DAY 1: THE KITCHEN
We live in a cottage in the West Sussex countryside and while I wouldn’t say our house is clean or even in any particular order, I can’t seem to rest until the washing up is done or sleep until the surfaces are somewhat clean.
The kitchen is probably the place where people find the majority of their cleaning products. One thing I’ve learnt in this process is shops are selling a lot of things! There’s a cleaner for your counters, and your sink, and greasy surfaces and sticky surfaces and scummy sinks and products to clean your bin and clean your dishwasher. The result of seeing so many products on shelves is that it makes us believe we need a new product for every single different area in our homes. Not only is this a completely unnecessary use of plastic to buy so many products, it is also so unnecessary to need so many and a marketing ploy to keep people buying so many. What I have learnt whilst making many products for the kitchen is that you can get by with very few base products, you just need some key players and you’re good to go. To make things even easier many of these ingredients can be bought in bulk from refill stores or online.
Asthma UK, published some research in 2018 that revealed that that women who clean at home or work are more likely to have asthma and long-term lung damage. Asthma UK responded saying: "Cleaning products can be toxic for people with asthma as they often contain chemical compounds that can inflame the airways, leaving people prone to an asthma attack.” Scarier still, a 2013 study in Spain found that mums who used spray cleaners and air fresheners in their homes during and after pregnancy were significantly more likely to have children that experienced wheezing and respiratory infections as infants. The products we find on many supermarket shelves are damaging to us and our homes! We need bacteria in our homes- we’ve been told to believe we need sterile homes when actually anti-bacterial cleaners often contain a chemical (triclosan) that may increase the resistance of some bacteria to antibiotics.
One other thing to note is ‘Greenwashing’ I won’t go into tons of depth on this as there is far better people who explain it and know the details but it is well worth looking in to. Greenwashing is the practice of making an unsubstantiated claim about the environmental benefits of a product, service, technology or company practice. Greenwashing can make a company appear to be more environmentally friendly than it really is- be it green packaging or claims such as ‘all natural’. It is thought that Ecover and Method could be two of those companies: ‘Ethical Unicorn’ writes a great blog talking about some of the issues over here, and here is a great video about Fiji water and how they are greenwashing through their advertisement. It’s sad that buying items off shelves isn’t simple- they often have hard to read ingredient labels with INCI names that we need to decipher, and even if we can decipher them, companies are then allowed to put misleading claims on the products and even then do we know how the products are made? It’s messy, and the more you research it’s messier still. It really does take time to find brands that can be trusted and that are being transparent and so I hope this blog, and the future ones, will help you cut out some of the fumbling around in the dark!
Let’s GO!
Surface spray:
Homemade citrus vinegar cleaner.
Vinegar is a great cleaner due to its acidity and it can counteract some tough greasy buildups making it perfect for kitchen cleaning.
I make up this spray in glass amber bottles that we use throughout our home. You can find them here, and I then I personally label them with a dymo. Definitely not necessary but I was given it as a gift a while back and find much satisfaction in it. Alternatively you can just use any old spray bottles you may have lying around and whip up some homemade labels if you’re likely to forget what’s in them like I usually am!
To make, mix:
1 cup boiled cooled water
1 cup white vinegar/or apple cider vinegar
1/2 lemon juiced (optional)
15 drops of Young living lemon essential oil.
Alternatively, just use any orange or lemon rinds that are heading to the compost and soak them in the vinegar for a couple of weeks- pour into a spray bottle and you’re good to go!
Lemon is known to have powerful anti-microbial activity so works great in the kitchen. It’s also low cost which I love. I mention young living oils above, and do in other posts this week as we use them ALOT throughout our home. Young Living are a brand I really trust because of their seed to seal promise- you can read more about that here. If you are interested in using oils, or want to know more please message me. And, if you are already using another brand of oils or plan to, check what’s really in them and question the brand. You’d be surprised how many oils brands are full of other things too, even if they say 100% pure.
CLEANING THE SINK
This works well for our stainless steel sink, I think you’d need to check if it was applicable for a ceramic sink.
Rub half a lemon over the drain and the sink.
Mix 1/2 cup bicarbonate of soda (I buy this in bulk or from a re-fill store) with water until it becomes a paste. Use an old toothbrush dipped into the solution to scrub the drain, or a cloth for the sink itself. The baking soda meeting the lemon juice will fizz and remove tough grease and make your sink sparkle. Ta-da!
the DISHWASHER
POWDER
We have only just got a dishwasher in the past few months after never having one and wow….game changer! We have just started using this from the brand ‘fill’, we have tried homemade dishwasher detergent to no avail and this seems to be working well for us so far. We chose the un-fragranced version. It comes in un-fragranced or cucumber and it comes in a glass jar- DREAM, and then it comes in refillable bags made from paper. As it stands it works out around 29p for a large dishwasher, ours is a half so it’s working out at around 15p a load- which works well for our budget for now!
