(from Lyn Webster – www.pigtitsandparsleysauce.co.nz)

For me the most interesting part of Lyn’s presentation was her wrap-up, where she talked about the strong temptation to resume buying commercial products when she used up her first homemade batch. Not because they are any better than the homemade ones – but simply because our dependency on corporate brands is actually a kind of addiction. It helped me appreciate more fully the constant, pervasive messages that make the flashy labels on the supermarket shelves so irresistible.

As always, these products are marketed by appealing to our insecurities. This exploitation of women’s insecurities in hawking cleaning products is less blatant now than it was in the fifties and sixties, when a lot of women were still using washing soda, baking soda and vinegar. However I still recall seeing commercials in which neighbors looked askance at women who didn’t get their sheets white or remove the “ring around the collar” from their husbands’ shirts.

After a time, however, women became habituated to using Tide in their washing machine and Joy for their dishes. And the hard sell shifted to high fashion, make-up, and cosmetics. At present women are bombarded constantly with explicit messages that they will look old and sexually unappealing if they don’t purchase certain products:

From Adbusters.org

I encourage people to check out Lyn’s website, which has dozens of other homemade recipes, as well as a range of books, budget tips and other products: http://pigtitsandparsleysauce.co.nz/

Recipes

Dishwashing Liquid

Bar soap cut in chunks

1-2 Tablespoons washing soda (calcium carbonate)

2 Tablespoons glycerine

Mix 1-2 minutes in food processor. Dilute the concentrate that forms overnight with water.

Washing soda can be found at hardware stores (see http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf71947321.tip.html)

Glycerine can be found in pharmacies or the baking aisle at the supermarket.

Kitchen/bathroom Cleanser

Use baking soda on sink stains and bathtub rings. Also good (with or without white vinegar) for burned on grease.

Laundry Detergent or Powdered Detergent for Dishwasher

Bar soap cut in chunks

1-2 Tablespoons washing soda

Mix 1-2 minutes in food processor. Use 1 Tablespoon for light load. Add white vinegar to rinse compartment of dishwasher to prevent spotting.

Stain Remover

Eucalyptus oil

Drain Cleaner

Baking soda, followed by hot white vinegar, followed by boiling water

 

Personal Deodorant

Baking soda in a spray bottle (essential oil optional) or white vinegar (smell disappears after a few minutes). Both work like commercial deodorant by changing skin pH to kill bacteria.

Toothpaste

Baking Soda

Salt

Glycerine

Optional flavouring (peppermint or clove and orange oil)

 

Shampoo and Dandruff Treatment (works better than commercial products – kills the fungus that causes dandruff)

Baking soda

Follow with vinegar rinse for conditioning

 

All-purpose Anti-bacterial Cleaner

Baking soda (kills 99% of bacteria)

White vinegar

Few drops of homemade dishwashing liquid

Eco-friendly Alternative to Sanitary Napkins/Tampons

Diva Cup (http://www.divacup.com/) – reusable menstrual cup