As I was whizzing through the checkout at my local supermarket recently I was astounded to hear the fellow on the checkout telling the lady in front of me that she must have the cleanest house around because she had so many different cleaning products in her trolley. She had a multi-purpose spray, window cleaner, a gel cleaner, another gel bathroom cleaner, a bleach, a box of washing powder, a spray bottle of ironing aid, a spray can of furniture polish, a shower cleaner and two bottles of toilet cleaners. Brother what a load of money she was about to pour down the drain! I couldn't help myself and joined the conversation when it became a "but I have to have them or I just can't keep the house clean" talk. I politely pointed out that a bottle of vinegar, a box of bicarb, a jar of borax, a bar of soap and perhaps a little elbow grease would do the same job as all these cleaners for a fraction of the price and damage to the environment. I was very excited when she decided I was right and she didn't want all those cleaners. I did feel a little sorry for the people behind us as she had them taken off her bill, but I was so proud of her, especially when she said she already had everything she needed to clean the Cheapskates way in her cleaning cupboard. This experience had me thinking: just how many of us have never tried to clean using cheaper alternatives because we didn't know there were any or we weren't sure how to use them? You can make your own household cleaners easily and best of all cheaply using these tried and true recipes. As well as saving you money, these cleaners will save you time and effort and rid your home of some nasty chemicals too. If you were to make all the recipes below you would have a cleaning solution for just about every household cleaning problem for the grand total of $6.72! If you were to add the equivalent of these products to your shopping trolley you would add another $44.50 to your grocery bill. By making them yourself you are saving around $37.80! What an incredible saving! By keeping some very inexpensive and basic supplies in your cleaning cupboard you can clean your whole house for just a few cents rather than hundreds of dollars. Bi-carbonate Soda (bi-carb or baking soda) – is a powerful cleaning agent on its own, even more powerful when combined with other materials. Borax - found in the cleaning aisle, usually next to the Drano. I use Harpers, in a white tub with a red lid. It's usually on the bottom shelf. Vinegar – is made from fermented apples, grapes, sugar cane, malt or wine. It is an acid and a mild disinfectant. Washing Soda – buy it in the supermarket under the brand name Lectric Soda. It is a good water softener. Eucalyptus Oil –can be bought at supermarkets, chemists, health food and hardware stores. Use eucalyptus oil to remove sticky residue, as an inhalant and a disinfectant or a cleaner. It is toxic, so keep it away from children and pets. It will also damage plants, so beware when using it in the garden. Window Cleaner Cost: $0.10 for 250ml extra strong window cleaner 1/2 tsp washing up detergent 3 tbsp vinegar 2 cups water 1 drop blue food colouring (optional) Blend well and store in spray bottle. Scouring Powder Cost: $1.89 for 600g scouring powder 1 cup bi-carb soda 1 cup borax 1 cup salt Blend and store in container. Furniture Polish This is so easy to make, and it works! Cost: $1.13 for 375ml furniture polish 1 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup lemon juice Pour oil and lemon juice into a squirt bottle or jar. Stir to combine. To use, dip dust cloth or rag into oil, blot the oil by folding the cloth together, and then dust your furniture. Leaves a beautiful finish! Washing Powder Cost: $1.88 for 90 washes 1 bar laundry soap 1 cup washing soda 1/2 cup borax. Grate soap. Add washing soda and borax. Use 3 teaspoons per load for top loading machine, 2 teaspoons per load for front loader. Super Effective Weed Spray Cost: $0.40 for 4 litres weed spray 4 litres white vinegar 1 cup salt 1 tbsp washing up detergent. Mix well. Spray on weeds to kill them. This is a very effective weed spray so only spray it on the things you want to kill. It is excellent for weeding paths and pavers and along the edges of garden beds. Shared from Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing
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The last couple of days have been good blanket washing days - bright, warm sunshine and a gentle breeze, so I've taken advantage and washed all the winter blankets ready to store them for the summer.