Cleaning the dishwasher:
Run a high wash with a bowl of white vinegar in the top rack- this will also stop glasses from being cloudy!
I’ve heard that repeated use of vinegar, especially in the rinse aid drawer can cause damage to the dishwasher itself so we just stick to keeping it in the main compartment!
Dishwasher salt
We use this- not my ideal packaging but it’s recyclable. I’m also trying to figure out if dishwashers really even need salt but our light keeps flashing up that it needs it so please shed your wisdom if you have any!
Washing up liquid:
I recently decided to start making my own washing up liquid and a few uses in Joseph approached me (like you’l find with many of my other concoctions) saying it just wasn’t working and I agreed- it definitely was not cleaning our plates. This is next on my list to try but until then here are some alternatives we love.
Dish soap bar via Wearth London- this lasts for AGES.
Tincture, are a company I love with a commitment to care and products that are kind to the family. They only use products if 100% natural, sustainable and non-toxic. You can find their washing up liquid here. This won’t be a regular buy for us because of cost.
We are currently using this washing up liquid from Biod because the refill shops were closed over lock-down and find it to be great value for money when bought in bulk- we just refill it in an old liquid dispenser we’ve had for years!
stubborn stains/DISINFECTANT
OXYGEN BLEACH (SODIUM PERCARBONATE)
I said goodbye to bleach a long time ago, but sometimes it does feel like there are just some areas of cleaning that need an extra help- this is where oxygen bleach comes in. It is a powerful cleaning agent known for bleaching, stain removal and deodorising. It has no odour and can kill bacteria, fungus and algae.?! Oxygen bleach is considered environmentally friendly, as the only by-product is soda ash – a non-toxic substance, safe for the water supply. In the kitchen this can be used for disinfecting chopping boards, destaining cups, removing mildew found around the sink or on grouting, and for tough stains on kitchen surfaces.
I fill my sink with very hot water and add 4 tbsp’s of the powder, if the powder doesn’t dissolve your water needs to be hotter. I immerse any cloths that need cleaning and then 20 or so minutes later when the water has cooled, I use these cloths around the kitchen on stubborn stains and surfaces in the fridge or chopping boards. You can also make a paste of oxygen bleach and rub this directly on the area that needs cleaning. There are many ways to use Oxygen bleach a few more of them we’l discover tomorrow, but also google will give you some good ideas!
I buy oxygen bleach from Mangle & Wringer, it’s one of the most affordable places I can find, they’re a small business AND it’s all packaged in paper…no plastic in sight! Find them over here.
FLOOR CLEANER
Mix 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar (for non wood floors) in a bucket of hot water and you’re good to go! Add a few drops of essential oils, we like using either lemon or cedarwood, this is particularly good if you aren’t a massive fan of the vinegar smell! nb. don’t use white vinegar on wooden floors, stick to ACV for that!
We also recently invested in a steam cleaner which requires no cleaning agent and are loving it and it’s guarantee to sanitise!
KITCHEN CLOTHS/scrubbers
Let’s be real, if you’ve found a way to not have a stinky dishcloth lingering by the sink covered in last night’s turmeric stains from a curry I’d love to know how you do it. I always feel a little bit nervous heading to the sink in the morning to pick up where I left off. We have used SO many alternatives for washing dishes- Jay cloths, coconut sponges, crocheted rounds, old bits of fabric, brushes….they just weren’t cutting it. This is what we’ve settled on for now!
-Metal scourer- I reserve these for the hardcore scrubbing that the other cloths just can’t cut. I love these and love that I can recycle them. They also last for AGES.
-Bamboo pot scraper- So good on non stick pans and getting off the last dregs of food so that it can be composted rather than go down the sink!
-LOOFCO washing up pad - for general washing up of cups and plates- nothing heavy duty.
-Old rags/old clothing for wiping surfaces.
-Microfibre cloths that were given to me about 5 years ago in a stocking! I absolutely LOVE these, and while I most probably wouldn’t buy them now because of microfibre usually containing plastic- they have lasted me for SO long and are magic at cleaning certain stains off and marks off things that I wouldn’t be able to get otherwise!
food storage
We use these beeswax wraps in place of where cling film would usually be used- but its also very easy to make your own- there’s a great online tutorial over here.
We use old jam jars to store food, and have a collection of these we bought from Ikea a few years back, and we love Stasher bags that can be found here and tin lunchboxes or tiffin tins.
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That’s all for today, i’d love to know some of your favourite kitchen finds and swaps! Tomorrow I’l be looking at the topic of Laundry… stay tuned. If you missed yesterday’s intro post you can find that here.
ps. Please note that some of the links are affiliate links where at no additional cost to you I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. I recommend these products because they are helpful and useful not in order to get you to spend money unless you feel you need them or they will help you on your journey!
pps. ‘Non-toxic’ is a claim in itself without regulation. When I use it, I am referring to products that don’t include ingredients linked to toxic responses (like hormone disruption, cancer, etc.) in humans.