Cleaning tips and tricks.

With my recent lifestyle changing to where money is Always an Issue, I have found some cheap tricks for cleaning.

Vinegar.
I love vinegar.

*I pour it in my laundry instead of fabric softener. Vinegar kills bacteria and eliminates odor. Now you might say, but vinegar stinks, how does it eliminate odor? Well, here's the thing. By the time it has run through your wash cycle (because I just pour it in with my detergent), your rinse cycle, and your dry cycle you Can't Even Smell It! Now I haven't performed an official experiment or anything so perhaps it's just a figment of my imagination that my towels are softer when I use it.

*50/50 Vinegar and water solution is what I use to clean my bathroom. I use it on the mirror, the counters, the toilet, the sink. The bathtub gets it's pre-clean with this solution as well.

Every so often I will splash vinegar in with my floor cleaner. Not much, just enough.

Baking Soda

*I use baking soda in my kitchen. People always tell you that it is awesome for eliminating odors. I have put the box in my fridge, and noticed a difference. So I suppose that is true. But I also use baking soda on my sink. It scrubs it clean because baking soda is naturally abrasive. Sprinkle it on there, then grab a clean sponge and start wiping. Rinse and wipe with warm water, then if you are worried about water spots on the faucet, wipe dry. Easy cheesy.

*I use it on my glass top oven with this mixture: 4 tbsp vinegar, 2-3 drops of dish detergent, wisk together. Then add 5 tbsp baking soda and continue to mix. This creates a foamy paste that you can spread across your stove. I let it sit for a couple minutes and then took a sponge to it. Some people use a razor to scrape off the cooking gunk on their glasstop, but with this You Don't Have To. It's awesome. After you feel you have pulled up all the residue, rinse with warm water and sponge. Note: You might have to rinse more than once to eliminate the risk of a white film left behind by the vinegar and baking soda. But all it takes is a couple extra wipes with warm water to make that disappear, and your stove top will sparkle.

*Bathtub! Again, baking soda is naturally abrasive and will scrub away all the buildup on your bathtub while also making your faucets sparkle. Sprinkle, wet a sponge, and scrub. Turn your shower on to rinse.

*Teeth. Baking soda can be sprinkled on your toothbrush under your toothpaste and it helps add to the effectiveness of your teeth cleaning routine. My sister in law told me about this one, and said she does it for her 4 year old and he doesn't even notice!

Bleach.

 Bleach is so much fun. I use it in a 1:4 bleach to water solution. For every 1 part bleach, add 4 parts water to make 5 parts of awesome.

*I mainly use this every other week for my floors. NOT my hardwood, but all of my vinyl flooring. I don't do it every other week because well, bleach smell isn't the greatest when you are pregnant, and the smell lingers A Lot Longer than vinegar!

*Bath toys. Fill up your bathtub with HOT water and splash some bleach in there. That's it. You can let them sit in there from 5 minutes to 30. However you prefer. I have a key for my bathroom so I make sure to lock my bathroom door so that my kiddos can't mess with the water. When I am done letting the toys soak, I drain the water, turn on the shower and rinse them thoroughly. Let the toys air dry and bam, safe for little mouths once more. :)

Dish Detergent

I find that the best cleaning solution out there is an age old back to basics Duh. Soap and Water. Dish detergent is great for cleaning basically anything. I use it on my floor, the outside of my appliances, and all my doors and doorknobs. Fill up the sink with hot water, suds up some soap in there and go to town. If it's good enough for you to eat off of, it's good enough to clean everything else. In fact, this is the only solution I will use now for my floors during the off weeks of bleaching them. No mop solution for me anymore!

Now while some of these tips may seem like they are totally obvious you would be surprised how much money is spent on cleaners! I know, because until our income drop, I was doing it. Both of my kitchen cleaners that I have bought leave a residue on my counters. So why spend the money? I guarantee if you try it, you will find it's a lot easier to just use what you have on hand then it is to buy new cleaners.
Also, if you are wanting to go hardcore (which I will be doing this come pay day) here's some recipes for making homemade cleaning wipes:   DIY Cleaning Wipes