Did you know that simply by steeping herbs, peel and fruit in alcohol you can make extracts? I discovered this quite by accident when researching what to do with an excess of leggy lavender from a rampant bush. I found a post about lavender vodka and because I refuse to follow recipes, I used far too much lavender. Rather than a delicately flavoured beverage I ended up with a murkey liquid which, lucky for me, turns out to be an extract.
Make Your Own
Extracts are strongly flavoured plant extracts. They used to flavour drinks and food. They are a great way of using up a glut of something and preserving it for use later in the year. They are incredibly easy to make and have to be the easiest way of preserving.
The alcohol used is usually vodka and the general rule of thumb seems to be to buy mid range. Too cheap and the nasty flavour intrudes, too expensive and it is a waste of good vodka. Some recipes also suggest rum.
The method is the same.
Take the herb put it in a jar cover it with vodka and leave in a cool dark place remembering to shake occasionally. Time steeping varies with the herb and the recipe.
Once done you strain off the liquid through a sieve and them some fine cotton.
Here are some steeping guidelines.
Lavender – flowers steep for 4 weeks
Vanilla use the beans steep for two months.
Mint leaves one to two months.
Citrus Extracts use the rind of the fruit but not the bitter white pith. Use organic unwaxed fruit. steep for 5 to 6 weeks.
The astronomical spring (Northern Hemisphere) 2016 began on Sunday, March 20. It will end on Sunday, June 1. We celebrate by building a big wicker man and ….. no those days are over. Just a few charred photographs left to remind me. All we do now is have a jolly good spring clean. And here’s how to do it plastic free….
For cleaning products I use a combination of bought and what I have in the cupboard in conjunction with a bloody good scrub… i.e. both chemical and manual cleaning
Chemical Cleaning Uses the power of chemicals in a solution to remove soils. Soils in this case refers to stains. You can read how alkaline dissolve fat and why vinegar works here.
Mechanical Cleaners These are the tools used to loosen, collect and wipe up up dirt such as brushes mops and scouring pads. Often used in conjunction with chemical cleaners of course.
This post talks about Microbes Antiseptics Disinfectants Alcohol Bicarbonate Of Soda Vinegar Hydrogen peroxide Soap Essential oils This is an area where you want to do your own research and decide what level ... Read More
Unlike cheaper plastic models, metal, industrial strength, hardworking galvanised products will give you years of service. We work in the building & landscaping trade and use these in preference to anything else ... Read More
New Product - Cleaning Products - for home, business and car A reduction rather than a plastic free solution, this company offer concentrated product in a capsule form that you then dilute ... Read More
ECOVER do all of these products and you can get your plastic bottle refilled. To find where Ecover have a refill station check the postcode search on their site TOILET CLEANERLAUNDRY LIQUID,FABRIC SOFTENER,MULTISURFACE ... Read More
For cleaning products I use a combination of bought and what I have in the cupboard in conjunction with a bloody good scrub... i.e. both chemical and manual cleaning. Chemical Cleaning uses the ... Read More
Planet Earth offers a range of household cleaning products with a unique refill and reuse system. It works and has been scientifically tested to be as good as the leading brand. It’s ... Read More
In this post you cad read about Soils (Dirt) Alkaline Acid Cleaning Dirt, stains and even rusts are all known as soils in the cleaning world. That is as in soiled rather than ... Read More
By Hand...Sigh Washing up liquid and I use Ecover in a refillable plastic bottle. I know the bottle is plastic but kitchen? glass? This is a case for reusable plastic if ever there ... Read More
Laundry Liquid & Fabric Conditioner ECOVER do a LAUNDRY LIQUID, FABRIC SOFTENER, You can get your plastic bottle refilled. To find where Ecover have a refill station check the postcode search on ... Read More
I am something of an old pro when it comes to scrubbing. In my youth I was the cleaner of casinos. I swabbed down the gaming area, restaurant and croupiers changing rooms ... Read More
The slightly rough texture of the luffa makes it ideal for gentle scouring. The luffa, also spelled loofah, is the fruit of either L. aegyptiaca and L. acutangula. It looks rather like a cucumber. If harvested young ... Read More
There's a new kid on the block – the coconut fibre scouring pad. It is a tangle of strong matted coconut fibre. It is tougher than the luffa not as brutal as ... Read More
