Budget Friendly Tips to Clean Your Entire Home

Cleaning your house is a chore most of us dread doing, some do daily upkeep but inevitably no matter the condition of your home, come spring you want to do the deep clean. I have been working on this for a few weeks, yes weeks because I chose not to overwhelm myself with it in one day or weekend. There are several ways to cut your costs as you clean.

First, I buy concentrated Lysol at a value store. It costs around 5.00 for a gallon. This is going to clean practically everything in your home so 5.00 is a steal. A cap of this in your toilet will have it sparkling. Especially if you use a toilet scrubber as well.

If you have saved your butter bowls, you are going to put one to use with the Lysol. Put a cap or two of the Lysol in the bucket and fill with hot/warm water. Use a cleaning rag - to save money on cleaning rags you can cut up old socks/tshirts- to dip in the solution you have created. Wipe down all of your walls, cabinets, sinks, showers, stoves with this. Change the water as necessary and rinse or change out your rag if you use this solution on say the bottom of your toilet bowl, you want to start fresh before you attack a cabinet or counter top.

For glass table tops and windows you can use a Windex or vinegar and water solution. If you keep vinegar on hand, it is a much cheaper option for this. Vinegar and water can also be mixed, 1/3 Vinegar and 2/3 water in a spray bottle for degreasing your oven range. Use newspapers you have saved after reading to wipe the glass. This is cheaper than paper towel products and will stop streaks and lint build up.

For your floors, I highly recommend the investment of a Swiffer Wet Jet if you have linoleum or hardwood. This wet jet can do the floors quickly without a lot of back breaking labor and in addition, when used wisely they can be economical. The solution isn't that expensive and if stored correctly can easily last a month or more for doing your floors. If you want to use the broom and mop, use your Lysol concentrate to make up your mop water. See I told you that Lysol would clean your entire house! This solution will do just a good job at making those floors shine as anything else specially formulated.

Invest one time in a good vacuum. Why? Because if you buy a 25.00 vacuum nine times out of ten you get what you pay for. You want a good investment in a brand name you have researched or trust that you can depend on. Though your initial investment may be costly you are going to save a ton of money on belts, repairs, and vacuum replacing. In order to make the most of your dollar, look for a bagless vacuum. This means you will not be dumping 5-10.00 on vacuum bags constantly. You will have to manually dump the vacuum with this option but I find it much easier in the long haul than changing bags. In addition, you never have to wait to vacuum until you can get to the store and purchase the bag.

Use your broom to sweep and dust ceiling fans and ceilings. For dusting, it depends upon the wood of the furniture you are dusting. For instance, I have used the Lysol solution to wipe down dusty surfaces in my home. But on my wood furniture I always do a test with the back leg first to make sure it is not going to damage the wood. If it is not going to be safe to use this solution on the furniture, a can of Pledge does the job well. Again, cut your costs and stop using paper towels. Use rags that you cut from old clothing or washrags that are too raggedy to be used in the bathroom. I launder my cleaning rags the same as I do my other laundry so that I have some on hand the next time I clean.

For laundry, economy size is the way to go if you want to cut your expenses in half. Check out your local Sam's Club or Cost co for a bucket of detergent. Another secret tip, which I use to make it go further, is unless the laundry is extremely dirty, I cut the size of the portion I put in washer. This works and the laundry is still cleaned. If the cup that came with the detergent is very large, I put half that in normal loads. If your washing a lot of greasy, muddy, dirty clothes this trick will probably not work so use your own discretion with this. If you use liquid fabric softener, you can often times get away with half the recommended cup size as well. The exception to the fabric softener is when you are washing towels or jeans which are two loads that seem to need softening the most. If you really want to be budget friendly, stop drying the clothes! Hang them outdoors in the warmer weather and allow them to air dry.

Now lets cut down your dry cleaning bill. For most things, you don't need an expensive at home dry cleaning kit. You need to use a bit of discretion with your method depending upon the material. Hand wash in a sink your items if they are extremely delicate. If they are a more durable fabric you can wash on a gentle cycle in the machine. Hang them out to dry, if the weather is cold or rainy, hang them on a hanger and dry. Then lightly press with your iron on a low setting. Viola! No more expensive dry cleaning bills. It sounds crazy, but my mother never used a dry cleaner and the only time it doesn't work is if you think that cashmere can really be thrown in the dryer. Trust me when I say it can't. She has ran many a formal gown on a gentle wash cycle or hand washed in ten minutes or less. Again use your own discretion and judgment about your fabrics. For stain removers, stain sticks work even if you are hand washing the item. As does cheap peroxide most of us have on hand in our medicine cabinet.

Speaking of peroxide, it is an excellent stain remover and safe for most fabrics. If you are unsure spot test the upholstery, carpet, or garment in a hidden area. Peroxide and an old toothbrush will be your best friends at any stubborn stain you have been fighting. Oxyclean and other name brand cleaners charging you for the clean up use peroxide as an ingredient. But peroxide costs about 50 cents compared to the 3-5.00 for those items. Next time your child scrapes their knee and ruins that pair of jeans, put peroxide on it and scrub it a bit with a toothbrush. You just saved yourself a small fortune in gimmick products. It works on wine stains on rugs and carpets as well.

To remove crayons, Magic Eraser is a good product but I found it to be expensive when my son was marking walls. We went through them too quickly. So I researched. Guess what? A little baking soda on the end of a warm damp washcloth is the new Magic Eraser for about a dollar! Plus the baking soda lasts forever and you can keep it sitting open in the refrigerator between uses and keep your refrigerator smelling fresh.

After raising my own child and baby sitting countless other little monsters, I mean children, that loved to color and put hand prints on everything, these are the best tips I found. They cost you very little and keep the job simple and easy.