Most of these can be successfully replaced by herbs from your garden and items you already have in your kitchen cupboard, such as vinegar, baking powder, milk, honey, and mayonnaise. So below are some tips on how you can save quite a lot of money (and help the environment) by replacing bottles and jars full of chemicals with more natural products.

Cleaning
1. Bin the oven cleaner. While the oven is still a little warm, wipe all surfaces with a cloth dipped in vinegar. Cover tough, burnt-on grease with a teaspoon of baking soda. Close the door and leave for half an hour, then wipe clean.
2. Rosemary has powerful antibacterial properties, and can be made into a very effective disinfectant. Mix one handful of chopped rosemary into three litres of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Leave to cool, then use to clean worktops, cupboards, and drawers. Add a cupful of rosemary infusion to a bucket of water and use as a floor cleaner.
3. Half-fill a clean jar with baking soda, then add three tablespoons of chopped rosemary, sage and thyme. If no herbs are available, add six drops of each of essential oil of rosemary, sage, and thyme. Shake jar well to mix. Use dry as an effective kitchen and bathroom cleaner. Mix with a little lemon juice to tackle tough lime scale.
4. Make a disinfectant scrub by mixing lemon juice, salt and chopped rosemary into a paste. Good for cleaning chopping boards, sinks, and cooking pots.

Housekeeping
1. Save on fabric conditioners. Infusions of fragrant herbs like lavender, lemon balm and bergamot can be added to the last rinse cycle of your washing machine. They will scent your clothes beautifully.
2. Stop buying tumble dryer sheets. Instead, sprinkle a handkerchief with a few drops of herbal essential oil, lavender is nice here, and place into the dryer with your washing.
3. Fill little fabric sachets with dried herbs such as lavender, thyme, lemon balm, and bergamot and use to scent linen drawers and wardrobes. Adding dried rosemary to the mix will help deter moths.
4. Lose that room spray. To freshen a room, burn essential oils of rosemary and lavender in an oil burner. Or make potpourri from fresh and dried herbs.

Beauty
1. Apply an herbal hair rinse after washing to condition your hair and give great shine. Steep two teaspoons of your chosen herb in half a litre of boiling water until cool. Use parsley or sage for rinsing dry hair. Lavender or mint make a useful rinse for oily hair.
2. Blonde hair can be brightened effectively by rinsing with chamomile tea, to which a teaspoon of lemon juice has been added. For brown or grey hair, use a rinse made from chopped rosemary.
3. Peppermint tea makes a great, efficient mouthwash. You can also give your teeth a quick polish by rubbing with a mint leaf.
4. Rinse your face with chamomile tea to calm outbreaks and irritated skin.
5. Harden brittle nails by bathing them in strong fennel tea.

Family Health
1. Treat minor sunburn with compresses of cold chamomile or black tea. Apply aloe vera gel if available. Keep an aloe plant in your kitchen for minor burns – it’s worth it!
2. Chamomile, peppermint and fennel teas are excellent for dealing with stomach upsets or indigestion. Save the antacids for serious attacks.
3. Make your own cough mixture by adding chopped fresh thyme to runny honey. The kids love it and it works.

Herbs are beautiful. They’re also plentiful, if you grow them yourself, and universally useful, if you look beyond the cooking pot. Herbs have been used for more than cooking for centuries and if we can rediscover their manifold uses, we can dispense with many of the items we once thought so necessary for a clean home and healthy family.