Leslie Reichert ’s mission is to teach and encourage the art of homekeeping and green cleaning so people can enjoy a good life. “I always love to see the faces of people when I show them what a cut lemon and some salt can really do,” she says.

Reichert, a green cleaning coach and owner of the Back Door, a vacuum and homekeeping store in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, runs the website ShopGreenCleaning and wrote The Joy of Green Cleaning, an essential resource full of tips and recipes for cleaning your home without chemicals. She turned to natural cleaning methods after running a large residential cleaning service—and seeing firsthand what the harsh chemicals in cleaning solutions can do to people’s health. Reichert sees three good reasons to green your cleaning: