imoldgreeeg

I have a few people to buy for this year and once again thinking how to do this frugally and sustainability (I get a bit sick when I see mountains of plastic crap in the shops). Any ideas?

Some things I have done in the past:

• Little plant cuttings in jars (got some on the go again this year)
• Op shops and second hand gifts - look for unusual things from the op shop. This works well for some but not unless they are a bit quirky themselves
• Buying a bunch of treats/snacks and doing my own hampers up.
• Baked goods - I always make a big batch of spice cookies and a couple of slices. I am crappy at packing them nicely tho, but I can cook.

I am not great at crafts but I will try anything!

I've been playing around with DIY cleaning at home and thought I'd share my current setup. Love to hear suggestions or other tips

Equipment

• I bought a couple of glass spray bottles from amazon but you could reuse old ones (mine had all broke)
• box of rags - I like microfibre but also old tshirts and tea towels (tea towels are great for drying off surfaces)
• old toothbrush for fiddly bits in the bathroom

Basic cleaner - option 1 : Grease / shiny things / tough surfaces

• fill up bottle with 3:1 white vinegar to water
• add a good bloop of dishwashing soap
• I add in a few drops of eucalyptus oil (optional)

I use this for most things. People caution against using it for stone top benches. I haven't had an issue but if you want to be cautious use this

Basic cleaner - option 2: Gentle and deodorising

• fill up bottle with 100% water
• add a good bloop of dish washing soap
• add a couple of teaspoons of bicarb
• I add in a few drops of eucalyptus oil (optional)

Don't mix the vinegar + bicarb. They will neutralise each other and add nothing.

If you are sensitive to smells etc - use option 2 for everything

In the bathroom

Not quite basic glass and metal cleaner and disinfectant

You can use the vinegar mix for this but I have a fair bit of glass so I bought a litre of isopropyl alcohol from amazon and mixed this in a separate bottle that lives in the bathroom:

• 70% Isopropyl alchohol
• 30% water (you want a 70% mix for disinfecting)
• Bloop of dish washing soap
• optional drops of oil - again I do eucalyptus or clove oil but doesn't matter

toilets and drains

• a tablespoon or two of bicarb in the drain or in the bowl and flush with water is simple gentle cleaner
• For the shower I have one of those squidgy glass wipers and a refillable dish cleaner wand thing for the shower - filled with dishwash soap and some drops of clove oil). I wipe down the excess water after every shower and once a week give it a scrub with the dish cleaner wand and dish soap.

I do still use a name brand toilet cleaner once a week and maybe once a month use some oxygen cleaner or bleach on the shower tiles but I'd like an alternative.

Hard floors

I've got a spray mop and am still working through a bulk by of some eco floor cleaner but I'm thinking i'll just use mix #2 (bicarb) above when that runs out - suggestions welcome