As I walk down the cleaning isle of my supermarket, I’m overwhelmed by the domination of single-use, disposable products that have been created, presumably, to make our lives more convenient and sanitary. Disposable dusting, mopping and disinfecting sheets get premium placement on the cleanng isle shelves, while bulk products are relegated to the lower shelves. Manufacturers are hoping you’ll take the disposable bate, since you’ll have to replenish them far more often than bulk products.
I find it a bit ironic that manufacturers like Clorox, Pledge and Swiffer are trying to make cleaning our homes an exercise in polluting the planet. Products designed for just minutes–or seconds–of use not only create more garbage, but they also needlessly consume resources and create pollution because single-use items must be produced in huge volume to keep up with the demand for perpetual replenishment.
I can understand the temptation to use these products, but with the need to reduce our ecological footprint increasingly apparent, this is an easy area in which to curb waste. Rejecting disposable products can also leave money in the bank for other things–even when "splurging" on seemingly more expensive eco-friendly cleaning products. Consider the typical savings over one year, depicted below:
| One year’s supply of single-use/disposable products | One year’s supply of bulk products | |
| Furniture | Pledge Grab It Dusting Cloths: $13.94 | Earth-Friendly Products Furniture Polish: $6.17 |
| Toilet | Clorox Toilet Wand disposable cleaning heads $27.61 | Ecover Toilet Bowl Cleaner: $4.11 |
| Windows |
Windex Wipes $6.55 | Earth-Friendly Products Window Cleaner: $2.86 |
| Countertops | Lysol Kitchen Wipes: $44.16 | Seventh Generation Kitchen or Bathroom Cleaner: $12.14 |
| Floors |
Swiffer Wet Jet and refills $28.19 Swiffer Sweeper plus refills $14.45 |
Country Save All Purpose Cleaner: $24.79 Broom & dust pan: $0 (negligible cost over it’s life) |
| Laundry | Shout Stain Removing Wipes $12.19 | Citra-Spot Stain Remover: $6.51 |
| TOTAL | $147.09 | $56.58 |
As the Table shows, you’ll spend almost one third as much on natural, non-toxic products from a bottle as you would on single-use products. As that celebrity homemaker would say, "That’s a good thing."
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