How to Save Easy Money While Doing The Dreaded Cleaning

Cleaning. It’s something we all have to face at some point. Why is it that a bottle of generic cleaner that contains who knows what tends to eat up so much of my grocery budget? I am a self-proclaimed neat freak. Ask anyone who has visited my home and they will concur. I can’t help it. I just think more clearly when my house is clean. This is not such an easy feat with two boys ages 2 and 3 and a less than tidy husband. Something else you should know about me is that I grew up in a house where the family motto was: never pay full price unless it’s an emergency. Suffice it to say I’m careful with my spending. Have you seen the prices of cleaning supplies? Outrageous! I’m here to let you in on a little secret ::whispers:: you don’t have to buy that stuff to clean your house. All you need is vinegar, dawn dish soap and baking soda.

We moved into our current home a year and a half ago. Initially I was horrified by the thought of soaking in a tub with 20 years worth of someone else’s soap scum. I tried everything. No matter how much bleach and scrubbing power I threw at it, I was still left with a dingy gray tub. That is until I followed my mom’s advice:

1. Fill a spray bottle with half a cup of blue dawn dish soap
2. Add warm (fresh from the microwave) vinegar to fill the rest of the container
3. Spray on tub, wipe and voila! Bye, Bye residue of previous owners.

Could that be any easier?

In my kitchen, baking soda is my go to for everything from keeping pesky smells from lurking in the refrigerator to making my stainless steel sink shine. Trust me when I tell you, those so called stainless steel cleaners have nothing on baking soda.

Now when it comes to laundry you can find entire Pinterest boards about how to make your own laundry detergent for a fraction of the price of what you can buy in the store. Sounds like a great idea. As soon as I can find the time I may give it a shot.

In the mean time, the easiest way to save money when doing laundry is to wash everything in cold water. This will save you serious bucks on your electric bill. If you’re skeptical that this switch may not leave you with clean laundry, allow me to put your mind at ease. No amount of hot water can sanitize those traces of bodily excrement that find themselves on your unmentionables. Cue the panic and the vinegar! Once a month run a normal cycle on your empty washer with half a cup of vinegar to clean it. That’s right even your washer needs to be cleaned.

Speaking of laundry, am I the only one who at least once a week finds themselves rewashing a load of clean laundry that for whatever reason didn’t make it to the dryer before getting that lovely musty smell? No need to run up your water bill rewashing for the third time. Simply spray some vinegar on your clothes before drying. Not a fan of the smell of vinegar? Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the vinegar spray.

Here’s another tip I’ve been using since I was a poor college student. After you do your laundry don’t throw away your dryer sheets. Used dryer sheets are great for dusting.

These are a few ways that I cut cleaning costs. What are some of yours? Post them below in the comments.

This post was submitted by the always wonderful Katie Albert. If you would like to submit a guest post, click here.