Self Sufficient Washing Up? Regular readers will know we are trying to make all aspects of life here as self sufficient as possible. Even the really mundane bits like household cleaning are trying to be carried out as greenly and cheaply as possible. But no we haven’t found a way to wash up self sufficiently. We still rely on commercial cleaning tools such as bought scourers and cloths. But I think we are improving as I have at last found an effective alternative to the humble washing up sponge. One of the last green (ish) cleaning switch-overs here as been […]
Spare Cabbage? Make Sauerkraut
I have long had a love affair with Sauerkraut but always thought you needed to live in Eastern Europe and have a tonne of cabbage to make it yourself. I was wrong. It is simple to make sauerkraut at home with very basic implements. Best of all homemade sauerkraut is full of goodness most bought products have lost. And, if the spare cabbage you have is not the white hearting cabbage usually recommended for krauting worry ye not! What is Sauerkraut? First of all, sauerkraut is not pickled cabbage. Sauerkraut is a fermented food. The vegetables are tightly packed into […]
Self Sufficient Skin with Homemade Soap
Homemade Cold Pressed Vegetable Oil Soap Homemade soap needs fat or oil. You can use animal fat or vegetable oil. In our case the vegetable oil is, as always olive oil, as that is the one oil we are self sufficient in. So far we have only made 100% olive oil homemade soap (Castille soap) but other oils could be added. Coconut oil would be a particularly good oil to include in your homemade soap. In moderation it would improve the lathering qualities of this homemade olive oil soap. If you are new to soap-making I highly recommend trying the […]
Tips For Traditional Cleaning Without Chemicals Green Cleaning Products
Traditional Cleaning Without Chemicals Trying to be self-sufficient? Frugal? Green? Cheap? Save the Planet? Keep your pets or kids safe? Or do you just want less cleaning products taking up space in your cupboards or to use more green cleaning products? Want to find cool eco cleaning products like the goodbye detergent original spaghetti scrub? Here’s what you need to carry out most of the household cleaning. Casa Dirty Boots Eco Cleaning Products Microfibre cloths White vinegar Liquid or soft soap Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda or Soda Crystals) Salt Mild Liquid Detergent (Washing Up Liquid) Eco Wash Balls or […]
Foraging for Free Food
Wherever you live try to get to know the free food you can forage locally. In the modern world we tend to forget that food occurs naturally pretty much everywhere. Nature supplies lots of edible goodies if you only get out their and look for them. Perhaps the best place to start is to track down a book on plants native to wherever you live. Or even better a book on local wild foods. Then get talking to people. Vegetable Gardeners are often great scavengers too, and the older they are the more they may know what your locality has […]
More Blogs on the Roll
The blogroll has been updated by his good self. He’s added some links of blogs he enjoys reading at the moment. Check them out, there are some great sites on the blogroll. If we’ve missed you but are visiting your site let me apologise. Having two people reading blogs and writing this one means we do, just occasionally, forget who does what! For a more self sufficient future
Make a Garden Cold Frame for Free
Do You Need a Cold Frame in the Garden? It all depends on the weather, how much you raise from seed and how much you garden. Oh and whether you already have a greenhouse or poly-tunnel! In dry or windy climates it can be very difficult to get seed trays to remain moist enough for the seeds to germinate. In cold climates a cold frame can give you a head-start at germinating plants which the soil outside is too cold or frost prone for. In very wet climates a cold frame can provide somewhere tranquil where seeds won’t be disturbed […]