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Go extra clean with this year's spring cleaning routine.

Cleaning your home used to be an unpleasant and even dangerous affair. Strong chemical vapors that required plenty of ventilation and bottles of poisonous liquids that could irritate your eyes and skin — or do worse if ingested — were the norm. But as consumers have grown more conscious about the impact products they buy have on their health and the environment, we've seen a swell of natural cleaning product brands flooding the market. These brands promise naturally-derived ingredients that are safer for you, your kids and your pets, while also being kinder to the environment. But how can you tell which ones are worth your time? That's where this guide comes in.

The word "natural," when used in consumer goods, is largely meaningless. There's no government body dictating what can or cannot be labeled as "natural" like there is with the USDA and "organic," so trying to buy natural products can be a bit of a headache. So we're using our own definition of "natural" for the products in this guide. We're focusing on cleaning products that are non-toxic and formulated with mostly plant- and mineral-derived ingredients. In other words, we want ingredient lists that are easy to recognize.

We're steering clear of products that use chemicals like ammonia, chlorine, VOCs, phosphates, phthalates and parabens, all of which are linked to various health or environmental problems. And we especially like brands that go the extra mile by not testing on animals (cruelty-free) and cutting back on their plastic waste with recyclable and reusable containers.

For testing these cleaning product brands, I lived with them in my home, using them for all my cleaning needs. Some products I've used for weeks to try them out, some for months, and some have been favorites of mine for years. Whether cleaning the countertops, washing the dishes or doing the laundry, I put these natural cleaning product brands through the paces to find the best of the best.

In the 11 years since its founding, Grove Collaborative has basically become a household name. The online retailer carries loads of natural goods, from cleaning products to personal care to pet gear to a newly-launched wellness line. The online store carries a number of the brands from this guide, but one could argue that their best offerings come from within. Their self-titled house brand (which you can also find at some other retailers like Target and Amazon) has hundreds of products, including basically everything you would need to clean your home — all-purpose cleaners, laundry detergent, floor cleaner — you name it.

All of Grove Co.'s products are cruelty-free, their scented products forgo any synthetic scents and their soaps are derived from 97-98 percent natural ingredients. Grove Co. has also been focusing more on making its packaging more friendly for the environment, with a commitment to go plastic-free by 2025.

Over the past few years, we've all grown accustomed to constantly sanitizing our hands. And the high alcohol content in hand sanitizers means we're all stuck with perpetually-dry and cracked hands. That's why I love this stuff so much. It's a hand sanitizer gel with a great scent (Blood Orange is my fave, but Lavender is good too), and it actually moisturizes your hands thanks to coconut oil. It's like a hand lotion and sanitizer in one, but be aware that you'll likely go through it quickly and the container is plastic.

If you like simplicity with your home cleaning products, well, it doesn't get much simpler than Branch Basics. The online brand really only makes three cleaning products, though they package them in different ways. There's an Oxygen Boost powder for use as a bleach alternative, Dishwasher Tablets and "The Concentrate." The latter is the brand's flagship product, as you mix it with different amounts of water to turn it into everything from hand soap to laundry detergent to glass cleaner, all within the brand's reusable bottles. The non-toxic formula is free from sulfates, chlorine, VOCs, phosphates, phthalates, parabens and fragrance, and gets its cleaning power from plant-derived decyl glucoside, which is commonly seen in baby shampoo.

I've found this versatile concentrate to be easy to mix and effective in every form in which I've used it — it's especially great as an all-purpose cleaner, and you use so little of it that it will take me months to go through one bottle. If I could change one thing about it though, I do wish that it came in some scented options — there is such a thing as too simple.

Cleaning your home no longer has to smell like bleach and ammonia with Mrs. Meyer's. The brand's claim to fame is its wide range of great-smelling products, all of which are scented with essential oils. Mrs. Meyer's makes some beauty and air freshener products, while their vast cleaning line includes products for dishes, laundry, bathrooms, kitchens, glass and more. The brand is cruelty-free and does not use any ammonia, chlorine, parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, artificial colorants, phosphates or petroleum distillates in its products. It opts for sustainable options when possible for its plant-derived ingredients (like palm oil), and while its packaging isn't reusable, it is recyclable and made with 25 percent post-consumer plastic.

Mrs. Meyer's is the queen of scents when it comes to natural cleaning product brands, as the brand has complete mastery over the olfactory arts. They put that expertise to use here, recreating a product normally associated with an overload of chemicals and over-powerful artificial scents in a chemical-free formula that still leaves your clothes smelling great.

