If global crises teach us anything, it is to understand that we don’t need as much stuff as we thought. Don’t you agree?
Over the last 2 months we have been thrown in the deep end: buying only the essentials, many of us have realised that by freeing ourselves of so-called necessities we are actually much happier.
But, at the same time we have also learned another lession: the environment needs us to consume less… and more intelligently.
Live with less, save money and care for the planet by making your own homemade products
We have decided to celebrate World Environment Week by publishing this post, where we share with you how to make 10 zero waste eco-friendly products from scratch thereby saving money and caring for the planet at the same time.
To make them, all you need is a handful of basic, healthy and organic ingredients: such as vinegar, lemons, olive oil soap from Marseille, shea butter, and cocoa butter.
As we want to make it as easy as possible for you, for the duration of World Environment Week (from today until June 7th), we are offering 10% OFF throughout our online store so that you can avoid plastic and also keep your budget in check during these uncertain times.
To get the discount, click here or on the image below.
Got it?
So now, just grab a notepad and a pen and get writing.
10 eco-friendly products you can make at home
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Homemade laundry detergent with olive oil soap from Marseille:
Ingredients:
- One part grated Marseille soap (e.g. 340g)
- 1/4 part sodium carbonate (e.g. 85g). Beware: do not use caustic soda, the chemical formula of sodium carbonate is Na2CO3. Handle with care and always read the instructions before use.
- 1/4 part sodium bicarbonate aka sodium bicarb (e.g. 85g)
Instructions:
- Grate the Marseille soap.
- Mix the Marseille soap with the sodium carbonate and the sodium bicarbonate for a laundry detergent in powder form.
- If you prefer a liquid detergent, you can fill a bottle with ¼ part of the powdered mixture, fill with boiling water and leave it to sit for 24 hours before using. Remember to shake well before adding to each load.
- Add to your next washing load and you will have clean clothes that smell of real soap.
Pssst… for more uses and recipes using the soap from Marseille, check out this post.
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DIY stain remover for whiter whites:
Ingredients:
- 250g of grated Marseille soap or use flakes
- 1 teaspoon of sodium percarbonate
- 1/3 L of water
Instructions:
- Mix together the Marseille soap and the sodium percarbonate in a bottle.
- Add the boiling water and blend together well.
- Apply to the stain and leave it to work for 20 minutes.
- Rinse with plenty of water and if possible, hang it out to dry it in the sunshine with some wooden pegs.
- Enjoy your “new” brighter whites.
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Homemade dishwashing detergent. Recipe from Patri and Fer, at Vivir Sin Plástico (Living Plastic-free)
Ingredients:
- A bar of soap (it could be Marseille soap or a bar of soap specifically for washing dishes like this one).
- A few drops of your favourite essential oil, if you choose.
Instructions:
- Grate the soap.
- Put the grated soap in a jar, cover it with water and leave it to sit overnight.
- Blend the mixture with a blender to check its thickness. Adjust if necessary (add more or less water in order to make it more or less liquid).
- Add a few drops of essential oil.
- Now you have your zero waste plastic-free dishwashing liquid.
You can find the recipe on Patri’s and Fer’s blog – www.vivirsinplastico.com
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Window cleaner with vinegar:
Ingredients:
- ⅔ part water
- • ⅓ part vinegar. You can make your own homemade apple vinegar following this recipe from Animal de Isla.
Instructions:
- Mix the vinegar and the hot water in a bottle with a spray top (you can reuse one you already have at home or ask those around you who use plastic products regularly).
- Spray over the windows and any other glass surfaces and clean with a cotton and cellulose cloth.
- Dry with newspaper or with organic cotton reusable kitchen paper towel.
- Enjoy your shiny gleaming windows.
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Homemade floor cleaner:
Ingredients:
- 2 large spoonfuls of sodium bicarbonate
- 2 litres of hot water
- ½ cup vinegar. You can make your own homemade apple vinegar following this recipe from Animal de Isla.
