Ever since my baby sister read the post, Green Cleaning Tips, she’s had green cleaning on the brain.  The only problem was that she had gobs of nasty chemical cleaners filling the entire space below her sink.

Here’s what she had to say:

Katie, you have to help me.  I’m doing what you said about not using toxins and trying to go green.  It’s just that we have all of these cleaners and bleaches that everyone keeps giving us when they move away.  Of course I say yes and take them so they don’t end in the trash.  But now I have too many spray bottles and cleaners and I don’t want to use any of them now.  Help me!!  - Your younger, smarter, brainer, taller sister

Good question!  Whenever a person decides to green up, there are sure to be a pile of cleaners still floating around the house. Don’t throw them away!  Just because you might not be using traditional household cleaners, it doesn’t mean other people aren’t.  (You can’t lead every horse to the water, after all.)

If you’re trying to switch to a greener clean, here’s a few places we’ve come up with that seem more than eager to accept your donations:

1. Give to the local church.  Even if they hire a cleaning service for general cleaning, they’re still going to need emergency supplies under the sink for after Youth Group and other actives.  They might know just the people or places to donate your supplies or having food and supplies drives, too.

2.  Give to local missions and soup kitchens.

3.  Donate to the local scouts or summer camps. I can’t tell you how much bleach summer camps go through to meet health regulations.

4.  Take unopened products to the food bank. You’d be surprised by the demand for things like these and toilet paper at the food banks because most people obviously think food bank = food.  Our local food bank was recently desperate for toiletries, so you just never know.

5.  Contact your local United Way or other not-for-profit.

6.  And finally, call your local women’s shelter and battered women’s shelters.  These facilities might need your donations.  The women trying to reestablish themselves might, too.

And who knows.  You could always buy green cleaning products to donate to these places.  Sometimes it’s an act of kindness that changes us forever.  And in this case, it could help change the environment, too.

What would you do with untouched stuff?  We’re aching to know what you clean your house with, too.  I have a feeling a certain modest sister of mine might be up for some suggestions.  We’re quite the green cleaning newbies ourselves, so do share!