I use this wool wash recipe, which is based on the Martha Gardener Wool Mix available at supermarkets. I've used it for 30 years on all our woollens and delicates and anything clothing or manchester that is stored away. It leaves woollens especially soft and clean, and helps to deter bugs like silverfish and moths that like to feast on our woollies. Ingredients: 4 cups Lux flakes* 4 cups boiling water 1 cup methylated spirits 2 tbsp eucalyptus oil Method: Mix together and bottle. To use dissolve mixture in hot water, cool before gently kneading woollens to wash. Rinse well and dry carefully in the shade, preferably flat to retain shape. *Lux flakes - you can use any pure soap flakes or grate cakes of pure soap to get the flakes. Depending on the size of the cakes of soap you'll need 2 or 3. If you use the zester side of your grater the soap will dissolve easily and quickly. From the Laundry: Manchester Tip Store This Week's Question: Help needed to keep elderly parents in their home without going broke19/10/2017 Lyn writes
"My elderly folks live on a 46 acre rural property in WA. It's lovely but they have had it for sale for 9 years as NO ONE is buying...They took out a reverse mortgage when they first put it on the market, thinking they would sell the property shortly after...BUT the mortgage it is eating away at their equity, as it costs a lot to maintain the property - especially on a pension. Mum recently became very sick and has been in hospital for 5 weeks. And Step-Dad, at 82, is trying to run the house, let alone the property by himself. They live 9km from the nearest town, 50 minutes from their doctor and the hospital. I need advice about where to go to find assistance for them. As they (and the bank) own their only asset - that they can't sell, they are limited with the assistance they can receive. I'm sure they're not alone. We live in the city, our house is small and we have a young family. We've offered for them to move in with us but they would like to maintain some independence if they possibly can. Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you." Do you have the answer? If you have a suggestion or idea for Lyn let us know by leaving it in the comments below. We'll enter your answer into our Tip of the Week competition, with a one-year membership to the Cheapskates Club as the prize too. When it comes to keeping the bathroom not only smelling clean, but actually really clean drastic times call for drastic measures. Everyone has times when visiting the bathroom can fill you with dread. It may be you have littlies toilet training or illness in the house or a dozen other reasons. Bathrooms are a thriving bacteria factory.
Deodorize and kill all those unwanted germs with some MOO toilet bombs. You will need: 1/3 cup bicarbonate soda 1/2 cup citric acid 30 drops of lavender, peppermint and lemon essential oils Water A tray to use as a mould - a flexible ice cube tray is good for this Step 1. Mix the bicarb soda and citric acid together and add the oils (if the mixture is not damp add a little water to the mixture). Step 2. Press the mixture into a mould (an ice cube tray is ideal) and leave to set for around 6 – 8 hours until they are dry. Once set, they are ready to use. Drop one or two in the toilet last thing at night, let them fizz and bubble and work their wonder overnight. In the morning just flush for a sparkling toilet. If it's been a while since you cleaned out your cupboards, you may want to give your kitchen an overhaul before your next shopping trip. You'll be surprised at how much easier meal planning and cooking is when you have a tidy kitchen. You'll also be surprised at just how much money you can save too.
When your pantry, fridge and freezer are organized, you will stop over-buying. Using inventories will show you at a glance just how much food you have on hand and what you need to add to the shopping list. Here are some tips for organizing your food: · Check the food in your pantry for expiration dates; if it is past its prime, throw it out. · If an item isn't expired, but no one is interested in eating it, throw it out. Unopened items can be donated to family, friends or a local food bank. · Group like foods together; for example, store all canned foods in the same cupboard and all dry goods, such as rice and pasta in the same cupboard. Designate a shelf to baking supplies. Store flours, dried fruits, coconut and other baking supplies in air-tight containers to keep them fresh. If you put new packets into the freezer for 72 hours before putting them in the pantry you won't be bothered with pantry moths and weevils. If you have the freezer room they can be stored in the freezer in air-tight containers permanently. · Keep drink mixes, coffee and tea in the same area and keep breakfast cereals, breakfast spreads and other breakfast items grouped together. When you want something, you'll know right where to go to get it. · Keep regularly used items front and centre. You'll save time by not continuously searching, reaching and bending for these items. · If you pack a lot of lunches, designate a “lunch” shelf or cupboard. Place lunch bags, Ziploc bags, greaseproof paper, clingwrap, foil etc in a basket so they are all together and not falling all over the pantry. · When you start packing the lunch, you simply open the lunch cupboard, grab your lunch stuff and start packing. Of course, you'll need to walk over to the fridge to grab meats, cheeses, jams, fruits, and so forth, but having most of the items in one place will save you a lot of time. · Clean out the fridge each week. Leftovers have a short shelf life and you don't want to risk getting sick by eating something that should have been frozen or already been thrown-out. When you don't have any clutter in your way, you may find that you actually enjoy cooking for your family much more than before. Not only that, your grocery bill will go down considerably. Monday I explained how to clean and maintain your dishwasher. Today I'm going to go over how to clean my next favourite household appliance - the washing machine. I