Washing liquid

I have been on the search for a "make your own" washing powder or liquid for a while. I had made a powder before and used it, but rejected making it again as it wasn't any cheaper than the ecostore brand powder I already buy, and also because the grated soap didn't dissolve very well in the cold washes I prefer. Recently a friend gave me a copy of a book by Wendyl Nissen which contained a recipe for lavender laundry detergent. I have been using it and it seems to work really well. It was so cheap to make and I had fun going back to high school chemistry and mixing stuff together and watching it do strange things, turning into a really viscous liquid! Have a go at making it - I dare you!

Make your own cleaning products

This is something I have dabbled in for a while, but has fallen off the wayside a bit since the arrival of Miss E. A few nights of enough sleep and reading A Home Companion: My year of living like my grandmother by Wendyl Nissen, a present from a friend for my birthday, has inspired me to get back into it.

As well as sewing I am keen to become more self-sufficient in other areas, for many reasons including self satisfaction, saving money and helping our planet out a bit. This week I am going to focus on making my own cleaning products. Check out Wendyl's website it has some recipes for products that she has tried and tested. I am going to try them out too. I also have a few other recipes I have used in the past:

Jif
Mix baking soda with enough liquid detergent or castille soap to make a paste. Add teatree oil and lemon oil (a few drops of each) to make it antiseptic and smell nice. This goes hard like rock pretty quickly if you don't use it up, but apparently a bit of glycerine keeps it soft. I am going to try this. It works really well!

Disinfectant
I use a mixture of white vinegar and teatree oil to clean the toilets. Together they kill pretty much all the germs. I use ecostore toilet cleaner for the bowl though as the only alternative I have found is a mixture of (a lot of) vinegar and baking soda which actually ends up costing more!

Cleaning spray
I use Dr Bronner's liquid castile soap for my cleaning products. Its quite expensive but it lasts for ages. This cleaning spray works well, although it does leave a build up after a while. I think that Vinegar would remove this though:

1. Mix 1/4 c white vinegar and 1 t borax (can get this from chemist) in a spray bottle.
2. Fill most of the bottle with very hot water from the tap. Shake to dissolve the borax.
3. Add 1/4 c liquid soap and shake.
4. Add 10 - 15 drops of essential oil.

Window Cleaner
Mix half vinegar and half water. Works on mirrors too. Apparently a little bit of cornflour stops streaking but I haven't tried that yet.

Have a go at making your own and share your recipes!! I will share any I try over the week.