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Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

The older soap gets the longer it lasts once you start to use it.

When you buy some, take it out of its packet and let it dry for

a couple of months. If it is perfumed vegetable soap, put it in your drawers where the fragrance can be shared - lavender and sandalwood soaps are especially good, as they seem to

do double duty. As they scent clothes wonderfully and seem to keep moths and silverfish away.

A cheap and efficient recycled / repurposed soap container can be made by taking the top off a drink can and putting several holes around the bottom edge with a can opener.

A bar of castiile or vegetable soap or similar is placed inside.

This is excellent for washing up - pour hot water over the tin to obtain suds, and leave it in for the duration to keep them.

This takes up far less room than a wire saver.

If you have not made the break from detergents, it may take you a week or so to get used to the soapy feeling. It is worth it - less expensinve and bio-degradable.

A steel can is more stable than an aluminium one; the soap stops it from rusting, and it lasts forever.

Milk + Honey Soap

4 1/2 cups finely grated unscented soap or soap scraps

1 fl oz (20 - 30 ml) milk

2 teaspoons vegetable glycerine

2 teaspoons runny honey

20 drops rosemary essential oil

10 drops lavender essential oil

10 drops peppermint essential oil

Put the grated soap and milk in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk and reheat. use the least amount of milk possible, or the soap will shrink a lot as it dries.

Add the glycerine and honey and stir until completley incorporated.

Add the essential oils when the mixture has cooled slightly.

Press the soap into molds (such as soap dishes, individual jelly molds, old milk cartons cut in half, little baskets lined with muslin), or shape into balls.

Set aside in an airy place to dry for 2 to 6 weeks.

When the soap has hardened, you might like to polish it. Lightly moisten a cloth with some water to which a drop or two of essential oil has been added, and then buff the soap.

Quick Milk Cleanser

For a good 'quickie' facial cleanser, use milk (full cream for dry skin, watered / skimmed for oily skin) wiped on with a cottonwool ball. There is no need to wash the milk off, as it won't smell and will leave a natural sheen on your skin.

If you would like to add a little refinement to this recipe you can add a tablespoon of elderflower blossoms and a tablespoon yogurt to 4 fl oz (125 ml) milk. Heat to just below boiling and leave covered for half an hour. Strain through a fine sieve and then use.