You return from your latest shopping trip and are putting your purchases away. As you unpack your reusable shopping bags of the latest cleaning wonder, you look at your cleaning cabinet. It may actually qualify as a miniature superfund site.

A closer look reveals that you are not that different than the rest of us - we all have different cleaners for wood, stainless steel, tile, windows, carpets, drains, and everything else under the sun. You admit to yourself that perhaps you like a clean house way too much and that you’ve got a soft spot for the high tech cleaning gadgets, but is any of it eco-friendly?

Do you know what the most difficult challenge of municipal water systems is? It isn’t the organic waste that is difficult to deal with. Organic waste settles to the bottom where it is then taken care of by special enzymes. Chemicals are another story. Cities and municipalities have to use a series of filtration systems to remove chemicals from the water. Other chemicals are often added to help neutralize some of the more hazardous chemicals. However, this water isn’t even completely purified; it is merely purified enough to be pumped down the river, or into a lake.

If you think businesses and manufacturing facilities are the biggest problems - think again. They are closely monitored for chemical pollution to waterways. Homeowners like us are the real problem. With thousands of people on a local water system, and millions on a big city system it is impossible to control what gets washed down the drain or flushed down the toilet. While some offenses are blatant, such as pouring antifreeze or other used car chemicals down the drain, most comes out of ignorance, as most people assume that the manufacturer of the product is selling you something that is safe and look no further. Unfortunately, this is not true. The enzymes and boosters put in most cleaning products have detrimental impacts on algae growth and oxygen levels in water which has a very large negative impact on marine ecosystems.

What can be done to stop this kind of madness? Actually, it’s providing people with the knowledge and education to make smart eco-friendly choices. For instance, home cleaning can be done with several safer cleansers like alcohol, ammonia, bleach, detergent, oil and soaps. Make sure not to mix these chemicals since doing so can be deadly.

One major source of chemicals in the water comes from laundry. However, it really only takes a simple detergent to keep clothes clean. Bleach is great for light clothes. Soaking extremely dirty clothes first, and then washing with a simple detergent is generally effective. Most stains will come clean with the use of alcohol. Vinegar can help with grease or oil stains. What about glass and windows? A simple solution of ammonia and water mixed equally is all you really need. The best cleaner for wood surfaces is simply a mild oil soap. There are even natural, eco-friendly cleaning techniques for virtually every mess or stain out there that involve the use of oils created from things like peppermint and lavender!

The rule of thumb is if there are more than seven to ten ingredients in a cleaner, there is probably a better and more eco friendly choice. Next time you are shopping for home cleanup products you may want to remember that it’s not just buying or bringing your organic cotton bags, its what you put in, or don’t put in it.

You return from your latest shopping trip and are putting your purchases away. As you unpack your reusable bags of the latest cleaning wonder, you look at your cleaning cabinet. It may actually qualify as a miniature superfund site.

As you look in the cabinet, you notice cleaners for polishing wood, cleaners for your stainless steel appliances, cleaners for the window/glass, carpets, drains, bathrooms; the list is endless. You admit to yourself that perhaps you like a clean house way too much and that you’ve got a soft spot for the high tech cleaning gadgets, but is any of it eco-friendly?

Consider your municipal water system - what do you think is the biggest challenge for them? It isn’t the organic waste that is difficult to deal with. Organic waste settles to the bottom where it is then taken care of by special enzymes. Chemicals are another story. Chemicals must be tediously removed from the water by a series of filtration systems. Other chemicals are often added to help neutralize some of the more hazardous chemicals. However, this water isn’t even completely purified; it is merely purified enough to be pumped down the river, or into a lake.

While business and manufacturing facilities can and are closely monitored for chemical pollution, the biggest problems come from homeowners. With thousands of people on a local water system, and millions on a big city system it is impossible to control what gets washed down the drain or flushed down the toilet. While some offenses are blatant, such as pouring antifreeze or other used car chemicals down the drain, most comes out of ignorance, as most people assume that the manufacturer of the product is selling you something that is safe and look no further. Unfortunately, this is not true. The enzymes and boosters put in most cleaning products have detrimental impacts on algae growth and oxygen levels in water which has a very large negative impact on marine ecosystems.

So, what can we do? Like most things, it all begins with a little education. For instance, home cleaning can be done with several safer cleansers like alcohol, ammonia, bleach, detergent, oil and soaps. Make sure not to mix these chemicals since doing so can be deadly.

