Mean, GREEN Cleaning Machine

I've been having major guilt issues with my beloved swiffer lately. On one hand, it makes it so easy to keep my hardwood floors clean. On the other, it frequently needs expensive and wasteful refills. My inner-hippie cringes every time I threw one of the pads in the trash, which usually happens to be every time I use it. So, I did a little sleuthing on the good ole' inter-web. Here's what I found:

If you very carefully cut the ring that holds the cap on the bottle of solution, you can unscrew the cap to refill the bottle and then screw it back on-- you'll never have to buy swiffer solution again! You can fill it with generic floor cleaner (diluted Murphy's Oil soap works really well on wood floors) or even make your own solution for just pennies. Here's a recipe from Whole Foods:

1 tsp Borax
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp dishwashing liquid
1 tsp lemon juice (or a few drops of your favorite essential oil-- grapefruit smells fantastic!)
1 c. hot water

This is a recipe for multipurpose cleaner, so don't just use it on the floors. Stick some in a squirt bottle and go cleaning crazy!

As for the pads, you can cut large pieces of microfiber to fit. They'll stick to the velcro on the swiffer with no problem. When they get dirty, just throw them in the wash! Apparently, Walmart's auto section is a great place to find a big bag of microfiber rags at a great price.

I love finding ways to eliminate guilt. Yippee!