ALL PURPOSE SPRAY
Water
White vinegar
Eucalyptus oil
Tea Tree oil
Take a plastic spray bottle and fill it 2/3 with water. Some websites recommend distilled water but I've had no problems with normal tap water (you may want to look into the water quality in your own area). Fill up the other 1/3 with white vinegar. The cheap stuff is fine. Add 10 drops of each oil and give it a shake. You're done! It smells great and cleans really well too. I use this for my kitchen bench tops and my bathroom vanity and mirror. Eucalyptus oil is antibacterial and has a lovely fresh smell. Tea tree oil has antibacterial, antiviral, anti fungal and antiseptic properties.
ORANGE DEGREASER SPRAY
Orange peel
Every time you use an orange, don't discard the peel. Pop it into a jar and cover it with vinegar. Keep the jar for around 6 weeks and shake it regularly. What you'll be left with is a fragrant orange smelling spray that is an excellent degreaser for your oven and bench tops.
And now for a couple of projects I have lined up for next week, when hopefully this head cold will decide to leave me alone for good!
DIY LIQUID HAND SOAP
The Farmers Nest has a great recipe for making your own hand soap or 'soft soap'. I bought a lovely bar of goats milk soap especially for this and I can't wait to try it out.
You'll need a cheese grater (maybe best to buy a cheapie just for cleaning projects)
2 Tablespoons of glycerine (from supermarket, health store, or chemist)
1 bar of soap
1 gallon of water (about 3.75 litres)
1 big plastic bottle to put it in
Grate the bar of soap and add to the water in a big pot.
Add the glycerine and heat on medium until everything is dissolved. It will look like soapy water.
Leave for 10 - 12 hours.
The mix will harden, if it's a bit too hard you can whip it up using egg beaters.
Bottle it, label it, and give yourself a well deserved pat on the back.
* Dove soap or any soap with a lot of moisturiser will not work with this recipe. For more detailed info see The Farmers Nest.
DISH WASHING DETERGENT / LIQUID
1/2 C natural liquid soap (like the soap above you just made perhaps?)
1 Tablespoon of white vinegar
1 Tablespoon of grated soap
1/8 tsp tea tree oil or 1/4 tsp eucalyptus oil
1/2 very hot water
Place all ingredients in a bowl and pour the hot water over the top. Whisk together and leave to cool before bottling in a recycled dishwashing liquid bottle.
Do you have a favourite DIY cleaner recipe you'd like the share? Let me know in the comments below!
For just about everything, I use a bottle of 50/50 water and meths (not the one with the purple additive, just because it's more stinky). This is my mirrors/window/benchtops cleaner, recommended by the kitchen install people about a year ago. I tend to use a lot of eucalyptus oil too when mopping etc, or now and again in the laundry. I find if the kids are extra sneezy, spraying the carpets/beds etc with a eucalyptus/water mix, then vacuuming, seems to help!
ReplyDelete(Lauren FranRose)