✧ 5 Easy Eco Swaps to Green Your Cleaning Cabinet
- Sweet Earth
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
By Hala – Sweet Earth Products
Let’s be honest—modern cleaning products have gotten a little out of hand.
Wander through the supermarket cleaning aisle and you’ll find yourself faced with endless rows of brightly coloured bottles, “miracle sprays,” artificial citrus scents, and plastic packaging that could outlive us all. One for the floor, one for the sink, one for the loo, one for the glass... and don’t even get me started on the air fresheners.
But do we really need fifteen different bottles to keep our homes clean and smelling fresh? Or could we simplify things—cutting back on chemical overload while still getting the job done?
I began greening our family’s cleaning routine years ago—not because I was trying to be Pinterest-perfect or hit some zero-waste milestone, but because I needed to protect my family. Mr Sweet Earth was very ill at the time, and our two sons were constantly bringing home bugs from school, and I realised Dettol, Glen 20 and surface wipes just wasn’t helping. In fact, all these surface sprays and air cleansers were triggering my asthma, filling the air with harsh, unpronounceable fumes.
So I started asking:
What’s actually in this stuff?
And what happens when it builds up in our homes and bodies?
That question led me down the slow-living path that birthed Sweet Earth. And if you’re on a similar journey—starting small, with real intention—here are five easy, powerful swaps that will help you green your cleaning cabinet without sacrificing results or your sanity.
✧ 1. Swap Liquid Dish Soap for a Solid Bar
Here’s the thing: liquid dish soap is mostly water, synthetic surfactants, artificial fragrance, and plastic packaging. It’s drippy, messy, and often gone before you know it.
Our Lemon Burst Solid Dish Soap is none of those things. Made with organic cold-pressed coconut oil, castor oil, hand-ground dried lemon rind, and a potent blend of grime busting essential oils—it’s strong enough to cut grease, but gentle on your hands. No foamers. No fillers. No plastic. Just pure cleansing power.
Here’s how I like to use it: just drop the bar into the sink and let the hot water do most of the work. Sometimes I whisk it lightly with my hand—but you do you! Some folks prefer a soap cage. It’s about finding what works for your flow.
Other ways you can use your dish soap:
Rub your dish brush directly on the bar
Drop it in the sink and let hot water do the lathering
Whisk it to create a foamy solution
Shave it into a bottle with water for a zero-waste spray
These bars cut through oil, rinse clean (no residue like olive-oil-based bars), and smells like fresh lemons—because it is fresh lemons harvested from the Sweet Earth garden, cut, dried and grounded by hand.

✧ 2. Swap Plastic Sponges for Natural Scrubbers
Most supermarket sponges = microplastic machines. Every time you scrub, tiny particles wash down the drain and straight into waterways.
Here on the farm everything from the sink and shower goes straight to our groundwater and out onto our lawn and garden, so I am very mindful of what we use in our homes.
Our CocoFibre Scrub Pads are made from coconut fibre and natural adhesive—sturdy, compostable, and long-lasting. I keep one for the kitchen, one for the shower, and when they’re done? Straight into the compost.
Our Bamboo Dish Brushes are perfect for the chaos of real life, with replaceable heads, fully compostable and solid eco credentials.
Bonus tip: Retire old scrub pads to foot exfoliating duty in the shower. Your feet and heels will thank you!
✧ 3. Swap Detergents for Soap Nuts

If “soap nuts” sound medieval—it’s because they are. And like all good ancient remedies—they still work a charm today. Used for centuries, these natural berries contain saponin—a natural cleanser that’s gentle, effective, and fragrance-free.
How to use them:
Pop 6–8 soap nuts into a muslin bag
Toss into your washing machine
Reuse up to 4 times, then compost
Simmer to create a liquid concentrate—use as laundry liquid, shampoo, pet wash, or gentle baby cleanser and perfect for sensitive skin.
No residue. No irritants. Just fresh, clean clothes and a happy, low-tox home.
✧ 4. Swap Harsh Sprays for Gentle DIY Blends

Let’s talk surface spray.
Conventional options? They’re full of preservatives, overpowering scents, and mystery ingredients that sting your eyes and fog your airways. Instead, try this simple yet powerful DIY blend:
Base options:
White vinegar, rubbing alcohol (vodka) or witch hazel (avoid vinegar on stone or marble surfaces.)
Bicarb soda
Citrus peel (lemon, lime, orange)
Fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, cinnamon stick or clove)
A few drops of essential oils (e.g. thieves, lemon myrtle, eucalyptus)
My favourite? A thieves oil blend with rosemary and citrus peels. Cleans, clears the air, and fights the nasties—gently. Store in a glass spray bottle and give it a shake before use. Safe on most surfaces and around little ones.
✧ 5. Swap Cling Wrap for Beeswax Wraps

Plastic wrap might seem harmless—but it’s one of the most wasteful, non-recyclable items in the kitchen. In Australia, plastic wrap (Cling Wrap), contributes significantly to pollution through its difficulty to recycle, its presence in landfills, potential for microplastic contamination, and its impact on marine life.
Our Sweet Earth Natural Beeswax Wraps smell like honey sunshine, and yes—they make your fridge feel like a garden party, and are made from earth intentional ingredients like:
Pure Australian beeswax
Organic cotton
Organic jojoba oil
Colloidal silver
Pine resin, and
Organic cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil.
Making our wax wraps naturally antibacterial and breathable, they’re perfect for snacks, sandwiches, cut fruit, bowls and more. Warm them with your hands to shape them to any surface. They last about a year with care—and at the end of their life, you can compost them.
They smell like honey sunshine, and yes—they make your fridge feel like a garden party.
✧ Final Thoughts
I get it—this journey can feel overwhelming at first. But it doesn’t have to be.
Start with one drawer. One swap. One little step. Let it build from there.
My journey began over a decade ago. I’ve swapped, learned, made mistakes, learnt a lot and slowly refined what really works. What I’ve found—through lived experience and through the incredible stories of our Sweet Earth community—is that these simple changes ripple outwards. They simplify your life, support your health, reduce waste, and help you feel connected to something bigger.
That’s why I do what I do. Not to chase perfection—but to offer alternatives that feel good, are simple and effective, and most importantly—come from the Earth with love.
If you’ve made one of these swaps, I’d love to hear what’s working for you. And if you’re just getting started—welcome. You’re in great company.
With care & Love
Hala x
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