- Optional: 2 teaspoons of your favourite essential oil to make it smell lovely.
Instructions:
- Mix all the ingredients… et voilà.
- Note: if you drop something greasy on the kitchen floor, add a small spoonful of grated Marseille soap or flakes.
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Super easy oven cleaner with lemon and bicarbonate:
Ingredients:
- 3 large organic lemons
- Water
- ½ cup sodium bicarbonate
- ½ cup vinegar. You can make your own homemade apple vinegar following this recipe from Animal de Isla.
Instructions:
- Juice the lemons and put the juice, along with the lemon skins in a pot.
- Fill the pot to ⅓ with water
- Put the pot in the oven at 170ºC for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare ½ cup sodium bicarbonate and add a little water to form a paste.
- Once the 30 minutes are over, wait until the oven cools and then clean with a cotton and cellulose cloth.
- Cover the persistent stains with sodium bicarb and spray vinegar over the top.
- Leave it to work its magic for 20 minutes and then rinse clean.
- Your oven will look like it just arrived from the factory.
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Mosquito Repellent “more natural is impossible”:
Ingredients:
- 1 large organic lemon
- 12 cloves
Instructions:
- Stick 6 cloves into each lemon half.
- Put one half on each bedside table.
- Note: this mosquito repellent is very effective but, like all natural repellents, it is not completely foolproof. So, if you live in a hot and/or humid area where there are lots of mosquitoes we recommend combining this recipe with mosquito netting over your bed or covering your windows.
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Odourless compost for your house plants:
If you get put off by the idea of making your own compost for your plants because you live in an apartment and you don’t have a balcony, this odourless homemade compost is a perfect option suitable for making in small quantities.
Ingredients:
- Coffee grounds (from 2 or 3 coffee pots): coffee is a natural fertiliser.
- Water from boiling your veggies: it contains valuable nutrients for your plants.
- 2 eggshells: they contain calcium.
Instructions:
- Crush the eggshells in a bowl.
- Add coffee grounds.
- Mix and add to your plants.
- Water the plants with the water saved from boiling your vegetables (of course wait for it to cool first).
- TTa-da! Your plants will be healthier than ever.
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DIY body butter with organic shea butter (Recipe from Trash is for Tossers)
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup organic shea butter
- ¼ cup organic coconut oil
- ¼ cup organic sweet almond oil
- ¼ cup cocoa butter
- Optional: a couple of drops of your favourite essential oil.
Instructions:
- Mix all the ingredients and melt them in a double boiler, a glass bowl over a bain-marie.
- When they are all melted and mixed, let the mixture cool and then put it in the fridge until the mixture starts to solidify (not completely). Still soft to touch.
- Add a few drops of essential oil (optional) and whip the mixture with a hand beater.
- Put it into a glass jar and store it in a cool spot. Apply to skin when needed. It’s powerful moisturising properties make it perfect for dry areas such as elbows and knees.
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Easy lip balm from 3 ingredients (Recipe from El Blacón Verde)
Ingredients:
- 30g organic sweet almond oil
- 20g organic shea butter
- 20g organic beeswax or candle wax
- Optional: vitamin E (1%) of total
Instructions:
- Weigh the ingredients and heat them in a glass bowl over a bain-marie (or double boiler) until they melt together.
- Pour the mixture into the pots you have chosen. You can reuse pots from organic cosmetics like these from Matarrania.
- Leave to cool and settle for 24 hours
- Apply to chapped lips for perfect moisturising.
Did you like this collection of 10 eco-friendly products you can make at home?
Just remember you can find most of the ingredients for making them in our e-shop.
We stand up to be counted with you for World Environment Week 2020
We want to help you save a little money and reduce your plastic with a 10% discount valid throughout the store until June 7th (included).
The generated ideas sound like a wow! Thanks a lot for making our life easy and seamless. Making eco-friendly products from scratch will save my time and money as well.