Home-made cleaners

All-purpose cleaner

2 cups white distilled vinegar

2 cups water

20-30 drops essential oil (optional)

Pour everything into a spray bottle. Shake before using. For really tough jobs, put in a glass container and warm until barely hot.

Creamy soft scrub

2 cups baking soda

½ cup liquid castile soap

4 tablespoons vegetable glycerin

5 drops anti-bacterial essential oil such as lavender, tea tree or rosemary.

Mix together and store in a sealed glass jar. Shelf life: two years.

Note: Glycerin is a preservative and by-product of palm- and coconut-oil production. It will significantly increase the shelf life of large batches of cleaners.

Furniture polish

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup white distilled vinegar

20-30 drops lemon essential oil

Mix ingredients and shake well. Dip a clean, dry cloth into polish and rub wood in direction of the grain.

Laundry detergent

1 cup soap flakes

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax

Mix ingredients together and store in a glass container. Use 1 tablespoon per load in warm or cold water.

Note: Soap flakes can be made by grating pure vegetable soap (that does not contain sodium lauryl sulfate or diethanolamine) with a cheese grater.

Washing soda is in the same family as baking soda but is more caustic. It cuts grease, removes wax or lipstick and neutralises odours in the same way as baking soda does.

Drain opener

½ cup baking soda

½ cup vinegar

Pour baking soda down drain and follow with vinegar. Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Flush with boiling water.

Source: Women’s Voices for the Earth.