Clever Cleaning all started as we wanted to reduce plastic waste and replace some of the harsh chemicals used in our everyday cleaning products.   We shared a mutual concern about the environment and Charlotte was particularly interested in the health of her septic tank! 

We only had to open the cupboard under our sinks and our spirits sank.  Our re-cycling bins were filling up faster each year, despite the children leaving home.  We realised it was largely down to the huge amount of plastic and other materials now being used to package food and household products.   An interest in plants and essential oils underpinned our desire to make and use products sustainably derived from plants and naturally abundant minerals.

We held workshops to show how to use ingredients such as bicarbonate of soda, citric acid and oxygen bleach and as a result,  refined their uses and tried to make it convenient and easy to use.   After a lot of trial and error we came up with some great recipes which included  citric acid and bicarbonate of soda,  which had been used for hundreds of years to clean.  We also started blended essential oils as delicious smells have always been an important part of our ethos - we wanted to turn chores we didn’t want to do into something more fun.