Green Your Office

Maybe you work at home and your idea of “going to the office” is staying in bed and typing while still wearing your pjs, with a puppy curled up at your feet and never-ending access to your kitchen—just in case you decide to whip up a mid-morning snack that didn’t come packaged in foil. Well, kudos. Chances are, if you have a home office, you’re your own cleaning crew, and you wouldn’t dream of using anything other than natural, eco-friendly products to spruce up your space. Since you wouldn’t use them in your home (even if it isn’t also your office), why allow nasty chemicals into your workplace? For those whose commute is farther than the couch, here are a few handy tips for giving your cubicle the green spring clean befitting of a home-away-from-home.

The Clean Sweep
Of course, the obvious place to start is with actual cleaning products. Say you happen to have someone who’s something of a klutz for a co-worker, and he or she is continually spilling coffee all over creation. In case said coffee has landed on your clothing, we know one thing that is sure to get it out: Holy Cow Concentrated Cleaner. Designed to clean everything—and we mean everything—this green-liquid-filled spray bottle is your one-stop shop for spills of all sorts and really, actually, reliably gets ink stains out. Trust us, when that pen explodes in the pocket of the fancy French-cuff shirt you just splurged on, Holy Cow will become your new deity of choice.

Break It Down
Ah, the break room: repository for scary, foil-and-sticky-note-clad leftovers, battleground for “who drank the last of my soy creamer!” fights, and littering locale for altogether too many spent sugar packets. First step to greening up the workday watering hole is to make sure that it’s free of nasty bits—aka meat and dairy. Since we know that animal products wreak havoc on the environment, it’s best to exclude them from the get-go. Soy creamer, fair-trade coffee and tea, and bulk sweeteners (think agave) will get your brain buzzing. Should some of said sweetener drip on the counter, would you be caught dead with a paper towel in hand? Definitely not. Get ye a Twist Sponge Cloth, which is totally biodegradable and lasts 1,000 times longer than even the brawniest paper towel.

Agent Orange
OK, maybe this isn’t something you want to read aloud in polite company, but definitely needs discussing—if only to ensure that, oh, say, your next big-time client meeting isn’t derailed by a malodorous bathroom odor. It can certainly be tricky to maintain a professional demeanor when the office atmosphere is more reminiscent of a boys’ locker room than a place of business. To freshen up, spritz a little Air Scense about, or, if your workspace isn’t a paper-laden fire hazard, light up your favorite A Scent of Scandal candle.