wash every day except Saturday. Some days I do two loads a day to get bedding and towels clean, or those extra stinky sports clothes or like yesterday Wayne's super filthy, mud stained clothes from our day out on Sunday (he was on his back under a friend's four wheel drive a couple of times - and in a good shirt too!). My washing machine gets a good workout, but it is a newer HE machine and frankly I really do long for my old Hoover. It didn't need to be babied and coddled like this one does. A once-a-month clean kept it going for almost 30 years. My new machine needs to be cleaned regularly, it tells me when it needs to be done, and the process takes three hours and uses three loads of hot water. There is an easier, cheaper and much more energy efficient way to keep your washing machine clean and in tip top shape, and it works. It's the method I've been using for 26 years. First thing you need to do is find out if your washing machine actually has a lint filter. My HE machine doesn't, check your handbook to find out if your machine has a lint filter. If your washing machine is a top loader it should have a lint filter in the agitator. Pull out the top of the agitator and it should have some kind of little bag or basket attached to it. Gently take it off and give it a good clean. You may need to empty the lint out of it first. Then rinse it under hot water. If you use fabric softener then you will also need to soak it for a few minutes in white vinegar. Fabric softeners leave a film over the mesh that actually stops the water from getting through. You need to get rid of this build up. Front loaders have different lint filters - check your handbook to find out where it is and how to get to it. If you empty and rinse the lint filter after every wash you'll stop those black flakes of gunk that sometimes appear on your washing - that's the old muck out of the lint filter flowing back up into the bowl. Yuk! While the lint filter is soaking, get a cloth and a bucket of warm water and add a splash of vinegar (about 1 cup). Use this to wipe around the top of the bowl, under the lid, over the outside of the cabinet etc. Don't forget the inside of the agitator and the fabric softener dispenser. If it's particularly grungy, sprinkle with bi-carb and use this as a scouring powder. Just watch your fingers - the edges of all those ridges and rims can be sharp (guess how I know!). Put the lint filter back together and replace the top of the agitator. Then run your washing machine through a full cycle on the longest and hottest wash cycle (this is the only time I use a hot wash) and add a full 2 litre bottle of vinegar to it. Don't add any clothes or other detergents; let the vinegar work its magic. The vinegar will remove the scum and gunk and any hard-water build up in the bowl and hoses. Wipe over the outside of the machine with a damp cloth and dry. You washing machine will sparkle inside and out. Do this on a regular basis and you'll extend the life of your machine and save on costly maintenance calls. My handbook suggests every 100 washes, for me that's about every two months because of the amount of washing I do. For my mother it's every six months or so as she only does two loads a week. If your family is larger you may need to do this more often. It may seem like a tedious chore but it is worth taking care of this most useful household appliance. Think about what you'd do if you couldn't use your washing machine for a week - hand-washing, paying for the laundromat -and you'll see the benefit quickly. This post has been shared from Debt Free, Cashed up and Laughing Cheapskater Elizabeth wrote "Keep your home scented and fresh all year round with a beautiful homemade air freshener.
You will need: 6 Drops Eucalyptus Oil 10 Drops Rose Oil 10 Drops Lavender Oil A small dish or bowl, about 1 cup capacity Half fill the dish with boiling water. Add the oils and stir. The heat from the water will warm the oils and your home will smell absolutely wonderful." Most households have at least one straw, rattan or vine basket of some kind, even if it's just a bread basket. They look lovely for a while, until the dust collects in the gaps in the weave, then they just look old and dingy. You'll see lots of them at op shops and garage sales, discarded because they no longer look nice.
You don't have to pass your older baskets on, they are easy to clean. Choose a nice, hot, sunny day. Then simply fill either the laundry sink or bathtub, depending on the size of the basket, with warm, soapy water (old shampoo is great for this). Immerse the basket in the water and lightly scrub it with an old nail brush or for smaller baskets an old toothbrush. Rinse, shake the excess water off, wipe over with a towel and leave to dry outside, in the shade. The water will clean them better than ordinary dusting can and the moisture will keep them from drying out completely, keeping the wood from becoming brittle and splitting. Ceramic tiles certainly do make cleaning the kitchen easier, but sometimes even they can be hard to clean, especially the splashback behind the stove or cooktop. When the tiles become splattered with grease that is stubborn and hard to wipe off put a pot of water on one of the back burners and bring it to the boil with the lid off. The steam from the pot will soften the grease spots making them easy to wipe off with a clean cloth. Don't waste the water, use it for a hot drink or let it cool and use it on your indoor plants.
From Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing Place 6 peppermint tea bags in a glass of cold water.
Sit it on a sunny window sill to steep until the tea is very strong - about half an hour. Then squeeze the tea bags into the tea, pour it into a spray bottle and top up with cold water. You can now safely spray your cupboard doors, bench tops, sinks, even around the pet bowls for a lovely fresh, clean scent. And without poisoning the family or the animals. Note: Don't spray on fabric without doing a test for colourfastness and staining first. |
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