You've probably used one of Method's products before. The brand is not hard to find, as it's available at most big box stores and supermarkets alike. Its prevalence is owed to the fact that it's a subsidiary of S. C. Johnson & Son (as is Mrs. Meyer's), and while the brand may be better known for its personal care items like shampoo and body wash, its cleaning product offerings are also great. Method doesn't use any parabens or phthalates in its products and focuses on plant- and mineral-based products with the highest degree of biodegradability, so you can wash them down the drain without worry. The brand is also cruelty-free and recently introduced concentrates and refillable aluminum bottles to reduce waste.

I've used Method's dish soap for years. It cuts through grease, it smells great and the matte bottles — especially this black Yuzu-scented version — look great on my kitchen sink. Plus, it's biodegradable and cruelty-free. However, while the bottle (minus the cap) is made from 65 percent recycled plastic, there's still a fair amount of new plastic here, making this more wasteful than plastic-free refillable options.

Puracy's main focus is on making strong cleaning products that actually work but are still safe enough to use around kids and pets. The brand takes its name to heart, as every product they offer is formulated with at least 98.5 percent naturally-derived ingredients. The brand also goes out of its way to define what "natural" means to them. In Puracy's case, it's an ingredient that is from a natural, renewable source that doesn't contain petroleum and is biodegradable. The brand only uses synthetic ingredients when required by law (the EPA requires certain preservatives for dish and laundry detergents) or when a natural alternative would make the product ineffective. The brand's home offerings are comparatively few in number, but all are outstanding, with the basics like dish detergent, laundry detergent, hand soap and all-purpose cleaner all being covered.

Powered by plant enzymes, these powerful dishwasher pods will leave your dishes clean even without pre-rinsing. They're my preferred dishwasher pods and my plates, glasses and silverware always come out sparkling with very little effort on my part. Just make sure you don't handle the pods with wet hands, as they will break down quickly.

Blueland's main focus is on sustainability. The brand doesn't use any single-use plastics in its packaging, instead offering its formulas in tablet and powder form to be mixed with water in reusable Tritan plastic or borosilicate glass bottles and stored in metal containers. Their formulas are just as kind to the environment as their packaging, as everything the brand offers is vegan, cruelty-free and formulated without parabens, phosphates, ammonia, VOCs, chlorine or phthalates. The brand is even Cradle to Cradle certified, a stringent standard that requires certain thresholds be met for material health, product circularity, clean air and climate protection, water and soil stewardship and social fairness. Blueland's offerings are unique — tablet glass cleaners and powdered dish soap are far from common — but they're probably the best cleaning product brand out there if you're serious about reducing your plastic consumption.

This plastic-free toilet cleaning kit will make your least-favorite chore a little more tolerable and a lot more sustainable. It includes 14 plant-derived cleaning tablets and a steel tin to store them in. You just drop a tablet in your toilet, scrub away with your toilet brush and give it a flush.

We don't tend to think of cleaning products as being well-designed, but Public Goods changes that. The brand's minimalist packaging is decidedly hip and stylish, meaning you'll be as happy to display their products as you'll be to use them. Public Goods offers a dizzying array of products, from an expansive beauty line and houseplants to dishes and even food and drinks, all of which combine the brand's four tenets of healthy ingredients, sustainability, beautiful design and affordability.

But since this is a guide to cleaning products, that's what we're most interested in. Public Goods uses a refillable model for its cleaning products, with reusable bottles and containers made from borosilicate glass, 100% recycled plastic or even ceramic. Their products are all cruelty-free, and many are also vegan and organic. The brand doesn't use any parabens, sulfates or toxic chemicals, and the brand makes it easy to see what's in each product on its website. As an added bonus, every shipment is carbon offset, and they plant a tree for every order.

For less than $50, this vegan-friendly starter kit will have your home looking and smelling great. It includes a bag of wool dryer balls, a trio of scented candles, a Walnut Scrubber Sponge, a bottle of Castille soap, a box of fabric softener and a glass Surface Cleaner Kit.

While the trend toward more natural cleaning products is a recent one, Seventh Generation has been doing it since before it was cool. The brand, a Unilever subsidiary since 2016, was founded back in 1988 with a focus on producing environmentally-friendly products (the brand name is a reference to thinking of how products will impact the next seven generations on Earth). Their experience has led to a wide range of cleaning products that really work, including an entire line of non-toxic disinfectants — a product category most natural cleaning product brands don't have the ability to tackle.

A big focus for the brand is consumer safety, and they have 90 products that meet the EPA's Safer Choice standard — dozens more than the next highest-ranking brand in this guide. The brand doesn't use any VOCs, optical brighteners, volatile or synthetic solvents, synthetic surfactants or phosphates in their products. They also certify their products through the USDA's Biopreferred Program, with a focus on using renewable plant ingredients. Seventh Generation has also committed to having all of its packagings be reusable, recyclable or biodegradable by 2025.

These botanical disinfectant wipes kill over 99.99% of viruses and bacteria, and they're so safe that you don't have to rinse your surface after using them — not even food contact surfaces.