Hooray spring is on the way! Perhaps you’re a little like me and feel the aching need to give everything a good scrub, open the windows, and re-organize. While a purge doesn’t cost you a thing (and might even yield a dollar or two if you’re smart about how you do it), you might be tempted to spend a boatload on cleaning products and tools. These 7 Frugal Cleaning Products are the ones I use every day to keep our castle clean and our costs low.
White Vinegar
I love white vinegar. From fabric softener to glass cleaner to weed cleaner and more, there’s so much that you can do with white vinegar. I promise that you get used to the sometimes pungent smell. You can change that fragrance though. To make an orange all purpose cleaner, soak the peels of oranges in white vinegar for two weeks. Then, remove the peels from the solution and add water in a 1:1 ratio. You can even freshen your garbage disposal with by running the citrus peels through it.
Scrub Daddy
This handy little tool is my new cleaning favorite. Retailing for around $3.49 in stores (and as little as $3.19 when you use Amazon Subscribe & Save), it’s a non-abrasive scrubber. What makes it super frugal is that it can be used multiple times and even run through the dishwasher to disinfect it. Most magical is that it works both as a sponge, becoming pliable in warm water, and as a scour pad, stiffening in cold water.
Borax
This powdered super cleaner has been around since 1881. Your great, great, great grandma probably used it. It can be combined to make a number of cleaners. We primarily use it in our laundry detergent. Our simple recipe is 1 cup of Borax, 1 cup of Washing Soda, and 1/2 cup of Oxycleaner or Biz. Then you only need 1 Tablespoon per load to get your clothes fresh and clean. Plus, you can even make slime with your kids using Borax!
Washing Soda
You’ll find the Washing Soda near the Borax at your grocery store near the powdered laundry detergents. It’s made by Arm & Hammer but differs from baking soda because it gets more sudsy in laundry. Again, you can use it in laundry detergent or simply add it to your regular laundry detergent.
Lemi Shine
My homemade dishwasher detergent doesn’t work unless I add a bit of Lemi Shine to the bottom of the dishwasher. I’ve also recently become a big fan of the Lemi Shine Machine Cleaner, too. It’s fantastic in both the washing machines and dishwashers, removing hard water stains, soap scum, and more.
Baking Soda
Baking soda and white vinegar can do more than just make an awesome science fair volcano. You can use baking soda as a scour for your sink, tub, and toilet. You can also combine with the white vinegar to make a powerful drain cleaner. Baking soda is a great odor absorber for your fridge or freezer (and can also do a great job removing smells from your car, too). Or you can sprinkle it on your carpets and vacuum it up to remove set in smells, too.
Spray Bottle
Making your own cleaners doesn’t have to be difficult. Whether you use straight up white vinegar for as a glass cleaner or simply by more traditional cleaners in bulk and/or dilute them to stretch them further, you can pick up an empty spray bottle at a dollar store (for more on what you should buy at a dollar store, read Is the Dollar Store a Deal?) or find one in the cleaning tools at your favorite Super Center.
As always, concentrate first on using those products you already have at home before rushing out and purchasing new items. And if you can, begin by reorganizing and decluttering before you buy anything at all.
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There are 2 kinds of vinegar. One is for cleaning. You can find it at Walmart. Love it!
cheap and chemical free! after using vinegar and water on my daughters high chair for so long I can’t imagine spraying it with one of those bottled “all purpose” cleaners. vinegar and water is a great sanitizer but Ive found it doesn’t remove “soil” as well unless you add a few drops of a mild dish soap to it. Thanks always for the frugal tips!
I put vinegar in the commode after it stops after flushing. Swish around to cover all and then let sit all day or overnight. Hard water deposits come right off! I also use it on porcelain sinks and metal fixtures.