Spring is FINALLY upon us. I love that fresh “after rain” smell, when the weather starts warming up and the sun is shining again after a long winter. Every year around this time, I get the itch to clean, purge, and reset our home—it’s just that season.
If you know me in real life, you know I’ve been on a low-tox / more natural living journey for a long time—over 10 years now (before kids and even before marriage). I’m still learning and I’m definitely not perfect, but I’ve come a long way from not knowing where to start. This post is a snapshot of what we use to clean for a more non-toxic household—and I hope it helps you get started or feel more confident in your own low-tox home.
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Jump to:
- Low-Products I Use, Love, and Recommend
- Produce wash + sticky residue remover
- Handwashing + sanitizing
- Dishes
- Kitchen surfaces
- Dusting (simple + quick)
- Multi-purpose scrubbing
- Disinfecting (my low-tox options)
- Window + glass cleaning
- Bathroom
- Laundry (my current low-tox lineup)
- Floors + carpets + upholstery
A quick note on “low-tox”
I don’t aim for perfection. I aim for lower toxic load where it makes sense, simple swaps that are actually sustainable, and products I feel good about using in our real-life home with kids.
My DIY vs Buy rule
There was a time when I used to try to make everything and it either didn’t clean well or it was too much effort! So now, if it’s something I use constantly and it’s easy to make, I usually DIY it. If it saves time, works better, or fills a specific need (like dishwasher pods), I buy it.
Since we’re in the spring cleaning mode, my Spring Reset Guide walks you through the deep clean room-by-room (plus common problem areas). Use that guide for the what to clean, and this post for the what to clean with. Grab the free printable here: Spring Cleaning Guide
What I DIY (and recipes coming soon)
These are the things I often make at home:
- DIY foaming hand soap
- DIY multi-purpose spray
- DIY window/glass spray
- DIY disinfectant spray
- DIY carpet freshener
(I’m putting together a full post with all my DIY recipes so you can copy them easily.)
Low-Tox Products I Use, Love, and Recommend
Produce wash + sticky residue remover
- Produce wash: distilled white vinegar + water
- Sticky residue remover: organic lemon essential oil (add a drop and do some gentle scrubbing)
Handwashing + sanitizing
- Handwashing: DIY foaming hand soap
- Hand sanitizer: Dr. Bronner’s for on the go
Dishes
- Dishwasher pods: Puracy dishwasher pods
- Garbage disposal cleaner: Lemi Shine
- Dishwasher cleaner: Lemi Shine (I do this about once a month)
- Dish soap: Seventh Generation (I typically buy the lavender or orange scent)
Kitchen surfaces
- Granite counters: Puracy granite cleaner
- Stainless appliances: Puracy stainless steel cleaner
- Daily wipe-down: DIY multi-purpose spray + eco-cloths/microfiber
- Multi-purpose cleaning: Puracy multi-purpose spray
Dusting (simple + quick)
- Extendable Swiffer duster for quick dry dusting and for hard to reach spots
- Scrub Daddy damp duster
- Under appliance microfiber duster (I love this for under the sofa!)
- Wet microfiber cloth with a drop of dish soap
Multi-purpose scrubbing
- Gentle abrasive: Bon Ami (with scrub brush or Scrub Daddy)
- Eco-cloths / microfiber cloth roll
- Sticky residue remover: organic lemon essential oil (add a drop and do some gentle scrubbing)
- Tough stains/messes: Mr. Clean Magic Erasers
Disinfecting (my low-tox options)
- DIY disinfectant spray
- Hypochlorous acid spray (this helps eliminate mold) with microfiber cloth
- Hydrogen peroxide wipes
- Steam cleaning (more on tools below)
Window + glass cleaning
- Window/glass eco-cloths
- DIY window/glass spray
- Window squeegee
Bathroom cleaning
- Toilet bowl:
- Seventh Generation toilet bowl cleaner
- Pumice stone for hard stains and it doesn’t damage
- Hydrogen peroxide to disinfect safely
- Tub/shower/sink:
- Bon Ami soft scrub with electric spin scrubber
- DIY disinfectant spray or hypochlorous acid spray
- Hydrogen peroxide wipes (for quick sink and counter cleaning)
- Multi-purpose cleaning: Puracy multi-purpose spray
Laundry (my current low-tox lineup)
- Detergent options: Charlie’s Soap or Molly’s Suds (I prefer unscented when available)
- Oxygen whitener: Molly’s Suds oxygen whitener
- Bleach alternative: hydrogen peroxide (great for whites and stubborn stains)
- Enzyme booster: Active enzyme laundry booster (for eliminating stubborn stains and odors)
- Laundry freshener: baking soda or borax
- Fabric softener: distilled white vinegar (in fabric softener tray) OR baking soda in the wash
- Note: don’t use vinegar and baking soda together—they cancel each other out.
- Dryer sheets alternative: wool dryer balls (you can drop essential oils like lavender onto the balls)
- Stain removers I actually use:
- rubbing alcohol for pen/marker
- hydrogen peroxide for blood/whites (spot test)
- Puracy stain remover (I often let it sit overnight)
- Miss Mouth’s stain treater (great quick spot treater)
- Washer cleaner: Lemi Shine (I do this every few months depending on how “dirty” my loads are)
Floors + carpets + upholstery
- Carpet/rug + upholstery cleaning: Bissell spot cleaner + Puracy carpet & upholstery cleaner (about 1 capful)
- Carpet cleaner: Bissell carpet cleaner + Puracy carpet & upholstery cleaner (about 1 capful)
- Stain spot spray: Puracy carpet spot remover
- DIY carpet freshener
- Mopping options:
- Bissell steam mop (I love that I only need water!)
- O’Cedar spin mop + 1 tbsp Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds
- Optional essential oils: tea tree, “germ fighter,” lemon, or orange (only if your household tolerates them)
Tools that make low-tox cleaning so much easier (my MVPs)
I’m including these because they genuinely make cleaning easier—not because you need a bunch of stuff.
- Eco-cloths (especially for windows/glass and stainless steel)
- Microfiber cloth roll (love having a big roll ready to go)
- Bamboo scrub brush + bamboo bottle brushes
- Chain mail scrubber for cast iron
- Scrub Mommy / Scrub Daddy + natural scrub sponge
- Scrub Daddy Duster
- Swiffer duster
- Under appliance/furniture microfiber duster
- Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
- Window squeegee
- Electric spin scrubber (especially for the shower)
- Wool dryer balls
- Bissell spot cleaner
- Bissell carpet cleaner
- Combo Bissell steam mop (a big help for low-tox floor cleaning) + handheld steam cleaner (great for bathrooms and grime)
- Disinfectant fogger sanitizer
- O’Cedar spin mop
- HEPA vacuum (ideal for deep cleaning; bagged if possible)
- HEPA stick vacuum (for quick pick ups!)
Quick Important Safety Notes
- Never mix bleach with vinegar or ammonia.
- Don’t combine hydrogen peroxide and vinegar in the same bottle.
- If you use essential oils, remember they’re potent—use lightly and skip them entirely if your household is sensitive.
Low-tox cleaning doesn’t have to mean perfection or a million products. The goal is to find a small lineup you trust—some DIY staples, a few store-bought essentials, and tools that make it easier to keep up with real-life messes.
💬 Tell me in the comments: Are you more of a DIY-cleaner person or a “just tell me what to buy” person? And what’s one cleaning product you’d love to swap for a lower-tox option?
P.S. If you want a step-by-step plan to actually use these products, here’s my Spring Reset Guide: Room-by-Room Spring Cleaning Checklist + FREE Printable.
If you want to come back to this later, be sure to save these images on Pinterest.
