This year’s birthday post is a little gift to your hair. Several weeks ago I shared my story of washing my hair with rye flour and promised to follow up by telling you about my two favourite conditioners. Well, here is the first. Before I begin, I must apologise that I have no nice pictures […]
Chocolate spread
I know, chocolate spread has nothing to do with either household cleaning or personal care. But… I have to share this recipe! I have no other excuse for this post (though it is cheap, simple and wholesome, just like everything else on Spotless). Perhaps you could indulge in eating it after some household cleaning, or […]
How to wash your hair
Background: Washing our hair is arguably the aspect of personal care that we are least likely to go totally homemade and environmentally friendly on. Perhaps this is vanity, or perhaps there just hasn’t ever really been a good enough alternative available. This is a shame, as shampoos are one of the worst culprits when it comes […]
Toothpaste – Tub vs Tube
Once upon a time, all toothpaste was sold in jars. Nowadays, almost all toothpaste comes in tubes made of plastic laminate, a substance known as a “monstrous hybrid” by environmentalists as it is almost impossible to recycle. The composite parts, made of different types of plastic, are incredibly hard to separate (as they must be […]
The dirt on soap, part 1
The history of soap is long and fascinating. Soap has been made and used for thousands of years in various forms and by various people and much has been written about them all. However, it was really only from the 1800s onwards, as people began to understand the link between cleanliness and health, that the […]
Easy, homemade, edible glue
It’s amazing how kids love to stick things together, and how many craft projects just wouldn’t be possible without glue. Glue can be, and is, made out a wide range of materials including cassein (milk protein) and animal hides. But for the most part nowadays, if you have glue around the house, called anything like […]
Epsom salts in the spring garden
Versatile, naturally occurring, inexpensive and beneficial – Epsom salts have been used in homes and gardens for generations and certainly deserve a place here at Spotless. Epsom salts have plenty of uses in the home (more on that another day), but with Spring in full swing I’ve been particularly enjoying their many benefits in the […]
Spotless turns FIVE – and how to clean copper effortlessly
It was five years ago today that Spotless was born, and as I thought about that today it made me happy to think that I am building a legacy of tried and tested tips, encouragement, reflections and useful information that I hope and believe will help make the world a better place than it otherwise […]
Protecting your strawberries, naturally
Strawberries must surely be one of the most beloved of fruits. Delicious heart- shaped pockets of sweet pinky-red juiciness… Yum! Like little exposed hearts, they are also very fragile, and as inviting to every passing insect as they are to us. It is still certainly worth the effort of growing them yourself though. Apart from […]
Meditating on the meaning of growing a vegetable
I was recently considering what images to use in a post I wrote about organic food. I thought the point I was making might best be illustrated by contrasting an image of a pre-packaged bag of shop-bought organic salad leaves, with a shot of a lettuce growing in my garden. It really got me thinking. […]
