Eco Eve: Living a More Environmentally Friendly Life!

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Written By Marnie Birch

Welcome to Eco Eve’s column, where you’ll find a treasure trove of practical tips and innovative ideas for living more sustainably. Eco Eve is dedicated to helping you adopt environmentally friendly practices, from green cleaning solutions to everyday habits that reduce your carbon footprint. Join us on this journey to make a positive impact on our planet, one small step at a time.

Eco Eve: Tea Time – DIY Herbal Tea 

Save money, reduce waste and enjoy the nutritional benefits of herbal tea straight from the garden. The leaves of common home-grown plants can be used, fresh or dried, to make tea infusions. Plus, used tea leaves can be composted or spread around the garden to deter pests. Mice, cats, and some insects hate the smell of tannins. 

Preparing Herbal Infusions: 

Boil the jug, then collect several sprigs or leaves from the garden – early morning is best. Rinse and steep the leaves in hot water (that is just off the boil) for 5-10 minutes, depending on the strength required. Strain. Add honey or lemon as desired. 

Lemon Leaf Tea and Avocado Leaf Tea: Fresh or dried, a brew of either avocado or lemon leaf tea can help with digestive issues, stress and respiratory problems. 

Strawberry Leaf Tea: This infusion boosts digestion and immunity, detoxifies and regulates blood sugar and helps promote bone and cardiovascular health. Drink hot or cold. Dry excess strawberry leaves in a cool, ventilated spot, dehydrator or oven. Store in an airtight container. Grind down the dried leaves to a powder and add to smoothies for a nutrient boost. Make a facial rinse or compress for soothing skin irritations and inflammation with a cooled infusion of strawberry leaf tea. The antioxidant properties may help to prevent premature ageing. 

Parsley, Basil, Mint or Chamomile Tea: Collect several sprigs. The more leaves, the stronger the flavour. These herbs can be dried or ground for use in cooking or drinks. 

N.B. Always use leaves that are clean and free from pesticides or chemicals. Consult your healthcare professional if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or have health conditions before use. 

Eco-Eve: Lettuce Reduce Food Waste 

Queensland summers are synonymous with alfresco meals and crisp, leafy green salads are not only a visual delight, but they can help keep you hydrated in the heat.  

Not just low in calories, lettuce contains no cholesterol or fat and may even prevent memory loss. Plus, research shows that eating side salads before and with meals can fill the stomach, helping with weight loss. Nutrient-wise, lettuce is full of antioxidants, vitamins K, B9 and folate. 

When lettuce is purchased pre-shredded or stored in plastic, it is often limp, unappetising and has lost much of its nutritional benefit. The following tip will keep Cos, Romaine, Iceberg lettuce, and other leafy greens, including kale and spinach, fresh and crisper for longer, eliminating food wastage and saving you money. 

How to Keep Leafy Greens Fresher 

  • Take one or two pieces of aluminium foil and cover the entire head of lettuce.   
  • Wrap the lettuce tightly and ensure it is completely covered with foil. Do not wash before wrapping.  
  • Keep refrigerated.  
  • Remove lettuce leaves individually as needed. Wrap the remainder and return to the fridge. 
  • Wash only the portions you need and dry the leaves using a salad spinner or clean tea towel.  
  • Enjoy anytime.

Eco-Friendly Kitchen Cleaning 

Ovens are notoriously difficult to clean. Make the task easier by sprinkling any spills in the oven immediately with salt. When the oven has cooled down, brush off the burnt food and wipe with a damp cloth. Clean oven glass by rubbing with dry bicarb soda and a damp cloth. 

Soda water or vinegar will remove marks on a stainless-steel sink. 

Equal parts vinegar and water brought to the boil will rid a kettle of lime deposits. 

Lemons are great for sanitising chopping boards or ridding the rubbish bin of unpleasant odours. 

Freshen and sanitise plastic bottles by rinsing overnight in a mix of bicarb and water. 

Eco-Friendly Gum Leaf Wedding Confetti

Gum Leaf Wedding Confetti
Gum leaves/confetti by Marnie Birch

Instead of purchasing plastic or paper confetti for wedding celebrations, collect some dry gum leaves in pink, grey and sage hues. Using different shaped hole punches to create eco-friendly biodegradable confetti.  

This would also look great as a nature-themed table decoration for Christmas. 

Eco-Eve: A Second Life for Eggshells 

Often discarded without a second thought, crushed eggshells can be re-purposed in the home, laundry and garden to create supplements for pets, DIY beauty treatments, cleaners or garden fertilisers, saving the household money.

Before tossing eggshells in the rubbish, consider these ways to reduce, reuse and recycle:

  • Growing tomatoes? Crushed eggshells in the planting hole can prevent tomato ‘blossom end rot’. Sprinkled around garden plants, eggshells boost calcium to the soil and will enrich and balance a home compost heap.
  • Crushed eggshells create a barrier in the garden against slugs, snails, or even a pesky neighbourhood cat.
  • Make a natural exfoliating face mask by grinding eggshells into a fine powder and mixing them with egg whites. Apply to the face and let it dry before rinsing off.
  • Add a small mesh bag filled with crushed eggshells to the washing machine to remove clothing stains and keep white clothes bright and white.
  • Deodorise and absorb odours with a bowl of crushed eggshells in the fridge or pantry.
  • Create a gentle abrasive cleaner with eggshells and a little soapy water to scrub pots, pans, and other surfaces without scratching.
  • Eggshells will reduce the acidity of coffee and enhance the flavour when added to the grounds before brewing.
  • Mix warm water and detergent with ground-up eggshells and apply to a stinky drain, scrubbing away any residue to keep the pipes clear.
  • Sterilise, crush and mix eggshells with a small amount of birdseed for a calcium boost for pet birds and dogs.

