Green Cleaning Products

INSTEAD OF five different bars (or bottles) of soap by the tub...

USE a one-suds-fits-all soap, like Kiehl's Aloe Vera biodegradable liquid body cleanser ($17, Kiehl's).

BTW: In the green body-care realm, you can skip kid-specific products. "I use the same body wash that my 3-year-old and 6-month-old do," says Jeremiah McElwee, Senior Global Whole-Body Coordinator for Whole Foods Market.

INSTEAD OF formula with foaming agents and other chemicals...

USE Frédéric Fekkai Au Naturel ($23, Sephora), which contains no sulfates, parabens, dyes, or synthetic scents.

BTW: A shower can use up to 10 gallons of water a minute. If you can bear it, McElwee says, turn the water off while lathering, then back on for a rinse.

INSTEAD OF the one you grew up with...

USE Earth Friendly Ecos Magnolia Lily ($12, Earth Friendly Products). It has a built-in soy-based fabric softener and, according to Snow, "smells better than anything on earth," says Sara Snow, Creator and host of Get Fresh with Sara Snow and Living Fresh on Discovery Health Channel.

BTW: It's scented with natural plant extracts, not synthetically.

INSTEAD OF your usual big ol' 64-ounce jug...

USE the concentrated version. "If you're married to the fresh scent of All, switch to the concentrated form [$7, Walgreens]," says Josh Dorfman, author of The Lazy Environmentalist (Stewart, Tabori & Chang).

BTW: Limit the number of plastic jugs in the recycling bin by looking for your usual detergent in a soft refill bag.

INSTEAD OF an old-school grime fighter...

USE Earth Friendly Oxo Brite ($12, Earth Friendly Products).

BTW: Splashed with turkey gravy? Go ahead and borrow your host's regular stain pen, no matter how environmentally questionable it may be, Francesca Olivieri, cofounder of Sage Baby and contributor to the blog SimpleSteps.org, advises. "It's a bigger waste to throw away a perfectly good piece of clothing."

INSTEAD OF regular cleaning supplies...

USE green versions from your favorite brand, like the Clorox Green Works line ($4 each, RestockIt.com), which is made from plant-based ingredients.

BTW: If you're of the squeakier-means-cleaner school of housekeeping, a familiar name offers peace of mind. "It's a big brand, so it works the way you're used to," Dorfman says.

INSTEAD OF the usual cluster under the sink...

USE concentrated ones. Try the Arm & Hammer Essentials line ($3.50 each, Drugstore.com).

BTW: Every container has a carbon footprint—not just its plastic packaging but the fuel needed to deliver it to stores and to drive it home from the store. Concentrated formulas shrink that footprint, Snow says.

INSTEAD OF a different product for each fixture, tile, and line of grout...

USE a multitasker like Seventh Generation tub-and-tile cleaner ($7, Staples).

BTW: First try going homespun—shake a little bit of baking soda onto a wet sponge with some Dr. Bronner's liquid Castile soap ($9, Dr.Bronner's) on it.

INSTEAD OF wasting single-use sheets...

USE rags and surface spray. "With three kids, I do laundry all the time," Olivieri says. "I can handle tossing in a few rags."

BTW: Before cocking the surface spray, try to clean counters or grease-splattered stovetops with water-dampened microfiber cloths ($10 for three, Don Aslett's Cleaning Center, CleanReport.com).

INSTEAD OF the usual kind...

USE Mrs. Meyers Clean Day dish soap ($5, Mrs. Meyer's). Phosphate-free and biodegradable, it "works extraordinarily well on grease," Snow says.

BTW: Run the dishwasher on its energy-saving cycle. It will use about five gallons of water, says Dorfman, "the equivalent of running the sink for two minutes."

INSTEAD OF regular detergent...

USE Ecover's bio­degrad­able dishwasher tablets ($7, MaggiesCottage.com), which are formulated from plant-based ingredients.

BTW: It's okay to cheat once in a while. "I'll admit that I still use Cascade every so often," Olivieri says, "because I feel like the green stuff doesn't make the glasses sparkle the way I'm used to."