One loaf is not enough

Yesterday I finally tried out A Girl Called Jack's soda bread recipe. She calls it 'airy fairy easy peasy soda bread' - and it's by far the simplest, quickest, easiest bread I've ever made. It came out beautifully tasty - so much so that one loaf was not enough, and I made another one.

 It's so quick! From start to stomach in an hour. My second loaf was lighter and I reckon I could get it lighter still with time. Both were utterly delicious. I just can't get over how easy and quick! It's a loaf I can make after work that's ready in time for supper, and the ingredients are all things I have in the cupboard/fridge all the time so no planning or shopping is required. It's so simple that I didn't even have to refer to the recipe second time around. Thank you Jack!

The many uses of baking soda

Baking soda is fantastic for cleaning stainless steel. I have recently allowed my sink to get into a terrible state - oh the shame! But take a look at the effects of five minutes with some baking soda and a damp cloth.

It really is blindingly simple. Scatter some baking soda over the sink, scrub with a damp cloth and then rinse. Buff dry with a rag or tea towel for extra shine. So what are you waiting for? Go make your sink shiny!

Winterising: Clear your drains

As a renter, there really isn't much that you can do to prepare your home for winter, but keeping your drains clear is an easy and cheap way to avoid a potentially much bigger problem. While as a renter you probably wouldn't have to pay for the repairs, you would certainly have to live with the problem, and you just know that the pipes would burst on Christmas Eve or a bank holiday weekend.

Cleaning drains is incredibly easy. You need those two reliable, trusty friends - baking soda, and white vinegar.

Of bandwagons and baking soda

I so want to go no poo. I so want to do it. I want to walk into a room and have someone go, wow your hair looks nice, and feel smug about my no-poo-ness. I have been trying to master this for years. There is generally a 2-6 week transition period, while your hair gets used to the no-poo. I once went three whole months without washing my hair in anything but water, and it was still yucky. I have switched over to other methods (baking soda and vinegar rinses, conditioner only, good old fashioned soap) countless times and always end up back on the shampoo.

No poo: Week three and a half

So three and a half weeks in to the no-poo experiment - it's beginning to look a bit greasy (but then I did last wash it two days ago). I've been trying to get as little baking soda as possible on the length to avoid stripping them out, but I think that's making my scalp greasier quicker, too, as the oil accumulates on the hairbrush.

No poo: Week Two

So, today is officially two weeks of no shampoo! What do you think? Myself, I think it looks remarkably clean - much like it did with shampoo - but it feels softer, and my chronic dandruff has entirely disappeared!! *Dance of joy*

It is still a little bit flyaway, so I put some coconut oil on the ends (AMAZING stuff. Plus I swear it brings out the copper notes more) but obviously did not want to put oil on my scalp... But overall, it looks clean and healthy, shiny and smooth, and not at all like I haven't used shampoo for two weeks.

Another thing I've noticed. When I use shampoo, my hair becomes very slippy and tends to escape whatever bun or updo I have attempted. When I don't wash it at all, it stays like a rock. With baking soda, it stays almost as effectively as if I hadn't washed it at all!

I'm so excited about baking soda

I know, it's truly sad, isn't it? But this totally made my day!

The pot on the left is the baking soda I have been buying - 400ml for €3,19. On the right is my official new source of baking soda, at €1,65 for 500ml. Am I happy? Oh I am so happy. And it's so silly, but it's a cheaper source of baking soda, which I use for everything from washing my hair to cleaning the kitchen to brushing my teeth. It was totally accidental - I was looking for castile soap to make some homemade bubble bath...

No poo

I have wanted to go 'no poo' for over four years now. In that time I have experimented with many things - conditioner only, bars of shampoo, and baking soda. I even went three months using only water to wash my hair. I always cave and end up using shampoo. Usually someone else's.

On bugs

So over the past couple of weeks, I have been waging a war against the insect world on two fronts. The cats aquired fleas from somewhere - oh, joy! I tend to react badly to insect bites (some even leave a scar), so I noticed that something was nibbling me pretty quickly. As some appeared to be in rows of three, I thought for a while it might be bed-bugs and went on a room-cleaning-panic to eradicate whatever there was. Then my mother called and told me she had bites all over her feet and ankles (like mine) from fleas on her cat. Aha, thought I, and spoke to the cats' owners. Several fleabombs and much hoovering later, we are still finding small black things jumping over our legs in front of the tv. We think we might have cracked it now, however, through the liberal application of baking soda (all hail!)

Meanwhile, upstairs, my basil plant (acquired some two weeks ago) was being nibbled. Closer inspection revealed small black flies. Cue hours of googling. Initially, I thought it was something similar to soil grubs due to overwatering, but watering less just makes the plant wilt. After more googling, I think I have identified the problem as aphids. Still not entirely sure, though. I've made a pesticide from garlic and peppercorns, and it seems to be improving the situation. If anyone who stumbles across this page knows anything about flies on basil, please let me know!