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Spring is here. And it’s time to cut the clutter and create a clean space, making room in mind, body, spirit and home for the people and things that truly matter to you. With natural products (free from toxic chemicals) and a little elbow grease, you can welcome the new season into your home.

In honor of Earth Day, here are 10 easy steps to get you started on a spring home cleaning that Mother Nature would be proud of.

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1. Take a home inventory. Go through each room with two giant garbage bags: one for items to be donated and one for items to be recycled. Be swift: don’t linger on imagined emotional connections to material objects. Learn to relish the joy of less. Embrace minimalism.

2. Make a vow to ditch paper towels. As you clear out your linen closet, gather any shabby or stained towels and washcloths and cut them into reusable rags.

3. Create your own green cleaning products. Mix half a cup of vinegar with a quarter cup of baking soda in a half-gallon spray bottle. You now have your own all-purpose green cleaning solution, at a fraction of the cost of the store-bought, chemical-filled version.

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4. Scour your tub and kitchen sink by mixing vinegar and baking soda. Some surfaces require a grittier cleaning solution. Soak your sponge in vinegar and sprinkle the surface with baking soda. Remember that elbow grease we mentioned? Here’s where you really put it to work.

5. Wash your floors with reusable microfiber cloths and a natural solution. The ProMist Microfiber Spray Mop by O-Cedar comes with ecofriendly, reusable pads; you can even add your own cleaning solution. For your hardwood floors, mix one cup vinegar and a few drops of baby or olive oil in one gallon of hot water.

Learn more Eco-Tips for a greener life.

6. Freshen up your fridge. It’s time to make room for spring’s veggie bounty. Check the dates on all products, particularly stuff pushed to the back and forgotten about. Anything that’s passed its freshness date — or looks (smells) a little funny — should be tossed. Wash the surfaces with vinegar, an effective and food-safe cleaner. Don’t forget to wipe away those dust bunnies hiding under the refrigerator.

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7. Clean the air with houseplants. Spider plants are super efficient air purifiers, and certainly very green! Add a few plants to the areas in your home where you spend the most time. For small, dark spaces, hang a Moso Bag. This fragrance-free, natural air-purifying bag contains moso bamboo, which absorbs and filters odors, harmful pollutants, allergens and bacteria while dehumidifying.

8. Line dry your linens. Dry your linens and clothes the old-fashioned way: on a line in the backyard. You’ll save energy, and that ultra-fresh smell will keep you coming back to the clothespins for as long as the weather cooperates.

9. Switch to a green energy option with your local utility provider. Many utility companies now let you purchase renewable energy at a slightly higher premium. And cutting down on your energy usage might actually negate the price change. Call up now, inquire and make the switch.

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10. Enlist your kids to help. Spend time around the yard taking care of Mother Earth, and instill a love of nature in your children at the same time. Clean out the weeds and sticks from a fallow garden, then let them choose the flowers or vegetables to plant. If it’s fun, the kids will be clamoring to help.

Check out more kid-friendly environmental activities.

Visit the Earth Day section at CBS Local.

Amy Bizzarri is a Chicago based writer and mom. She blogs at tiramisumom.com.

1. Keep your car in good condition. Get your engine tuned up regularly, change the oil and keep your tires inflated properly. A tune-up could boost your miles per gallon anywhere from four to 40 percent. A new air filter could get you 10 percent more miles per gallon. When replacing your wheels, opt for the new fuel-efficient tires. Due to new materials in these tires, they use less energy when rolling along the road but maintain excellent wear and traction characteristics. Major tire makers, including Michelin, Goodyear and Bridgestone, all offer fuel-efficient models.

2. Commute smarter. Share a ride to work, telecommute or use public transit. If your daily commute is just 10 miles each way (the national average) and you normally drive a 20 mpg vehicle, you would save 236 gallons of gas each year by opting to carpool, telecommute or use transit. If each commuter car carried just one more passenger once a week, we would cut America’s gasoline consumption by about 7.7 million gallons.

Learn how to save on your electricity bill.

3. Drive smarter (known as hypermiling). Drive more smoothly, avoid heavy breaking or accelerating, and coast to a stop in order to improve your vehicle’s fuel efficiency and save on gas by maximizing miles per gallon. Avoid idling by shutting off the engine for prolonged waits (for the kids at school or a train crossing). Remove roof racks whenever possible as they can create significant drag. When carrying clamshell storage containers, bikes or other burdens, you reduce your fuel efficiency by as much as five percent, so take them off the car roof when not needed.

4. Slow down. Ease up on the pedal. Slowing down from 75 to 65 miles per hour will drop your highway gasoline consumption by about 15 percent. That’s money in your pocket.

5. Use good motor oil. Choose fuel-efficient motor oil marked with an “Energy Conserving” label by the American Petroleum Institute. Motor oils with additives that reduce friction can increase a vehicle’s fuel economy by three percent or more.

