Under Your Sink · Give It A Go Starter Kit
How Your Kit Works
Yay, your kit has arrived! This is the trial-size version of the full system, so everything here is small on purpose. Enough to set up, use properly for a few weeks, and find out whether this way of cleaning suits you.
This guide walks you through the two things you need to mix, the pouches that are ready to scoop, and which one to reach for around your home. You do not need to memorise it all. Start with the setup, then come back whenever you need to check a dose or a surface.
The easiest way to learn the system: think about the job first, then choose the solution. Everything in this kit is a small number of ingredients doing a lot of different work. Once you have used them a few times, reaching for the right one becomes muscle memory.
1. Set up your kit
Four of your five pouches are ready to scoop straight away. There are only two things to actually make, and both take a few minutes.
1Make your Cleaning Paste 150g mix · makes about 500ml of paste
Your Cleaning Paste Mix is a dry blend of washing soda, borax and coconut soap flakes. Boiling water turns it into a thick scrubbing paste.
You will need a heatproof jar or container
The starter kit does not include a paste jar, so grab something heatproof from your own cupboard. A well washed 500ml glass jar with a lid works perfectly, and this is a good chance to give an old pasta sauce jar a second life.
How to make it
- Tip the whole 150g pouch into a heatproof jug or bowl.
- Boil the kettle and add boiling water slowly, stirring as you go, until the mixture reaches roughly 500ml in total.
- Stir or whisk thoroughly until smooth.
- Pour into your jar and leave to cool with the lid off.
Setting time: it begins to thicken as it cools, but give it at least a few hours to set properly. Overnight gives you the best consistency. If it sets firmer than you like, stir a little boiling water back through it.
What it becomes
A thick, multi-purpose scrub for the jobs where a spray is not quite enough. Think of it as your alternative to a cream cleanser like Jif or Gumption. It clings where a spray runs off, and cleans through soap, alkalinity (the opposite of acidic) and gentle friction all at once.
Reach for it when
- Soap scum needs more than a spray
- Sinks or splashbacks are greasy
- Pots, pans or baking trays need scrubbing
- Grout or tiles need targeted cleaning
- You want to tackle the oven
- Outdoor furniture or BBQ parts need a wash
How to use it
- Bathroom: a small amount on a damp cloth or sponge for baths, basins and ceramic. Scrub gently, then rinse well. For tiles and grout, apply straight onto the problem area or dilute a spoonful in hot water for a bucket clean.
- Kitchen: excellent on stainless steel sinks, greasy splashbacks and general build-up. For pots and baking trays, apply with hot water, leave briefly, then scrub.
- Laundry: use 1 heaped tablespoon in place of laundry powder, or as a stain treatment on robust fabrics.
- Outdoors: dilute a spoonful in hot water for pavers, outdoor furniture and BBQ parts, then rinse thoroughly.
Boosting it for tougher jobs
Your Laundry Soak is pure sodium percarbonate, and it makes the paste noticeably stronger. Add it at the time of use only, never into the stored jar.
- Scoop the paste you need into a separate bowl.
- Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of Laundry Soak.
- Add a small amount of hot water slowly until it fizzes and activates.
- Apply, scrub, then rinse well.
Avoid use on aluminium, painted or varnished surfaces, marble, unsealed stone and delicate finishes. Test a small hidden area first on coated appliances, induction cooktops and glossy surfaces. Never store paste once Laundry Soak has been added, discard what you do not use.
Good to know
- Storage: keep it sealed and clearly labelled, away from children and pets.
- Shelf life: it keeps well sealed and dry between uses. Discard it if the smell changes, mould appears, or it separates unusually.
- Essential oils: optional, and only for scent. Skip them if you are using the paste in the oven.
- More is not better: start with a small amount and add more only if the job needs it.
2Fill your Multi-Purpose Spray 250ml amber trigger bottle
This is the fastest win in the whole kit, and it takes under a minute.
How to fill it
- 25ml Liquid Castile Soap (about 1 heaped tablespoon)
- Top up with water
- Optional: 3 to 5 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
Replace the trigger and swirl gently rather than shaking, so you do not fill the bottle with foam.