One major source of chemicals in the water comes from laundry. However, it really only takes a simple detergent to keep clothes clean. Bleach is great for light clothes. Soaking extremely dirty clothes first, and then washing with a simple detergent is generally effective. Most stains will come clean with the use of alcohol. Vinegar can help with grease or oil stains. A tried and true cleaner for glass is made from ammonia and water mixed equally. The best cleaner for wood surfaces is simply a mild oil soap. There are even natural, eco-friendly cleaning techniques for virtually every mess or stain out there that involve the use of oils created from things like peppermint and lavender!

A general rule to follow when looking at what kind of cleaning products to use is to avoid products that use more than 7-10 ingredients. This won’t solve all the problems, but it will help. If you really want to get as eco-friendly as possible, look around online for “recipes” for cleaning products that you can make at home using only water and natural oils and extracts. Next time you are shopping for home cleanup products you may want to remember that it’s not just buying or bringing your organic cotton totes, its what you put in, or don’t put in it.

eBay is like a huge online garage sale getting visited an incredible amount of times each day. If you ever get the urge to clean house, you are probably sitting on a mountain of potential merchandise. Be sure to check your attic and garage.

You might be surprised at how many items you have sitting around gathering dust that would actually sell for good money on eBay. Generally, if you don’t use it any more and it is just taking up space, you might want to consider adding it to the online garage sale.

Of course I’m not suggesting that you sell off family heirlooms. You have to use your discretion when clearing out the old stuff you have sitting around. Do not list anything on eBay in the heat of the moment when you are in a cleaning frenzy.

Once you have assembled a collection of garage sale type items, click over to eBay. First, check to see if there is anything similar to what you are selling currently listed. This will give you an idea of how popular your items are and how much competition is out there.

You can see what final selling prices are like for items similar to yours by clicking the box for “completed items.” This is on the left of the screen and is only available to registered users (signing up is free). This is where you can see the results of auctions and sales that have already ended.

By this point you should have an idea of a reasonable asking price for your items. Now, by following the step by step selling instructions, you can get your old stuff actively up for sale in this huge online garage sale we call eBay. The listing process is pretty simple and once you have gotten used to it, you will be able to list several items inside of an hour.

Many people make a nice income by selling on eBay or at other online sites. It really is not that complicated and if you are willing to do a little bit of research, you can make some great extra cash. The key is to buy low (or sell stuff you already have) and then sell high using the right descriptions and categories.

With a little bit of practice, you can make some nice money every week off of this giant online garage sale. Better still, you can turn your Spring cleaning into a way to get a few extra bucks without having to drag a ton of your belongings into the driveway.

Digging through the old bags and boxes in your attic could be worth some money on that huge online garage sale we know as eBay. Whether you like eBay or not, there is no denying that a lot of money changes hands every day on the site.

If you have things sitting around your house that get moved about but never used, they might be good candidates for selling on eBay. It is amazing the amount of stuff we keep sitting around for no good reason. These are often items we didn’t (and wouldn’t) buy for ourselves.

If you are just starting to sell on eBay, don’t make your first items anything that you think you will miss next month. Choose your items carefully and not out of haste. You can always list more items later.

Once you have assembled a collection of garage sale type items, click over to eBay. First, check to see if there is anything similar to what you are selling currently listed. This will give you an idea of how popular your items are and how much competition is out there.

Next you will want to check out the prices of completed listings. To do this, you will need to be a registered eBay user. You can sign up for free without buying a thing. You can see completed listings by clicking a box at the side of the screen. Completed listings show items that either sold or that received no bids during their auction run.

By this point you should have an idea of a reasonable asking price for your items. Now, by following the step by step selling instructions, you can get your old stuff actively up for sale in this huge online garage sale we call eBay. The listing process is pretty simple and once you have gotten used to it, you will be able to list several items inside of an hour.

It all comes down to buy low and sell high. If you are selling items you already own and just want to get rid of, then it is like it’s all profit. With just bit of research you can start pulling in some extra cash every week.

Most of the stuff I list is just sitting there and hardly cost me any money at all. When people come by and decide to buy it, it is like a little bonus coming my way. This big online garage sale gets visitors at all hours of the day and night and one of the best parts is that I never have to sit at a table making change!