Each day we will be posting our readers “Thrifty Cleaning and Organization Tips”. At the end of the month, one of you will win a $25.00 Gift Card For all the details click here.
HILARY
I make my own fruit and vegetable wash/spray. It’s super easy and really inexpensive AND works better than most you would find for $3++ a bottle. Just spray this on your fruits and veggies, leave for a couple of minutes, then rinse with clean water.
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
20 drops grapefruit seed extract (available at health food stores for about $7-8 bottle– one bottle will last you YEARS!)
The secret is the grapefruit seed extract. The vinegar washes dirt off, but the grapefruit seed extract kills bacteria, virus, fungi and all sorts of nasty stuff NATURALLY with no chemicals. It’s so effective, some hospitals use it to sterilize their operating rooms!
Cindi
I hung an over-the-door shoe organizer on the inside of our coat closet to store all of our gloves, scarves, hats, and umbrellas. I love how everything is easy to see and find now.
Paige L.
My most favorite cleaning tool would have to be Hydrogen Peroxide. I use it for EVERYTHING!!! From cleaning and sanitizing my kitchen and bathroom to using it as a pesticide and fertilizer for my garden! It helps clean and enrich my fruits and vegetables and keeps the bugs away! Hydrogen peroxide is also a great tool when it comes to sanitizing my child’s toys and even an aid in giving my dog a bath. I also use this great product instead of bleach when I’m washing whites in my washing machine. The trick is to know how and when to use it. At times it needs to be diluted with water and other home remedies. The most amazing book with all the tricks is “The Magic of Hydrogen Peroxide” by Emily Thacker. This is a cheap product that fulfills any household chore.
Kari A
I have attached one of those small mesh zipped laundry bags to each of my kids laundry hampers/baskets, that they put their socks and underwear in. When they drop them off in the laundry room they get a new one. The whole thing goes in the wash and matching and sorting are a snap! When they were babies I never lost a tiny little sock and still don’t!
Belinda
When the garbage disposal gets smelly, eat an orange and run the peal through the disposal with hot water. Not only will it get rid of the unpleasant smell, but it will make the kitchen smell like oranges while you finish cleaning.
PreachersWife
Great tip: Use your swiffer mop to clean bathroom mirrors and windows. Just put a paper towel in the holes in the mop and use windex and it makes a great arm extension for those hard-to-reach places!
Morgan B
I use coca-cola to get any blood out of clothes. I know this sounds weird, but an scratched knees from kids, or cuts from hubbies, it works like a dream! Just pur some on the stain wash and its like it was never there. You can also pour it in your toilet bowl and it will clean your toilet!!
Lori
Just a few odds & ends that work for me ~
* White vinegar works great as a cleaner inside for countless things…did you know it can also “clean up” the outside a bit too? If your driveway and/or sidewalk has cracks where weeds love to grow ~ spray white vinegar on them & it kills them. Cheaper than all the special weed killers! Sometimes you can find the big jugs of vinegar @ the Dollar Tree store.
* Put your sponges in with a dishwasher load – or put in microwave for couple minutes to kill all the bacteria…they come out looking like new! You’ll get more usage out of them before having to discard. With finances being so tight, the more usage I get out of something before having to replace, the better!
* I can’t stand a messy kitchen floor, so the swiffer & the wet-jet swiffer are great for me. While talking on the phone, or waiting those last couple minutes for the oven timer to go off, I can do a quick “swiff” around the kitchen. If something sticky spilled, use the wet-jet swiffer instead. Sometimes when I leave the kitchen for the last time at night, I’ll use the wet-jet…love walking into the kitchen & seeing a shiny, clean floor. Both the dry & wet swiffer are quick – they don’t take but just a couple minutes. I extend the life of the dry swiffer sheets by turning them over & using the opposite side when one side is dirty.
* To get any remaining candle wax out of your holders, stick them in the freezer for a bit. Take ‘em out & the residue will pop right out with the nudge of a kitchen utensil (I use the bottom end of a spoon). No more grinding & prying trying to get the remains out!
Desi
To clean that dirty microwave, place a cup of water in and microwave for about 2 minutes, it loosens everything up.
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Keep your Thrifty Cleaning and Organization Tips coming!!!
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