Cleaning on the Cheap
Save Money Save the Planet
If you want to trim your budget, stop buying expensive and potentially toxic cleaning supplies. Growing up in the fifties before Ad Men took over, cleaning supplies in the grocery store probably took up about one tenth of a grocery store isle. This morning I walked down a complete, 48 foot grocery isle with cleaning supplies of one type of another taking up one entire side of of the isle. And they were expensive! Now that we're all watching our pennies, here's a secret. Plain old white vinegar can clean just about anything. Add some baking soda if you need a little abrasion and you'll never have to buy another expensive and environmentally harmful cleaning product again.
When the bathtub and tub tiles need a good scrubbing, instead of Comet Bathroom Cleaner ($2.50/17oz bottle) or Kaboom ($4.59/22 oz bottle), fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and sprinkle some baking soda in the tub. Spray the vinegar in the tub and watch the baking soda bubble. Scrub the tub with a sponge or rag and see how shiny the tub gets and how fresh it smells.
What about expensive fabric softeners and ant-cling products? The chemicals in these products can cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems and some are known carcinogens. So ditch the Downy ($5.79/40 loads) and the Bounce ($2.99/40 loads) and put a ¼ cup of white vinegar into the rinse cycle of your washing machine for a natural softener and cling reducer. This website has 1001 vinegar tips.
Want a scouring agent that you don't need rubber gloves on to use? Grab a box of baking soda. It's chlorine free, a great sanitizer and stain remover and it's safe. Here's a website with the skinny on baking soda.
You can eliminate more than half of the cleaning products under your kitchen and bathroom sinks by using these two products. One gallon of white vinegar costs $2.00. One 2 pound box of baking soda costs $1.50
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