Making your own cleaning products is firstly way easier than it sounds and secondly a lot more sustainable. The ingredients are pretty much ingredients we always have in our kitchen pantry and if you refill them from a zero waste shop too then you deserve the ultimate sustainable queen status!
It’s super simple! There are a handful of key ingredients you’ll need for these, such as:
– Bicarbonate of soda/Baking soda
– White Vinegar
– Lemons/oranges
– Essential oils
– Soap nuts
Recipes:
All Purpose Surface Spray
Equal parts white vinegar and water. Add around 10 drops of essential oils to offset the vinegar smell, for example lavender, rosemary, orange or grapefruit.
You can also try infusing your vinegar with the rind of lemons or oranges to offset the scent. You can do this by adding citrus rinds to a jar, cover with white vinegar, seal and store in a cupboard for 2-4 weeks. Once the vinegar has infused, strain and use alongside normal vinegar in this mixture to add a fresh scent. Avoid use on marble, stone or granite surfaces.
Toilet Cleaner
For a sparkling loo, mix some white vinegar with bicarbonate of soda and around 10 drops of your favourite essential oil(s) (peppermint-orange is nice!) and pour it into the basin. Leave to sit for a few minutes, scrub with the toilet brush, fizzing up the mixture and getting rid of all the nasties.
Laundry Detergent
Soap nuts are a super sustainable and simple way to wash your clothes. When the soapnuts are mixed with water in your washing machine, they will release a soapy substance that dissolves dirt and cleans your laundry. You can simply add them into your washing machine in a breathable pouch, and add essential oil(s) if you wish (I usually do lavender-eucalyptus). The coolest thing is that when you’re done with them, they can be composted in your garden.
Carpet Deodorizer
Fill a jar with bicarbonate of soda and 10 drops of essential oil(s) (pine-eucalyptus-grapefruit works really well). Shake together and store for use on carpets when they need freshening up. Shake over carpet; leave for up to 30 minutes and then vacuum. Your carpets should smell really lovely and fresh.
Drain Cleaner
For a blocked drain, pour a good amount of bicarbonate of soda followed by some white vinegar to your drain. These two ingredients will react together to break down any dirt, grime and grease clogging up the drain. After 10-15 minutes, pour boiling hot water down the drain to clean everything out (make sure to only do this on metal pipes, as the boiling water could melt the plastic pipes – otherwise just turn on the hot water tap).
This article was inspired by the book “Natural Home Cleaning”, which was lovingly gifted to me by Christiana Anastasiou.
The Green Edit
Melanie Christou
