GOOD Instructions: How to Spring Clean With Nontoxic Home-made Products

Make sure you’re making a clean sweep with non-toxic home products.

By

Milissa Skoro

Mar 24, 2010

By Milissa Skoro

March 24, 2010

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Tackling spring-cleaning this month? Us too. But there’s no sense in doing it if you’re going to create a big mess for the planet (and your body) in the process. Cleaning up your act isn’t as straightforward as running to the pharmacy and picking out a bottle covered in claims of eco-friendliness and biodegradability, however. When it comes to home cleaning products a lot of eco claims are unverified and—worse—unverifiable, with rare exceptions like Seventh Generation.

Instead of wondering what kinds of toxic chemicals you’re flushing down the toilet or dumping down the drain every time you decide your apartment’s gotten a little grungy, stock up on a few things listed below, and keep these easy recipes handy. You’ll probably notice you already have a lot of these ingredients in your house, and the ones you don’t are way cheaper than any pre-made, environmentally unsound cleaner you can buy at the store.

What you’ll need: White vinegar (kills most mold, bacteria, and germs); baking soda (deodorizes, scours surfaces, and is a natural cleaning agent); lemon juice (it has antibacterial and antiseptic qualities, is a natural bleach, and it controls odors); olive oil (polishes); salt (scours, cleans, and deodorizes); tea tree oil (kills germs); hydrogen peroxide (kills bacteria and mold); pure castile soap, such as Dr. Bronner’s (cleanses); empty spray bottles and reusable rags; essential oils you like the smell of.

All-purpose cleaner. Equal parts vinegar and water. The vinegar smell dissipates as soon as it dries, but if it bothers you add a few drops of lemon juice. Put into a spray bottle and use for almost all of your cleaning. Windows and mirror cleaner. Pour a quarter of a cup of vinegar in a spray bottle, and fill the rest with with warm water. A bit of Eucalyptus oil rubbed on the mirrors will prevent them from fogging up. Floor soap. Fill a bucket with warm or hot water, add a quarter of a cup of vinegar and a dash of castile soap. Dunk your rag in the bucket, ring out, and wipe down the floors.Carpet deodorizer. For general cleaning on light colored rugs, sprinkle baking soda before you vacuum. For stains, mix equal parts borax or baking soda, salt, and white vinegar. Apply the paste to the stain and let dry, then vacuum. Tubs, countertops, and sink scrub. Mix baking soda with a bit of castile soap. You can add an essential oil for fragrance if you’d like. Scrub and rinse.Oven cleaner. Combone three parts baking soda, one part salt, and one part water. Spread the mixture across the oven surface and let sit for eight hours. Scrape and wipe clean.Natural drain cleaner. Take a half a cup of baking soda and pour it down the drain, followed by half a cup of vinegar. Let it fizz, then flush with hot water.Wood cleaner. Mix two parts olive oil with one part lemon juice. Rub the mixture into the furniture with a soft cloth and wipe away excess.Moldy grout remover. Mix a half a cup of hydrogen peroxide with one cup of water. Spray it on the moldy area, let it sit for 1 hour, and rinse. Shower spray. Fill a spray bottle with water and five to 10 drops of tea tree oil. Keep this in your shower. Shake up and spray after each shower. This will keep mold and mildew at bay. Replace it biweekly. Toilet. Mix a quarter of a cup of baking soda with one cup of vinegar. Pour the liquid into the basin and let sit for a few minutes. Scrub and flush.Stainless steel polish. Rub a little olive oil on the surface to remove streaks and prints. Marble, granite, or stone countertop cleaner. These materials require a different cleanser because the acidity of vinegar can etch the surface. Instead, substitute rubbing alcohol or vodka for vinegar in your all-purpose cleaner.Air freshener. Simmer a pot of water with cinnamon sticks and cloves or and a few drops of an essential oil you like on the stove.

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Culture, Media

Voice actor explains why Americans instantly trust people with British accents, even if they’re lying

Your brain decides in seconds.

Mark Wales

5/22/2026

Americans have this strange love of British accents—so much so that even when someone is speaking absolute gibberish, we find ourselves transfixed and absurdly trusting them.

Tawny Platis, a professional voice actor and content creator, expertly captured the phenomenon in her YouTube video, “Why Americans Love This Accent.” In the video, she analyzes why Americans find Billy Butcher’s voice so compelling despite the character’s violent and morally chaotic behavior on the TV show The Boys.

Americans trust and love rough, working-class British masculinity

“So Karl Urban is a New Zealander doing a Cockney, working-class, East End London accent,” Platis explained. Regardless of how well the actor nails the accent for his character, Butcher, Americans buy right into it anyway. “That’s because working-class English masculinity is coded in American media as authenticity,” she added.

