Money Saving Idea #1: Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies

Travis and I are on a quest to pay of the rest of our debt and we are trying to think of every possible way we can save money to do this more quickly since we do not have much extra money in the budget. I was skeptical about making your own cleaners from food objects such as these. I mean I wondered if it would really get it clean. I am used to using strong chemical cleaners like comet, bleach, etc.. I gave it a try the other day. It happened to be on earth day and Travis asked me if I was celebrating earth day but honestly it was just a conincidence. I think doing things that are better for the environment is great but I was focused on saving money.

Here is what I used.
For the Tub: I sprinkled baking soda on the tub and then scrubbed with a wet sponge to get off the grime. This alone worked great. The tub was then covered in a pasty baking soda coating and then I wet that with water and vinegar, wiped with a sponge and then rinsed. Not only did it clean my tub better than Comet in my opinion it makes a sizzling noise which sounds clean when you spray the vinegar on the baking soda. And it smells like one of those volcanoes that you make in elementary school for a science project.

The Toilet: This was my favorite. Sprinkle some baking soda in the toilet bowl and then pour in a small amount of vinegar. Listen for the sizzle and watch it bubble. Then let it soak before scrubbing with a toilet brush.

All Purpose Spray:
Good for on the tub after the baking soda, surfaces and windows.
Mix 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar in a spray bottle. I found these for .89 at Wal Mart last week.

Tough Stains:
Use baking soda as a scrub. Or use a mixture of dish soap and baking soda. I have not tried this yet but I read something that suggested using half a lemon as the scrubbing device for the baking soda which sounds fun.

Floors:
Mixture of mostly water and vinegar or dish soap

Furniture Polish:
1/4 cup olive oil
4Tvinegar
2T lemon juice

If you want it to smell better you can purchase essential oils and add them to your mixtures which I would like to try with some inexpensive ones in the future. I was really surprised by how well these worked. You can purchase big containers of baking soda and vinegar at Wal Mart, Costco or Sams. I plan on keeping this up. It is cheap plus I like the idea that Zion is not putting her mouth all over surfaces that have been cleaned with harsh chemicals and as an added bonus this is much better for the environment. If you try it out or have tried this in the past let us know what you think.