Where to use it
Castile soap is a genuinely good degreaser, so this one bottle covers benches, splashbacks, stovetops, rangehoods, chopping boards, bathroom sinks, vanities and general washable surfaces. Wipe with a damp cloth after spraying so you lift the soap and the dirt together.
You only have one trigger bottle in this kit, so pick the room where you clean most and start there. Most people begin in the kitchen. If you decide you want a second bottle for the bathroom, they are sold individually.
3Fill your Hand Wash 250ml amber soap dispenser with pump
A standard pump needs a thicker liquid than a foaming one, so this mix is more concentrated than your spray.
How to fill it
- Roughly 1 part Liquid Castile Soap to 3 parts water
- Add the soap first, then top up slowly with water to reduce foam
- Optional: 5 to 8 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
Replace the pump and tilt the bottle gently to combine. If it feels too thin coming out of the pump, add more castile next time. If it feels too rich, add more water.
This is gentle enough to double as a body wash, so it earns its place by the shower as well as the sink.
4Make a Glass & Shower Spray from your Laundry Rinse
Your Laundry Rinse is pure citric acid, and it makes an excellent glass, mirror and shower screen spray (works like vinegar). It dissolves the mineral residue and soap scum that leave glass looking cloudy.
How to make it
- ½ teaspoon Laundry Rinse
- 250ml warm water
- Shake or stir until fully dissolved
You have one trigger bottle, so the two never share it. Castile soap is alkaline and citric acid is acidic. Put them in the same bottle and they cancel each other out into a milky, useless liquid. If you want to switch your bottle over, wash and rinse it thoroughly first. Otherwise, mix this one in a jug and apply with a cloth.
Keep this one off natural stone such as marble, travertine and limestone, since acids etch those surfaces.
5Washing dishes by hand straight from the castile bottle
The full kit includes a dedicated dish pump, but you can do this perfectly well without one while you are trialling.
The simplest method
Use the Liquid Castile Soap undiluted, straight from its bottle. A small amount on a damp sponge or dish brush is all you need, and undiluted castile goes a very long way.
If you prefer a diluted version
Mix 1 part castile to 3 parts water in any bottle or squeezy container you already have. It will be runny compared to commercial dish liquid, because there are no thickeners in it. That is normal and it does not affect how well it cleans.
In hard water areas, castile can leave a faint film on glassware. A quick rinse with a little Laundry Rinse dissolved in warm water clears it straight off.
2. Your pouches
These four are mixed, measured and ready to scoop. The labels tell you the main job, but several of them do a lot more than one thing.
1Laundry Wash 200g · pre-mixed everyday washing powder · about 7 loads
Already mixed and ready to scoop. This is your everyday wash for robust fabrics. It cleans by removing odours and stains rather than masking them, which is why your laundry comes out smelling like nothing at all.
How much to use
Lightly soiled or a small load.
Your everyday wash.
Bigger or heavily soiled loads.
Temperature
- Warm, 40 to 55°C: the everyday sweet spot. Helps the soap dissolve and the formula perform.
- Hot, 60°C and above: useful for robust whites, towels, sheets and heavily soiled loads when the care label allows.
- Cold, below 30°C: the soap and powders may not dissolve as readily. In a top loader, dissolve your dose in hot water first.
Avoid wool, silk, lace and other delicates. Always check the garment care label.
2Laundry Soak 200g · pure sodium percarbonate · about 9 tablespoons
This is the ingredient people write in about. Sodium percarbonate is a natural oxygen bleach, and it is the working ingredient behind the big-name laundry soakers, supplied here pure and without the fillers. Reach for it when a normal wash is not enough.
How much to use as a soak
One stained item or a spot treatment.
The standard soak dose.
Towels, sheets or bedding.
Dissolve it fully in warm or hot water first, then submerge the item.
Why temperature matters
Sodium percarbonate releases oxygen once it dissolves in water, and that oxygen is what lifts the stain. Warmer water speeds the reaction up, so temperature and soaking time work together. A long soak in warm water often beats a short soak in hot.
Beyond laundry
Use it on burnt-on cookware, in tough soaks, and as the booster for your Cleaning Paste. With 200g you have plenty to experiment with, so try it on something you had given up on.