She goes on to give examples to help substantiate her point: “Every Guy Ritchie movie, British gangster film, and working-class antihero from Michael Caine to Tom Hardy has trained American audiences to hear that voice as unfiltered and honest.”

A 2024 study published in SAGE Journals found that listeners unconsciously form social biases based on accents. People rapidly make assumptions about personality and identity.

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Make ordinary information sound important

The accent becomes a shortcut the brain uses to make immediate decisions about intelligence, honesty, confidence, warmth, and even competence. When it comes to characters like Butcher, the key detail isn’t so much the “Britishness” itself—it’s the association.

“Butcher is using the working-class Brit voice to showcase honesty,” Platis said. “Butcher is a liar who manipulates Hughie, hides things from his team, and is willing to take out children. But the audience keeps forgiving him because his voice sounds like a man who’s earned the right to do all that, when he very much hasn’t.”

Psychologists believe part of this effect comes from something called “processing fluency.” A 2023 study published in Scientific Reports found that increased exposure to certain accents reduced listeners’ cognitive effort. As a result, people made more positive social judgments about the speaker.

Accents that feel familiar after years of movies, television, and media unconsciously influence people. Audiences automatically attach credibility and trustworthiness to them. Simply put, people mistake familiarity for truth.

A 2024 study found that Americans rate the standard British accent most positively, strongly associating it with traits like intelligence, status, and competence. The Northern English accent is viewed slightly less favorably. Scottish accents are considered strong and friendly. Meanwhile, the Welsh accent falls somewhere in the middle, depending on how well the listener recognizes it.

Blocks spell out the words “fact” and “fake.”
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Accent bias sways people’s opinions

The same instinct that makes one accent sound “trustworthy” can also make another sound “unreliable.” In real-world interactions, working-class accents can be perceived as less intelligent or less educated. This can affect hiring decisions and even workplace promotions.

A 2024 study focusing on “Americanness” found that accented speakers were perceived as “less American.” In simulated hiring scenarios, they were less likely to be hired, demonstrating that an accent can override other judgments.

When a person speaks, people instantly begin building a story about who they are. Many decide whether a voice sounds trustworthy long before consciously realizing it. Platis points out that a lifetime of exposure to social media, movies, and television has shaped that perspective.

“Butcher’s accent is the most effective because it’s the only one many viewers don’t even recognize as a performance,” Platis said. Which basically means somewhere out there right now, a confident British accent is talking nonsense that feels totally believable.

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Health, Well-being

Therapist shares 5 ways to be ‘less annoying’ in conversations and it’s a must-watch

None of these habits are malicious. But they sure are annoying.

Mark Wales

5/21/2026

Most people think they come across as helpful, engaged, and supportive in conversations. But according to one therapist, these talking habits may be sending a very different message than intended.

Jeffery, a licensed therapist on TikTok, breaks down five common conversational mistakes people make that can come across as annoying. In the post, viewers didn’t just agree with the list. They began recognizing the same behaviors in friends, family, and even themselves.

Making the conversation about yourself

People can mistake sharing personal experiences for the perfect way to show empathy and compassion. It begins innocently enough when someone opens up about something personal. Unfortunately, the listener responds with a story of their own. Both people are trying to connect, but the focus has now completely shifted.

“When someone constantly redirects conversations back to themselves, people start feeling unimportant,” Jeffery explains. “When every story somehow becomes about you, people stop feeling listened to and start feeling dismissed.”

A 2023 experiment suggested that reciprocal disclosure increases interpersonal trust. However, an imbalance in the conversation can create feelings of one-sidedness. This “stealing of the spotlight” reduces connection.

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Getting super defensive

Few things shut down a conversation faster than defensiveness. Even simple misunderstandings can turn tense when people instinctively try to correct rather than understand.

“If every single piece of feedback turns into an excuse or an argument, people eventually stop being honest with you,” Jeffery points out. “Constructive feedback and even some criticism is not always an attack. Sometimes people are simply trying to improve the relationship or communicate something important to you.”

Psychologists describe this behavior as “psychological defensiveness.” Interestingly, a 2024 study found that defensiveness can be reduced if people are warned beforehand in the right way. Conversation works best when it is framed as a collaborative effort rather than an educational or teaching moment.

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Drilling people after they apologize

There is a delicate balance between asking for clarity after an apology and turning the conversation into an interrogation.

“If someone apologizes and you accept it, but then you keep hammering them over the mistake afterward, it will become exhausting and very annoying,” Jeffery adds. “If people feel like apologizing never actually ends the conflict, they actually become less likely to take accountability in the future.”

People often mistake feedback for a personal attack on their own truth. There’s a popular statement often attributed to Marcus Aurelius claiming that much of what we perceive is shaped by interpretation rather than fact. People can share their opinions. We don’t have to defend ourselves against all of them.

