Searching for ideas on how to clean your home on a budget? We have some suggestions for you to try out, and you guessed it, all while spending very little money!
We love sharing those low budget ideas with our readers, especially when those tips and tricks are helping to save you money. We like to save money as much as the next person when it comes to cleaning our home, or just any other project in general.
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Vinegar? Yes, it can be smelly, but do you know it seriously cleans your home! I use it on our tub because it removes soap scum... I clean our backsplash with it, it removes grease... I also wipe down our counters, the fridge shelves when something gets spilled, and our bathroom sinks with it.
Do you know you have to put little elbow grease in it when you use vinegar. It does a great job removing those tough spills in the fridge that no one seems to know about until they have sat for a while.
FYI: No, you should not use it on marble or granite though...
Oh wait, we have more tips and tricks up our sleeve!
Did you know lemon removes rust stains... you can sprinkle it on the rust, add some salt and scrub... viola no more rust stains. I remember my mother doing this when the washer would get rust on her white garments as a child. She would let the lemon and salt sit for a while and then add more lemon juice to it and scrub. It always worked for her.
Spilled wine on carpet? No problem... salt will absorb wine from your carpet... cover the spill with a mound of salt, let dry and vacuum...
Did you know if you get blood on fabric, you can apply hydrogen peroxide to it and it will completely remove all traces of the blood from your garment?
A few months ago I needed a blood draw, and the phlebotomist who took my blood was having a difficult time drawing. When she removed the tourniquet from my arm and the needle, blood sprayed all over my nice new shirt. She kept apologizing and I told her no problem, it will come out. She looked at me doubtfully, but I knew better.
I came home and used the peroxide we had in our medicine cabinet and it disappeared like magic! I knew it would. Our pup stepped on ice and it pulled his toenail out, blood sprayed each time he walked (the horror, and quick trip to the vet). I used the peroxide on our carpet, and it all came out! Magic, I tell you!
Baking soda... I love cleaning our drains with baking soda and vinegar. I sprinkle a mound on the drain and then pour vinegar over it and let those foaming bubbles do their job! Rinse the drain once all of the mixture has gone down and you can save yourself on plumbing bills too. It really helps in keeping your drains from clogging! This was a tip a customer told me years ago... I decided to try it and he was right, it does really work!
I also use baking soda and vinegar on our glass stovetop with a sponge. It helps in getting those rings off of the top of our stove with a little persistence. Those rings are my nemesis! They make me cringe when the light hits them just right and I see them!
We use microfiber towels to clean with instead of using many paper towels others use. Dusting with a microfiber towel and a bit of water will remove that dust lickety split, all while keeping the dust attached to the towel. I am thankful for this one since I have asthma.
We also use microfiber towels for cleaning the bathroom, kitchen, etc... we have a color coded system, blue for bathrooms, pink for kitchen, yellow for dusting, green for our pup's baths. This way you are never wiping down your kitchen countertops with what you cleaned the toilet with!
Oh, I have a story for this one.
I actually got this idea from our cleaning lady at work. One afternoon we decided to go on a cleaning spree of the office. Someone walked into the storage room and grabbed microfiber towels to clean our desks, and countertops with. The next day the cleaning lady was panicked and asked where her towels were? We indicated we had used them to clean the office. She said oh no, not the red ones! The red ones are for cleaning the toilets with! You guessed it, we cleaned our desks with the red towels, wiping everything down with the towels she had cleaned the toilets with!
Talk about a stunner! I had just hoped that whoever pulled the towels actually pulled from the clean pile, but no one was willing to speak up when the question was asked, which if you ask me, meant they were not sure themselves. I brought home that lesson and decided to create my own system at home after that debacle.
I can laugh about it now, but I wasn't laughing much at the time. Isn't it funny, how we pick up new cleaning tips along the way in life, or just flat out learn the hard way?
Did you know you can mix Dawn dish soap, vinegar, and baking soda and it will remove all of the soap scum from your chrome fixtures in the bathroom? I was amazed when I tried this trick! I had no idea our 72 year old tub could look like new again!
We have a pup, and he sheds! A LOT! I run the sweeper at least three times a week, and more if I have time. I cannot keep up with his shedding. The vet said German Shepherds shed a lot. I had never had experience with this breed so I said if you say so. He's a mix with a Beagle and the cutest thing that ever was! (Proud momma here)
A gal I went to school with shared this tool she used on her stairs and I was amazed with the results so I had to try it. I plan to post entirely about this tool and the many ways you can use it soon. It is posted below in case you are interested, but when I used it on the upholstery of my car can I just tell you it was like my nearly 20 year old Honda was brand new on the inside.
I have tried everything to get his woven hair out of the fabric of my seats and carpet, but I could never get all of his fine hair up. I could not believe the results once I was finished cleaning my car. It is why it deserves a post all of it's own! I am telling you if you have cats or dogs, use this tool!
This is not really a cleaning tip, but it is a good tip to know. Have a scratch on your wood furniture? Did you know you can use a furniture crayon and/or marker to fill in the scratch with? No need to rid your home of those scratched pieces of furniture.
Over the years, we have picked up many second hand pieces of furniture for our home. I purchased a set of these crayons/markers, and I was able to get those scratched pieces looking like new again! You fill in with the crayon, and then use the marker to make it match your wood. Viola, new furniture for your home, or what is old is once again new!
So there we have some low cost cleaning tips & tricks, no reason to purchase expensive cleaning products. You can clean your home with these inexpensive items, isn't it nice keeping that money in your pocket?
We are saving for retirement so every extra penny helps in the big scheme of things... we have a goal to be completely debt free by the time we are 50! Anyone else have retirement on their mind? Want so share your money saving tips with us? We love ways to save money, who doesn't? Plus, I love to share what I find works in life for us in the hopes I can help someone out there.
Happy Friday y'all!
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We have some of the items we have used in our own home from our post available to find below.
