We haven't bought a commercial all-purpose cleaner for years since I discovered how easy it is to make a citrus-based spray cleaner. It cleans really well, is food safe (so you can use it on food preparation areas), and smells great. It is super simple to make. All you need is any type of citrus peel, white vinegar, a screw-top jar and a decent sized spray bottle. As an added bonus, once the skins have been brewed, and the oil extracted, they can be tossed in the compost. Win win.

To make the spray:
Citrus peel - any type of citrus will do. Remove any pulp and as much of the pith as you can. Place the skins in the jar and top up with white vinegar. You can keep adding more peel over a week or so until the jar is full. Always keep the skins covered by the vinegar.

​White vinegar - don't be tempted to use brown or apple cider vinegar as it may stain some surfaces. If you can find a bulk supply of white vinegar it makes it much more economical and zero waste with refills. I understand that The Source stores are stocking white vinegar now but you may need to check your local store.

Store the jar in a dark space for 3 weeks to "brew". 
Use a small funnel to pour the liquid into a spray bottle.
We use this for the kitchen, spills on the floor, the bathroom and anything that need a wipe over.
It works so well that we cleaned the interior of our caravan with just a combination of this spray, bicarb soda and elbow grease. We used it on the oven, floor, fridge (inside -ew and out) and all of the cupboards and surfaces. It looks better than it did when we took delivery of it.

I have very frizzy hair, especially in humid weather (hello Central Coast summer time). As I get older my hair is also losing some of it's oomph. I like to use beachy spray to give my hair a bit of body but don't like all the chemicals in the commercial products, or buying endless plastic bottles. I've played around with a few different recipes for this and this is the one I use now.

Salt (1 tbsp)  -  This is the ingredient that will give body to your hair. It may also leave your hair a bit stiff so play around with the amount that suits you. Most recipes say use sea salt but I use Murray River Pink Salt Flakes. It comes in minimal packaging and we also use it for cooking. This product also assists with the salination problem along the Murray Darling Basin.
Coconut Oil (2 tspns) - This ingredient softens your hair without leaving it feeling sticky. It's not a problem to spray this in the warmer weather but in the colder months it can tend to solidify in the spray bottle. I run a bit of hot water into the bathroom basin and place the bottle in it for a few minutes while I have my shower. You could also put it on the floor of the shower (as long as it's not glass).
Essential oil. (6 drops) Strictly speaking this ingredient isn't required but I like to use an orange blossom oil for the lovely fragrance. You could also use other oils that are scalp friendly such as lavendar or franckincense.
Warm water (1 cup)
Making the spray couldn't be easier. Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl, then when the coconut oil is thoroughly blended in, use a funnel to pour into your spray bottle. I just keep using the last bottle of commercial spray I had (several years ago) but I believe some of the larger stores sell brown glass spray bottles.

Dishwashing liquid 
I'm trying to reduce the amount of plastic we use as much as possible and dishwashing liquid that comes in a plastic container (even the "environmentally friendly" ones) was beginning to annoy me.
I've tried using bar soap but I'm not a real fan of it for dishes (we've used a locally made "no nasties" soap in the bathrooms for years). I had my 1st attempt at making dishwashing liquid from soap nuts and I'm really happy with the result.


* 5 cups of cold water to 20 soap nuts.​
*simmer for 45 mins (it gets a nice froth on the top during this stage).
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* Cool the now very brown mixture in the pan.
*Strain the mixture into a large jug (or smaller one several times if necessary) through a very fine sieve.
The used soap nuts will be quite sludgy. Dry them out on a baking tray in a sunny spot to resuse. You should be able to use them at least once more, reducing the water each time.
* Pour the strained liquid into a container. I reused a commercial dishwashing liquid bottle but will buy a ceramic one eventually when needed.
* Soap nuts liquid won't suds up as much as the commercial stuff but I only used the same amount as I normally would and I was really happy with the results.
*Store the made up liquid in the fridge (make sure to label it well so it isn't confused with anything drinkable.
*You can also freeze in iceblock trays and defrost and use as necessary
*Can be used for other things, including surface cleaner, clothes washing, shampoo, handwash.

I'd love to source soap nuts from Australia to cut down the carbon footprint of transport. Anyone know of a supplier?
#homemade #sustainability #soapnuts