There I was happily scouring away when I realised it was taking longer than usual to shift the burnt remnants at the bottom of the pan. When I checked out my little ... Read More
There comes a time in every girls life when waterproof hand protection is necessary (just don't ask), and I found myself searching for plastic-free rubber gloves in a hurry. At first I ... Read More
Although I use natural cleaning products like soap, bicarbonate of soda and occasionally Ecover cleaning products, I prefer not to. Cold water and elbow grease clears most things. I know I sound ... Read More
In my opinion you can use natural products most of the time but occasionally synthetics come into their own. This is especially true if you are cleaning tiles. Here steel scourers can ... Read More
Making Soap Basic soap is made from lye, oils or fats (animal or vegetable) and water. Saponification When these three are mixed together a chemical process called saponification takes place. The end ... Read More
Oh joy - just sourced some plastic free sponge cloths. I love these things. Sponge cloths are extremely porous and great for wiping up water. Plus they dry really quickly. I love my cotton ... Read More
When it comes to sweeping you cant beat a nice wooden brush with natural plant fibres. Why? Natural fibres have less flick than synthetic fibres which means less muck spattering. They collect ... Read More
Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the water-soluble sodium salt of carbonic acid. It is alkaline. Pure sodium carbonate is a white, doorless powder with a strongly alkaline taste. Washing Soda or Sodium ... Read More
When I first went plasticfree I read up on alternative ways to clean online. Lots of people reccomended Bicarbonate of soda, Washing Soda and Borax. So I went out and stocked up ... Read More
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New Product – Cleaning Products – for home, business and car
A reduction rather than a plastic free solution, this company offer concentrated product in a capsule form that you then dilute in water. Both the capsule and the product that is. The capsule itself is water soluable – hooray no plastic.
From the website… Wolf Formulations Ltd has developed a wide range of innovative green cleaning products which are designed with a practical single dose water soluble eco capsule concept. The super concentrated eco capsules have the cleaning power of the standard ready-to-use cleaning products, whilst reducing waste and minimising cost. Our range of green cleaning products have been developed to offer complete cleaning solutions for household, motor vehicle and professional sectors.
Cleaning At Work
They do cleaning products for kitchen and bathroom cleaners both for the domestic and businesses market. Of course keen readers of this blog know we have covered those bases already. . However it could be a useful option for professional cleaners who need to use or distribute a lot of products. profi-max_floor PROFI-MAX Floor Cleaner profi-max_kitchen PROFI-MAX Kitchen Cleaner profi-max_glasswindow PROFI-MAX Glass Cleaner profi-max_bathroom PROFI-MAX Bathroom Cleaner
Washing The Car
What caught my eye was the car cleaning products. I always use washing up liquid (refillable) a sponge and whenever available, a boy scout…. but I guess purists out there might prefer something more specialised. AUTO-MAX Car Screen Wash Car Wash & Wax Shampoo 3x9ml AUTO-MAX Car Wash & Wax Car Window & Mirror Cleaner 4x5ml AUTO-MAX Window & Mirror Cleaner Car Screen Wash AUTO-MAX Gift Sets
Not so green?
Sadly the onward packaging doesn’t look so good. It appears to be a hard plastic case? Recyclable? I don’t know. And it appears to vary depending on the product.
Buy Cleaning Products
Being committed to local shopping I prefer to buy that way whenever possible. I would encourage you to do the same. One of the joys of living plastic free is mooching round the local shops seeing what you can source.
If you can’t buy local, please do check the links in the posts. They link direct to the suppliers. Do consider buying from them and support their online businesses.
If you can’t do that then I have put together and Amazon catalogue. Yes I know…
Amazon is a very dirty word at the moment and I thought long and hard before suggesting them. Heres why I went ahead….. No we are not entirely happy with Amazons recent history. However these links are for 3rd party sellers, we have always found the Amazon service to be good and their packaging usually compostable. In the absence of anything else we feel we can recommend them.
The information in this blog is for guidance only. None of the recipes or tips in this blog have not been tested on anyone other than me and some fearless chums. I strongly advise you do your own research and proceed very carefully. Be aware of the risks of listening to someone who
