Natural Harvest: April 2012

A lot of produces you have in your cupboards you may only use for one or two things when they might have the potential to do so much more.

Washing Dishes: When we think doing the dishes we reach for dish washing liquid, you can spend a little extra money to get biodegradable liquids but did you know that before people used dish washing liquid they used to use soap bars. In fact most cleaning things now are the replacement of soap bars, the things dish washing soap, laundry powder, liquid hand soap, body wash, and (I don’t know how without knotting your hair) shampoo have all replaced the bar of soap.

To use soap for dishes you can buy what is called a soap swisher, which is a little cage which you place the bar of soap in which is attached to a stick. Or you could drill a hole in the bar of soap and put wire or rope through it or just simply place a bar into the sink. Swish the bar around so it makes the water cloudy.

I have found that using really hot water works best and drying the dishing soon after washing leaves them nice and shiny.

Drain cleaner: This is for minor blockages, place 1 cup of Sodium carbonate a.k.a. washing soda down the drain followed by boiling water or 1 cup of Bi-carb-soda down the drain followed by vinegar.

Glassware: To give glass that extra sparkle rinse the glassware in water with either white vinegar or lemon peels in it, then wipe dry with a clean dry tea towel.

Floors: Vinegar is an old method for cleaning surfaces as it acts as a mild disinfectant, adding some to a bucket of water is mostly all you need for mopping the floor. If you have a sealed timber floor and need a bit of help picking up that layer of dust boil up some tea with no sugar and leave it to cool, place in a bucket and use that to soak your mop in.

Carpet Shampoo: you will need a bar of pure soap, washing soda, cloudy ammonia and water. Grate half a cup of soap and add to a pot of boiling water and leave for 1 minute, then add 3 tablespoons of washing soap and 3 of cloudy ammonia and leave to cool down. Once cool place into jar and label very clearly.

To uses scoop out a small amount onto the stain and lather with a cloth and little hot water. Then wipe off all excess moisture with an absorbent cloth.

Ceramic bath and basin: Wipe with a damp cloth and bi-carb-soda or to make a shine wipe with white vinegar.To help soften the vinegar smell add a sprig of your favorite herb.