Stop constantly complaining

Everyone deserves an opportunity to vent. But when every conversation circles back to frustration without change, it can become emotionally exhausting for the listener. Over time, even the most supportive friends can start to pull back.

“Talking about problems is normal,” says Jeffery. “But if almost every interaction revolves around negativity, people start associating you with emotional exhaustion. Nobody wants to leave conversations feeling drained every single time.”

This pattern of constant, dissatisfied venting has even found its way into pop culture. Maybe you remember the infamous George Costanza from the award-winning show Seinfeld. His nonstop stream of complaints was a running joke about negativity. It’s fun to watch and laugh at, but far less enjoyable to encounter in real life.

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One-upping people’s negative emotions

Sometimes, someone takes a risk and shares a particularly challenging experience. In an attempt to show empathy, saying “I get it” might land more like “that’s not a big deal.” It’s important to offer emotional validation rather than comparison.

“If someone opens up about something painful and your immediate reaction is to explain how you had it worse, it can make the other person feel completely invalidated,” Jeffery says. “They just want to feel heard and emotionally supported in that moment.”

A 2023 study revealed that someone trying to relate can sometimes redirect attention away from the original speaker. People feel more supported when their emotions are directly acknowledged instead of reframed or one-upped.

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The comments quickly turn to self-reflection

Many people said Jeffrey’s list felt immediately familiar, whether in conversations with friends or in their own behavior. These annoying habits became surprisingly relatable once someone pointed them out. Here are some of those thoughts:

“silently reposting this for one of my friends to find”

“The first one has ended relationships for me, not because I do it, but because they did it. It’s absolutely exhausting.”

“I know one of my friends are gonna tag me in this later”

“I’ve noticed over the years that my annoying personality will surface when I’m trying to protect myself..”

“I have such a hard time with #1 and I am so aware of it sometimes but I find it so difficult to not do when talking to someone.”

“I do all of these maybe I should go back to therapy”

What might be surprising is that many of these habits are things people slip into without realizing it. Jeffrey’s list doesn’t suggest people are intentionally difficult. He points out that annoying conversations can arise from good intentions, too. Allowing a person to be heard can matter more than offering advice that might fix the problem.

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Environment, Science

Wildlife reserves and gardens alike can be regrown thanks to dogs wearing backpacks with seeds

A dog walk in the garden can produce new flowers.

Erik Barnes

5/20/2026

Whether it’s a forest recovering from a wildfire or our own backyards, nature can use some help. Spreading seeds to ensure grass or wildflower growth can be a time-intensive process. However, there is one way that can be fun, quick, and help your dog get some exercise: strapping a backpack full of seeds onto them.

The practice has been popularized internationally by sisters Francisca and Constanza Torres with their three dogs. Many forested areas of their native Chile were devastated by wildfires. The sisters came up with a plan to help reseed and regrow what had been burned down. The two would strap backpacks filled with grass and wildflowers seeds onto their border collies. The backpack had a small opening that would allow the seeds to fall out and spread as their dogs ran, jumped, and played throughout the area.

This helped the forests regrow while also providing the dogs exercise. The dogs were also able to walk into nooks and crannies human planters normally can’t access.

An idea goes international

The idea spread past countries and coastlines as a nature reserve in Lewes, East Sussex, England offered dog walkers backpacks with seeds. The walkers would strap the packs onto their furry friends as they went on nature walks to help rewild the area.

“We’re really interested in rewilding processes, but they often involve reintroducing big herbivores like bison or wild horses,” said the project’s manager Dylan Walker to The Guardian in 2024. “In a smaller urban nature reserve it’s really hard to do those things. So, to replicate the effect that those animals have on the ecosystem we aimed to utilize the vast number of dog walkers that are visiting the nature reserve daily.”

The concept itself was taken from nature. For centuries, wolves would have seeds caught in their fur. Over time, movement, and grooming, the seeds would be spread throughout other areas of the forest. The wolves acted as natural carriers for seeds much like bees are for pollen.

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This technique doesn’t have to be reserved for wildfire recovery or regrowing public gardens. Your yard could benefit from it, too. While you could find a pack for your pup and fill it with seeds, there’s another way. Gardener Patrick Vernuccio suggests just filling a tea strainer with seeds and clipping it onto your dog’s collar. It should perform the same effect.

If you have your dog help seed your yard, be sure that the plants you hope to grow are dog-friendly. Use non-toxic seeds for dogs such as roses, marigolds, and pansies among others. The ASPCA has a full list of plants that are unsafe for dogs to refer to when you’re unsure.

Man’s best friend can also be man’s best gardening buddy.

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