans account for only 4.28% of the world population, this means that American families produce more than their fair share of paper waste each year. It can be tough to break the cycle, but you can help do your part by shifting from paper to digital. Use your smart phone or a scanner to get those old photos into digital storage so they can stop cluttering up your home. But don’t stop with your excess photos; scan any important documents, receipts, or to-do lists as well. You can use a cloud storage system to securely store those crucial paper files, and for added peace of mind, look into an external hard drive that will allow you to back up that information. Depending on your needs, you can find a quality external hard drive to help you break your paper habits.

Once you have all your paper clutter converted into organized digital files, you can stop future paper problems from cluttering up your home. Junk mail is a majorsource of paper waste as well, so put a stop to all those random mailings and flyers that get sent to your home.

Avoid Filling Landfills with Unwanted Household Goods

Tidying and refreshing your home often means getting rid of old, worn-out furniture, bedding, and appliances that are taking up space in your home. While it may be easy to toss these larger items on your curb for pickup, this is not the most eco-friendly option. Most of these items contain plastics, materials, and chemicals that find their way into our air, soil, and water resources as they break down in landfills. For the sake of the environment and the health of future generations, use more responsible resources for getting rid of your old, unwanted home furnishings. Many of these items can be donated to charity organizations to be used by those in need or sold for a profit. You can also find recycling services for just about any larger items in your home to prevent your goods from piling up in landfills and polluting the planet. Organizing your home can bring a sense of calm to your life, so make sure it brings calm to the environment, as well. By using these eco-friendly decluttering tips, you can do your part to save our planet and breathe easier at home too.              

Guest author, Suzie Wilson, is an interior designer with more than 20 years experience. What started as a hobby (and often, a favor to friends) turned into a passion for creating soothing spaces in homes of every size and style. While her goal always includes making homes look beautiful, her true focus is on fashioning them into serene, stress-free environments that inspire tranquility in all who enter. The Ultimate Guide to Prepping Your Home for an Open House is filled with tips, tricks and other advice based on Suzie’s years of experience in interior home design that will set you up for success. Suzie is the founder and creative director of Happier Home and can be reached at info@happierhome.net.