The Eco-Friendly Cleaning Supplies You Need To Get Started

Wondering how to get started with natural cleaning? Here are all of the eco-friendly cleaning supplies I use regularly to get you started on your green cleaning journey.

Long-term readers of Moral Fibres will know that I’m big on eco-friendly cleaning – and making my own natural cleaning products.

There’s good reason for this. It’s kinder to the planet – there are no dubious chemicals or tons of plastic bottles under my kitchen sink. Plus, unlike standard cleaning products which can damage your lungs, it’s much better for your health.

It’s also a whole lot of fun whipping up your own cleaning products in your kitchen. Give it a go, and I promise you’ll feel a bit like an alchemist mixing up various (often food-safe) ingredients, as you come up with potions and powders that will leave your home sparkling clean and smelling beautiful!

I’ve been asked a few times lately about my eco-friendly cleaning supplies and where I source my materials. As it’s come up a few times I thought it would be useful to put all of this information into a blog post. So lo and behold, a comprehensive list of the tools and supplies I use and where to source them.

Guide To All My Sustainable Cleaning Tools & Supplies

Here are all the supplies I use regularly in my home – from the bottles I use to where I source the raw materials:

• Amber Glass Bottles
• Trigger Spray Nozzles
• Pump Tops
• White Vinegar
• Vodka
• Bicarbonate of Soda, Soda Crystals, Salt, Citric Acid & Borax
• Liquid Castile Soap
• Essential Oils
• Cloths

Amber Glass Bottles

I buy my amber glass bottles from Green Tulip. I buy them in 500ml sizes as it’s a convenient size that I can use up. Don’t feel you have to splash out on bottles though. For a zero-waste solution, the glass bottles that white vinegar comes in will suffice – just store them in a dark cupboard when not in use.

The reason I specifically use amber glass bottles is that the cleaning products I make typically contain essential oils. Amber-coloured bottles protect the essential oils from ultraviolet light, which can damage the oils  Meanwhile, the glass is used because certain oils, such as citrus oils, may dissolve plastic over time. This could be a problem if you’re reusing plastic bottles time and time again.

However, if you’ve got empty plastic bottles then go ahead and use them – it’s always the most sustainable option than buying something new.

Trigger Spray Nozzles

I like to keep a few trigger spray nozzles to hand, as they don’t last all that long. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find a supplier that makes nozzles that last that I can recommend – they all seem to break within a few months.

Instead, I reuse trigger sprays from any used-up cleaning products for a greener approach (I get friends to save them for me!). Just make sure you clean them by popping the pump in water and spraying it a few times, to make sure there’s no cross-contamination, or any bleach residues inside the trigger spray.

Pump Tops

I sometimes make my own hand wash, so have two pump tops for easy and measured dispensing. The recipe isn’t on the blog I’m afraid. Instead, you’ll find the recipe for handwash in my book, Fresh Clean Home.

White Vinegar

White vinegar is a key component of my eco-friendly cleaning supplies. I buy my white vinegar in bulk, getting four 5-litre jerry cans of the stuff at a time. I’ve found it’s by far the most economical way of buying vinegar, coming in way cheaper than buying the glass bottles of white vinegar at the supermarket or the plastic 750ml bottles from the pound shop.

I use vinegar all around the house, and even to naturally tackle weeds in the garden, so it’s a handy bulk supply to have in stock.

Vodka

I buy a big bottle of vodka specifically for cleaning with. It might sound off-beat, but vodka is scent-free and oddly great for deodorising soft furnishings and for removing bad smells from clothes (I promise your clothes and house won’t smell like a pub). It’s also great at cutting through soap scum. Try my guide to cleaning your home with vodka for all that you need to know to get started.

And the handy thing is that once you’ve finished cleaning you can pour yourself a celebratory vodka and tonic if you want…! To sip responsibly of course!

I don’t buy anything fancy, just the cheapest own-brand stuff I can find on the bottom shelf of the supermarket. Minimum alcohol pricing laws in Scotland mean the cheapest vodka I can find is £12 for 750ml, however, you might find it cheaper where you are.