Handy Home Hints From Grandma

  • Old toothbrushes clean rotary beaters, graters, utensils and stubborn toast crumbs in those hard-to-reach spots or corners and clear and remove lint buildup from sliding door and window tracks.
  • Dust allergies in the family? Empty the stick vacuum or dust bag onto newspaper sprinkled with a little water. The dust will not scatter. Wrap and dispose.
  • Soak discoloured shoelaces in sour milk to whiten.
  • Planting marigolds in your garden will deter rodents.
  • Rub a fresh lemon, cut in half, over hands to remove onion smells or to help sanitise wooden cutting boards after cutting meat. Lemon skins work well to control rubbish bin odours.
  • Grubby hands after working in the garden or yard? Add a teaspoon of sugar to the soapy lather and wash well.
  • Believe it or not – Worcestershire or barbeque sauce is great for cleaning copperware!

DIY Natural Cleaners for the Fridge

  • Remove odours and clean the fridge’s interior and exterior with a solution of one litre of warm water and one tablespoon of bicarb soda.
  • Neutralise and prevent mould in refrigerator seals and shelves with a soft cloth or an old toothbrush dipped in vinegar. Dispose of after use.
  •  If you like the vanilla scent of branded fridge cleaners, rub the fridge interior with a cotton swab or ball soaked in vanilla. It’s inexpensive and effective.

Don’t Bin Your Batteries

The Bad News 

More than 400 million batteries are used throughout Australia. Only 15% are recycled, resulting in 8,000 tonnes going to landfills, where toxins may leak into the environment and community, contaminating soil and water supplies. This poses significant health risks to wildlife and humans. 

Batteries also present a fire risk when overcharged, short-circuited, submerged in water or damaged. They should not be disposed of in household waste bins, as they may cause fires. 

The Good News 

Aside from hazardous waste, used batteries contain valuable resources, including manganese, zinc, lithium, cobalt and nickel, which can be recycled and used by the fertiliser and chemical industries.  

Ecobatt is an Australian-owned company that recovers precious materials like copper, aluminium and steel. It recycles household batteries, power tools, farm and storage batteries, phone and computer batteries and button cells. Batteries from electric and hybrid cars, e-bikes, buses and trucks are safely collected. Use their recycle calculator to check the environmental benefits of battery recycling. 

Recycling Batteries Outlets 

Ready to do your part? It’s as easy as dropping off your used batteries at Battery World, JB Hi-Fi, Bunnings, Drakes, Mitre 10, Aldi, Total Tools or at Return-It Containers for Change on Flinders Parade, North Lakes. 

Find more drop off points here.

Keep Vegetables Fresher

Line the vegetable crisper with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture that leaches from vegetables. This also makes cleaning the fridge easier. 

For wilted veggies, sprinkle them with cool water, wrap them in a teatowel, and refrigerate them for an hour or more. 

Keep lettuce fresh (with outer leaves on until ready to use) by wrapping it in a paper bag instead of the supermarket’s soft plastic. The paper absorbs the moisture while plastic creates it. If you do use a plastic container for your lettuce, line it with a paper towel.

You can rejuvenate soggy lettuce by adding lemon juice to a bowl of cold water. Soak lettuce for an hour in the fridge. 

Storing Garlic

Store peeled garlic cloves in a bottle of cold-pressed virgin olive oil to prevent them from drying out. When all the garlic has been used, the leftover oil makes a tasty base for salad dressings.

Pep Up Your Plants

Cooled, leftover brewed tea works wonders as a fertiliser for ferns. 

DIY Glass Cleaner

Save money by making your own window cleaner. 

For streak-free glass, add the following mix to a bucket of warm water:

  • ½ cup ammonia
  • 1 cup white vinegar 
  • 2 tablespoons of cornflour

Tip: Easily see which side of the window has any smudges by using horizontal strokes for cleaning inside and vertical strokes for outside.

Eco Eve’s Tips for DIY Kitchen and Bathroom Cleaners

As bathrooms are humid and steamy, they attract mould and mildew. Why pay for branded cleaners when products around the home are cheaper, less harmful to the environment and work just as well?

DIY Powder Cleanser for Showers, Sinks and Tiles

Bicarb-soda works beautifully as a powder cleanser in the kitchen and bathroom. Sprinkle it on a wet sponge and wipe over. Rinse with water. As a bonus, the bicarb will freshen drains as well. Add a few drops of essential oil (e.g. lemon, ylang ylang or lavender) for a sweet scent.

Tip: A large car sponge can save time and energy when cleaning shower walls and screens.

Stubborn Stains on Taps and Showers

Using a sponge, wipe shower glass over with white vinegar, then rub over with a damp sponge sprinkled with bicarb-soda. Rinse well. Squeegee the glass for a streak-free screen.

Stubborn stains from hard water or scale deposits around taps are challenging to shift. 

Instead of reaching for chemical cleaners:

  • Mix bicarb-soda and vinegar into a fizzy paste and brush on with an old nail or toothbrush. 
  • Leave for 30 minutes, then rub over gently and rinse.  
  • Add a little shampoo, shower gel or dishwashing detergent if you like.

Mouldy Shower Curtains

If your shower curtain isn’t machine-washable, soak it regularly in warm water in a bath or sink with five tablespoons of bicarb-soda. Slosh the curtain around, then hang outside to dry. Lay or hang flat to dry to prevent mould from recurring in the folds. 

Read more stories from The North Lakes Guide print magazine here: