Monday, March 21, 2011

Homemade Soft Scrub Cleaner and Toothpowder

Those are two separate things...don't mistake the soft scrub for use on your teeth. ;-) I was looking at a informative website and came across this recipe for homemade tooth powder.   Since I've got a 2 quart jar of my dried sage (that I am trying to use up before summer) and the other necessary ingredients on hand I thought I would give this toothpowder a try.  I put the sage, salt and baking soda into the blender (I left out the optional clay because I didn't have it) and blended it to a fine powder then poured it into a bowl.  I mixed in the peppermint essential oil and that was it.  It works very well and, possibly because I am used to using plain baking soda on my teeth sometimes, I find the taste of  this, with its peppermint flavour, to be quite nice. I'll definitely keep making it.
I've also been doing quite a bit of cleaning as we get ready to move, normally I am very happy with  using just vinegar and baking soda to clean our bathtubs.  I spray vinegar water on then sprinkle with soda ( I keep mine in old, large spice containers with a shakeable top), scrub with a cloth and rinse - this method has done  me well for years - but every once in a while I like to make a soft scrub to give a bit of an extra clean.  I put about a cup of baking soda in a bowl and add 6 Tbsp of castile soap (have also used Dr.Bronners before) and 6 Tbsp of vinegar and then added just a bit of water to get it to a sort of soft ice cream consistency. 
I put it into a squeeze bottle (or you can just keep it in a container and dip your cloth into that) and it works great on tubs and sinks or on the inside of cupboards. 
Now, I've got clean teeth, tubs, sinks and cupboards...if only I could find some magical way of getting clean (very high) walls that didn't involve me waaay up a ladder. ;-)

12 comments:

Teri @ Love From the Farm said...

Both sound great. I've been having fun with baking soda and vinegar lately - like a kid, loving to watch it fizz! ;) Have you found a new place yet to live?

Debbie said...

This is great, Heather. I've beenn looking for a homemade toothpowder recpie so I appreciate this. I actually have the clay so I'll let you know how it goes. I wonder whata sort of difference it makes.

As for the cleanser, I'm always on the lookout for new cleanser recipes. Perhaps I'll actually want to clean. :)

Thanks for both of these. ~Debbie

Anonymous said...

I've been washing tub and sinks with a lemon cut in half sprinkled with lots of soda and it's worked well, but I really love your soft scrub recipe. It might make me want to clean more! ( I said might ;-)

Unknown said...

Fab recipes, thank you.

Heather said...

Hi Teri, yes we have found a place to move, much to our relief. We'll be moved and settled soon. Thanks for asking.

Hi Debbie, I would love to know how you find it with clay. I'm not sure what difference it would make but it sounds like it has some healing and healthful properties so I might try it too next time.

Katherine said...

Hmmm... I may have to try that soft scrub recipe too. I'm mostly a baking soda and vinegar user for cleaning (it's easy to use, cheap and gets the job done) but this looks tempting to try.
I'm guessing all this cleaning means you'll be leaving your place in far better state than what it was when you moved in. ;o)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the new recipes! The only thing I can think of for those high walls is to use a sponge mop, or squeegee, with a rag wrapped around it. The rag can be held on with elastics or string. If you have one of the mop heads or squeegees that has a screw-on head you can use a broom handle to make it longer. If you went part way up a ladder you could get pretty high with the scrubbing.
Denise

Mary-Sue said...

I LOVE the tooth powder, and so does my A! Wakes me right up! Thanks for that!!

Pure Ella said...

Impressive. I would love to try this ;)

Vickie LeBlanc said...

I've been using that soft scrub for a few years now and I can't see myself going back to store bought chemicals any time soon. I put in a few drops of peppermint oil in the mixture and everything smells so cool and fresh.

Unknown said...

How wonderful...I have been looking for a home made scrub that will work

Justine said...

These both look great. I have some dried sage that needs to be used too. Might give this a try.

And congrats on being able to dig in the dirt finally! Feels good, doesn't it?