Reducing the Household Bills #1 – Making Better Use of White Vinegar

#1 in reducing my household bills is to evaluate what I spend on cleaning supplies.

I have to admit I’m generally NOT a green cleaner. Normally I spend a good chunk of change once a year and order my Don Aslett cleaners from my favorite retailer.

Don’t get me wrong Don Aslett has green cleaners and all my microfiber cloths and terry cleaning cloths are from Don.

But this year, with our move, I’ve been REALLY checking what I spend at the grocery story, not only on food, but also on household things such as cleaners and paper products.

So when my favorite shower cleaner was down to the last few drops it was a chance for me to do some research on a more frugal way to clean my sinks, tub, and showers without placing that big order.

Now normally when I think of homemade cleaners I think they don’t really work as well as the chemicals and it’s just too much bother. But lately I’ve been noticing that the chemicals aren’t working that well either and in fact they’re giving me some respiratory problems especially when cleaning the shower.

So it was back to the drawing board to find some cleaners that REALLY DID work! Because my household grocery bill was at stake!

Now I know the basics for using simple household ingredients to clean up around the house. I’ve even come up with a recipe using my very old box of Borax to clean the carpets.  And use a vinegar mix to clean clogged icky drains.

But what about scrubbing tile? And getting soap scum off the tub and shower? Those are my real issues!

That brought me to The Super Simple Guide to Decluttering and Deep Cleaning by Sandy Kreps.

I started off with her Dawn/Hydrogen Peroxide/White Vinegar mix for cleaning up soap scum. These are three ingredients I already had around the house so trying this out would cost me nothing.

Soap scum is the worst thing to look at. And if you’ve never tried the Dawn/Vinegar blend that is all over the internet you need to! It’s is wonderful and I’m cured from buying any other soap scum cleaner.

So How did I use it?

Well at first I didn’t follow Sandy’s directions and I just sprayed the mixture on and tried to wipe it off hoping for the best. With that method I was deeply disappointed and ready to give up.

Then I tried again by spraying the blend on (I have a spray bottle with a foaming nozzle), using a sponge to spread it around, and walking away for about 30 minutes. Sandy recommends much longer but I needed to take a shower later that day so overnight was not an option.

When I came back I simply rinsed the mixture off and my shower doors were like new! It was really beautiful. I then used the rest to clean all the bathroom sinks and the tub.

For the countertops and the toilets (outter toilet) I diluted the mix with about half as much water and used to clean up the rest of the bathrooms minus the floors.

So What Else Can You Use Vinegar to Clean?

• Unclog drains
• Fabric softener for towels
• Cleaning Mirrors and Windows

To name a few.

So not only am I able to use White Vinegar to clean a number of things around the home the real plus is that swapping out my usual shower cleaner, my mirror cleaner, toilet cleaner, and the savings in fabric softener for a $1.50 gallon bottle of vinegar (and some extra for Dawn) is a big savings.

On my last visit to Costco I noticed they had a double gallon pack of White Vinegar. I forgot to note the price but I will probably be buying it there.

So how long does a gallon last me? I haven’t the foggiest idea. I clean all the bathrooms in our home once a week and so far I’ve made the concoction twice and cleaned the bathrooms on two bottles 3x. I still have plenty of Dawn and White Vinegar left so I’m not in need of any more for a couple months I think.

Does Greener Cleaning methods sound like something you would like to do?

More Resources for a Clean Home

 

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