A Clean Sweep

While you're busy cleaning up your finances, it might be a good opportunity to look at how you clean your house. A stroll down the cleaning supply aisle of your local grocery store will reveal a plethora of cleaning options. You can make your floors smell like pine, your clothes smell like lavender, your coffee table smell like lemons, and your windows smell like... well, what does Windex smell like, exactly?

The trouble is, that's not what clean smells like. Clean smells like water, which is to say, odorless. We've been tricked into believing that heavily perfumed and colored chemicals represent what we need for a clean house. The truth is, clean means getting rid of the dirt and killing harmful germs. Here's how I do it.

Vinegar - Vinegar is my best friend when it comes to cleaning. It sanitizes. It deodorizes. It even repels insects and other pests. It's super cheap. Don't buy the fancy apple cider vinegar. Buy the giant jug 'o white vinegar you can get for about $.89. I have a spray bottle of one-part vinegar and two-parts water that I use to clean almost every surface in my house. It works wonders on windows and mirrors (especially when I combine it with a squeegee). Because vinegar breaks down residues from hard water, it helps eliminate those crusty deposits that can appear around your sinks.

Bleach - When it comes to potty germs, I just don't feel vinegar can kill the germs fast enough. I spray diluted bleach water into my toilets, let them sit while I clean my sinks, and then scrub and flush.

Detergent - I have to admit, I still use detergents to clean my clothes and dishes. I’m hoping to get away from laundry detergent soon. Here is a nice website with different recipes for homemade laundry detergents.

The point is, you can spend a lot less on cleaning supplies, have a cleaner house, and be kinder to the environment. Also, I feel I make less trips to the store, because I don't need as many different products to keep the house clean. There are more great ideas in Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things of ways to use simple items to take care of your home without going to the store to buy a specialty item.

How do you save while keeping a happy home? Let's see those comments!