Vintage cleaning or How to keep 'people' out your drawers and other matters of cleanliness...

Sorry about the rather absurd pun, but I had to do it. It is a true story. First thing this morning while trying to wrestle my wild mass of hair after the shower, which is still heavy with paint from my furniture restoration, and put on socks and jumpers at the same time to avoid the cold; I opened my underwear drawer...and a moth flew out. The cheek of it! It can keep the metaphor and the holes I imagine it might like to reap. It spurred me into action. I have Napisan-ed (love it- a very dear friend recommended it and I have never looked back) everything has been washed to avoid the larvae.

How to stop them coming back? We live in an old house and as previously mentioned, it is certainly a work in progress therefore there is heaps of dust. So I am war with the little people nesting in my sock drawer and I done some research on how to combat these beasties in natural way, one that does not involve something that little hands are inevitable drawn towards finding and consuming...these are a few ideas on how to avoid more chemicals around the home and more importantly save some precious time! As I reach for my marigolds I feel a 1950s Mad Men moment coming on (an extremely rare moment for my long-suffering husband!)

She seems to have tried quite a few products and one that looks suspiciously like a can of oil...Anyway here are the Duck Egg natural home cleaning solutions!

For Moths
Cedar wood can really help and you can easily find cedar balls across the internet. If you have a few moments you can even make these repellants more appealing...A lavender bag in subtle duck egg ticking fabric won't be an unwanted item in your drawers! You can also add a ribbon so it can hang in your wardrobe. Cut out two identical heart shapes from your chosen fabric and sew around the outer edge. Leave a hole for the dried lavender- available widely across the web and pour in through a makeshift paper funnel. Stitch up the heart and there you have it! Dried mint also seemed popular on our internet research so add a few dried leaves to your mixture for extra punch! There were also mentions of cloves and rosemary.  Sadly ironing helps kill the larvae too, but since that is my least favourite chore I'd rather make lavender bags!

There are some brilliant websites with lengthy descriptions of how to tackle individual problems, but there seem to be a few staples for cleaning that reoccur again and again.
Vinegar- a natural disinfectant and deodoriser. (I also use it to descale the baby bottle steriliser!)
Lemon juice has a variety of cleaning purposes, but when it's combined with baking soda it works as well as an abrasive cleanser without the chemicals. I love these ideas, it feels so 'vintage'! Baking soda is also a great deodoriser and it is working its magic right now in our fridge after a very fragant cheese from the farmer's market made itself very much at home! There are so many recipes out there for a greener home and I hope we have inspired you to have a look for some, I loved an article I found at one point called 50 uses for vinegar! There are also some wonderful more elaborate uses for herbs.

So here is to a house smelling of lemons and even if its cold and cloudy outside, there will be Sicillian sunshine in your home!

PS If you find cleaning isn't your thing you can always make a mean lemon drizzle cake fom the leftovers!