Bicarbonate of Soda, Soda Crystals, Salt, Citric Acid & Borax

My other key natural cleaning base ingredients are bicarbonate of soda, soda crystals, salt, citric acid and borax. As such, I always keep a couple of boxes of each ingredient to hand. This is because when it comes to eco-friendly cleaning each ingredient is so incredibly versatile, and handy in its own right.

If you’re new to these ingredients, no doubt you’ll want to know more about what they do and what they can be used for. Don’t worry, I am on it!

• Uses for soda crystals around the home
• Uses for borax around the home
• Guide to cleaning with citric acid
• Guide to cleaning with bicarbonate of soda

As well as being brilliant planet-friendly cleaners in their own right, these ingredients can often be combined with other ingredients to make powerful homemade cleaning products.

Large boxes or bags of borax, soda crystals, and bicarbonate of soda can be found cheaply in the cleaning aisle of bigger supermarkets, or in pound shops or hardware shops. Meanwhile, citric acid can be picked up in homebrewing shops or Asian supermarkets. If you can’t find them locally, I’ve got heaps of guides on where to buy these ingredients online:

• Where to buy soda crystals
• Where to buy borax
• Where to buy bicarbonate of soda
• Where to buy citric acid

Liquid Castile Soap

I use liquid castile soap all around my home – whether I’m making hand soap, cleaning wipes, or kitchen cleaning spray. New to castile soap? Here’s everything you need to know about cleaning with castile soap.

When it comes to buying it, I’m a fan of Dr Bronner’s Castile Soap. I’ve been buying the orange-scented soap (available at Big Green Smile) in the larger size. I’ve also put together a big guide on where to buy liquid castile soap – included lower-priced unbranded versions.

Essential Oils

I use a variety of essential oils as part of my eco-friendly cleaning supplies kit. The most common oils I use are lemon, sweet orange, and grapefruit, as I’m a particular fan of citrus scents. I’m also partial to lavender and tea tree oil because of their disinfectant and antibacterial properties. 

I tend to buy my essential oils from Tisserand, who produce ethically and sustainably sourced oils, but they can be bought from heaps of other shops.

Here’s my big guide to using essential oils for cleaning. It covers pretty much everything you need to know as to how to use them and all the safety and ethical concerns to be aware of.

Cloths

I keep a stash of cotton cloths in a drawer. Some I’ve bought, and some are old clothes that can’t be donated that I’ve cut up into cleaning rags. It’s a cheap and easy way to keep your home clean. I’m also a fan of Seep’s range of eco-friendly cloths, which are all made from sustainable materials.

Some people like to use e-cloths in lieu of any cleaning products – homemade or shop-bought. There is a bit of controversy regarding microfibre cloths shedding microplastic into the ocean. However, if you wear any kind of synthetic clothing then it’s also responsible for this microplastic release.

I would personally argue that the environmental impact of not using harsh chemicals that ultimately end up in our waterways is better than the small amount of microplastic coming from microfibre cloths. That’s your personal choice to make though. 

If you choose to use e-clothes, you can mitigate the impact by washing your cloths (and clothes) in a Guppyfriend microplastic catcher. Plus you can ask your local MP to support legislation that would require washing machine manufacturers to install microplastic filters on all new washing machines as standard as they have done in France.

Other Eco-Friendly Cleaning Supplies You Might Need

Whilst these are the main ingredients to have on hand, there are a few other things that may come in handy. Citrus fruits, for example, can be really useful to have to hand, as they can be used in many different ways to tackle a host of cleaning problems.

I tend to buy them at the supermarket when they have the yellow reduced stickers on them. Lemon works well in most ingredients, but in most cases can be subbed for orange, lime or grapefruit.

Meanwhile, some scrubbing brushes made from wood and natural bristles, or scourers made from plant-based materials like loofah or coconut husks are super handy to have, and are compostable at the end of their life.

Green Cleaning Recipes

Now you’ve got all the information on the supplies you need, you’re now ready to get making! Try my big guide to making your own natural cleaning products for all you need to know to get started.