Avoid aluminium, wool, silk, leather, delicate dyes, natural stone and sensitive finishes. Make diluted solutions fresh and never store them, since the oxygen releases whether you use it or not.
3Laundry Rinse 200g · pure citric acid · about 13 loads
Pure citric acid, and the hardest working pouch in the kit. It dissolves mineral residue, limescale and soap scum, which makes it useful well beyond the laundry (works like vinegar).
1. As a fabric softener and rinse
Add 1 tablespoon to the fabric softener compartment, or use it during the rinse cycle. It clears the residue that leaves towels stiff and scratchy.
2. As your glass and shower spray
½ teaspoon dissolved in 250ml of warm water. See the setup section above for how to handle sharing your one trigger bottle.
3. As dishwasher rinse aid
Dissolve ½ to 1 teaspoon in about 60ml of water and add it to the rinse aid compartment. This is the fix if you are seeing spots on glassware.
4. For kettles and shower heads
Dissolve a teaspoon in hot water and let it sit on the limescale. Time does the work, so give it 20 minutes before rinsing thoroughly.
Do not use it on natural stone, and never mix it with your castile soap, Laundry Wash or Cleaning Paste. Acids and alkalis neutralise each other.
4Dish Powder 200g · dishwasher powder + kitchen soak · about 8 loads
One pouch that runs the dishwasher and rescues the burnt-on pans.
In the dishwasher
Add roughly 1 tablespoon to the detergent compartment.
- Do not overfill the compartment, more powder will not give you a better result.
- Hotter, full-length cycles are more reliable than very short ones.
- Use your Laundry Rinse as rinse aid if mineral spotting is an issue.
As a sink soak
Dissolve about 1 tablespoon in a sink of hot water and soak pots, pans, mugs or baked-on trays before scrubbing. This is often the difference between five minutes of scrubbing and thirty seconds of wiping.
Avoid aluminium and anything that is not dishwasher safe.
3. Making your castile go the distance
You have 100ml of Liquid Castile Soap, and it is the foundation of three different things. Here is a sensible way to divide it.
Fills your 250ml trigger bottle with water on top.
Fills your 250ml pump at roughly 1 part soap to 3 parts water.
Kept undiluted, used a few drops at a time.
Castile soap works by binding to oils and dirt so water can rinse them away. That is why the same bottle can degrease a stovetop, wash your hands and clean a plate. It is the most versatile thing in the kit, and it is also the fastest to run out, so start with the spray and see how you go.
The important rules
You do not need to know every bit of cleaning chemistry. These are the things worth remembering.
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1
Keep acids and alkalis separate.
Do not combine your Laundry Rinse with castile soap, Laundry Wash or Cleaning Paste. Use the right one for the job, rinse if needed, then move on to the next step.
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2
Hot water helps your Laundry Soak work.
Sodium percarbonate releases oxygen once dissolved. Warm or hot water makes that reaction happen faster, and the oxygen is what does the lifting.
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3
More is not better.
Start with the recommended amount. Too much product creates residue without improving the clean, and it empties your pouches faster.
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4
The surface matters.
Natural stone, aluminium, wool, silk and delicate finishes need particular care. Check the relevant guide or test a small hidden area when you are unsure.
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5
Cleaning and disinfecting are different jobs.
This kit is built for everyday cleaning, removing dirt, grease, stains and mineral build-up. Disinfect only when there is a reason to, and do it as a separate step after cleaning.
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6
Store it like any cleaning product.
Lids on, up high, away from children and pets, and label anything you decant. If anything is ever swallowed, the Poisons Information Centre is 13 11 26, Australia wide, 24 hours.
When the pouches run out
That is the point of a trial. You now know which things you actually reached for and which you did not, and that is far more useful than guessing.
Your amber glassware stays with you and slots straight into the refill loop. From here you can either refill the individual ingredients you liked in home compostable Earth Bags, or move up to the full-size system.
You do not have to learn it all today
The point of this kit is not to hand you another complicated cleaning routine. It is to let you get familiar with a small number of ingredients that can do a lot of jobs around your home, without spending much to find out.
Pick one thing this week. Wash the towels, soak the whites, scrub the stovetop. When you want to go deeper, the guides are here.
Start with the basics. Come back here when you need it. The more you use the system, the more automatic it becomes.