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 […]

Protecting your strawberries, naturally
by Anne on October 8, 2015 in Food, Garden, Health
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
by Anne on October 7, 2015 in Change, Food, Garden
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. […]
Spotless meat
by Anne on November 29, 2011 in Change, Food, Garden, Health
The production and consumption of factory-farmed meat is an issue we should all take seriously. Intensively farmed meat is detrimental to: our health the environment the livelihoods of small farmers the lives of farmed animals Cheap meat does in fact have a hefty price tag, one we are paying for in our deteriorating health, our […]

The herb garden: Lavender, part one
by Anne on October 20, 2011 in Garden
There are so many herbs, with such a vast array of properties and uses, that it would be nigh on impossible to document them all. I’ve decided to begin by simply focusing on a few of my top favourites for a post from time to time. There is a great deal of information available about […]
Freshly ground, part five
by Anne on May 26, 2011 in Garden, Pets
As promised, here’s how to use coffee grounds to help care for your pet, as well as several other uses I’ve not mentioned elsewhere. 1. Before or after washing your pet, rub her down with coffee grounds. Work the grounds right through the fur to the skin. Leave for a few minutes if you can, […]

Talking on eggshells
by Anne on March 1, 2011 in Garden, Health, Household cleaning, Personal care
I love eggs – they are one of nature’s miracle foods. But did you realise that the shells of eggs are an incredible resource too? They are so useful and versatile, they definitely deserve a place here on spotless. Here are ten ways to use them. (Many uses for eggshells require them to be crushed. […]