Check out the Autos section at CBS Local for more car news.

Visit the Earth Day section at CBS Local.

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The content above was provided by EcoMedia.

About CBS EcoMedia Inc.
At EcoMedia, we’re propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that’s been our mission since we founded the company in 2002. In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide-range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media.

Through our patent-pending EcoAd program, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local environmental projects which aim to improve quality of life. In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial — and media, in general — into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change. In recognition of this, the internationally known Edison Awards recently announced that EcoMedia has been named a finalist for the 2012 Edison Best New Product Awards(TM).

We invite you to visit ecomediacbs.com to learn more about the improvements EcoMedia is making in communities across the country.

Install a low-flow shower head - On average, showers account for 32 percent of home water use. U.S. federal law now requires that all shower heads sold be low-flow models. Low-flow shower heads deliver no more than 2.5 gallons per minute compared to standard shower heads that release 4.5 gallons per minute. A typical family of four using low-flow shower heads can save about 20,000 gallons of water per year. Also remember, cutting down your time in the shower saves money on your water and energy bills. For every minute the typical American spends in the shower each day, 204 pounds of heat-trapping pollutants are emitted annually for an electric-powered water heater and 94 pounds for a natural gas-fueled water heater.

Install flow restrictor aerators - Placing these inside faucets saves three to four gallons per minute when you turn on the tap. Of course, you can also help out by doing simple things, such as not running water in the sink while soaping your face or brushing your teeth.

Learn how to save at the gas pump.

Install an ultra-low-flush toilet or a toilet displacement device - Toilets are water hogs. About 40 percent of the water you use in your home gets flushed down the toilet. That amounts to more than four billion gallons of water in the U.S. each day. That’s why federal law now mandates that all new toilets installed for residential use be low-flush toilets. Conventional toilets generally use three and a half to five gallons (sometimes more) of water per flush, while low-flush toilets use 1.6 gallons of water or less. If you’re not building a new home, you can still benefit by installing one of these toilets. Still have an old toilet? You can save more than one gallon of water per flush with a displacement device. Place a brick or plastic milk jug filled with water or pebbles in the toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used per flush.

Use water wisely in everyday activities - Run the clothes washer only when full. Take a shorter shower and turn off the water while soaping and shaving to also save a lot of water. Sweep sidewalks and driveways instead of hosing them down. Washing a sidewalk or driveway with a hose uses about 50 gallons of water every five minutes.

Repair leaks - Fix those leaking and dripping faucets as soon as possible. A dripping faucet can waste up to 20 gallons of water per day. A leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons per day.

Check out the Your Home section at CBS Local for more home tips.

Visit the Earth Day section at CBS Local.

__________________________

The content above was provided by EcoMedia.

About CBS EcoMedia Inc.
At EcoMedia, we’re propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that’s been our mission since we founded the company in 2002. In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide-range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media.

Through our patent-pending EcoAd program, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local environmental projects which aim to improve quality of life. In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial — and media, in general — into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change. In recognition of this, the internationally known Edison Awards recently announced that EcoMedia has been named a finalist for the 2012 Edison Best New Product Awards(TM).

We invite you to visit ecomediacbs.com to learn more about the improvements EcoMedia is making in communities across the country.

Cut your fridge’s energy use - Set your refrigerator temperature at 38 to 42 degrees Fahrenheit; your freezer should be set between zero and five degrees Fahrenheit. Don’t open the refrigerator door any longer than you need to. This keeps the temperature cool inside. Use the power-save switch if your fridge has one, and make sure the door seals tightly. You can check this by making sure that a dollar bill closed in between the door gaskets is difficult to pull out. If it slides easily between the gaskets, replace them. Also make sure there is good air circulation around the coils at the back of your fridge and no heating vents are nearby. Lack of circulation and nearby heating vents can lower the refrigerator’s temperature, which can result in wasted energy.

Think about your diet - Replace beef and pork with poultry to lower your carbon footprint and save money too. Replacing the protein you get from beef with poultry can save you an average of .75 tons (or 1,555 pounds) of CO2 emissions annually. For comparison’s sake, if the average American were to go entirely vegetarian, they would save one and a half tons of CO2 emissions annually. Poultry products are also often cheaper than beef, including many Certified Humane and USDA organic poultry options. But your biggest savings will come from cooking your own food and reducing takeout and restaurant meals.

Learn how to be green as you spring clean.

Use your oven more efficiently - The way you use an appliance can change the amount of energy it wastes. Make sure your oven gasket is tight, and resist the urge to open the oven door to peek, as each opening can reduce the oven temperature 25 degrees. Preheat only as much as needed, and avoid placing foil on racks. Your food won’t cook as quickly.

