Cleaning supplies are one of the most expensive things to buy at the grocery store! My cleaning supplies come out of my grocery budget and, honestly, I used to spend about a third of that money on them!! It was so frustrating! Not to mention the smell!
I use vinegar and baking soda. That's about it. I spend about $4 a month on cleaning supplies and I don't have to worry about my children inhaling fumes or hurting their skin.
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Vinegar is a great antibiotic.
It can be used to kill germs and clean anything from sinks and toilets to chicken coups, computer screens and hardwood floors! You can even use it to wipe down baby toys and not worry about the residue. It also keeps bugs, fleas, and flies away. Vinegar cost about $3.00 for a gallon.
Baking Soda works well with vinegar. My kids like to watch it "fuz up". You can use this mixture anywhere you would use bleach. It gets smells out of clothes and carpet and just about anything else, keeps pool water clean in stead of chlorine, removes stains from dishes, and rinses build up out of your hair. There are plenty of great uses for baking soda and the really great thing is - it only cost about a dollar for a box. Can't beat that!
Hydrogen Peroxide
Aside from cleaning up scrapes and bruises, hydrogen peroxide is also a fantastic cleaner! It gets blood out of clothing and red spots out of carpets. I use it to clean anything from tooth brushes to sinks. It removes mold, cleans aquariums and teeth and even brightens white laundry! Click here for more ways to use Hydrogen Peroxide around your house.
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Lemon Juice
Lemon juice works wonders in the kitchen. It cleans butcher blocks, and other light colored wood and plastic utensils. It also helps remove cheese from graters and shines copper cookware when mixed with salt. It whitens finger nails and brightens white clothes.
Other safe and inexpensive household cleansers that I make myself:
Not only is this safer for my children, but, I can buy all of this and only spend around $25.00! You will find that you are spending a grand total of around $20.00 a year on laundry detergents and about $7.00 (estimating high) for dish detergent. It all comes to about $50.00 a year!
That's my kind of shopping!
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what mixture of baking soda and vinegar do you use? Equal parts?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm not sure what the ratio of baking soda to vinegar should be. I just throw them together. I have a recipe for the dryer sheets that I use, but that's the only baking soda/vinegar recipe I have that I can think of.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably about a cup of vinegar to about a 1/8 or 1/4 cup baking soda. Hope this helps. =)
Great tips!!! Synthetic fragrances and chemicals are so harmful to use and breathe! I love your ideas!
ReplyDeleteAwesome tips :) I didn't know that there are very practical and useful cleaning supplies available at our finger tips. I'll make sure to apply these techniques. However, if the stain is too much, it is better to use affordable cleaning supplies available in wholesale discounted prices.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever have a problem with baking soda residue? Perhaps I should use less of it?
ReplyDeleteI keep it simple with vinegar and baking soda too. I just recently started experimenting w/ homemade laundry and dishwasher detergent and have been pleased with the results! I'm going to have to get some hydrogen peroxide now, b/c I've been reading lately of lots of good uses for it. Thanks for linking up to Healthy 2Day Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteTresmomma, I don't think I've ever noticed a residue??
ReplyDeleteAnne, I'm glad you liked the post! I love my homeade laundry detergent.
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ReplyDeleteI think lemon juice is the only thing in home made remedies which has strong action to remove stains, oils spots etc. And mostly brands using lemon juice in their products.
ReplyDeleteHydrogen peroxide is also good for colored clothes, as it restores the cloth's original hue. But then again, it shouldn't be used in removing the soot on the frying pan if you don't want to make it look aged. Just leave the task with baking soda.
ReplyDeleteLarry @LeonardBrushAndChemical.com