Wood for the Trees

So the week started badly, I bought some of those dental floss on a stick (the stick being a handy disposable plastic holder) as I was seduced by the whitening claim. I discoloured my teeth some years ago by not reading the instructions on corsodyl to not drink tea after use. Although most of the stainage has been removed it is still quite brown inbetween my teeth where the dentist has advised only the hygienist has the tools to remove the stain from there. However as seeing the hygienist is expensive I had carelessly plumped for the cheaper more convenient option. So they'd arrived and I'd opened the packet and halfway through using one when it dawned on me that I'd basically just bought a bag of plastic to use and throw away. Fail. On the plus side I did sign up to get some bottled orange juice from the milkman thus reducing the waste produced from tetrapak (which is recycled in our area but even recycling uses energy and has by products). I also signed up to receive...

This is an area where I tend to have conflicting drivers. Mainly of the 'I will live eco and cheaply' Vs 'I'm so tired why did I not just buy dishwasher tablets?' To be honest making stuff doesn't take too much effort and especially when I think well I could just be properly eco and wash it by hand. But 4 people, especially the smaller ones do create an awful lot of washing up so the dishwasher is a concession in itself to survival at the moment. So I thought I would share with you my homemade cleaning products. (NB. This isn't a recipe I created, these are recipes I pilfered from elsewhere on the web) Dishwasher tablets 2 parts washing soda 2 parts Borax/Borax substitute 1 part citric acid 1 part salt Essential oils (optional) Mix together and pack into an ice cube tray. Leave for a few hours to solidify then they will come out as solid tablets. These also produce an endothermic reaction (takes heat from the surroundings) which is quite exc...