Use water wisely in the kitchen - Water is wasted more quickly than you might think. An open faucet lets about five gallons of water flow every two minutes. In the kitchen, you can save between 10 and 20 gallons of water a day by running the dishwasher only when it’s full. You can save up to 30 percent more water by running a full load in your dishwasher than if you wash all the dishes by hand with the tap running. Save yourself money and time and use your dishwasher. You don’t even need to rinse dishes before loading them, just scrape any scraps into your compost. (Most dishwashers are now built to remove any food residues and pre-rinsing can waste as much as 20 gallons per load). If you do need to wash dishes by hand, fill the sink or a dishpan with water, rather than running the tap continuously as you scrub. Choose nontoxic alternatives to household cleaners with harsh chemicals. You can use baking soda, for example, to deodorize drains, clean countertops and polish stainless steel. Learn more about which chemicals are safe to use in your home with the NRDC Chemical Index.

Don’t pour chemicals down the drain - When you dump paint, oil, harsh cleansers and other hazardous products down the drain, they can find their way into nearby bodies of water. Contact your local sanitation, public works or environmental health department to find out about hazardous waste collection days and sites.

Check out the Your Home section at CBS Local for more home tips.

Visit the Earth Day section at CBS Local.

__________________________

The content above was provided by EcoMedia.

About CBS EcoMedia Inc.
At EcoMedia, we’re propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that’s been our mission since we founded the company in 2002. In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide-range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media.

Through our patent-pending EcoAd program, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local environmental projects which aim to improve quality of life. In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial — and media, in general — into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change. In recognition of this, the internationally known Edison Awards recently announced that EcoMedia has been named a finalist for the 2012 Edison Best New Product Awards(TM).

We invite you to visit ecomediacbs.com to learn more about the improvements EcoMedia is making in communities across the country.

Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) - Change the six bulbs you use most in your house to compact fluorescents. CFLs are 80 percent more efficient than conventional bulbs. Each CFL will keep half a ton of carbon dioxide out of the air over its lifetime. And while compact fluorescents are initially more expensive than the incandescent bulbs you may be used to using, they last ten times as long, and replacing six bulbs can save you an average of $36 per year in electricity costs.

Turn off the lights - Turn off lights and other electrical appliances such as televisions and radios when you’re not using them. This is a no-brainer, but it’s surprising how many times we forget. Install automatic timers for lights that people in your house frequently forget to flick off when leaving a room. Use dimmers where you can. The same goes for any outdoor lights. Don’t leave outdoor security lights on all night or during the day. Install a timer or sensor.

Learn how to save on your water bill.

Buy energy-efficient products - When buying new appliances or electronics, shop for the highest energy-efficiency rating. Look for a yellow and black Energy Guide label on the product. This compares the energy use for that model against similar models. New energy-efficient models may cost more initially, but have a lower operating cost over their lifetimes. The most energy-efficient models carry the Energy Star label, which identifies products that use 20-40 percent less energy than standard new products. According to the EPA, the typical American household can save about $400 per year in energy bills with products that carry the Energy Star. Did you know your refrigerator typically accounts for up to 20 percent of your electric bill? On the average, new refrigerators and freezers are about 75 percent more efficient than those made 30 years ago, so investing in a state-of-the-art refrigerator can cut hundreds of dollars from your electric bill during its lifetime. Find the most efficient electronics and appliances in the U.S. at Top Ten USA, a nonprofit that identifies the best of the Energy Star products.

Unplug seldom-used appliances - Do you have an extra refrigerator in the basement or garage that contains just a few items? You may save around $10 every month on your utility bill by unplugging it.

Unplug your chargers when you’re not charging - Every house is full of little plastic power supplies to charge cell phones, PDA’s, digital cameras, cordless tools and other personal gadgets. Keep them unplugged until you need them, even if they’re not in use (as they’re still sucking energy), and you’ll save on your annual energy bill.

Use power strips - Use power strips to switch off televisions, home theater equipment, and stereos when you’re not using them. Even when you think these products are off, together, their “standby” consumption can be equivalent to that of a 75 or 100 watt light bulb running continuously. With several electronics plugged into a power strip, you can turn everything off at once with the flip of a switch. Also, most power strips double as a surge protector.

Use sunlight wisely - During the heating season, leave shades and blinds open on sunny days, but close them at night to reduce the amount of heat lost through windows. Close shades and blinds during the summer or when the air conditioner is in use or will be in use later in the day.

Check out the Your Home section at CBS Local for more home tips.

Visit the Earth Day section at CBS Local.

__________________________

The content above was provided by EcoMedia.

About CBS EcoMedia Inc.
At EcoMedia, we’re propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that’s been our mission since we founded the company in 2002. In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide-range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media.

Through our patent-pending EcoAd program, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local environmental projects which aim to improve quality of life. In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial — and media, in general — into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change. In recognition of this, the internationally known Edison Awards recently announced that EcoMedia has been named a finalist for the 2012 Edison Best New Product Awards(TM).

We invite you to visit ecomediacbs.com to learn more about the improvements EcoMedia is making in communities across the country.