Ideas on how to be greener and save money

RainbowHippie

Just chiming in about eco-friendly washing I love my soap nuts, they have no scent which i prefer to strongly-scented 'normal' washing products, but i do tend to add a few drops of tea tree, peppermint and sometimes thyme or similar essential oils onto the bag before putting it in with the washing. I feel like this helps to add a slight fresh scent and also all of the above oils have anti-microbial properties (tea tree especially, but i dislike its smell alone so always combine it). I tend to use about 10 drops in total.

For a while i washed everything at 30 and after several months i felt that the washing machine was not staying as clean as it had with bought detergent, it had a slight musty smell. I now use some sort of machine-cleaning product and/or an empty boil wash to clean it every couple of months, and wash more things on hotter washes, eg underwear and tea towels at 40 (separately of course!)

Soap nuts are great for sensitive skin and SO cheap compared to normal detergent. I get around 10 washes out of a bag of 5 nuts, sometimes more. I bought a £20 bag of them over a year ago and have used about a quarter of them if that. Even the cheapest detergent would cost significantly more.

Next is to experiment with steeping soapnuts in boiling water and using it as shampoo once cooled... not sure if i'm enough of a hippie for that yet!

buildersdaughter

We have been trying to live by green / ethical standards all of our adult lives - we've also built a house doing the best we can - so we know it is neither easy not straightforward. Environmental concerns have to trade off sometimes against each other, and depend a great deal on where you live.
The researcher on the radio this morning was saying that microfibre cloths last a long time - so it may be that using them instead of chemical cleaners is still more environmentally friendly. In the absence of hard evidence, we just do the best we can. We learn all the time, which is why I like this site so much.
The title of this thread specifically looked at saving money as well.

I have never got on with soap nuts. I do have a water softener (another thing to think about!) and use tiny amounts of BioD detergent, and very little soap. I am allergic to shampoo, so wash my hair in very small amounts of soap.

Yellow - you were asking about environmentally friendly cleaning products. Ecover is the most widely available. I suggest that you look on Ethical Consumer, then google the products to see where they are sold. Also, look on local sites to see if there is a wholefood co-operative near you. My own nearest can't afford to advertise widely, so gets customers by word of mouth and social media.

wort

I always wash towels and bedding at 60°to get rid of boogies! and my machine has a cleaning cycle, but as I said the eco egg has cleaning tablets to run through the machine periodically.

I raw feed my cat, I'm interested in the pet mince, is it complete? 80%meat 10% bone and 10% secreting organ ? @ the moment I buy it from kiezebrink frozen , but may check out the butcher if I can find one!!!

yellow218

Wort. I!!!8217;m not sure on the percentages but the mince I buy certain has a mixture of meat, offal and grissel. (Not come across bones- but they get a few when they (sadly) !!!8216;self serve!!!8217; from the garden ).

Perhaps ask your butcher if theh do a pet mince , and what goes into it.

I have to admit, my cats don!!!8217;t eat it raw. It gets microwaved or cooked in the oven (after my proper food has finished and turned off), I find the speed at which the oven cools is sufficient to cook the mince if it!!!8217;s defrosted first and I stir it a few times.

yellow218

Ps. Down side is I find it has quite a high fat content sometimes, if that’s the case I statin it off before it cools down.

wort

Thanks yellow ! I love the raw his fur is so soft and his poo doesn't smell. Do you add anything else to their diet then? Maybe try not cooking it . It would save time and cleaning:T
Sorry to go off track.;)

Laura_Elsewhere

buildersdaughter wrote: »

Hello - thanks for information. I got distracted by Blackbeard's teasing.
I should also so say that although I said I use microfibre cloths for 'most' of my cleaning - I was at that point thinking about serious kitchen and bathroom cleaning, using them to avoid chemicals (anyone hear the researcher on the Today programme talking about them?).
Yes, I use rag for most of my cleaning / dusting etc
I have also recently cut down on kitchen roll from tips on this board:
put it in the cupboard - it's there if you need it, but not handy
keep some rag handy for the odd spill
use muslins or old teacloths to drain things like poached egg, fried food etc.

I gradually got rid of all the specialist cleaning stuff. I use Ecover washing-up liquid, white vinegar, bicarb and that's pretty well it. And I have problems with my spine/arms meaning I don't have enormous amount of elbow grease available, but all the same, everything seems to be clean without using bought "cleaner" stuff.

We use nothing at all in the toilet, just use the brush most days. We do flush it every time because it's a small cistern and often needs flushed twice anyway, grr, silly bad design.

For the rest of the bathroom I use Ecover washing-up liquid on a non-scratch scrubby-spongey-thing and wipe dry with an old face-flannel (I have lots - I bought tons and dyed them all sunflower-yellow. As they get more worn-out, they also fade, which is a handy way to make sure I only use the newer ones on my face, medium for cleaner kinds of cleaning and really grotty old ones for dirty cleaning ). I use white vinegar on a wet cloth for the shower-screen and an Ikea wiper-blade thing.
The kitchen is just hot water and washing-up liquid, white vinegar for a final swipe over the floor. The oven-floor occasionally gets some bicarb sprinkled over evenly through a small sieve to scatter it well, then sprayed with white vinegar for that entertaining volcano effect! Then, after that's had plenty of time to work, I leave it with kitchen cloths covering it, and more vinegar, overnight, and it just wipes away in the morning.

Fen1

I tried an eco ball for laundry some 16 years ago. It was hopeless. Have the ecoballs/soapnuts improved since then?

Both OH and I have sensitive skin. Typically, we react to different products. I've tried umpteen laundry detergents to see what we can both tolerate at the same time. I react to BioD, but the Ecover Delicates is fine. The Waitrose own eco cleans ok, but leaves fibres a bit scratchy, unlike the Ecover Delicates which is nice and soft.
We also both react to a range of essential oils ( sometimes really badly).

We also have cats, so I have to use standard detergent to deal with their grot!

Wednesday2000

I used to buy bottles of water when I worked out of home and I switched to a reusable bottle. That must have saved me a lot of money over the years.

I like it when the weather is warmer as I can air dry my clothes rather than use the tumble dryer.

Gem-gem

Washed my car today with several buckets of water - didn!!!8217;t use the hose so less water used plus money saved.