I do love the Method brand but often find that their products are a little too expensive for me to justify buying on a regular basis. I was delighted to pick up a bottle of Method's All Purpose Surface Cleaner from a local independent health food shop for just 99p. This is a bargain as the cleaner normally costs upwards of £3 from stockists such as Tesco and Waitrose.

Like all Method products, the ingredients of this multi-purpose spray are natural, non-toxic and biodegradable. I try to strike a balance between using cleaning products that actually work effectively whilst avoiding using too many strong chemicals so this brand really appeals to me.

The spray is housed in a stylish large plastic tub with a trigger to dispense the cleaning spray easily. The packaging looks much more attractive than the likes of Flash and Dettol and is something that I'm happy to leave out in the bathroom as the bright lilac spray actually matches the colour scheme in my bathroom! The transparent bottle also makes it easy to keep an eye on how much of the product is left although that it is not too much of an issue as I find this spray lasts for literally months!

I tend to use this mainly around bathroom surfaces including a worktop, shelving, window sills, the basin and the bath. The spray can be used elsewhere in the home but I prefer to use bleach-based products for the toilet and generally anti-bacterial products around the kitchen. This spray is effective for lightly soiled areas and I find that only a tiny amount is needed to produce a gleaming surface afterwards, with little effort needed on my part. It is perfect for window sills and worktops, in particular, and seems to leave a very slight coating that makes it easier to wipe away any marks or spills the next time I clean.

The spray is less effective on heavily soiled areas, though. I don't always manage to clean the bath after each use as getting three children bathed and in bed is difficult enough on its own! This spray alone is not strong enough to tackle tidemarks or any areas around the bath that have got particularly grimy and, in those cases, I do need to resort to something with a little more clout. This really is an everyday cleaner for areas that need a quick wipe over and to remove general dirt. If you're somebody (unlike me!) that is able to keep on top of all the housework, this would probably suffice but I do find that I need to use it in conjunction with other products, to be honest.

My favourite feature of this product is the fragrance, which is much more pleasant and less chemical and synthetic smelling than your average cleaning product. Lavender isn't actually one of my favourite scents but it really does work in this spray and leaves my bathroom smelling fresh and clean - rather than freshly cleaned. (Public toilets smell 'freshly cleaned' when they stink of cheap bleach!) The scent left behind could easily be left from somebody's luxurious bath foam rather than cleaning up. Lavender can be quite a stong fragrance but here it isn't too overpowering and doesn't taint my hands after use either. If this fragrance really doesn't appeal, the spray is also available in Pink Grapefruit and Sea Minerals varieties although those fragrances don't appear to be as readily available as this one. (This fragrance is stocked in most large Tesco and Sainsburys stores.)

As well as being effective on surfaces, it is gentle on skin and bodies and I don't have the same concerns about any cleaning residue being left behind in the bath and potentially harming my children's skin when I've used this. I do always rinse thoroughly after use but have the extra reassurance that this is not likely to cause any irritation. I rarely wear gloves when using this as I just like to give a quick spray and wipe whenever I have a rare second to spare. Despite having dry, sensitive skin around my fingers this does not sting or irritate my skin in any way.

Compared to other cleaning brands, this spray is quite an expensive product costing around £3 for 828mls (unless you manage to grab a bargain as I did) but this is partly due to the eco-friendly nature of the product, which always commands a premium on price. As you'd expect, neither this product nor any in the Method range have been tested on animals and the packaging is 100% recyclable.

This multi-purpose cleaner smells lovely, leaves a sparkle behind and lasts for ages, making it a product that I'm happy to use again and to recommend to others.

More information about the range and details about local stockists can be found on the Method website at www.methodproducts.co.uk