Fizzing whizzbees

So as I'm working my way through my new, provisional, constantly revised home management routines, one of the once-in-a-blue-moon cleaning tasks which has come around is cleaning the silverware. Last attempted circa 2001, it was desperately needed. For the last year or so, some jewellery has languished in the cupboard because it was too tarnished to be worn.

Because I haven't cleaned silver in forever, I don't have any silver polish or similar in the cupboard. So, naturally, I wandered on down to Rhonda's list of green cleaning recipes. Does she have a method for cleaning silver? Of course. Is it a really lazy, straightforward method, using ingredients I already have lying around the kitchen? You betcha.

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.

How to: make an all-purpose cleaner

I use this cleaner in the kitchen, the bathroom, and for cleaning windows, tables, doors, walls... Basically, everything. It works fantastically well, cuts through grease and limescale and soap scum, and leaves surfaces shiny. As it has tea tree oil in it, it also acts as a mild antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal, but is completely fine to use around asthmatics.

It's really, really complicated. Seriously. It will take you ages. Are you ready?

How to: improve washing up liquid

OK so I don't know if this will work for everyone, but I find this teeny tiny little tip helps me make the washing up liquid go further whilst also washing things more effectively - less scrubbing required.

It is simply this: dilute your washing up liquid with white vinegar. You could also use lemon juice for this, it would smell better, but I can get cheaper white vinegar than lemon juice so I use that. I use an old washing up liquid dispenser, and in it I mix about one part vinegar to two parts washing up liquid. If you have sensitive skin, this may not be great for your hands, but it really cuts through grease a lot more easily, and one tiny dribble (it is now pouring rather than squeezing consistency) is enough for the nastiest pots and pans.

I have pondered making my own out of castile soap at some point, but am still struggling to identify a local source of castile soap. And how would a few drops of essential oil go with the mix, do you think?

Homemade shoe polish

So this week I had a go at making this from a recipe in my new book - it's just beeswax and olive oil melted together. One thing I learned by trial and error - it needs to be stirred while cooling, otherwise you get a layer of olive oil floating on top of a layer of solid beeswax.

Today I had a go. I did the right shoe of a pair of black court shoes and of a pair of brown boots - and it's come up a right treat! Chek 'em out:

How to: clean a bathtub with a lemon

My homemade cleaning tips come from a variety of sources - from books, blogs and tv series. This one comes from the tv series How clean is your house, in which the Queens of Clean Kim and Aggie tackle the dirtiest houses you have ever seen. Often the inhabitants suffer from asthma and other respiratory problems (probably in part from the dust), so the programme often demonstrates non-toxic cleaning techniques.

This tip for shiny bathtubs with minimum cost comes mostly from Kim and Aggy, with one addition from me.

Booky cleaning inspiration

After five months of waiting, Amazon has finally come through for me and delivered this thing to my door. "Self-Sufficiency Household Cleaning", by Rachelle Strauss.

The self-sufficiency guides look pretty good - they've got volumes on soapmaking, beekeeping, weaving and cheesemaking. The principle is, as the title suggests, self-sufficiency - doing things from scratch, in enough quantity or with enough regularity that it can become your only source of whatever is in question.